Dilemma with a Christmas Gift

[iheartvuitton]

Please move this if it's in the wrong section!

Ok, I have a problem with a gift I received for Christmas from my Aunt. Rewind back to Christmas Eve, she asked that my sister and I go to her house early because she had bought us more gifts than my cousins who she doesn't really talk to, but she didn't want to make it obvious. Fine. We go early, and she gives us each a gift. My sister a Juicy key pouch, and myself, stuff for my dollhouse. Then on Christmas Eve when it was time to open gifts, we each got another gift. My sister got a Juicy bag, while my 1 cousin and I got a Tiffany necklace. I didn't think anything of it, as it was a silver piece with the "Return to Tiffany" logo, so I thanked her and put it away so I didn't lose it. No offense to anyone who likes that line of jewelry, but I typically do what it says...I return to Tiffany. My aunt knew this though, as about a week before Christmas I was telling her how I was returning a pair of earrings I had received from Tiffany that were too big for my ears, and sported the "Return to Tiffany" logo. I told her I was returning them & she said "Oh no, I hope you like what we got you for Christmas then..." (Not knowing she would be buying me Tiffany for Christmas?)

ANYWAY, since Christmas Eve till yesterday, the Tiffany bag had been sitting on my room, with the box inside, and the necklace. I hadn't taken the necklace out because 1, I didn't like it, and 2, I hadn't had time since Christmas to go to the mall that has Tiffany so I could return it. Anyway, I finally had time to run to the mall with my best friend, so she came over. She has a lot of tiffany pieces so I asked her to look at it. As soon as I pulled the box out of the bag, we looked at each other like "damn..". So much was going on Christmas Eve while I was opening many gifts from my family, that I didn't even realize how the color of the box was sort of "off." So anyway, we pull the necklace out, and its blatantly obvious that the chain is fake. It weighed nothing, and the "silver" color was off. The little round piece didn't even go over the latch part...if that makes any sense. We knew the chain was fake, but we weren't sure about the charm. After all, she could have just bought any silver chain for the charm, since they're sold separate.

At this point in the story I'm not sure if a background on my aunt matters. She likes nice thing, most of the time. She has LV, both real and FAKE...thinks there is no difference. The only REAL LV she has, is from MY UNCLE. She also wears David Yurman, real and FAKE. So it wouldn't have surprised me if she would have given my cousin and I FAKE jewelry for Christmas...but she knows that I'm against fakes & fakes are tacky. Counterfeit jewelry is ESPECIALLY tacky. Well who cares what I think...it was a gift, right? Turns out, after taking the jewelry to Tiffany (In a REAL bag my aunt gave me, in a REAL pouch it was given in, but in a shady box), much to my speculation, the whole entire thing was FAKE. She made a huge deal out of spending "a lot of money" on each of us for "one big" gift this year. She even said, in passing, that she got it when she was on vacation in the (insert name here) store!!! And the nerve to put it in a real bag? Not even just WRAP the box? But to put it in a real bag to make it look more real? Now my problem is that I'm mad. She was wrong for doing that. Quite honestly, we are awfully close, and I am rather insulted she did that to me. I would have rather gotten nothing but a card. My other cousin who got a necklace doesn't know. I'm not sure if she would care...but at the same time, I don't want to start anything. I didn't tell my mom, she would flip. I didn't tell my dad (it's his brothers wife), who probably wouldn't understand that jewelry CAN be faked, and that would only make him angry. I spent just under $100 on each of her kids, feeling guilty because she had mentioned "one big gift" and gave "Tiffany" hints a week before Christmas.

The thing is now, do I tell my aunt I know? Do I pretend the chain broke and I brought it there and they said it couldn't be fixed because it wasn't real? See the thing is, is that even if she gets it from her "person" she must use to get all of her fake SH** from, does she BELIEVE it's real? Apparently to her, real and counterfeit are the same thing! How would you handle this? I just don't want to cause a rift with the family. Right now she's on a tropical vaca, so I have time to think about this before she gets back. Now I'm questioning the authenticity of my sisters Juicy! I just feel deceived, dirty...I asked the people at Tiffany if they could throw it out for me, but they said they couldn't take it. I went to throw it out in the middle of the mall, and my bff suggested I keep it to show my dad/mom, so it's been in my jacket pocket now. I'm afraid to show/explain it to my parents! It's not like MY AUNT was deceived! She buys fakes thinking it's "cool" she can get "designer" things "hot" or whatever she calls it. She just doesn't get it.

Now what? Am I overreacting? Do I let her know she was "caught?" Do I tell my dad? (Which I don't really want to do). And what about my cousin? Her mom would flip...

 

[iheartvuitton]

Anyone? I posted this in the general discussion since it's sort of a 'moral' problem but it was moved here. I'd appreciate any advice!

 

[lorihmatthews]

Well, I think you should tell your parents if it bothers you that much. You can tell them you took it to Tiffany and it was confirmed as counterfeit. After that, ask their opinion about what to do. (Don't go off on a tirade about counterfeits, or they may not listen to you.) They may advise you to keep your mouth shut, which often happens in these situations -- just to keep peace in the family. Yes, we're all against counterfeits here, but sometimes there is nothing that you can do.

On a separate issue, you should not have spent that much money on your aunt's kids if it wasn't in your budget. Only spend what you can afford. Do not spend out of perceived guilt.

Hope that helps a little bit. You really need to communicate these things with your parents, they should support you.

 

[mcb100]

I think that you should tell your parents, but I agree that they may want you to keep quiet about it so no fights or loud arguments start between you and your aunt/the rest of your family too. If I was you, I would be angry too, but at the same time, if she buys fakes thinking its cool then maybe she didn't know that you would feel really decieved if you received a fake from someone? I am guessing she knows that it's a fake, since she has fake LV bags, but I guess what I am trying to say is that maybe if she thinks fakes are cool, she probably thinks other people don't mind them either? Anyhow I would feel decieved though. I think that if she hinted that she was getting you something from Tiffany, that she should def. have bought you authentic Tiffany, and def. authentic also because you spent so much money on her kids. I am very sorry that this happened to you though, what a difficult situation to be in. Again, I would tell your parents and see what happens? (Sorry i know i'm not much help but i have never been in a situation like yours before.) I am not sure if you should tell your cousins since if they do care whether their gifts from your aunt are fake or not, they may be very upset or even angry about it? I wish you luck.

 

[iheartvuitton]

Hey girls...thanks for your responses! My parents are divorced, so if I told my mom, she'd just b*tch about my aunt. If I told my dad, he wouldn't want to spend any money on my cousins for anything, anymore. It really isn't THEIR fault. The thing that bothers me the most though, is how my aunt lied, specifically saying she got my gift from the AC Tiffanys when she was on vacation. And, she went so far as to put it in a real tiffany bag. It's kind of like she knew what she was doing, and thought she could get away with it. I'm 22, I'm not stupid, I know what quality jewelry is vs fake stuff. Anyway, thanks for your responses! I may tell my dad, I just don't want to hear his reaction. Also, should I say something to my aunt?

 

[lorihmatthews]

Also, should I say something to my aunt?

I'm not sure if you want to open that can of worms, but if you do, tread lightly ... tell her you want to speak with her alone, and say that while you treasure her gifts and her generosity, you found out that the necklace was counterfeit after you took it to a store to be fixed (you may want to fib and say you're sure that she had no idea). Tell her you thought she would want to know (especially since she tried to fool you into thinking it was a real Tiffany piece). She may pretend to be horrified and you will probably never get a fake piece again from her.

 

[iheartvuitton]

I'm not sure if you want to open that can of worms, but if you do, tread lightly ... tell her you want to speak with her alone, and say that while you treasure her gifts and her generosity, you found out that the necklace was counterfeit after you took it to a store to be fixed (you may want to fib and say you're sure that she had no idea). Tell her you thought she would want to know (especially since she tried to fool you into thinking it was a real Tiffany piece). She may pretend to be horrified and you will probably never get a fake piece again from her.

Ok, thanks. We hang out and go shopping regularly so I will definitely have a chance to tell her, either in person or over the phone. The fibbing idea sounds good, since she wanted me to think it was real, fully knowing it wasn't (since she tried to hard to make it seem real). I'm just shocked she would do something like that to me. It's one thing to not say anything to make me think it's real, but it's another to try to "throw me off" and make an effort to seem like it's real. Thanks for your advice!

 

[barcreperie]

Although I would also be offended if this happened to me, I think I would just let it go. Talking to her about it would probably result in hurt feelings. It's just a necklace, and although I'm sure you feel insulted that she tried to pass off a fake as an authentic Tiffany piece, it's still just a necklace. To me it wouldn't be worth the hassle to confront her about it.

 

[iheartvuitton]

Although I would also be offended if this happened to me, I think I would just let it go. Talking to her about it would probably result in hurt feelings. It's just a necklace, and although I'm sure you feel insulted that she tried to pass off a fake as an authentic Tiffany piece, it's still just a necklace. To me it wouldn't be worth the hassle to confront her about it.

Ok! Thanks for your opinion!

The only reason why I would confront her is that she'd do that to someone else (confront them), and that buying me a fake piece of jewelry was done deliberately.

Like you said though, letting it go might be a good idea, I'm thinking mostly bc it's family.

 

[supersash]

I agree with what has been said. If you feel you must confront your aunt, then do it. Otherwise it will eat away at you, and it'll eventually affect your relationship with your aunt, and your aunt will never understand why.

Be polite, but say it how it is. LoriMathews said it well.

As for spending so much onher kids..and feeling guilty, you should never feel that way!!! You are 22 years old, no one expects you to have tons of money to spend on gifts, and if they do, there's something wrong with them.

 

[iheartvuitton]

I agree with what has been said. If you feel you must confront your aunt, then do it. Otherwise it will eat away at you, and it'll eventually affect your relationship with your aunt, and your aunt will never understand why.

Be polite, but say it how it is. LoriMathews said it well.

As for spending so much onher kids..and feeling guilty, you should never feel that way!!! You are 22 years old, no one expects you to have tons of money to spend on gifts, and if they do, there's something wrong with them.

Thank you for replying!

They were gifts from my dad, sister and I. I do all of the Christmas shopping for my dad, basically, so I'm in control of what everyone gets. I know I should have included a ton more background information, but I didn't think people would want to read through tons of gibberish to get to the point lol.

Basically, what it comes down to is that I am very close with my aunt, and she lied about giving me a gift that was expensive, and authentic. I received an extremely, cheaply made necklace that isn't silver, with a messed up clasp. The "Tiffany" charm part is made OK. Someone like me who isn't into Tiffany silver wouldn't know the difference unless it was compared to a real piece. I feel like it was deceitful, and like you mentioned, if I DON'T say something to her, she IS going to wonder why things are different. We have been very close for many years now, but even closer after I graduated and moved back home. I think, though, that this makes me see another side of her & now I know to just watch out for lies.

 

[supersash]

Ohhhh....I get what you mean with the gifts...and also why you didn't want to tell your dad. And I understand and respect that, you don't want his anger taken out on your cousins.

I think what is so outrageous is how she tried to pass it off as real...like she thought she was fooling you. Using a real Tiffany's pouch, box, bag, that's pretty damn low!!

I know that flea markets and other little kiosks and what not sell fake Tiffany's, but they don't usually sell the fake bags and boxes with it. Some work goes into putting on a good scheme. I'd be bothered if someone close to me was so deceitful.

It would be another thing altogether if it was fake, but just in any old box, as if she didn't realize it was fake, or wasn't trying to pass it off as real.

Did you scope the Juicy stuff? Hate to say it, but you're right, it's probably also fake.

Good luck with your aunt, and let us know what happens!

 

[iheartvuitton]

Ohhhh....I get what you mean with the gifts...and also why you didn't want to tell your dad. And I understand and respect that, you don't want his anger taken out on your cousins.

I think what is so outrageous is how she tried to pass it off as real...like she thought she was fooling you. Using a real Tiffany's pouch, box, bag, that's pretty damn low!!

I know that flea markets and other little kiosks and what not sell fake Tiffany's, but they don't usually sell the fake bags and boxes with it. Some work goes into putting on a good scheme. I'd be bothered if someone close to me was so deceitful.

It would be another thing altogether if it was fake, but just in any old box, as if she didn't realize it was fake, or wasn't trying to pass it off as real.

Did you scope the Juicy stuff? Hate to say it, but you're right, it's probably also fake.

Good luck with your aunt, and let us know what happens!

Exactly! Exactly my point.

No, I haven't checked out the bag yet, as my sister has been using it. I haven't told her that it might be fake... and the best part is that my aunt gave it to her in a huge Juicy shopping bag, again, saying which Juicy she got it from. "oh we got your gift in california!" My aunt has the shopping bags because she really does shop in those stores...for her daughters!

At one point I thought the necklace she gave me was my little cousins bc the back of the charm looked worn. Except, what she got my cousin was "real" and supposedly from their vaca to Hawaii.

I'll be sure to ask my sister when she gets home if I can see her bag!

 

[purse friendly]

I wouldn't say anything or make a big deal out of it. Your relationship with your aunt is more important then getting worked up about a gift.

 

[iheartvuitton]

I wouldn't say anything or make a big deal out of it. Your relationship with your aunt is more important then getting worked up about a gift.

Thanks for replying!

I've been thinking about it and I know that I def. wouldn't make a big deal out of it, just mention in passing that it broke and can't be fixed because it's fake. She knows it's fake so it's not going to come as a shock to her that it isn't real. It will just shock her that she got caught/I found out.