The last two times when I returned my online LV purchases (from lv website) at one of the two local stores (and I don't shop at that location so I'm not known to them ) - the SA helping me barely actually inspected the returned item! Virtually zero inspection. They just wanted to see the receipt. This made me think... what if a dishonest person buys a real LV online but then returns a fake one to the store using the receipt from the real one? It's really concerning because the returned bag (which can be fake) will be resold by the LV boutique to someone else. What have been your personal experiences with the returns? Will be especially interesting to hear from people who rarely shop at LV and are not known to the SAs.
Do you think it's possible to buy a fake LV bag from the LV store?
- Thread starter nadiap
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No. And there are dishonest people who have tried believe me. . .
No they generally take it out the back and inspect it. Unless you are pointing out a fault. They won’t do it right in front of you.
I returned a NF at a boutique I've never shopped at before. My reason was just that I didn't like the lining color (I got the RB but I felt the pink was very dull). I also have not made many purchases from LV in general . The SA just checked inside to see that the pouch was still there and then took it back without a question. Granted this was during the holiday season so the store was packed and very busy. I assume they re-inspected it in the back afterwards though.
I wrote about this in my post earlier today. I saw a woman return a wallet for a different one. After she left, I heard the SA say to the other SA, I can't find the tag, I hope this isn't a fake. She was using a flashlight to inspect every nook and cranny but this was after the customer left. The only thing that made me feel ok with it was that the woman had an account history with LV. But I guess you never know! It's concerning!
It's a false worry, largely fueled by internet rumor. As CornishMon notes, scammers would love this to be true.
Buyers needn't worry about what LV is selling.
Buyers needn't worry about what LV is selling.
maybe they are trained not to inspect it too too much in front of a client. how would that look to people if they brought a bag in and the SA is holding it upside down, pulling at seams and inspecting with a flashlight?
my thought is real inspection is done in back. if it feels/looks fake maybe the SA politely steps to the back and has it looked at before you leave. But if it feels/looks real they simply process the refund and send it to the back for authentication later. if it is eventually deemed fake maybe your account is flagged.
my thought is real inspection is done in back. if it feels/looks fake maybe the SA politely steps to the back and has it looked at before you leave. But if it feels/looks real they simply process the refund and send it to the back for authentication later. if it is eventually deemed fake maybe your account is flagged.
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I've read about this happening and I think it may have happened to me once. My dil loves a specific Michael Kors bag. She was trying to find another one in a specific color and we found it on Overstock.com. I ordered it for her and when it came, she was positive it was a fake. She's own several of that particular bag and knows it well. We returned it.
What I've heard sometimes happens is a scammer will order a bag from a store (like Overstock or Macy's) keep the real bag and return a fake. Unless the person who handles returns is super good at spotting fakes, it will get restocked and sold to the next unsuspecting buyer.
What I've heard sometimes happens is a scammer will order a bag from a store (like Overstock or Macy's) keep the real bag and return a fake. Unless the person who handles returns is super good at spotting fakes, it will get restocked and sold to the next unsuspecting buyer.
I hope people read carefully enough to see you’re NOT talking about LV.
I wish posters wouldn’t confuse the thread with stories about other retailers, actually.
Well, purely statistically, LV probably does take back a fake unwittingly once in a rare while.
Because they generally take it away and inspect it within an inch of its life before they’ll give you a new bag/credit/your refund/whatever it is, but not EVERY SINGLE TIME. We have established this in other threads, that sometimes they don’t inspect it very thoroughly right then.
So again, purely through numbers, if you do cursory returns enough times, some small percentage of those will be mistakes, especially if the SA was newish.
But at some point before returning the item to sales stock, it surely must be inspected more thoroughly. At THAT point is when they’re then going to find the vast majority of whatever small percentage of fakes made it past the initial return. They’ll destroy that piece, adjust their inventory, and take the hit. Probably notate the customer’s account and confer with the employee.
Let’s assume they DIDN’T inspect it for real afterwards and just put it back out. That same SA is unlikely to be the same one who handles it every time it gets brought out to show someone. One of the other SAs is going to catch it handling it.
Has it ‘ever’ happened that a piece got returned, didn’t get caught then, didn’t get caught before restocking, didn’t get caught by any SAs showing it, and didn’t get caught by the SA wrapping it to resell...? I mean....again, statistically it’s POSSIBLE, but highly unlikely.
It’s also statistically possible to be struck by lightning, be in a school bus accident and die in a killer bee attack in the same week, but the odds are small enough that for practical purposes you need not fear such a week.
Because they generally take it away and inspect it within an inch of its life before they’ll give you a new bag/credit/your refund/whatever it is, but not EVERY SINGLE TIME. We have established this in other threads, that sometimes they don’t inspect it very thoroughly right then.
So again, purely through numbers, if you do cursory returns enough times, some small percentage of those will be mistakes, especially if the SA was newish.
But at some point before returning the item to sales stock, it surely must be inspected more thoroughly. At THAT point is when they’re then going to find the vast majority of whatever small percentage of fakes made it past the initial return. They’ll destroy that piece, adjust their inventory, and take the hit. Probably notate the customer’s account and confer with the employee.
Let’s assume they DIDN’T inspect it for real afterwards and just put it back out. That same SA is unlikely to be the same one who handles it every time it gets brought out to show someone. One of the other SAs is going to catch it handling it.
Has it ‘ever’ happened that a piece got returned, didn’t get caught then, didn’t get caught before restocking, didn’t get caught by any SAs showing it, and didn’t get caught by the SA wrapping it to resell...? I mean....again, statistically it’s POSSIBLE, but highly unlikely.
It’s also statistically possible to be struck by lightning, be in a school bus accident and die in a killer bee attack in the same week, but the odds are small enough that for practical purposes you need not fear such a week.
I would actually be surprised if they actually started a full inspection in front of the client...I would assume it will be done later in the back...I’m surprised people actually think they should do it the other way around. I can already see the complaints and problems if that happened
No, they generally don’t do it in front of you, BUT they don’t ‘usually’ do it “later”.
What would be the point? They inspect it prior to giving you the new bag/store credit/whatever you’re looking to get. Because if you bring back a bag that’s used, they deny the return. Maybe if you’re VIC or a movie star or something they might take your bag back no matter how many scuffs or dog hairs are in it, but we normals, no
There wouldn’t be a way to deny a return if they never look at the return until after the returner leaves as a matter of course.