Personally I'm happy that the OP is now happy with her bag.
There is a good reason why the authenticators on the LV thread frequently refer posters to Carol.
If she makes mistakes, then these would have to be a microscopic percentage. But 99.999% of the time she gets it right. For years, she was the only credible source for PayPal and eBay and absorbed so much stress and high pressure angst from people, so I reckon that the microscopic error rate reflects that she's a human.
But, I'd hate to see a few negative points outweigh all the amazing and good stuff that she does. I am really happy with the work that she has done for me and my other half over the past years. The amount of stress she has taken off our shoulders when confronted by inexperienced buyers who were panicking through to scammers and even super rare items being accidentally pulled by eBay, is worth every cent of the minimal fees that she has charged.
There is nothing stopping other people setting up as authenticators and there are a heap of them in one of the stickies on the eBay thread. I don't see the point in any comparisons between services. They are there and people can use them as they see fit.
I know that Carol's husband has been very ill over the last few months. I hope that they have a safe and Happy Holiday together and I look forward to using Carol's services in 2012!
Because she is the only "paid" LV authenticator.
Not wanting to put her down, but people do need to be vigilant. Lee and Addy are well aware of the mistakes she has made since her husband has been ill.
There have been mistakes across many brands.