"The Rich New York Women Who Love Their Fake Birkins" article in The Cut - thoughts?

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#34
Jktgal said:
Amazing isn't it how labourers in sweatshops can make replicas close enough to the authentic which are made by by artisans with 40-day annual paid vacation and fed on milk cheese honey and organic tea harvested by virgins.

Errr no, most fakes aren't made in 'sweatshops'.
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Read The New Yorker article in the post directly below yours. :hrmm:
 
#35
I'm inclined to @papertiger's analysis. It does sound like creative writing vs. journalism. It takes real...imagination to write something like this:

"There’s this lady on the Upper East Side who looks like a rich Asian mom,” she says when I mention the rumors to her. “She stopped me on the street carrying a red Kelly Danse and was like, ‘Do you like the Birkin I’m carrying? I can take you somewhere to get one.’”

Uhh....
 
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#37
I didn't read the whole article, too long and not that interesting but I agree with @papertiger. There's no proof of anything so the article can easily all be made up. I don't know what the law says in the US but here in Italy selling fake anything is illegal. Masses of tourists have been caught buying fakes and were fined. It's criminal organizations like the mafia that run the fake market, so whatever fake you buy you're giving money to organized crime.
 
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#38
jellyv said:
I'm inclined to @papertiger's analysis. It does sound like creative writing vs. journalism. It takes real...imagination to write something like this and expect the reader to consider "Lisa" a reliable narrator:

"There’s this lady on the Upper East Side who looks like a rich Asian mom,” she says when I mention the rumors to her. “She stopped me on the street carrying a red Kelly Danse and was like, ‘Do you like the Birkin I’m carrying? I can take you somewhere to get one.’”

Uhh....
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Think that there are women who will solicit others as they likely are getting a % to do so or a
better price on their purchase(s)
Years ago the concept was very popular with sending women downtown to a certain area (NYC) to
get high end designer bags & they would get a kickback for business brought to their "exclusive places"
in addition to house parties with designer jewelry..
 
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#39
Love Of My Life said:
Think that there are women who will solicit others as they likely are getting a % to do so
Years ago this concept was very popular with sending women downtown to a certain area (NYC) to
get high end designer bags & they would get a kickback
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I know that's true. I was just startled by the amateurish grammar that makes it sound like the reseller carried a Kelly Danse but described it as a Birkin.
 
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#40
papertiger said:
I say this actually fake news. No pics of 'ladies' or their bags, no verifiable facts. No last names. The whole thing is as shady as the practice being written about. This article is a superfake.

It's still all heresy and hocus-pocus. The whole article smacks of carefully worded padding of longtime myths centred around the fake/authentic debate. In fact, it goes through the whole 'man (or woman) down pub' chat cliche after cliche. Friend of a friend, everyone's doing it, can't tell the difference, even richer/better people than us are doing it, brands are evil, branding is just a logo, luxury is a con anyway, people who buy authentic are stupid, real (authentic) rich people are cleverer than stupid wannabes, mystical Chinese factories in the middle of nowhere, Millennials do it differently, posh reseller duped.

There are fakes being sold at resellers. It's a completely different topic to the oh so fabulous mythical lives of the uber wealthy who know what's what, can buy anything, and still act like tenth graders.

There's talk of investment in their kids and crypto-currency blah blah, but then they're spending all their time researching Chinese factories and fakery. Time is usually more precious to rich people than money, and they're either into bags/designer goods or they're not. Having/wearing a fake B or LOVE or Rolex is basically telling others you can't be trusted. My friends don't want a Rolex, they want to know that every part of their watch is Rolex and contemporaneous to each other. Connoisseurs are obsessional, be it supercars, watches or handbags. Conversations are not about the products themselves anyway (unless obvious) but who do you know 'there'? What year is it? What colour is it (supposed to be)? Most rich people (at least the ones I know) would rather carry an authentic vintage Speedy than a fake Hermes, and the bragging rights in London you get from not caring about bags/brands at all is the virtue signalling conversation far outweighs a Birkin (unless it was one of Jane's). You are literally walking around areas where you meet the real thing 50-100 times a day. Having a fakes is like collecting and displaying fake Rothkos or Warhols. In NYC or in London, that would not only be seen as déclassé but being stupid/duped. Hustling fakes one by one to resellers to make a 'grand' or a buck is not something most 'oh so, so rich' people have time for, they're too busy.

The last statement is either made-up or whoever the un-named reseller was doesn't have a clue. I won't tell you why.

All I can say is the person who write this has never mingled in really rich circles. And 'Lisa and her mates' need to get a life, the more authentic the better.
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I believe a lot of the article. People, even the rich, are always looking to save a buck. That's often how they got rich in the first place. And there are an awful lot of poseurs out there. Certainly well off, but still trying to keep up with their wealthier friends. It never ends. I have a relative who buys from RepLadies, along with authentic. She insists you cannot tell her replicas from her real ones. I've seen several and to the casual observer you can't. She feels since the quality of some of the luxury brands has gone down she shouldn't waste her money on them when she can get a good knockoff for a fraction of the price. Apparently ethical considerations aren't factor for her.
 
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#41
jellyv said:
I know that's true. I was just startled by the amateurish grammar mangle that makes it sound like the reseller carried a Kelly Danse but described it as a Birkin. Either the writer is unskilled or the writer assumes readers don't know the difference in those bags, or both, or something else.
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The group of women that this is to appeal to may not be so concerned about grammar as much
as they are concerned about getting the "it bag" at a price..

At the end of the day, I would much prefer to have the authentic bag , JMO
 
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#42
jellyv said:
I know that's true. I was just startled by the amateurish grammar that makes it sound like the reseller carried a Kelly Danse but described it as a Birkin.
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That was indeed a poorly written sentence, as it could alternately be taken as the woman who was stopped was wearing the Kelly Danse, and the woman doing the stopping asks if the Kelly Danse person likes the Birkin the other woman is wearing.

It's all a hot mess, and the more I go back and re-read, the more I'm inclined to think like @papertiger.

But I still want to know more about https://www.reddit.com/r/RepLadies/
 
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#43
I will also add that at the end of the day with a group of fake bags there is no place to
go with them. Having the authentic one which can be repaired, spa'd & re-sold.
There is nothing like knowing you have an authentic item, be it a watch,jewelry, etc
Likely with this article getting out, many auction houses, resellers, consignments stores
will have to be super careful with "buyouts" if a walk in is that brazen to sell one of these bags
So these women are buying large quantities of assorted styles to wear & likely paying a
decent price & what do they really have.. nada, just a bag to brag about among their friend(s)
I can see the image in my head.. Can you tell the real bag from the fake bag"?
& then the "dialogue begins"
 
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#44
Love Of My Life said:
I will also add that at the end of the day with a group of fake bags there is no place to
go with them. Having the authentic one which can be repaired, spa'd & re-sold.
There is nothing like knowing you have an authentic item, be it a watch,jewelry, etc
Likely with this article getting out, many auction houses, resellers, consignments stores
will have to be super careful with "buyouts" if a walk in is that brazen to sell one of these bags
So these women are buying large quantities of assorted styles to wear & likely paying a
decent price & what do they really have.. nada, just a bag to brag about among their friend(s)
I can see the image in my head.. Can you tell the real bag from the fake bag"?
& then the "dialogue begins"
Click to expand...
FWIW the last H bag I sold to FP (@ their showroom in NYC) I was given a quote based on on-site evaluation, but the bag had to be sent to CA for the "official" authentication. A little bit of a pain as a seller but made me feel all the more trusting of buying resale from them.

And, re: "no place to go" - you are correct. When those fake bags start to show wear, even if the wear looks "authentic", IMO that's a big clue that it's a fake. Because, why wouldn't you just send your $10K+ bag to the spa rather than carry it around looking ratty. (Unless of course you are Jane Birkin, but there is only one of her.)
 
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