[momoftwo]

Hi, I am a new user and I need help.

I bought a fake downtown YSL from "Japan". As soon as I got it, I knew I was in trouble as the return label shows it is from Shanghai, China. The seller lives in Germany.

Paypal told me to keep the bag and wait for instructions which I did. Now I have a week to authenticate this item as a fake from a 3rd party before they close the claim. I have asked for an extension but they will not offer it. It turns out it is going to cost me over $60 plus shipping the bag to paypal to do this via mypoupette.com. Yves St. Laurent will not do it, so I am at a loss as to what to do. I am in a time crunch. Does anyone know who I can go to for a reliable 3rd party authentication that is acceptable by Paypal?

Thanks.

[obsesshandbag]

hi momottwo,
I am sorry to hear this. This never happened to me before so I am not an expert in this area. Do you think Neiman Marcus or Saks can authenticate it for you? You probably can give them a call and see whether they can do it or not. Good luck.

[snowwhite]

I can't believe you have to "prove" it's a fake to get a refund.

I inadvertently ended up with fake shoes awhile ago--my LAST eBay purchase ever. I filed a claim, and waited, and ended up escalating it, and the seller offered a refund less shipping. I was really frustrated with the whole thing, and disgusted by the fakes, so I just accepted the partial refund. I wanted to get rid of the fakes--they made me ill--and I just wanted the ordeal to be over. In retrospect, perhaps I should have been more stubborn and and insisted on my shipping costs back too, as a matter of principle.

The seller might not want to jeopardize their paypal account, so they might offer the same--a partial refund--in your case.

I'm sorry to hear you're going through this--it really sucks. Scammers are so low--!

Fakes are so disgusting

[momoftwo]

I have not called Neiman Marcus or Saks but they may have the same answer as Nordstroms which is no :( Nordstroms says they have a store policy that does not allow their employees to authenticate anything especially in writing.

[momoftwo]

Originally Posted by snowwhite

I can't believe you have to "prove" it's a fake to get a refund.

I inadvertently ended up with fake shoes awhile ago--my LAST eBay purchase ever. I filed a claim, and waited, and ended up escalating it, and the seller offered a refund less shipping. I was really frustrated with the whole thing, and disgusted by the fakes, so I just accepted the partial refund. I wanted to get rid of the fakes--they made me ill--and I just wanted the ordeal to be over. In retrospect, perhaps I should have been more stubborn and and insisted on my shipping costs back too, as a matter of principle.

The seller might not want to jeopardize their paypal account, so they might offer the same--a partial refund--in your case.

I'm sorry to hear you're going through this--it really sucks. Scammers are so low--!

Fakes are so disgusting

I am glad you were able to recoup some of your losses. Most of all, it is the time wasted that frustrates me.

What makes me mad was the fact that my seller did offer me a full refund minus shipping. Paypal told me NOT to send it back to the seller but to them. I had to wait for instructions. In the meantime, they told me not to worry as I had buyer's protection. What they did not tell me was that I needed to get a 3rd party authentication at my cost and gave me 10 days to do it. I have been so stressed today (Friday) and I can't find anyone to do it. Even mypoupette.com is closed for the weekend.

Paypal wanted me to keep the counterfeit bag out of circulation at my expense. I am suppose to find a YSL dealer to prove that it is fake and I still have to depend on them to give me a verdict. Then if I win, I have to pay the shipping to send it to paypal. The whole thing is going to cost me $70. I would have been much better off sending it back to the seller. This is the last time I am buying a big ticket item from eBay. Don't be fooled by the buyer's protection plan.

I found Carolediva.com who is a 3rd party authenticator, but she requires very good pics of the authentic one. If anyone has authentic close up pics of the YSL Downtown Croc leather bag, could you kindly send me some? I need the tags, the key ring thing, the close up of the metal knobs on the bottom, the zipper, close up of the threads etc... Please help! Thanks.

[brian]

Originally Posted by momoftwo

I found Carolediva.com who is a 3rd party authenticator, but she requires very good pics of the authentic one. If anyone has authentic close up pics of the YSL Downtown Croc leather bag, could you kindly send me some? I need the tags, the key ring thing, the close up of the metal knobs on the bottom, the zipper, close up of the threads etc... Please help! Thanks.

wait a second...the bag is "CROC"? and i'm sure you paid less than $10,000 for it...
that's kinda your fault in the first place then, since it's common sense that you a) would probably never see that bag on eBay in the first place, and b) would never find it for cheap, if it ever was listed on ebay. if it seems too good to be true, it always is.....

[AgelessHarmony]

I would imagine she's referring to the croc pattern and not a real croc handbag. It's not uncommon to see that bag on eBay.

[Melissa Ann]

Carol diva is your best bet...look in the reference threads about downtowns above, there maybe some good pics up there. Plus, the main things that give fakes away are the zippers, tags, etc, not the leather, but sounds like that is a dead giveaway too!! You spotted it right away.

Carol diva usually works fast. Others have used her when time is of the essence and poupette works slowly these days I hear...

[momoftwo]

Originally Posted by brian

wait a second...the bag is "CROC"? and i'm sure you paid less than $10,000 for it...
that's kinda your fault in the first place then, since it's common sense that you a) would probably never see that bag on eBay in the first place, and b) would never find it for cheap, if it ever was listed on ebay. if it seems too good to be true, it always is.....

No, it is NOT the one that cost $10K. I am not crazy enough to do that online.

[momoftwo]

Originally Posted by AgelessHarmony

I would imagine she's referring to the croc pattern and not a real croc handbag. It's not uncommon to see that bag on eBay.

Thanks, this is EXACTLY the one I need pics for. The YSL Downtown Croc.

[momoftwo]

Originally Posted by Melissa Ann

Carol diva is your best bet...look in the reference threads about downtowns above, there maybe some good pics up there. Plus, the main things that give fakes away are the zippers, tags, etc, not the leather, but sounds like that is a dead giveaway too!! You spotted it right away.

Carol diva usually works fast. Others have used her when time is of the essence and poupette works slowly these days I hear...

Thanks so much for your response. But I have no pics to give to her. The closest store is over an hour away. If you know where I can get these close up pics online, please let me know.

[Melissa Ann]

YSL photo resource! Post photos only please!

Look in this thread above, number 77 is like the one you are looking for.

also: http://www.bluefly.com/pages/product...&Nu=Product+ID

http://www.bagborroworsteal.com/prod...owntown%20Tote

[peachiesncream]

Hey been following the thread and i hope everthing turned out okay?

[brian]

oh, thanks for clearing up that it's the croc-pattern quilted patent and not actual crocodile...

[momoftwo]

Originally Posted by peachiesncream

Hey been following the thread and i hope everthing turned out okay?

Thanks so much! Carol from Caroldiva.com finally got my letter written and I faxed it yesterday. She is AWESOME! I now await the verdict from Paypal. I am concerned however, that Paypal will ask me to return the bag back to them. I have been following another thread (Chanel) where they were discussing Paypal reselling the items back to the public through their liquidators. I also read that it is illegal to mail counterfeit items. Does anyone know anything about that?