We are often contacted by various vendors of great fake designer merchandise of every imaginable type. These fakes are very accurate and constantly improving, and spotting a fake becomes very difficult if not impossible.
The clerks at retail stores that sell the authentic items are not necessarily the best authentication experts. They will often identify one of their own authentic items as fake if they know you purchased it off the Internet. They frown upon the honest retailer who sells their own merchandise cheaper than they can. We have purchased merchandise at one Burberry store, taken it to another, told the clerk it was purchased on eBay, and were immediately and inaccurately told by the clerk it was a fake.
Beware of stores who drop-ship fashion items. This means that the store never sees or inspects your item for authenticity, but instead simply forwards your order to a third party to ship out your merchandise. The drop-shipper can do business very inexpensively as they never 'own' the merchandise or actually lay out any capital of their own, they simply act as a middle-man in the transaction. Many stores sell to you this way, and you will never know it unless you ask.
That is why, for our store, Discount Designer Label, we travel personally around the country to factory-authorized stores (such as Coach, Burberry, Hugo Boss, Armani, etc), to provide beyond a shadow of a doubt only 100% authentic merchandise. We do not purchase any of our merchandise through mail order, and only buy (and then sell to our customers) merchandise we have first physically inspected. This ensures that every item we sell is authentic.
Doing business this way is a much more labor and capital intensive way of doing business than drop-shipping. It means we often will have only a very limited quantity of each item in stock and may not get that item in ever again (the drop-shipper or seller of knock-offs will often have very large quantities of each item).
Below are some articles which were not written by us, and therefore may contain some grammatical errors, but can be valuable resources for identifying fake merchandise. Hope you find this helpful!
SPOTTING FAKE COACH MERCHANDISE
1. The "C" pattern will be off - except for some patterns, like the "optic" or "scarf print," The tip of the "C" facing the other "C" should touch. Also, the C pattern should start in the center and go out. The seams should go straight through the middle of the C, and the pattern should be aligned horizontally and vertically. The best way to tell is to go to the COACH website and look at the real thing, and then compare it to what you're looking at on eBay and see if the pattern is different.
2. Sometimes the "CC" will actually be a "GG" - how much more obvious can you get! And no, this does not mean it's a Gucci! (I'm not as familiar with Gucci products, but obviously if someone is selling you a "COACH" bag which is imprinted with the letter "G" then it's logically fake.)
3. The stitching is sloppy or the pattern is crooked - this is a sure sign because COACH does not make sloppy products!
4. The bag does not look like any other bag you've ever seen - if it looks "sort of" like a bag you've seen but not quite, be careful!
5. Beware of blurry photos or stock photos (a stock photo is one that has been cut-and-pasted from the COACH website) - this does not necessarily mean the bag is fake, but if you see either of these types of photos, I would contact the seller and see if they can send you a photo of the actual item they're selling.
6. Ask the seller to verify that they are offering an original product. If they fail to respond to your request, this may be a sign that they don't want to incriminate themselves. (And unfortunately, just because the seller claims it's authentic does not necessarily mean that it is).
7. Most COACH bags have a serial number stamped on the inside, on a square patch of leather sewn into the lining. Some of the smaller purses (the "clutch" "swingpack" and the "mini") do not have this serial number. However, handbags and totes should all have the serial number patch. The serial number typically consists of a series of numbers or a number-and-letter combination. Beware, some fake COACH bags also have a serial number - so you'll have to look at other aspects of the bag and the seller to determine if it's fake. Note: The last 4-5 digits of the serial number should match the style number of the bag.
8. The "COACH" logo should be stamped on most of the metal fixtures - some of the older "classic" styles do not have the stamp, but most of the newer styles do.
9. Although the zipper pull on a real COACH bag tends to be leather or a series of rings, the actual zipper mechanism which pulls the two sides of the zipper together should be embossed with the letters "YKK". This is the highest-quality manufacturer of zippers and COACH uses this brand. Sometimes it's hard to see, especially on a photo.
10. Most but not all of the silk linings have COACH or CC in the pattern of the fabric of the lining (although I have been told that some silk linings do not have the logo). A good rule of thumb is that if the outside of the bag has the CC pattern, the lining will usually not have any pattern. Also, the classic style bags do not have a lining at all. This is another case where you want to try and compare the real thing to the item being offered for sale on eBay.
11. I've been asked this question often - if it says "Made in China" does that mean it's fake? The answer is no - COACH does make some bags in China. However, Coach does NOT make bags in Korea - so if you see a "Made in Korea" tag then you'll know it's fake.
ARMANI
There are a lot of Armani fakes listed on a daily basis and I wanted to create guides to help customers from getting duped. Here is a breakdown of the various lines for Giorgio Armani: A/X Armani Exchange Armani Jeans Mani (Sportswear line) Mani (Suits, dress shirts) Emporio Armani Armani Collezioni Giorgio Armani (Black Label) Giorgio Armani Classico (Blue Label)
I used to find a ton of great deals for Armani ties on eBay. My how times have changed! Most of the men's Armani ties listed on eBay in the past were fake. The reason there are so many fakes out there is that many people are "label and logo conscious" and desperately want clothing with large logos and famous couture labels. They fail to realize that most high-end/couture designers seldom use large obnoxious logos. With that said, the Asian markets are flooded with counterfeit clothing and accessories with large logos. The logos usually do not look anything like the designer's actual logo.
Emporio Armani: Most Armani fakes incorrectly have the “eagle” logo all over the place. Emporio Armani ties are the only ties from Armani that actually have an eagle logo. These ties are found in the Emporio Armani boutiques. Ties from this line have a thin white label with “Emporio Armani” with the eagle logo in between the “Emporio” and “Armani” and “Made in Italy” in smaller letters underneath. This will be in the middle back of the wide bit of the tie just under the loop. The ties have the eagle logos embroidered into the back in side lining.
BURBERRY
Burberry is one of the highest-quality clothing products in the world in its authentic form, and one of the most copied. Look for quality of stitching, materials, and especially the quantity a seller has available. Smaller retailers of authentic Burberry merchandise may have a very good selection to choose from, however their inventory of each item and sizes will often be quite limited. If your retailer seems to have an endless supply of each item, proceed with great caution. Also,please note that authentic Burberry items are not just made in England. There are factories all over the world including China!
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