So yesterday I had the need for some "retail therapy". I started at my favorite thrift store and found a satin and ostrich feather bag for $8.55. Then I went to TJ Maxx and they had a Gucci Horsebit shoulder bag. It was marked down $400 the reason being it was last season. I liked it, it felt weighty and quality. If it had been leather instead of canvas with a longer strap/chain I might have snagged it. On the way home I stopped at a boutique that carries clothing, shoes and bags from Gucci, YSL, LV, Prada, Chanel and others. The sign out front read up to 50 percent off. Once inside, I spied a YSL Lou camera bag. I asked to see if. I have never seen one before, only pictures. The SA told me that it sells for $1650 ( which I already knew) and it was marked down to $850. I handled it, it felt nice, but really no better than my Kate Spade. What are the chances it's authentic? The boutique has been in business for a few years and has great reviews online. Should I go back and look around, or avoid the place like the plague?
Deep discounts on luxury goods? Can this be real?
- Thread starter Luxable
- Start date
Secondhand goods of authentic brands are always, or at least generally, deeply discounted, so that in itself isn't a red flag. Any one-off resale store, though, had better be able to tell you how they authenticate their goods, or else the burden is entirely on you to work out what you've bought and if you've been deceived. (There are authentication threads here and a few recognized authentication businesses, for a fee.)
In short there's no blanket "yes, authentic" or "no, always fake" statement to be made about small consignment shops. They vary and aren't government regulated that way, in the US at least.
In short there's no blanket "yes, authentic" or "no, always fake" statement to be made about small consignment shops. They vary and aren't government regulated that way, in the US at least.
According to the SA, the boutique is not a consignment shop. Nothing there is secondhand.
Maybe they aren't fakes but stolen goods? But yeah, I would be suspicious.
Good call, @2cello. Why not just ask where they source their goods?
LV doesn't discount and doesn't have outlet material, so there's no way you're finding authentic LV there at 1/2 off. You'd need to know if the other brands sold do make dedicated outlet merch, hence new and authentic but deeply discounted. That's the only scenario for new authentic goods at deep discount--aside from fencing stolen goods.
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I have driven by this boutique for years and this was the first time I had ever seen them having a sale. But it's suspicious to me as well.
Would hope that a boutique knows better than to handle questionable merchandise
as they leave themselves vulnerable, JMO
Business is not at the optimum now for many shops, so after season sales to raise capital
don't seem to be out of order, but the client should have a comfort zone.
That's exactly a question I'm asking myself. Except that I am in Rhode Island. There are NO luxury outlets or company owned boutiques anywhere in the state. There is TJ Maxx, but a thread in this forum gives me second thoughts about buying from there. Although if that Gucci had been perfect I might have.....
Curious to know, is everything in the store discounted including the LV and Chanel? Because as someone else said here, LV doesn’t discount stuff, ever. Neither does Chanel. So is it possible that the discount sign out front was a way to lure customers into the shop ie there are some brands with discounts being sold eg YSL does sometimes do discounts and outlet goods, as does Gucci, Prada, Armani etc but equally there will be some brands at full price only?
Edit: so to answer your question, if only some brands are discounted, I would personally probably go back and look around
Edit: so to answer your question, if only some brands are discounted, I would personally probably go back and look around
Perhaps a franchise boutique might sell discounted new merchandise? For a sample sale kind of place in NY, some used to sell gray market goods (authentic goods but not an authorized dealer) at discount. I am not familiar with YSL bags, but years ago YSL RTW certainly went on sale
. That is a good question. I had only asked about the YSL Lou camera bag. And that bag felt light and rather unspectacular to me when I handled it. But I also have never purchased a luxury bag before and didn't know what a YSL Lou is SUPPOSED to feel like, if that makes any sense. I may just poke my head back inside and look around a little more.
Yes I think it’s worth having a look! YSL does have outlet stores with discounted bags included so it doesn’t automatically mean it’s a fake, stolen etc
Do be careful, I am from Australia and recently in Sydney there was a boutique called C*o*s*e*t*t*e (asterisks added so the name can be spelled) that had its own beautiful boutique right on the waterfront, looked very legitimate, had excellent reviews online, and had designer handbags such as the YSL Lou camera bag, at a steep discount similar to what you’ve mentioned. Turned out they carried a mix of both genuine and fake bags. The YSL Lou camera bag and the Prada Re-Edition 2005 they carried were all fake (you can search the story online if you’d like) and hundreds of people only found out because one of their customers made a facebook post that prompted everybody to seek independent authentication. Every bag came with fake authenticity cards etc. It was a huge stressful ordeal to get money back, because the boutique refused to acknowledge the goods were fake initially, etc etc. Somehow despite hundreds of these cases they are still in business. So just beware.