Make sure your professional authentication service knows the brand

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BeenBurned

BeenBurned

Coach, Dooney, Uggs
Authenticator
O.G.
Feb 25, 2007
67,121
29,919
#1
I posted this on the Coach subforum but I think the information is important enough to be posted here too.

Sellers' livelihoods and buyers' hard earned moneys are at stake and mistakes are being made!

Make sure your authenticator knows the brand you are having authenticated.


There's been talk on the ebay forum and other branded subforums where "authentication" services have made errors. I don't know whether AF is a one-man show (like CarolDiva) or if they have brand specialists.

The seller of this listing paid ***************** for their "professional" services and this is a mistake that shouldn't have happened. This is NOT a "good" fake.

Title: $89 Coach Brown Patchwork Wristlet
Item number: 221395458107
Seller: shadowunh07
Link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/89-Coach-Br...t-/221395458107?pt=Wallet&hash=item338c32983b

Note that the seller says it's been authenticated by *****************. (I didn't know they do Coach!)

This poor seller needs to demand a refund!

1. The shape of the wristlet is wrong
2. Although this style isn't supposed to have one, the creed has sloppy stitching
3. The cartouche is too large (although this style shouldn't even have a creed)
4. The strap is too long
5. Although it appears that the seller is trying to hide the trigger clip, what I see looks wrong.
6. The lining color should be purple
7. The pattern placement is incorrect
8. The fabric prints are wrong

The following side by side pictures show some of the obvious differences that a professional authenticator should have picked up on.


http://i1241.photobucket.com/albums/gg503/been-burned/*****************%20deemed%20fake%20as%20authentic/*****************-fakedeemedauthenticfront_zps003bef56.png

http://i1241.photobucket.com/albums/gg503/been-burned/*****************%20deemed%20fake%20as%20authentic/*****************-fakedeemedauthenticinside_zpsb7d66f05.png
 
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#2
Thank you for posting. After their unprofessional behavior on this board, I would never use them. Seeing an authentication by them in a listing would not encourage me to purchase.
 
#3
Thank you for posting. Great advice. I always use the same authentication service for my H bags --she is amazing. The one time I had to sell a Gucci, I used the specialist referred from the Gucci board.

I just want to add that sometimes sellers lie about getting items authenticated. I once bought a bag from a seller who is frequently referenced on these boards. Seller claimed it was authenticated by mypoupette. When I contacted mypoupette, they had no record of the listing (and took forever to get back to me). In the end, I won the bag and used a paid authentication service specializing in the brand and thankfully it was authentic.

Bottom line, if a seller claims they had an item pre-authenicaed, it never hurts to check with the service they used to ensure they are being truthful.
 
#4
Wow, thanks for sharing this valuable information! In addition, a seller should also be able to produce the written documentation...when I used a paid authentication service for some Louboutins I sold on eBay, the documentation also referenced my listing, eBay name including photos taken from the listing & additional photos that I provided :-)
 
#6
I wonder if anyone has notified the seller or at least reported the listing.

After their antics here, shameless whoring of themselves on social media, inquiring in private groups about bags they are supposed to be authenticating, and that they allegedly use phones to authenticate - not to mention stealing verbiage from A4U - ugh - they are sketchy as all get out.

I think the part of the problem is that their "authenticators" claim to be able to do MANY brands, ala Carol. Look how THAT turned out.
 
#9
ArmCandyLuvr said:
I can't believe that the authenticator though that wristlet was real. It just looks cheap and fake.
Click to expand...

Makes you even wonder if they look at it, right? Anybody can take peoples' money and give them a "fake/authentic" opinion. Whether they are accurate (or even care to be for that matter is something else).
 
#11
missbanff said:
I wonder if anyone has notified the seller or at least reported the listing.

After their antics here, shameless whoring of themselves on social media, inquiring in private groups about bags they are supposed to be authenticating, and that they allegedly use phones to authenticate - not to mention stealing verbiage from A4U - ugh - they are sketchy as all get out.

I think the part of the problem is that their "authenticators" claim to be able to do MANY brands, ala Carol. Look how THAT turned out.
Click to expand...



Well said. I would never recommend ***************** and was shocked at how unprofessional they were here and elsewhere.

Reports from private groups were enough to raise the hair on the back of my neck and ring alarm bells loudly about how easy it is to claim that you are an authenticator when in fact you lack the years of knowledge and expertise to back that up - or in other words, people LIE and now a poor seller on Ebay has a ding on their account and has to pay a big price for a piss poor "authentication" and crappy service. How sad.
 
#12
Apricot Summers said:
Well said. I would never recommend ***************** and was shocked at how unprofessional they were here and elsewhere.

Reports from private groups were enough to raise the hair on the back of my neck and ring alarm bells loudly about how easy it is to claim that you are an authenticator when in fact you lack the years of knowledge and expertise to back that up - or in other words, people LIE and now a poor seller on Ebay has a ding on their account and has to pay a big price for a piss poor "authentication" and crappy service. How sad.
Click to expand...

Right - and I'd also like to point out that simply owning a few bags of a certain brand does NOT make one an authenticator. At least, not in the eyes of people outside of AF. :blah:
 
#15
uadjit said:
I am worried because some people seem to be confusing ***************** and Authenticate4U which are 2 very different companies. :(
Click to expand...
I hope not!

Authenticate4U is based in the UK and has multiple brand specialists. They are reputable, IMO.

***************** is US based, located in Indiana and has authenticators who seem to have multiples "areas of expertise," but they aren't expert, IMO.

Authenticate4U has posted on TPF (with one ID) to explain issues with their site, apologize for their previous inability to respond to requests, explain forged authenticity documents that used their name, and in all cases has acted professionally.

***************** has posted on TPF (with at least 5 IDs to promote her site and has been banned on at least 5 different IDs.
Notice that ***************** hasn't come to this thread to apologize for the inaccurate authentication, and although the seller's listing was removed, I bet the seller who paid for the "professional" opinion hasn't received a refund.

Another thing ***************** does is offer a service where buyers pay $9 (on ebay and bonz) for a pre-purchase authenticity opinion. This is the same thing we can get here on TPF or the ebay boards for FREE!
 
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