Should I tell this seller his PRADA is fake?

sea0fyears

I’m just here for a good time.
O.G.
Nov 12, 2006
1,607
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I was just browsing for deals on ebay when I found this and after requesting more info on the item I'm pretty sure it's just a 'good' fake (although I personally feel nothing can really be GOOD about a fake)... The crest on the tiangular logo has the "bubbles" that in my experience are a red flag for fakes, plus the guy had a "selling this for my sister" story which makes me think he's not really sure about the authenticity.

So anyway... I thanked him for his additional info and he made an attempt to encourage me to bid. I have already reported the auction, but I don't think ebay will pull it with the info on the listing. Should I respond to his last email and let him know his item is probably fake?
 
Yeah... I just feel awful for the bidder who will probably win the item and find out it's fake or think it's real because they can't tell.
 
I was just browsing for deals on ebay when I found this and after requesting more info on the item I'm pretty sure it's just a 'good' fake (although I personally feel nothing can really be GOOD about a fake)... The crest on the tiangular logo has the "bubbles" that in my experience are a red flag for fakes, plus the guy had a "selling this for my sister" story which makes me think he's not really sure about the authenticity.

So anyway... I thanked him for his additional info and he made an attempt to encourage me to bid. I have already reported the auction, but I don't think ebay will pull it with the info on the listing. Should I respond to his last email and let him know his item is probably fake?

Just curious - wondering what you meant by "bubbles"?
 
On the PRADA triangular plate there is a tiny crest. The bottom of the tiny crest should be a smooth line comprised of 5 even smaller vertical 'lines' that make 5 'boxes' along the edge of the crest, with the two on the ends being miniscule and horizontal. I have never in my lifetime seen an authentic PRADA piece with anything other than this exact tiny crest. I have seen some that are so old that the metal has worn down to the enamel and the 'box edges' are broken, but not often.


As the seller put it in one of his emails "you'd really have to be looking for it to even notice it..." Well, yeah; Because that's a good way to tell if something is fake. The bottom of the tiny crests on AAA fakes have 5 O's (ooooo), not boxes. These fakes are the ones used in store return scams and I've seen several in Off Saks stores. Nylon pieces are most often faked like this, so you REALLY have to know what to look for.
 
I'm glad to help out. I was totally in love with Prada's entire nylon line throughout college and it still holds a place in my heart. I can authenticate almost any piece from that collection simply because I've owned them all.
 
:wtf: Whoa.... Ok... So apparently I need to start hanging out in the Prada forum as well. I was wanting to get my sister a Prada as a gift, but have no IDEA how to authenticate them... There are fakes at places like OFF SAKS too??

I'm sorry, because I know your probably explained this as throughly as possible - but I am still confused! Are we talking on the emblem or inside the bag, about the lines and circles thing?

See you in the Prada forum soon... I need to learn more. TIA!!:smile:
 
I've attached a picture of the crest I'm talking about. I realize some Prada's have a solid enamel triangle with only the word "PRADA" on it, but the one I'm talking about is attached. I've added an arrow to point out the 'boxes' I'm talking about. This crest is from a checkbook cover where the longest side of the triangle is about 3cm.
 

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There was a discussion of the crests on another forum about a year ago, along with photos. Apparently, there's a lot of variability in the crests of the authentic Pradas, as there is with Prada fonts, and it can be difficult to generalize purely on that basis. I've just pulled mine out to look and they are not the same as one another. Also, I'm not sure that those white tags mean anything. Although I have never seen a Prada bag without one, I've known of other people who have authentic bags that don't have them. Prada has not been totally consistent over the years. I can't speak to the bag that started this discussion. I know nothing about nylon Prada. My experience though with emailing sellers that their bags are fake, in cases where I was certain, has not been positive.
 
I've attached a picture of the crest I'm talking about. I realize some Prada's have a solid enamel triangle with only the word "PRADA" on it, but the one I'm talking about is attached. I've added an arrow to point out the 'boxes' I'm talking about. This crest is from a checkbook cover where the longest side of the triangle is about 3cm.

I thought the solid enamel triangle with only the word PRADA was for keychains only... maybe i need to keep myself updated

I've also heard that the crest is not consistent. The font as well differs slightly, depending on when the bag was made.