The Blue Baca I bought - FAKE!!!

[iluvmybags]

I got the light blue baca bag which I posted about the other day, and I really think (know) it's fake. It's got an awful smell - not that yummy Gustto smell - the leather feels like rubber - not all nice & soft & smushy (my setela is waayyy better than this Baca, and we all know it should be the other way around!) - however, the most telling signs are inside.

The inner zipper is - wait for it - - YELLOW PLASTIC!!! - Now, we all know Gustto scrimps on its details, but every inner zipper I've seen has been either gold or gold w/a leather pull. Not only that, but it's not outlined. I looked at salesrep's blue baca (which we THOUGHT this was the same as) - and her bag has a gold zipper & is outlined w/black leather. Not only that, but the inner label feels paper thin - it doesn't even come close to the auth label on my Setela. Even the luggage tag on the outside - it feels all stiff and yucky!

In addition, the bag is soooooooo faded. The underneath part of the straps are one color, while the body of the bag is another - what, was it left out in sun??? It's awful!! It looks like this is where she got it from - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220085033109 - wish, had I seen this before, I wouldn't have bid. I probably didn't find it because I was looking for Baca and she gives a price of $710.

So, now I've gotta call her and deal w/a return - SIGH!

 

[jadejett]

I'm having problems viewing the pictures from that ebay link. Anyone else having problems? I guess for $99, that might have been a warning? Her feedback's pretty good though. Wow, you seem to have a lot of bad luck. Maybe you should just avoid ebay for awhile and try to find good sales at reputable stores. I didn't even know they faked Gusstos.

 

[youngster]

I'm so sorry. That's really disappointing. I hope she deals with you fairly and returns your money.

 

[iluvmybags]

I'm having problems viewing the pictures from that ebay link. Anyone else having problems? I guess for $99, that might have been a warning? Her feedback's pretty good though. Wow, you seem to have a lot of bad luck. Maybe you should just avoid ebay for awhile and try to find good sales at reputable stores. I didn't even know they faked Gusstos.

when I found that and opened the page, the pics weren't coming up at all - I thought maybe she had removed them. When I went back to it, only one pic shows up and it's the one of the inside. The fact that this bag only sold for $99 originally isn't a very good thing - I mean no one but my seller bid on this bag. Could it be that her pics showed w/o a doubt that it was fake? I don't know - the [original] seller also said that this bag retailed for $710, which isn't true either. I looked at her FB - it is strange that it's pretty good, and it doesn't appear that the things she sells are fake - maybe she got ripped off too?? Should I contact her & ask her about it? (is that even allowed?)

I just got off the phone w/my seller - she apologized up & down. Said she honestly has never seen an auth Gustto in a store - she's only bought them on ebay (and she has several) - I explained to her about the inner zipper pocket, and she looked at one of her other bags - she said she never noticed the differences, and esp that inner label. The label on the blue bag I bought from her is soooooo paper thin - The label on my caramel setela is so thick - in fact, a few stitches came out & I tried to re-stitch it. I had to use a heavy duty needle cuz the leather was so thick & hard to sew - the label on this blue bag would be simple to stitch, it's that thin.

Even w/the inner zipper & the label, the leather on the bag just doesn't feel "right" to me - and definitely doesn't smell like my setela. I don't know - it is heavily faded, and maybe it was used a lot - could it be authentic and I jumped to the wrong conclusion??

 

[iluvmybags]

So I did some searching thru TPF and this is what I found - a pic of salesreplady's blue baca, and another pic of help slush's baca. I don't know what color slush's bag is, but you can clearly see the yellow zipper/pull.

I also checked a few posts about fake/auth Baca's and went thru ebay to find the orig seller's FB and items that she sold. It looks like she generally sells bags that she finds at TJ Maxx/ or Marshall's (a lot of the brands are commonly found at those stores). It doesn't look like she's buying bags online to resell, and when she originally sold the bag she said it had been used the color had faded.

I also checked iOffer - not a single blue bag in the bunch (they're all brown & black), and very obviously fake.

I don't know - looking at this, feeling it, etc - I wonder if this is just a previously owned, poorly maintained bag. The seller said she would refund my money - no problem. She's actually a very nice woman (we were on the phone for close to an hour!). She said she's just recently into nicer bags (has always collected LV but just recently discovered other designers), but has no idea what to look for - now she's worried that all of her Gusttos might be fake!! I assured her that I doubt that. (the Mila she sold had to be authentic - no one's ever heard of that bag before!) I guess she lives in an area where there's only a Saks - no other stores to browse, which is why she's never seen an auth Baca IRL.

The more I think about this, the more I wonder - were Gusttos being fakes 5 months ago? (she originally bought this is Feb) - was blue ever a color that was faked??? If this is an older bag, could it be authentic, but poorly maintained? The more I look at it - there are parts of the bag that are very soft, like an auth Baca (underneath the handles, the gathers of the bag), but I'm still baffled about the thickness of the label and even the leather patches (where the studs are fastened) - these pieces of leather on my setela are very thick. Does anyone have an older Baca that might have thinner leather in these areas?

 

[kemilia]

Ok, I was going to bid on that bag and my heart sank when you won it. But I rationalized that I don't really like blue (even though I moped around the rest of the day so yah, I was lying to myself) and I was sorta dreading seeing your pix on this forum. I wrote the seller early on while mulling over 'should I bid' and she said she got it off ebay for $200 but didn't wind up using it and it just sat in her closet. She rated it somewhere between A- and B+ (I asked). I dug into her feedback and saw she won a blue baca earlier for $99 and thought she was making good money on the resale. Are you sure it is a fake? I would think the fakers would do easy colors--browns and beiges. Either way, I am sad for you and hope things work out. Us Forum gals must stick together!

 

[iluvmybags]

Well - Good news (sorta) - I just got off the phone w/Gustto (they are so nice & helpful). I "fudged" the story a little - said I came across a second-hand bag in a resale shop (some of these makers HATE ebay!), and that it was pretty used but marked fairly low. I explained that I've been thinking about buying a new Baca, but wanted to make sure the shape & size would work for me.

I said that I own a Caramel Setela, and noticed right away that there were some differences. I asked if they ever used yellow zippers inside the bag - and she said yes. She even described it exactly. She said that there were from their very first run of bags. They were using another manufacturer back then, one they no longer use. She also described the inner label being paper thin and said yes - that's another indication of their first Baca bags. Since they changed manufacturers, many of the features have changed, which are evident in the newer bags and why I notice a difference between the Baca and my Setela.

Of course, she said they don't recommend buying used, second-hand bags (esp from ebay! - see?) becuz if there's ever a problem, they can't guarantee or fix it. I told her that it was OK - all I really wanted the bag for was to see if I really like it & if I should invest in a full-priced new one. it's priced low enough that if anything should happen to it, I wouldn't care and I'd probably buy a new one anyhow. She said, Oh, well in that case, you should try it.

So, I guess the bag really is authentic - just different than the newer ones. As for the yummy smell - it could be where it was stored, how it was maintained, etc. I don't know how to explain that - but after talking to Gustto, I don't think this bag is fake.

(I also asked about the Blue color and she said that she couldn't remember all of the colors, but that they probably did do a blue one - I just have never seen a fake Blue Baca before).

 

[amiekbs8]

You must feel so relieved! I'm so glad it worked out for you, I know it must be an awful sinking feeling to think you bought something fake. The Gustto people seem so nice!

 

[iluvmybags]

Ok, I was going to bid on that bag and my heart sank when you won it. But I rationalized that I don't really like blue (even though I moped around the rest of the day so yah, I was lying to myself) and I was sorta dreading seeing your pix on this forum. I wrote the seller early on while mulling over 'should I bid' and she said she got it off ebay for $200 but didn't wind up using it and it just sat in her closet. She rated it somewhere between A- and B+ (I asked). I dug into her feedback and saw she won a blue baca earlier for $99 and thought she was making good money on the resale. Are you sure it is a fake? I would think the fakers would do easy colors--browns and beiges. Either way, I am sad for you and hope things work out. Us Forum gals must stick together!

Sorry about that - I know what that's like (it's happened to me sooooo many times!). The color is really pretty. Even though it is definitely faded, the color is more like a denim blue. It will definitely go with everything. I will try to post addtl pics when I get home tonite. At least I can breathe a sigh of relief knowing now that the bag is authentic & not fake (as I originally thought) - I think I'm going to give it a good cleaning & conditioning. Maybe that will make a big difference. It's not like all the Baca's I've seen lately, but at least I'll know whether or not this bag will work for me - if it does, I will buy one of the newer bags (I like the charcoal a lot!). (and even though it's not as nice as the current baca's its still pretty nice - esp once I started "squishing" it!!)

 

[kemilia]

Yay! I am glad it is the real thing. Maybe conditioning it will darken it and even the color. Either way, it looks like a cool bag all vintage-y and broken in. It is in a good home for sure. I would have never thought of contacting the Gustto folks (duh, me), they should be v. happy their bags are so popular, even second-hand ones (good advertising).

 

[ladysalesrep195]

I think your Baca is fine, just poorly maintained.

Be VERY careful using any cleaning products on the bag, in fact I would send it to Barbara at lovinmybags.com. Gustto leather is easy to screw up with cleaning (I know, I did it).

Here are the pics of my bag again. I talked with Kristina at Gustto about mine awhile back, the color is officially called 'blue'. Yes, just 'blue'.

 

[iluvmybags]

I think your Baca is fine, just poorly maintained.

Be VERY careful using any cleaning products on the bag, in fact I would send it to Barbara at lovinmybags.com. Gustto leather is easy to screw up with cleaning (I know, I did it).

Here are the pics of my bag again. I talked with Kristina at Gustto about mine awhile back, the color is officially called 'blue'. Yes, just 'blue'.

what happened when you tried cleaning your baca? I used my cadillac conditioner on my Setela and it worked wonders. (granted, it didn't require an all-over cleaning, just spotty).

I think my bag MIGHT have been the same color as yours once upon a time, but not anymore - I tried to take pix, but I couldn't get good lighting & was in a rush (I'll try again tonite or tomorrow). The bag is a very faded blue - almost denim blue (which I think I like better than the darker blue anyhow!). It could be that it's faded over time or it could just be a different shade of blue. The thing that's different from your bag salesrep, is the inner zipper - your bag must have been made by the newer manufacturer. That's why yours has the gold zipper & black trim (is your inner leather label thick or thin?).

I still don't like the smell of the bag - it does have a very strong odor. At first, it was the type of odor that you'd associate w/a fake bag, but after speaking to Gustto, I don't know - maybe they used a diff type of leather back then. Either that, or it's an odor from where it was stored or how it was used.

BTW - does anyone know (remember) when Gustto bags first hit the stores? I'm curious how old this bag really is, considering she said it's definitely a first-issue.

 

[Luna]

Well - Good news (sorta) - I just got off the phone w/Gustto (they are so nice & helpful). I "fudged" the story a little - said I came across a second-hand bag in a resale shop (some of these makers HATE ebay!), and that it was pretty used but marked fairly low. I explained that I've been thinking about buying a new Baca, but wanted to make sure the shape & size would work for me.

I said that I own a Caramel Setela, and noticed right away that there were some differences. I asked if they ever used yellow zippers inside the bag - and she said yes. She even described it exactly. She said that there were from their very first run of bags. They were using another manufacturer back then, one they no longer use. She also described the inner label being paper thin and said yes - that's another indication of their first Baca bags. Since they changed manufacturers, many of the features have changed, which are evident in the newer bags and why I notice a difference between the Baca and my Setela.

Of course, she said they don't recommend buying used, second-hand bags (esp from ebay! - see?) becuz if there's ever a problem, they can't guarantee or fix it. I told her that it was OK - all I really wanted the bag for was to see if I really like it & if I should invest in a full-priced new one. it's priced low enough that if anything should happen to it, I wouldn't care and I'd probably buy a new one anyhow. She said, Oh, well in that case, you should try it.

So, I guess the bag really is authentic - just different than the newer ones. As for the yummy smell - it could be where it was stored, how it was maintained, etc. I don't know how to explain that - but after talking to Gustto, I don't think this bag is fake.

(I also asked about the Blue color and she said that she couldn't remember all of the colors, but that they probably did do a blue one - I just have never seen a fake Blue Baca before).

It makes sense. The bags are made in China and often if you're not there to babysit, they will replace a metal zipper with a plastic one, etc.
Plus, ya gotta remember that Gustto is a fairly new brand when you compare it to say.. Gucci.
Details will always be off from each run of bags, especially if manufacturers are switched.

I'm glad you found your bag was authentic

 

[Luna]

what happened when you tried cleaning your baca? I used my cadillac conditioner on my Setela and it worked wonders. (granted, it didn't require an all-over cleaning, just spotty).

I think my bag MIGHT have been the same color as yours once upon a time, but not anymore - I tried to take pix, but I couldn't get good lighting & was in a rush (I'll try again tonite or tomorrow). The bag is a very faded blue - almost denim blue (which I think I like better than the darker blue anyhow!). It could be that it's faded over time or it could just be a different shade of blue. The thing that's different from your bag salesrep, is the inner zipper - your bag must have been made by the newer manufacturer. That's why yours has the gold zipper & black trim (is your inner leather label thick or thin?).

I still don't like the smell of the bag - it does have a very strong odor. At first, it was the type of odor that you'd associate w/a fake bag, but after speaking to Gustto, I don't know - maybe they used a diff type of leather back then. Either that, or it's an odor from where it was stored or how it was used.

BTW - does anyone know (remember) when Gustto bags first hit the stores? I'm curious how old this bag really is, considering she said it's definitely a first-issue.

I am thinking 2 years ago? or a Year and a half at least?

 

[KoobaLover]

I'm so glad you got things resolved! I know exactly what you're talking about though... when I first got my Baca and did a detailed inspection, I was disappointed. I thought it would be better quality. Oh well, we all love our Gusttos anyway!

Can't wait to see pics!