Important things to check for (to the extreme):
-alignment: make sure the fleurs and other symbols match up; make sure the material is smooth where they are sewn together and not bent.
- bubbles: make sure canvas is sewn so that the bag stands well and does not have canvas that bubbles up a bit (this sort of looks like a fold) the entire piece of canvas should be uniform in terms of how much it sticks out. I hope this makes sense, its a bit hard to describe. My cousin bought my aunt a hudson and he did not check it well and her bag has this flaw. She noticed it right away but LV is 3 hours from her.
- air bubbles on MC items: you need to look closely for this.
- vachetta: not patinaed and is not dirty, scratched.
- glaze: must fully cover vachetta (I recieved a bag where the glaze didnt fully cover the leather edges and it began to split from that); pay especial attention to the ends of the tabs and where the handles connect to the bag because in those areas the vachetta need the most protection.
- bumps: for example the speedy. there is an inevitable bump by the zipper from the pocket inside (though IMO with good seamstress work that should not be there) all speedys will have this bump but it is best to choose one with the smallest bump (and yes the bump size varies). the reason for this? If you keep your bags for a few years no big deal but if you plan to keep it FOREVER like me then a smaller less steep bump is best as overtime that spot is most suceptible to cracking. Yes, i've seen it happen.
Vachetta piping: make sure it is all even both the size (thickness) of the piping and how much it sticks out from the bag. I saw one bag where the piping out stick out a great deal in one section but later on would be pushed in far so it would not stick out at all. It was a bad look.
zipper: make sure it works.
I tried to think of everything to check for. Oh, and its helpful to bring a friend. You know that friend that is a bargain shopped, super picky, has a good eye, and notices the small things... (We all have one) Bring her! =D HTH.
-alignment: make sure the fleurs and other symbols match up; make sure the material is smooth where they are sewn together and not bent.
- bubbles: make sure canvas is sewn so that the bag stands well and does not have canvas that bubbles up a bit (this sort of looks like a fold) the entire piece of canvas should be uniform in terms of how much it sticks out. I hope this makes sense, its a bit hard to describe. My cousin bought my aunt a hudson and he did not check it well and her bag has this flaw. She noticed it right away but LV is 3 hours from her.
- air bubbles on MC items: you need to look closely for this.
- vachetta: not patinaed and is not dirty, scratched.
- glaze: must fully cover vachetta (I recieved a bag where the glaze didnt fully cover the leather edges and it began to split from that); pay especial attention to the ends of the tabs and where the handles connect to the bag because in those areas the vachetta need the most protection.
- bumps: for example the speedy. there is an inevitable bump by the zipper from the pocket inside (though IMO with good seamstress work that should not be there) all speedys will have this bump but it is best to choose one with the smallest bump (and yes the bump size varies). the reason for this? If you keep your bags for a few years no big deal but if you plan to keep it FOREVER like me then a smaller less steep bump is best as overtime that spot is most suceptible to cracking. Yes, i've seen it happen.
Vachetta piping: make sure it is all even both the size (thickness) of the piping and how much it sticks out from the bag. I saw one bag where the piping out stick out a great deal in one section but later on would be pushed in far so it would not stick out at all. It was a bad look.
zipper: make sure it works.
I tried to think of everything to check for. Oh, and its helpful to bring a friend. You know that friend that is a bargain shopped, super picky, has a good eye, and notices the small things... (We all have one) Bring her! =D HTH.
just say THAT! "I'd like to see another one or two bags to compare, please" (unless they only have one left.......so if the bag's "okay" just take it (well, i would), if it's really bad in shape but youre DESPERATE....then you can still get it if you want lol, otherwise just leave your name+phone # and ask them to ring you up as soon as they get new inventory)
At first, I assumed that you pay so much that the items are bound to be perfect. Not true. There are many things to check for and the % of flawed ones (no matter how minor) vary from item to item. For example, the cles, there is not much to check for. The Speedy on the other hand, has A LOT to check for. I'm not even going to go into how many I asked to see before I found one that passed. 
