Authentication

[missbanff]

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.

 

[lpaigenyc]

I used Authenticate4u and not only were they very responsive, they were very fast. The whole process took less than 24 hours to complete and it only cost $7.50 for an email response. If/when I ever decide to resell my bag (not likely at this point!), I will pay extra for documentation of it's authenticity.
I've never used Caroldiva but have heard good things about her. Is it just her or does she have help in authenticating?

 

[lmt51]

I used Authenticate4u and not only were they very responsive, they were very fast. The whole process took less than 24 hours to complete and it only cost $7.50 for an email response. If/when I ever decide to resell my bag (not likely at this point!), I will pay extra for documentation of it's authenticity.
I've never used Caroldiva but have heard good things about her. Is it just her or does she have help in authenticating?

Great service from Authenticate4U, I agree!!!

Carol doing many other brand, she is one person authenticating so many brand, whilst she is great with LV, I don't think one person can mastered every brand, she has deemed fake Chanel bag as an authentic one not one, but twice of the same STYLE bag...well..there's Etinceller that specializing on Chanel ,so, other than them I'd go elsewhere (ie AUTHENTICATE4U) before trying Carol diva, except again for LV. JMHO..

 

[BeenBurned]

Any authenticator can be expert in her brand(s) but we're all human and can make mistakes. Sometimes a second set of eyes might see a detail that another person didn't catch.

The important thing that a professional authenticator needs is to know her limits. Buyers and sellers are paying for a service and their claims are dependent on an accurate finding.Whether it's Etinceler, A4U, Fakefinders, MP, Caroldiva or any other authenticator, a good authenticator has to be able to admit when they aren't competent to authenticate something and that admission doesn't diminish their reputations in their own specialties.

 

[Love Of My Life]

Any authenticator can be expert in her brand(s) but we're all human and can make mistakes. Sometimes a second set of eyes might see a detail that another person didn't catch.

The important thing that a professional authenticator needs is to know her limits. Buyers and sellers are paying for a service and their claims are dependent on an accurate finding.Whether it's Etinceler, A4U, Fakefinders, MP, Caroldiva or any other authenticator, a good authenticator has to be able to admit when they aren't competent to authenticate something and that admission doesn't diminish their reputations in their own specialties.

agree.... even the best of the best can make errors...

 

[shinymagpie]

Any authenticator can be expert in her brand(s) but we're all human and can make mistakes. Sometimes a second set of eyes might see a detail that another person didn't catch.

The important thing that a professional authenticator needs is to know her limits. Buyers and sellers are paying for a service and their claims are dependent on an accurate finding.Whether it's Etinceler, A4U, Fakefinders, MP, Caroldiva or any other authenticator, a good authenticator has to be able to admit when they aren't competent to authenticate something and that admission doesn't diminish their reputations in their own specialties.

Good post!