I have just purchased a used Must de Cartier patent leather purse on ebay & now that it has arrived, I am concerned about its authenticity. Unfortunately, there is very, very little information about Cartier leather goods online - even on this forum - so I`m hoping someone can help me.
I am suspicious for the following reasons:
1) the flap & opening is very stiff & therefore awkward to use
2) the lining is a bit cheap looking. It`s nylon - wouldn`t Cartier use something more luxurious? Also, the purplish color isn`t a proper match to the mahogany leather when in natural light (artificial is ok)
3) the leather (outside) smells a bit "off". This is hard to describe but it kind of smells like a rabbit`s cage

This makes me think of the suspicious tanning practices that they use "off-shore".
4) the inner pocket`s zipper pull looks a bit "cheap" & it doesn`t match the zipper pull that is shown on the Cartier website although admittedly they do not show the same style of handbag.
5) the authenticity card is not date stamped even though there is a spot for this (I`m sure these can be easily faked anyway)
7) there is a someone selling identical purses to this out of India - "new" Cartier handbags for $150. He won`t respond to my questions about there authenticity or provenance.
More pix to follow...