Beware of the super fakes

[chanelbum]

As much as I love vintage, this makes me so hesitant to buy. I was looking at this bag, but even looking at the usual signs for a bag, not sure if it is a superfake! Experience at the boutique has been great, but sometimes you just find a color you can't get today.

 

[azure5]

Totally agree! Chanel's quality has really deteriorated... some of the caviar bags honestly look like fakes to me! It's scary to think that we can't even totally trust the big department stores anymore I'm in the SF Bay Area - and I shop at the NM Chanel, but I might have to move over to the stand alone store now...

Quality has gone down and prices are up in the new authentic market, which in turn creates huge demand on the pre-owned market. This demand is what the fakes are mopping up.
It's incredible. I bought a bag at auction but it was a company that guarantees authenticity and also provides a 3rd party authentication service, which I used. I'm STILL not sure!
But the bag seems to be made of box leather which marks easily. It is a simple design but it doesn't have a strong leather smell however. It doesn't have any fluffing.
I can't get out and about to have the authenticity checked because we're in hard lockdown....again!
(in Australia here).
So I'm buying items which are old and are deteriorating in a way that is believable. But then again, have seen some fakes which are TOO deteriorated.

 

[DMCTT]

I got the same problem too. Chanel boy bag with full set and receipt from Chanel store in France. end up it's fake. I'm so depressed

 

[azure5]

I got the same problem too. Chanel boy bag with full set and receipt from Chanel store in France. end up it's fake. I'm so depressed

That's tough. I've checked and my bag is authentic but it's been stressful and a joykiller.
You need to video yourself opening the bag to prove there's been no fiddling at your end.
But who in their excitement thinks of these things?

Get in touch with the Chanel store in France pronto! Don't give up. Good luck and let us know how you go...

 

[Hakuhaku]

I got the same problem too. Chanel boy bag with full set and receipt from Chanel store in France. end up it's fake. I'm so depressed

I hope you find the one you love soon! Can I ask how did you realise it is fake? I have gotten a bag from a reseller that cannot be authenticated because its a newer series. When I asked an authenticator whether sending it in for repair with chanel would deem it authentic, I was told that chanel will repair the bag without being able to obtain further clarification on why so.

I just saw an older post on another thread that a TPF authenticator viewed the bag as not authentic, but chanel has also repaired it. It is worrying because if chanel repairs all bags no matter its authenticity, then there's no way I can confirm my purchases from resellers now given the super fakes out there...

 

[lala_retro]

I got the same problem too. Chanel boy bag with full set and receipt from Chanel store in France. end up it's fake. I'm so depressed

you bought a boy bag from a Chanel boutique in France and it was fake??! Did you buy this in person or through a personal shopper?

 

[graciewwing]

you bought a boy bag from a Chanel boutique in France and it was fake??! Did you buy this in person or through a personal shopper?

Yeah she didn’t buy it directly from Chanel. Someone faked the receipt

 

[Pursehoarder2025]

How are these fakes so good? I’ve seen replicas but usually the font on the hologram is wrong, or the leather feels cheap…. Are the super fakes really that good?

 

[Farkvam]

If you go for a truly vintage bag, the wear on the bag will show up the fakes. For instance the so called authenticating sites from Japan have a lot of fakes, which show degeneration of the leather, and 'fluffing'. No truly robust leather should ever have fluff. It's just impossible. That's why I go for older bags. I want to see how it's wearing.

Can I ask, what is fluffing?

 

[azure5]

Can I ask, what is fluffing?

Fluffing is when the leather disintegrates, and you see fibres, usually cream coloured or white coming out.
This happens on the edges where there is the most wear.

High quality leather doesn't have a layer of fibre. The best is box leather and it's from the best part of the animal and it's even in quality and strength. It has natural variations which you look out for.

Less high quality leather can have a variety of thicknesses and can be horizontally bonded with another layer of leather to get the strength or thickness needed. There are decent leathers that aren't high end. Some are robust, like cowhide. some are quite validly sliced horizontally to produce suede on one side (the inside) for separate use, and the thinner leather for other uses. Quite strong and still appropriately called leather.

Composite leather is the absolute the worst and used extensively in SUPER FAKES.

It shouldn't be actually called leather. They basically mash up poor quality bits of leather into very tiny pieces and then work it into a flat bonded glued piece, usually with a layer of fabric to hold it together. Without this the leather would fall apart immediately due to lack of strength. It's just mashed up after all...

THIS fabric is what causes the fluffing, as both the tiny pieces of leather give way to stress and reveal layers of what shouldn't be there. At all.

Ordinary fakes using versions of plastic or Polyurethanes are easier to pick. They are unusually even in quality and have repeat patterns of the fake impressions of the animal hide, eg. pitting where the hair follicles were etc. plus the texture.

I am so over the FAKES! Yet the super fakes are just insanely ubiquitous.

From what I can work out, the Japanese are really into them, buying a fake that passes for real for about a year maybe two, riding the trend, then selling them off on websites. Reclo is one that I am very wary of but there are certainly others. I just get fed up with trying to identify a real one if you get the picture...best avoided!

Then naive people from the US or elsewhere buy them thinking they got such a great deal! If they sell it on before the disintegration happens they will never know.

But someone ends up holding the baby. When visible disintegration happens is when buyer's remorse/regret sets in. You do NOT want to be that person.

Even on supposedly guaranteed websites I've seen plenty of fakes. Greed drives it and there is an endless demand for luxury goods.
I've seen people say Oh I love the Japanese websites, and I just don't have the energy to tell them they're buying into a delusion. Nobody wants to hear it. And they could get lucky I guess.

Right now with inflation and the lowering of quality in new bags, there is a colossal scrambling for vintage. You must do your homework and constantly update yourself about fakes and either become an expert yourself or consult with an expert before committing.

The fakers read the websites it's all publicly available and that's one reason I assume why the experts in here never give the basis for their decisions. It's just clues for the fakers to correct, and that's how we've ended up with super fakes.

As your grandmother probably used to tell you:

If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is!

PS I like playing a game of making my own assessment before I read what the authenticators in here say, to verify if I have made the correct call. This is fun, sometimes I disagree but obviously I don't have the traction to make a comment as a relative newbie to the site and more importantly, for reasons of discretion. Also Gucci has a colossal number of styles out
there.
edit: Not all the Japanese websites are riddled with fakes, but a blanket assumption that they're all safe, or any are always safe seems naive to me.

 

[Farkvam]

Fluffing is when the leather disintegrates, and you see fibres, usually cream coloured or white coming out.
This happens on the edges where there is the most wear.

High quality leather doesn't have a layer of fibre. The best is box leather and it's from the best part of the animal and it's even in quality and strength. It has natural variations which you look out for.

Less high quality leather can have a variety of thicknesses and can be horizontally bonded with another layer of leather to get the strength or thickness needed. There are decent leathers that aren't high end. Some are robust, like cowhide. some are quite validly sliced horizontally to produce suede on one side (the inside) for separate use, and the thinner leather for other uses. Quite strong and still appropriately called leather.

Composite leather is the absolute the worst and used extensively in SUPER FAKES.

It shouldn't be actually called leather. They basically mash up poor quality bits of leather into very tiny pieces and then work it into a flat bonded glued piece, usually with a layer of fabric to hold it together. Without this the leather would fall apart immediately due to lack of strength. It's just mashed up after all...

THIS fabric is what causes the fluffing, as both the tiny pieces of leather give way to stress and reveal layers of what shouldn't be there. At all.

Ordinary fakes using versions of plastic or Polyurethanes are easier to pick. They are unusually even in quality and have repeat patterns of the fake impressions of the animal hide, eg. pitting where the hair follicles were etc. plus the texture.

I am so over the FAKES! Yet the super fakes are just insanely ubiquitous.

From what I can work out, the Japanese are really into them, buying a fake that passes for real for about a year maybe two, riding the trend, then selling them off on websites. Reclo is one that I am very wary of but there are certainly others. I just get fed up with trying to identify a real one if you get the picture...best avoided!

Then naive people from the US or elsewhere buy them thinking they got such a great deal! If they sell it on before the disintegration happens they will never know.

But someone ends up holding the baby. When visible disintegration happens is when buyer's remorse/regret sets in. You do NOT want to be that person.

Even on supposedly guaranteed websites I've seen plenty of fakes. Greed drives it and there is an endless demand for luxury goods.
I've seen people say Oh I love the Japanese websites, and I just don't have the energy to tell them they're buying into a delusion. Nobody wants to hear it. And they could get lucky I guess.

Right now with inflation and the lowering of quality in new bags, there is a colossal scrambling for vintage. You must do your homework and constantly update yourself about fakes and either become an expert yourself or consult with an expert before committing.

The fakers read the websites it's all publicly available and that's one reason I assume why the experts in here never give the basis for their decisions. It's just clues for the fakers to correct, and that's how we've ended up with super fakes.

As your grandmother probably used to tell you:

If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is!

PS I like playing a game of making my own assessment before I read what the authenticators in here say, to verify if I have made the correct call. This is fun, sometimes I disagree but obviously I don't have the traction to make a comment as a relative newbie to the site and more importantly, for reasons of discretion. Also Gucci has a colossal number of styles out
there.
edit: Not all the Japanese websites are riddled with fakes, but a blanket assumption that they're all safe, or any are always safe seems naive to me.

Thank you for the detailed response! Yes, we have to be very wary wherever we buy from. Totally agreed.