What are the legal implications of carrying (not buying) a fake bag?

[amajoh]

In France , buying, selling and carrying fakes is illegal.
At the airports, the Customs Officers are very strict.
If they find something suspicious on you or in your luggage, they look at the item very carefully.
They are trained. They look at everything, tags... Finishings especially.
I once had a problem with a Christian Dior T shirt which was in my luggage.
The lady officer looked at it very carefully. It was authentic and she then acknowledged it.
Had it been a counterfeit, I would have been fined twice the price of the authentic item.
The T shirt would have been confiscated and later destroyed.
A friend of mine was even sent to court for importing a fake Chanel watch.
In the street, the "flying "Customs Officers can stop you.
But... I have never heard of anyone being.... stopped!

In the airports we have posters:
Fausse Cartier, vrai casier= fake Cartier real police record
A real lady doesńt buy counterfeits!

Love the posters!

 

[green1234]

This is an interesting thread, I knew selling counterfeit bags was illegal but I had no idea what could happen if you were caught carrying one. What if someone got a bag as a present and did not know it was a fake bag? I am curious to know what would happen then...

 

[Pimpernel]

This is an interesting thread, I knew selling counterfeit bags was illegal but I had no idea what could happen if you were caught carrying one. What if someone got a bag as a present and did not know it was a fake bag? I am curious to know what would happen then...

"Ignorance of the law does not exempt one from abiding by it" - or words to that effect. So the best is to stay safe: if preloved, buy from reliable sources and have everything authenticated, even gifts It´ll save all kinds of trouble and frustration in the long term.

 

[pinkkitten74]

A real lady doesnt by fakes-

 

[Princessmia]

Lol I would be so annoyed if someone gave me a fake bag as a gift. I'd prefer for them to buy a real 'cheap' bag!

 

[Mariapia]

This is an interesting thread, I knew selling counterfeit bags was illegal but I had no idea what could happen if you were caught carrying one. What if someone got a bag as a present and did not know it was a fake bag? I am curious to know what would happen then...

The Customs Officers would not trust your word, I think.
The gift thing is often used by the bag carrier to avoid the fine.....

 

[tetsubean]

I'm glad I wasn't in France with my fake LV wallet and Coach bag! I would've been thrown in jail for stupidity!

Before I knew better, I was the sucker who thought I found a "great" deal while at a garage sale. I spotted a "LV" wallet. I picked it up and refused to put it down because I was AFRAID someone else would get it! Did I feel stupid when I did some research and discovered it was fake, fake, fake (and a bad one at that!) I was also guilty of carrying a fake signature Coach bag. I was so proud of it (it was my first designer bag, well, first non-designer bag). A woman at the dentist office complimented me on it but I think she must've known it was a fake (the logos didn't line-up or anything!) So embarrassed :shame: I'm blushing now just thinking about it!

 

[leluxebags]

So they actually do that? LoL I would so want that job. I wonder how much training it takes to be able to identify a fake. I know I see them but I'm not an expert and I'm sure you would have to be. I'm sure I would single-handily rid my town of a good percentage of the fake bags I see.

I am also interested to learn how to authentic bags. Anywhere that they provide the course on study the authentic luxury bags?

 

[BPC]

That's really interesting to know actually. How did they find out about the t-shirt though? Can the label be seen in x-ray machine or do they actually search the whole luggage each time ?[/
I was coming back from Dubaï. The officers were probably looking for gold jewels and fake goods as usual.
They searched my luggage and the lady officer saw the CD tshirt. Asked me if I had bought it in the UAE.
I replied that I had bought it in France, she then inspected it carefully .
She looked at the stitchings in particular.
They dońt search everyone ´s luggage of course, most of the time it ´s random search....

It must be very random then.

Have flown into Charles de Gaulle at least 4-5 times in the last few years, and to be honest- I don't remember seeing those signs so I'm guessing they're not all over the airport.

I've never been questioned about my huge Balenciaga Weekender, or my Bal city that I keep inside the weekender. The one time I flew with my BV wasn't a problem either.

Also, I took the train from London to Paris and back, didn't have any problems.
I did have a "very chatty" customs officer question me in a very round about way on my way back to London about what I did in Paris, what I'm going to do in London.. etc, but that's it.

And let's be honest, there are a TON of fakes in Paris that are worn my tourists and locals alike. Doubt all the tourists bought them after landing. So somehow, they're getting these fakes through customs.

If I used counterfeit bags, the fact that France says you'll be prosecuted wouldn't deter me.

 

[Mariapia]

I am also interested to learn how to authentic bags. Anywhere that they provide the course on study the authentic luxury bags?

The Customs Officers are trained.
They know where to look on all sorts of items.
Nike or Adidas trainers, Ray Ban glasses, Fisher Price toys etc.

I dońt think it takes that long.
The more you see real things the better you are at detecting fakes.
I personally dońt believe in super fakes.

 

[dangerouscurves]

In Germany if someone reports to the police that you carry a fake, the police will confiscate the bag. But usually they don't do anything unless someone points it out.

 

[Mariapia]

I don't know if any of you has ever seen...... fake bottles of perfume in some countries.
First you can think it ´s the real one... But even without perfect knowledge about the brand, just by looking at the packaging you will know. Even if it looks like the genuine one the lack of the luxury aspect will say it all.
Let alone the bottle itself with a sticker at the bottom instead of the engraving.....

 

[Mariapia]

In Germany if someone reports to the police that you carry a fake, the police will confiscate the bag. But usually they don't do anything unless someone points it out.

In France, the Police might not do anything but the Customs Officers will.....

 

[Manelieht]

I'm glad I wasn't in France with my fake LV wallet and Coach bag! I would've been thrown in jail for stupidity!

Before I knew better, I was the sucker who thought I found a "great" deal while at a garage sale. I spotted a "LV" wallet. I picked it up and refused to put it down because I was AFRAID someone else would get it! Did I feel stupid when I did some research and discovered it was fake, fake, fake (and a bad one at that!) I was also guilty of carrying a fake signature Coach bag. I was so proud of it (it was my first designer bag, well, first non-designer bag). A woman at the dentist office complimented me on it but I think she must've known it was a fake (the logos didn't line-up or anything!) So embarrassed :shame: I'm blushing now just thinking about it!

I bought a fake Chloe Paddington bag in 2005, thinking I got a great deal for a real one...it wasn't the bag from the pictures. The leather was very fake and the color of diarrhea ...
Before that I also thought that the street vendors in Italy (the ones with the garbage bags) sell real bags.

In Germany if someone reports to the police that you carry a fake, the police will confiscate the bag. But usually they don't do anything unless someone points it out.

Interesting....Louis Vuitton bags would reduce by half in Frankfurt...as well as Longchamp I could never do that to anyone though. It isn't my business.

 

[BPC]

I don't know if any of you has ever seen...... fake bottles of perfume in some countries.
First you can think it ´s the real one... But even without perfect knowledge about the brand, just by looking at the packaging you will know. Even if it looks like the genuine one the lack of the luxury aspect will say it all.
Let alone the bottle itself with a sticker at the bottom instead of the engraving.....

I agree with you that an authentic product from a luxury brand will show in the materials, stitching, packaging and just the overall feel.

But I recently had a terrible experience with a Valentino Canvas tote. If I didn't know better (I ordered it through Neiman Marcus), I would have sworn it was fake. The material, the way it fell, the awkwardness of the handles- it screamed fake.
(my review, with pics of the poor quality bag in the Valentino Forum: http://forum.purseblog.com/valentino/my-valentino-canvas-tote-review-873758.html )

Someone pointed out that many luxury brands are getting by on their name, while their products continue to decline. I think this is very true.

Based on my own experience, I wouldn't doubt that authentic products were probably confiscated for being fakes. Let's face it, quality just isn't there anymore with many brands..