Authenticity is essential to us...

Please read my feedback and do research
on the item before you bid on high end designer goods.  
I have been on eBay since 1999 and do not wear,
use, buy or sell ANY counterfeit items.

On top of the fact that I just really appreciate the expert craftsmanship
that goes into creating an authentic product,
I have no interest in perpetuating counterfeting - an illegal activity that is
known to fund the criminal underworld and has links to funding terrorism.

Please read my "me" page for more
information on avoiding buying fakes.

A big "thank you" to my fellow eBayers
for their kind words about it.

There are many, many counterfeit
versions of designer handbags, clothes and even jewelry
that comes in the "little blue box". And yes, people package the stuff with
the little blue bag, the little blue box and the little blue storage pouch.
 
I have seen some in person and they are just hideous.  The leather,
the craftsmanship, the details are quite unlike those on the real things.
Please, do not be fooled by people who tell you that the fake object
is indistinguishable from the genuine article.  It is!

There is nothing like holding the real thing
in your hands ... nothing.

Receipts, product tags and packaging do not guarantee authenticity.  
Unscrupulous sellers have ways of getting their hands on these items and
include them with the counterfeit object, hoping to fool unsuspecting buyers.

It's not the receipt, not the packaging that determine an item's authenticity -
it's the details in the actual item's craftsmanship and
design that tell the real story.

Please, please KNOW your item and your seller before you bid. 
That's how you can tell whether the auction is too good to be true. 
A popular scam is for unscrupulous sellers to steal photos of authentic bags,
list them at somewhat low prices and send winning bidders FAKES. 

If the auction's too good to be true, it probably is!!!

Please, ask yourselves these questions...
 

Why does someone have ten of the same coveted
Louis Vuitton Multicolore or Cherry Blossom
bags - same model bag, same picture used for every auction?

...Or is selling a new Louis Vuitton bag for below retail?

...Or claims he or she can obtain an impossible to get a
Herm Birkin Bag in any color you want, direct from the "factory"?

...Or is someone selling an Herm "Birkin" bag, which retails for
thousands in the store and for thousands more on
eBay for several hundred dollars, or even $2,000 or $4,000?

These sellers may be able to fool people with photos,
fancy descriptions, but the actual product you'll get
(if they even bother to send you the product!) won't come close to
fooling anyone that it's the real thing.  

One of my personal favorites are the folks who slap fake "Prada"
(the red "Sport" label) labels onto cheap-o polyester clothes and jeans,
claiming the resulting product are authentic samples or whatnot. 
(Sure they are - "authentic" "fake" "samples"). 
Actually, true samples usually have mutilated tags or no brand tags whatsoever.

These "deals" usually are way too good to be true.

The vast online community that makes up eBay means
that we have lots of people to meet and share our shopping experiences with.
Unfortunately, the anonymity of the Internet means that unscrupulous
sellers can take your money and run.
Of course they have no problem with it at all...

Did you know that in order to sell an item on eBay,
you MUST be able to certify that it is authentic-whatever-brand-it-is?
There is a box that you must check while listing certain branded items.
If the item that is being sold is fake, well, that is fraud
makes the transaction void
(short explanation - fake items are not allowed to be sold on eBay.

Unfortunately you do have to prove that the item is a fake!
Getting your money back after purchasing a counterfeit
can take a long time and be a major pain, but it can be done. 
Most companies, however, will not provide and documentation
stating that an item is not authentic.

Of course, the best way to go is to know some of the warning
signs to avoid buying a counterfeit item in the first place.

Counterfeit sellers have NO respect for you,
and NO qualms about stealing your hard-earned money.
Don't let them do it!

If it's too good to be true, it likely is!

Shopping bags, dustbags, boxes
do NOT guarantee authenticity
(the seller could have obtained them separately)

Receipts
do not guarantee authenticity.
I get emails from people asking me if I have receipts for items that I've bought.
I just don't understand the obsession with receipts.
What's to stop a seller selling a counterfeit from sending you a counterfeit with a real receipt?
Maybe he/she got the receipt from a seller selling authentic goods, who knows.
Bottom line: hard to prove that a receipt actually was for that item.

Authenticity cards, product literature
and tags and serial numbers
do not guarantee authenticity.
Counterfeits are known to come with all of the above too!
Unfortunately, they are NOT difficult to reproduce in a handbag, etc.  
Yes, I have seen fake Hermes handbags with official-looking blindstamps.
Gucci tags do NOT hang off of Gucci bags on plastic rings.

We used to see Prada clothes with
fake Saks tags attached to them - how's that for pathetic?
Sadly, the fake Prada clothes are still there - generic, ugly $5 polyester clothes
with a fake red Prada tag sewn on the side.  
Awful "Juicy Couture" knockoff velour, terry sweatsuits -
with a Prada tag! Please trust me on this - the fake Prada label
on these clothes does *not* make these clothes authentic Prada!

Beware of stolen pictures and item descriptions!
Some items pictured in auctions look real - because they are!
Some sellers steal pictures of authentic items sold by legitimate sellers.
The only way you can spot this is to watch auctions vigilantly and make sure that two
different sellers don't have the same pictures.
There's photos of a Blue Jean Birkin, a Gold Birkin and a
Black Birkin that have been making the eBay rounds for months -
I'm sick of looking at them! Sometimes it will be obvious
when a picture has been stolen - look for oddly cropped views of items, for example.
(they look this way because the photo thief has cropped out the
original owner's name or something). "Fake" sellers also use composites of photos from different bags (showing a closeup of an authentic bag's telltale clasp along with a full shot of a fake bag.)

Another telltale sign - one that I have seen often with people selling Herm "Birkin"
bags that are fake or they do not have - a discrepancy between
the picture and the item description.
 For example, Birkin bags of different sizes have different proportions.  
And each Hermes leather has a very distinctive look.  

Do NOT buy things off-eBay.
(do not circumvent the eBay system)
Yes, it's tempting to save a few bucks (or a few hundred),
but... not only is it against eBay rules, but you
have absolutely NO recourse when you send the seller your money
and never receive the goods (or receive fake good when you've paid for authentic stuff).
Horror story: one lady wired $20K+ to buy two expensive handbags off eBay.
The seller, who was in another country, took the money and skipped town,
never to be heard from again.

Beware of GIFTS
Yes, we had one lovely lady sell
several "Birkins", claiming them to be "gifts" from her fans.
Uh... yeah. That's just parlance for "I know this is fake
but maybe you won't think so because I got it as a gift."

Beware of the 'RICH PEOPLE' story
I just love it when sellers say that an item came from the estate of a
very rich lady / was consigned by someone who buys only the
very best / given to me by my rich aunt.
Uh, just because some people are fortunate enough
to have the means to buy authentic
designer items does not mean that they actually buy that stuff.
Often times, the seller is using these lines to distract you from
the item's TRUE provenance (trunk of a car, anyone?)

Also, I see some sellers using the "my rich /
fashion-crazy/blahblahblah friend/sister/relative moved
away and here I am selling her 200 handbags"
(hoping to spin a plausible story as to how she arrived at the windfall).

*

I love Hermes items...
And can usually spot a fake item/auction pretty quickly.
Some of the Hermes fakes I have seen lately include so-called...

*
Hermes wallets (the lining (gasp, some fakes are lined in cheap polyester SATIN, LOL!, leather, hardware is all wrong, as is their futile attempts at authentic-looking packaging.)

*

Hermes Birkin Bags Some are priced much less than the retail. 
Some are priced at retail. 
Some are priced very high.
Some people think they are saving money buying fakes,
other just do not realize that they are being scammed.

The paradox: All of the fake Birkins and Kellys
are VERY expensive - know why?
Because buyers of fake Birkins, Kellys and other counterfeit designer items are worthless.
Shoddy construction and materials means on of these items
 could last a week or less, or disintegrate in the rain.
At least buying a real Hermes item ensures you have something of
value and that will last for generations.

*
Spotted:

Fake Hermes cellphone straps,
Fake Hermes Ties,
Hermes Scarves (even in so-called "new" designs).
Have even seen fake Hermes jumbo clochettes,
Fake Hermes belts,
Fake Hermes leather "Fruit" tags/charms
Fake Hermes jeans
Fake Hermes reversible jackets
Fake Hermes "bolduc" ribbon-patterned tees
Fake Hermes charms for handbags
Fake Hermes watches
Fake Hermes cufflinks
Fake Hermes handbags - just about every model...
And a host of other junk that would make you cringe.

Other Fake Goods Also Spotted:
Fake Tod's loafers
Fake Gucci shoes
Fake Chanel shoes and clothes
Fake Lacoste garments
Fake Seven jeans
Fake Gucci 'floral' fabric handbags
Fake Tod's bags with the "T" design
Particularly nasty fake Prada and fake Vuitton scarves with
the telltale cheap satin/chiffon stripe base fabric

To protect bidder privacy, when the price or highest bid on an item reaches or exceeds a certain level, User IDs will be displayed as anonymous names. For auction items, a bold price means at least one bid has been received.

Note: Anonymous names may appear more than once and may represent different bidders.

Item	Start	End	Price	Title	High Bidder/Status
160374710386	Nov-01-09	Dec-01-09 18:39:49	$1,799.00	HERMES TRIM Bag 31cm BLUE JEAN Clemence Palladium HW	Available
160380950354	Nov-23-09	Dec-03-09 11:36:15	$3,888.88	HERMES Bolide Bag 35cm Vermillon Red Palladium HW	Available

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