speaking of fakes - get stuck with any? and what to do with the blasted things?

dressage queen

dressage queen

O.G.
Aug 22, 2006
5,811
89
#1
the extent of the human animal's capacity for duplicity and thievery has come as an expensive lesson for me -- with, well let's just say more than one fake ending up in my closet. i refuse to wear them, and so they've just been sitting there.

i've spent the last couple days on long, boring work conference calls -- to entertain myself (not to mention to help stay awake) i proceeded to take the handles, flap, straps and all hardwear (other than the feet) off one of them. i have some vague notion of putting it back together in a different way so that i can use it as a tote without having a fake birkin on my arm.

but assuming the above is going to be a collossal failure, i'm looking for ideas of what to do with the other. so far all i've come up with is to use it in a bookshelf to store files, or maybe old magazines.

so 'fess up -- somebody else must have gotten stuck too -- what did you do?
 
#3
Hmm... It's too early in my game yet to have acquired many fake birkins, but what about using them as magazine holders? Their squarish shape would look pretty good stuffed with glossy fashion mags. Imagine a row of fashionable fake birkins as magazine organizers. A bit more stylish than those canvas ones at your local Pottery Barn.

(Those must be interminably boring conf calls if you've been reduced to deconstructing your bags. Have you thought about knitting? It's soothing and easy to do while on speakerphone.)
 
#5
DQ.....you got me thinking. Ok. I do have one. A few years ago in Milan on our last night in town, I bought a fake (gasp!!!!! don't strangle me, girls) Prada (ssshhhhhh) carry-on from the guys on the street in the Brera district. Now I wouldn't have bought it but I had a LOT of stuff to take home and no way to do it without this big old bag.

I have NEVER used it again and there it sits in my closet taking up space and gathering lots of dust. Even my DD doesn't want it. :shocked: So, I decided to give it away.

Tomorrow, out it goes. :shame:
 
#7
Yup bought this fake on Ebay once.. it was a few years ago.. the price was JUST under the price of a reputable seller.. and I was tempted.. the seller was from Seatle and had SO much good feedback ( not for bags- at the time I just looked at the feedback number, not what it was FOR= Big mistake) Anyway paid like $ 6800 for a Black togo 35 cm Birkin.. got it and it was one of those pretty decent fakes with all the right markings but not real. Anyway I was SOOOO mad! I tried to go after the seller but turned out it the seller had just "borrowed" a roomate's ebay name. and had since dissapeared.. a nightmare.. anyway.. I was NOT going to wear a fake H bag... the fake vuittons are sometimes so good that I almost don't mind them for the travel bags you know ? because they airlines riun them anyway..
So, I was stuck with this back 35 cm.. and I didn't know what to do... I gave it to a friend who lists a lot of her things on ebay, and told, to list is as a "replica" and the description said the story, of how I had bought this on ebay for $ 6800 and that here it was as a "no reserve" auction and whatever we got for it after her fees we'd give to charity in both our names and include the buyer's name if she so wanted. This was before Ebay had that charity thing built in...
Anyway.. so I took a really bad situation and made it not do bad. The bag I think sold for just over a thousand.. and we gave it all to a good charity. I mean I was still out all the money, but at least I "felt" better.
 
#9
Many years ago on eBay, I unknowingly bought 2 fake LV's from unscrupulous sellers. Luckily, I was in the right mind to use a CC, just in case. In the first instance, the seller insisted it was real and didn't refund my money. At the time, authentications by letter were still allowed at LV and I was able to have the wallet inspected so that I could present it to eBay and PayPal. I photographed the wallet and its packaging. I got my money back pretty easily. The second time, I politely told the seller, who also insisted the wallet was real but at least graciously refunded my money. I was pretty lucky in these cases! I've heard of stories where buyers resold the fakes!

Just an aside--in my last post I erroneously stated that Bagg's beautiful new croc Birkin was porosus. I actually meant niloticus but I've been so used to typing porosus lately. There I was explaining something and I didn't even get that right. My apologies.
 
#10
i love the idea of turning it around into a good act - but for myself i've decided that these will stay out of circulation, so i don't unintentionally pass them indirectly on to another victim.

gina, if i were knitting i couldn't be using one hand to scroll tPF all day long!

ETA: i didn't mean the above to sound preachy or judgmental -- it's just not what i want to do with them,
 
#11
Good story Lucy. You must have been heartsick to spent that much $$ on a fake. How did you discover it wasn't authentic if it looked like such a good copy? Your posting got me to thinking that although Hermes has every reason to agressively pursue the sale of fake merchandise, Hermes itself is contributing to the problem by intentionally limiting production and thereby encouraging (forcing??) people into the secondary market where they buy fake Birkins for close to the actual price of a real one. This is different from fake LV. Chloe etc. where the real ones are generally available and people buy fakes either because they aren't knowledgeable or because they think they're going to save a little money. With Birkins the issue is availability and buy limiting availability I think Hermes, in some sense, plays into the hands of counterfeiters.
 
#12
great thread. we need to come up with a list of 101 things to do to a fake.
hmmmm....

#1 fill with cement and use as a doorstop?

#2 stylish airplane barf bag?

#3 give to kids to use for collecting halloween candy?

well, theres three things anyway.
 
#14
I unknowingly bought a fake from a supposedly reputable secondhand dealer in Singapore(24, you probably heard this from me before). Actually, I sent my poor DH who was on a business trip there to buy the Birkin for me. The minute I opened the dust bag, my heart just sank. :crybaby:

Luckily, hubby was smart enough to use a CC so after a lot of back and forth communication between myself and Amex, we managed to get our $$ back. The minute the seller found out he was being investigated by Amex, he refused to entertain their calls - a silly move because Amex promptly put through the chargeback. Anyway, I heard from another seller when I was in Singapore last year that he was prosecuted by 22 different individuals.

I kept that disgusting Birkin to remind me of my naivete but after 3 years, I got DH to throw it out. :yucky:
 
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