Do you purchase MJ bags on E-bay? r/o

[rorosity]

I have never purchased a handbag on E-bay, but it is tempting. I am trying to figure out which are fakes (some are obvious), but it is difficult to really know for sure with some of the auctions. What is the best way to figure out if the bag that is up for auction is a fake or not?

Thanks for any info.
J.

 

[Dawn]

The best thing is to post pictures and/or a link to the auction on the Authenticate This thread. There are quite a few TPFers who are AWESOME at authenticating items (thithi and bag.lover are the two that first come to mind).

 

[bag.lover]

Ebay is flooded with fake MJ bags, it's really bad for both buyers and sellers nowadays. I bought 4 discontinued/older MJ bags from ebay before, two of them were from familar & trustworthy sellers. I'm still very nervous about good-fakes, having the correct hardware details is not good enough for me. For color combination that I'm not familiar with, I have to check with friends who followed MJ from way back. I seek advises from friends on sellers' previously sold items as well -- to be absolutely sure. It was just too stressful (not worth it) for me, I just browse for fun now.

I am lucky to live in a city with many shopping centers. Unless the seller is totally trustworthy & reliable (only some that I would buy from), I won't take the ebay route no matter how good the deal is. I just don't buy it if I don't want to pay enough $$ for it.

A bag's authenticity can only be guaranteed if and only if it was purchased from an authorized retailer of a particular brand (boutiques, Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Barney's, Bloomingdale's, Saks, Eluxury, NAP, etc). Buying designer handbags from retail partners is the safest bet.

I no longer authenticate bags, I am officially retired from MJ authentication.

 

[Beach Bum]

Definately post ALL authenticity questions in the AUTHENTICATE THIS thread at the top of the MJ forum area.

 

[marclover]

You can definitely test your luck on ebay, but after reading all the horror stories about awesome fakes and people getting ripped off; I wouldn't risk it!

 

[thithi]

I think as long as you know what to look for and do your homework before purchasing a bag on ebay, you should be ok... I know some ppl have had problems buying bags on ebay before, and ebay is definitely loaded with fakes. The problem is, it's really unfair to authentic sellers on ebay. Me and many other tpfers have sold on ebay and we do our best to show authenticity of the bags.

My advice:
1. Read vogue's authenticating page first, from top to bottom and memorize it. If you have time to kill, read thru the auth thread, there are several pointers in there.
2. Make sure the auction you are interested has all the necessary pictures, request them if you need to.
3. Check the seller's past selling history for duplicate auctions, that's a sign of a fake seller. If you can, search this forum for the seller's name and see if any results pop up. And don't forget to use goofbay to check for poor feedback.
4. Then, post any auction you are interested in in the Auth this thread.

Ebay is a valuable marketing community, it's just too bad that there are bad seeds out there that ruin it for everyone. Ebay has recently tried to crack down on fake sellers by limiting how many auctions they can list in a certain time period. The good thing is, if you know what to look for in authentic bags, you can always get a great deal.

 

[bubbleliciousis]

Hey

I do alot of ebaying and spend too much time =P

I do buy bags on ebay - I'm much more familiar with other designer bags and can generally authenticate them on my own but I'm very new to MJ and the number of fakes out there makes me nervous...

but i would buy MJs on ebay after i get comfort from other TPFers on the authentication thread and the background of the seller as well. I try to do as much as i can on my own to get comfort (on seller and basic look of bag) before posting it to TPF. Vogue's guide is very good but i must admit, there are certain photos on her guide where I can't really differentiate between the real and fake ones!

even if i want a bag badly but am not sure about the bag or seller, i just skip it.

I think i would say this, if you can afford to buy it at full retail or at 20% off when they first do mark downs, which gives you the most to choose from, I would just buy it from dept stores/MJ Stores. and if you don't buy many bags a year, just save and buy it at major stores/MJ. But if you are more price sensitive (like i am), then ebay is a a viable option but one that requires patience and energy.

Good luck!

 

[SuLi]

I think you should definitely be weary. I just had some major DRAMA with a "backdoor" fake that fooled many people on this forum. But, that's not to say that there aren't any great deals out there on eBay. You should definitely do your research, ask for A LOT of pictures, and find out about the return policy. If your gut says NO, definitely don't bid on it. Good luck!

 

[llson]

Agree, doing your homework is the best option. I've bought a few on e-bay and they have all been authentic, I'm always very cautious and ask lots of questions. Another tell-tell sign is a 'too good to be true' price. I also sell my bags on e-bay, and I make sure to do my best to answer questions, and offer more photos, etc. There are some great deals on e-bay of authentic bags, you just have to know who's selling and what to look for. Good luck!!