eBay and pursedeals recommendations

[Inky Paws]

Okay, with chemlex's encouragement I did go to ebay and bought one of the items that she had recommended yesterday. (I'm stilll nervous about fakes though. I'm still new to the purse obbession thing.)

Several have mentioned getting fabulous bags from ebay, and ebay itself can be a little addictive. I guess I just want the purse experts to tell me that YES the purses are authentic with the power sellers, all possitive comments, have pictures of the actual bag, serial # card card etc and they state 100% authentic or genuine. After all of this, can they still be lying? How can they sell things much cheaper than at the stores?

Last question, do any of the fake bags out there look and feel real enough to fool you if you did only have access to pictures of the real thing and do any of the fakes also have fake serial number, care card and dust bags too? Example, can there really be a black leather and a squirrel fendi spy up for grabs as I thought they were impossible to get and you had to be on a wait list.

Thanks so much for any and all advise, I'm sure that there are others wondering the same thing too.

 

[chemlex]

Congrats on your first purchase! PM me sometime and tell me what you bought

Unfortunately just because an item has the receipt and dustbag doesn't mean it's authentic 100% of the time. There are actually software programs that will make receipts from eluxury and other reputable stores. People also sell their dustbags and such on ebay for counterfeiters to pick up and include in their auctions to make their item seem more authentic.

Now that I've said that - don't be entirely scared off. If a seller has practically perfect feedback and is a powerseller, you are protected by Paypal. If you are nervous about being scammed, just make sure every listing you bid on has the Paypal Buyer Protection logo. With that you are protected for purchases up to $1000. More info: http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/purchase-protection.html?ssPageName=bpptest

Just because something is cheaper, doesn't mean it's fake - many ebay sellers (especially powersellers) get items for wholesale which is waaay cheaper than retail. And if something is a couple seasons old it is probably liquidated merchandise, meaning that the department store or designer that originally had it, sold it off cheap to make room for a new season's worth of stuff. But if you do see something like a Fendi or Vuitton with a 99 cent starting bid and no reserve, yeah it's probably fake. You're not going to get a designer item for practically free on ebay but you will get a great deal!

I stand by my advice to stick to lesser known designers that aren't counterfeited. There are some great Fiore bags ending on ebay everyday! There are also some great sites devoted to helping people by authentic merchandise on ebay:

How not to buy fake Coach:
http://nofakecoach.blogspot.com/
My Poupette- Your Louis Vuitton Information Resource
http://www.mypoupette.com/

If you go this route and get a big name and plan to spend a significant amount of money to do so, I would always get the bag authenticated to confirm it's the real deal. Just because the pictures in the listing are the real thing, doesn't always mean the bag you get in the mail will be. If you spend a couple hours just to confirm you made a wise purchase, it will save you years of worrying about possibly carrying a fake.

Best of luck eBaying!

 

[amanda]

Okay, with chemlex's encouragement I did go to ebay and bought one of the items that she had recommended yesterday. (I'm stilll nervous about fakes though. I'm still new to the purse obbession thing.)

Several have mentioned getting fabulous bags from ebay, and ebay itself can be a little addictive. I guess I just want the purse experts to tell me that YES the purses are authentic with the power sellers, all possitive comments, have pictures of the actual bag, serial # card card etc and they state 100% authentic or genuine. After all of this, can they still be lying? How can they sell things much cheaper than at the stores?

Last question, do any of the fake bags out there look and feel real enough to fool you if you did only have access to pictures of the real thing and do any of the fakes also have fake serial number, care card and dust bags too? Example, can there really be a black leather and a squirrel fendi spy up for grabs as I thought they were impossible to get and you had to be on a wait list.

Thanks so much for any and all advise, I'm sure that there are others wondering the same thing too.

i think the best rule of thumb is that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. no one is selling a real spy bag for less than $2k, paddingtons are scarce, and if there's a wait list, there aren't going to be 15 on ebay (i realize now that i've written that, it sounds condescending, but i really didn't mean it that way, it's just the truth. none of us knew this starting out, either). i'd say if you can, make a trip to see the bag before you start looking to buy on ebay. if it's something that you won't be able to see, find pictures of the real thing online, zoom in, and study. if it's a classic, popular bag like an LV Speedy 30, there will be excellent fakes out there that will be very hard to spot, but any seller with a real bag will be more than happy to send you up-close pictures of seams, zippers, markings, anything. also, learn the small details. the speedy has only 5 stitches holding on the handles, and i've never seen a fake get that right. every bag has it's small calling cards that the fakers simply won't get right. sometimes they're tiny, but they're always there. also be wary of auctions that use stock photos - ask the bidder for a photo of the actual item.

chemlex can probably tell you a lot more, but these are just the rules i've made for myself.

edit: looks like she already did while i was writing that!

 

[Cristina]

Something that's important when you're looking to buy a bag (or anything else, for that matter) on eBay is feedback of the seller. Read their feedback and see what others have to say. If the seller is selling fake bags, a lot of times people who have been duped by this person will leave negative feedback warning others about fakes. Be weary of sellers who have private feedback. In my opinion, they're keeping it private for a reason.

Some sellers of fakes might post a picture of the bag, but it's one from another internet site that sells the real thing. Ask for detailed pictures of the bag being sold - outside, inside, as well as any other pictures of marks or scuffs the seller claims that the bag has.

Sellers of fake LVs, for example, can even produce fake "receipts" as proof of purchase, as well as care cards, date codes, etc.

EBay has a guide to counterfeit items, and a lot of guides written by those who selll authentic products as to distinguishing fakes from real items on eBay, what to look out for, etc. If you visit the Shoes, Purses and Fashion Accessories (I think that's what it's called) in the community discussion boards you can find posts that have been stickied that have useful info.

Hope this helps!

 

[Issmom]

When reading someone's feedback, click on the item numbers for their previous auctions. Someone who is professing to have authentic stuff won't list 12 Paddingtons at one time. But if they've sold one a week for the past 3 months -- that's suspicious!