How do you spot fake bags? We asked Vestiaire Collective

“Most people feel like luxury fashion is inaccessible,” he said. “Really, the reason people don’t feel involved is a lack of education.” It’s a skill that’s increasingly in demand, too, as a deluge of counterfeit fashion goods made in places like China, Hong Kong and Turkey flood the global marketplace. Sales of all counterfeit goods have tripled since 2013 to an estimated $7 trillion annually and the counterfeiters’ top target is fashion goods, according to research by the OECD.

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The enamel in the triangle logo plaque should perfectly match the exterior material of the bag, and the enamel in the interior logo plaque should perfectly match the lining of the bag. On original Prada bags, the colors should be exactly the same. Inside every genuine Prada bag, there is a brand stamp, which lists the house’s identifying information. It can always be found on the bag’s back wall – either along its top seam or just under the opening of its interior pocket. The stitching should form a straight line that is parallel to the bag’s seams, but each individual stitch should be angled slightly upward.

At this point, that change in attitude is only a trickle. The best examples are in a small number of brands, like Nudie Jeans, Taylor Stitch and Eileen Fisher. Nudie offers free repairs of jeans for life and a 20% discount on new products when you turn in an old pair, and you can buy its own branded used jeans in its stores for less than the cost of new. Taylor Stitch has a sub-site called Restitch where it buys back its own product and resells it. Eileen Fisher will take back your product, refresh it and resell it at lower prices to consumers. When I read the prospectus, the chart above and The RealReal website, I get the clear impression that the authenticators and the copywriters are different people.

My sources say that the high-risk authenticators do as good a job as any human can; the problem is that not enough of the products go to them, and that’s how fakes get through. As a result, consumers are buying fakes, and no one knows how many because too many products are authenticated by copywriters. I’d seen bloggers, who I trust 100%, talk about borrowing bags from Tradesy. I don’t blame these bloggers for working with Tradesy. And I still love these bloggers and trust their opinions!

Authentic Tory Burch bags have smooth edges, while fakes often have irregular or uneven edges. The bag should have a smooth finish and be clean, even with stitching. Check that the top and bottom of the bag are straight; if the bag looks curved or uneven, it’s likely a counterfeit.

If you’re shopping secondhand, do your research about who you may be purchasing from and how they authenticate items. Sometimes people try to make fakes of these patches, but they don’t really work. If you are looking for value, go to a trusted consignment site like Lux Second Chance where there is a large selection of authenticated Louis Vuitton’s bags for you to compare prices. If you are buying a purse from an online vendor (besides @ Lux Second Chance), pay attention to the packaging and presentation.

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Bringing them into the United States may result in civil or criminal penalties and purchasing counterfeit goods often supports criminal activities, such as forced labor or human trafficking. Help to stop the funding of criminal enterprises by buying authentic goods. Each time you buy a counterfeit good, a legitimate company loses revenue. This translates to lost profits and the loss of U.S. jobs over time. Moreover, you work hard for your money and by buying from reputable sources, you help to guarantee that you are getting what you paid for. Small details such as the stitching, zips and product tags are clear signs of the quality of a bag.

The Act requires that counterfeit goods be seized and destroyed by law enforcement officials. It also calls for any tools or other property made to create the counterfeit goods to be forfeited. The dangers of buying counterfeit products aren’t always obvious. There are economic impacts, legal implications, and health and safety risks that are important for you to know before you buy. Particularly, when shopping online, beware of counterfeit goods. If you have a Louis Vuitton bag that you’re not sure is genuine, we can authenticate it for you.

“Super fakes” are manufactured so meticulously close to the original designs, and as such that they are available soon after the collection of original handbags are launched by brands. When I can’t afford the genuine thing, I get what is real and is affordable. By buying less, but better quality designer goods, my sense of self is preserved and elevated. I don’t feel so entitled to have everything under the sun, even if it means getting my hands on a genuine fake. Despite having experienced Turkey, I refuse to “be a turkey” by surrendering my sense of self. After seeing all of the genuine fake products at the Grand Bazaar, I needed to cleanse my spirit by paying a visit to one of my most favorite brands, Hermes.

However, Earn is questioned by security guards shoulderbagbrasil.com, who claim that the $100 bill that he gave to the guard is a counterfeit bill. The owner claims it’s fake and Earn decides to leave, although he is forced to pay for his entry again as he was already in the club. As they head outside, a security guard says that they know the bill is real but that the owner was “tripping”. He decides to call Alfred, inviting him to a strip club. He, in turn, takes Darius and Tracy (Khris Davis) to meet with Earn and they are astounded to see him and Van rented a limo to go to the strip club. “Illegal packaging is dangerous to consumers, especially when it is ripping-off well-known brands that are attractive to children, and needs to be removed from the marketplace,” Elliott said.

Reviews are still the most trusted way to evaluate a seller, according to our respondents. These are largely found on marketplaces, where the utopian concept of a community sharing their opinions on a given product is sometimes distorted into something much more vulgar. Many of these reviews are as inauthentic as the product that is being reviewed. Because authenticity extras can be easily replicated or misplaced, they are not often relied upon in the authentication process.

Fake bags, however, often have a synthetic texture that feels plastic or rubbery. The color and texture may be inconsistent, and the leather may have an artificial shine or sheen. The quality of the leather is one of the most important factors to consider when evaluating a bag. Genuine leather has a natural texture and a unique appearance that is difficult to mimic.

Consumers should exercise caution when purchasing from unofficial sources or unfamiliar websites. Recent data reveals a concerning trend that a significant portion of young consumers, approximately 37 percent, purchased counterfeit designer goods in 2022. Moreover, the global counterfeit goods market exceeded the GDP of Austria and Ireland combined in 2019. Explore brands that prioritize ethical and sustainable practices in their production processes. By choosing to support these brands, you contribute to a fashion industry that values fair labor practices, responsible sourcing, and environmentally friendly manufacturing. The term “dupe” refers to a more affordable version of an existing product—essentially, a duplicate that doesn’t claim to be the original.

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Some even have authentication technology — QR codes and chips — that have yet to be implemented in the real thing. Perhaps there is a kingpin, but what’s more likely is that a number of New Yorkers, some of them wealthy, are acting as middlemen, shipping the bags over in bulk and holding the parties. One of them is Bree, a 20-something single mom who works with a network of some 60 sellers to source bags for her “thousands of loyal clients” — mostly Long Island women she manages on a private Facebook page.

Fake luxury handbags piled on blue tarps in broad daylight. Small Asian women with single-ear headsets handed us laminated sheets of paper displaying entire catalogs. We pointed, the women spoke into their earpieces, and we were led into alleyways and greeted by big men carrying trash bags full of merchandise, which we were allowed to pick through. We spent our dinner money on a few handbags and sunglasses—all for Mom—and ate McDonald’s back in Times Square, content and satisfied with our decisions. In November 2023, federal agents executed the largest seizure of counterfeit goods in U.S. history. Authorities announced the seizure of around 219,000 counterfeit bags, clothes, shoes, luxury products, and other items.

If you’re travelling by air, make sure you know what you’re allowed to have in your carry-on and checked baggage. As she continued to look, a red leather bag that looked very familiar caught the seasoned bargainer’s eye. In this article from the Wall Street Journal, Elizabeth Bernstein, who works with second-hand luxury retailer Portero, offers advice on how to tell a fraud from the real deal. Sign up to receive exclusive venue presales and info on the latest upcoming events. Meeting the needs of our Guests with disabilities at the Kia Forum is a never-ending commitment—we want to make your visit with us an enjoyable and unforgettable experience. Please visit our Disabled Services page for a full range of our accommodations, programs and policies.

Traditionally, intellectual property crimes and terrorism have been considered separate, but now evidence actually shows that they are strongly linked. With improved technology and increasingly sophisticated financial infrastructures, terrorists engage in the benefits of counterfeit production (high profit, low risk) to aid their operations. This dirty money secures future operations, which include premeditated criminal activities from terrorist groups. These black market operations funnel money into the illicit world of the illegal narcotics, firearms, and ammunition trade. According to a UK IP Crime Group survey, about 40% of respondents had worked on cases where counterfeiting was linked to drug crime, and 29% stated a connection between counterfeiting and overall organized crime.

We peered inside, counting the pockets, noting the branded lining, the tag’s shape and font, the metalware on the zippers. It was exhilarating to know the bag was worth nearly as much as our car. My family stood looking at one another, speechless, as the woman climbed down a metal ladder into the dark bowel of her store. A minute later, a fluorescent light flickered on and we heard some shuffling of plastic down below.

Or as I sometimes joke, a “Fouis Fuitton.” I took Lou to client meetings, wardrobe edits, to exercise classes, out for dinner, and to a show at the Jubilee. It came with me on my errands, to the west coast, and out shopping for gifts. I consider myself to be a freak flag flying authentic person for the most part.

So, before you click “add to cart,” think about what you’re really getting—and whether it’s worth it. At Lunar New Year two months later, I scanned the temple for brand-name logos out of habit, but I quickly lost interest. My trance was broken; it was hard for me to care what people wore.

That’s what human resources executive Nina Pitt, 39, thought when she bought her Prada bag from Cosette in March. She’d been storing it in a closet for a later overseas trip when, around Easter, she noticed a Facebook thread filled with complaints about Cosette. She checked her bag’s authentication certificate, but when it returned an error message, she realised there could be a problem. One of the world’s biggest AI authenticators is Entrupy, which has tested about $50 million worth of luxury bags in Australia. Founder Vidyuth Srinivasan says about 5.7 per cent of these are classified as “unidentified”, meaning Entrupy is unable to certify them as authentic. The most common brands in this category are Goyard, Dior, Prada, Saint Laurent and Gucci.

When my teenaage daughter came home form NYC with 2 “knock off” purses last year, my sister was very upset. She has read about how much of the money from this stuff is supposedly funneled into helping to fund terrorist organizations and drug groups. If you do a bit of “google searching” you can read about this. I don’t know if it is absolutely true, because as we know, anyone can write anything and post it on the internet. I am sailing on the Serenade soon and I read there is a Coach outlet store in San Juan, as well as other outlets, but I was wondering if there was someplace there that sells the fake purses.

Joseph Rosenfeld was born to be a personal style strategist. He survived a difficult childhood of physical abuse and bullying. The turning point came when he had an epiphany in high school. He theorized then that personal style could transcend physical attraction. In fact, it remains the crux of his work for over thirty years. The second thing this tells us is that people like the designs of high-end goods.

In one strip of shops alone, around $700 million of fake goods were sold in a single year. In a sign of just how prevalent fake fashion has become in Manchester, just north of the city centre is a road known as “Counterfeit Street”, in the suburb of Cheetham Hill. According to local police, this area once accounted for more than half the supply of counterfeit goods across the UK. TikTok and Instagram have helped make luxury fashion more accessible to a mass audience. A genuine Louis Vuitton often has an unmistakable odour, Ben said — strong, pleasant, and with a prominent note of cheese. “It’s a nice smelling smell,” he said, grinning as a wince shot across my face.

I would be in immigration line for hours instead of the usual one or two minutes! I can only magine how big the crowd would get at JFK or LAX. NoelandTintin , your sarcasm has really no place here. We are trying to offer our best replies based on our experiences so the members are aware of what is happening especially that they are still in the process of coming here. We dont want our kababayans to be in trouble when they enter the USA. Do read that and tell the OP again that its okay to bring in here fake articles, not to mention the real experiences of people shared by the other contributors.

If they looked over at our car, perhaps all they’d see was a family waiting to warm up a car while a dad told an emphatic story—the terrible soundtrack of Dad’s barking sealed away. It was at that moment that a smaller man from the stream of people passing by bumped into Dad’s torso with his shoulder. Don’t blame us for your stress with the car,” Mom said.

Other people might not be able to tell if it is fake or not. But knowing deep down that you are bringing fake and in effect lying to others, it up to you… There’s a big shopping center right by the ship if you don’t dock downtown. Also Costa Maya has a shopping area with several leather goods vendors. On further inspection, Ashlee believed that she had found a Hermes Birkin with gold hardware for less than $10. The coveted purses usually retail for at least $10,400 and cannot just be bought by walking into a Hermes store.

‘ moment soon turned into disappointment after she realized that her secondhand $9.99 Hermès Birkin was a fake. The distribution of promotional items, flyers, handbills or other printed materials is not permitted without written permission from the Kia Forum. In addition, vending, peddling or the distribution of product samples is not allowed. For most events at the Kia Forum, alcoholic beverages are available for purchase. Staff is trained in the National Restaurant Association Training program. Alcohol sales will be limited to up to two (2) alcoholic beverages per customer per transaction.

He argues there is little evidence provided that profits fund organised criminal gangs, external – although admits there is a problem with sellers of fake goods not paying taxes. A BBC investigation has found over the past two years, thousands of fake goods were seized from black markets across England. This final picture illustrates the worst counterfeits in the market. “We had a case where we had 930 shut-down requests on a vendor, and this vendor was a PowerSeller,” Louis Vuitton’s intellectual-property director, Nathalie Moullé-Berteaux, says.

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“The trafficking of counterfeit goods is anything but a victimless crime because it harms legitimate businesses, governments, and consumers,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said in a statement. “One purse might seem harmless, but the production and sale of imitation products is far from a victimless crime,” Arvelo said in a statement. Learn more about FASHIONPHILE’s accredited authentication process here. Others describe horrific scenes of children chained to sewing machines and workers locked and isolated in basements. Legitimate companies are forced to be transparent about their supply chain practices and to disclose information about their suppliers, labor practices, and working conditions. There is no one held accountable for their abysmal labor practices and unsafe working conditions.

If they don’t feel guilty about their boss copping the bag, they wonder about child labor or ethical consumption around fast fashion. Things get weird around the QC (Quality Control) posts, where recent or prospective buyers ask other Redditors to rank the items they’ve already bought or are thinking of buying. But follow what your bag heart tells you 😊” on a faux Louis Vuitton satchel or “The heart is slightly off on bottom left but I am the person who notices when someone puts on eyeliner!!!

An attorney can advise you on the best defense strategy. I recently came across this gorgeous Hourglass Small Handbag with crocodile embossed in the color orange. And the quality is on par with what you would find in a high-end designer store, but at a much lower cost.

We have spent literally decades building FASHIONPHILE University, where our own team of brand experts are trained in an apprentice-style program on specific brand authentication. There is no academic institution where one can be trained in these skills. Stanford doesn’t have a degree in Dior authentication.

Louis Vuitton does not come with any authenticity cards. In order to tell if the bag is real, manufacturer places a unique stamp with a place and date code on the inside of the purse. Nowadays LV bags are not only produced in France, but also in the USA, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Spain. If you find yourself with a fake bag, the affected designer may want to be notified so they can alter their designs and make such counterfeits easier to spot. Furthermore, it is a good idea to report any suspicious transactions or suspected illegal activity to proper authorities. For special occasions or events, renting a designer bag or borrowing one from a friend or family member can be a great option.

The Dragon needed rebuilding after a stint in my suitcase, so once it’s been built, treat it gently. That being said, some of the pieces are so small and fiddly that if you’re not already bald, you might soon be after trying to put them together. Then I remembered that I didn’t have Link’s abilities and wasn’t a computer game character, so I just knuckled down and persevered. It took two of us 3 hours to build it from scratch, which means (to get my maths cap on again), it will take a solo builder an average of 6 hours to put together.

Tradesy only has “advanced website technology” to detect and automatically remove inauthentic listings. So you kind of have to trust that the seller is selling an authentic item. Tradesy doesn’t authenticate the bag before it’s listed on the site. Pitt, who lives in Brisbane, asked Real Authentication to run the process again – her bag was deemed fake by the company. Pitt hoped that because she paid using PayPal she would have more luck getting a refund. In the end, she got her money back from Cosette after raising a dispute.

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With designer shoes, it’s not smell, but touch, that often proves the best guide, Ben advised. “The materials are the biggest one on the shoes because they feel a certain way,” he said. Inside were identical-looking pairs of beige Balenciaga-branded sneakers, one real, the other fake. “I want to know if you can tell the difference between these two,” he said, handing me one of each. The profits are often laundered through legitimate-looking businesses, from restaurants to luxury car dealerships, and declared as income.

Many original manufactures will often stay with a particular model and style for a long period of time. Hermes, has stayed with the iconic Birkin style handbag for over 30 years, which makes it easy for counterfeiters to perfect knock-offs. This article explores which are the hottest fakes and where are the most counterfeited handbags found. While hundreds of famous handbags are counterfeited by Chinese manufacturers, there are a few handbag companies and styles that stand out as the most common bags that are copied.

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These identity thieves are so convincing that there have been instances of customers bringing super fakes in for servicing at real luxury designer boutiques, where some employees were unable to detect the fake. It is not likely you will come across one, but it is important to know they do exist and are in circulation. If you suspect a bag of being a super fake, the best thing to do would be to leave it to the professionals.

As just one example, the Hermes brand is among the world’s most coveted. The company is very strict about how much of its goods they produce, which keeps the demand high [and the prices even higher] for the genuine article. I stopped counting how many guys wore these absolutely outsized “H” belt buckles intended to copy the original design produced by Hermes. I wear my gold “H” buckle and belt every day because I like that it stands for the best in quality, and the design is richly elegant.

The area is bordered by Little Italy to the North and Chinatown to the South. A further complaint was received, in August 2021, from a person who had purchased 70 counterfeit handbags from Ms Krueanarong via a Facebook page where she had advertised items for sale. Checking the hardware is another authentication process you shouldn’t miss in inspecting a handbag. Luxury brands use only the best kinds of metal for the hardware of their bags because details like this also come with the hefty price tag on the bag. The biggest problem for brands is that these counterfeiters have returning customers.

Then the website is changed to become an advertisement for the genuine Gucci brand. The site is then redirected to the real Gucci store website. Gucci’s war on the most counterfeited handbags seems to be working well with this strategy. Welcome to the 5.11 Tactical® Sale, where you can find high-quality tactical gear at discounted prices. Our sale collection includes a wide variety of products, such as apparel, footwear, and accessories for both men and women. Whether you are searching for training gear, outdoor equipment, range essentials, or professional attire, our sale section has it all.

Our informal referral program allows you to make significant incremental income, with limited effort and full flexibility of your own schedule. Sellyourbags’s partnership program is ideal for fashion lovers who have an existing network of friends, colleagues, or clients with bags they may want to sell. In light of what is going on in other parts of the world, it really isn’t that important. I feel guilty about even taking a vacation when so many people don’t even have the luxury of clean drinking water. Chanel is in the business of selling new purses for as much as the market can bear, and WGACA is in the business of selling vintage and slightly used purses for less than that but enough to make a profit.

The hardware should be sturdy with no imperfections or discoloration. It turns out Tradesy has a horrible reputation AND isn’t accredited by the Better Business Bureau. Sellers can list items and it doesn’t go through Tradesy first.

Gucci even sued a credit card processor for processing credit cards from the fake handbag websites. While many websites fear putting counterfeit Gucci’s into their inventory, there are plenty of fake Gucci handbags for sale on the street. Check out Canal Street in Chinatown, NYC for some great Gucci fakes as they are pretty common there. It seems that Gucci did not get the research data that indicated that fake handbag buyers do not upgrade to buying the real thing when the cost is over 100 times the price of the fake.

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One easy way to spot a fake Tory Burch bag is by checking its overall shape. Genuine Tory Burch bags use high-quality materials, giving them a sturdy structure that fake bags lack. Although these signs of a fake Kånken are a good way of telling the quality of a bag, we strongly advise anyone looking to buy a genuine Kånken to use the Fjällräven Verify Reseller Tool at the top of the page. This is the fastest and easiest way to determine if a company is selling real Fjällräven Kånken bags or not.

On the fake bag the inner stamps are hard to see because the inferior leather is shaggier and less smooth. This applies mostly to non-black Park totes because the black Park totes have a black inner suede where it’s hard to see the stamping in the first place. But they hold their value better and are less likely to get you in legal trouble!

Depicted as gift bags in various bright colors, patterns, sizes, and positions across platforms. Apple’s design, for instance, features a pink bag with light-pink dots in front of a gold bag with yellow stripes. Goods have been brought into the United States without the logos adorned on them in order to get past customs.[50] They are then finished within the country. This is due to the increase in seizing of product at borders.

He says not only is the manufacturing of fakes often linked to criminal networks and slave labour, but they can also be made from dangerous materials, including toxic chemicals. “People don’t realise when these items rub against your skin, they’re immediately detrimental to you,” Srinivasan says. Leung says the difficulty with AI-based authentication, indeed any type, is that it’s not foolproof. “[AI] is a great tool but if the gun is in the wrong person’s hands then … I could do the authenticating on the real bag [but sell a fake],” he says.

They do it by dividing products into what they consider to be “high-risk” or “low-risk” categories. Products that are known to attract forgers–either because they are very desirable, very popular, very expensive or some combination of the three–are sent to high-risk authenticators fake bags online, who have more training and knowledge. But I still had that nagging feeling that something wasn’t right.

Because it is the only form of branding on Prada’s otherwise minimalistic bags, the triangle plaque is very carefully secured to them. It should sit flat and tight against an authentic Prada bag. You should never be able to lift its edges, wiggle it, or remove it altogether.

All our questions were answered and we had a sense of relief. The lock and the keys have matching numbers, but some numbers have been consistent with counterfeits. The engraving on the lock must be smooth and not chiseled or dotted. If it’s not smooth, the lock is fake, and the handbag likely is also.

Furthermore, it is perfectly centred on a square of leather, usually stitched with a mustard colored thread to the inside pocket. On classic brown Louis Vuitton bags, the color of the stitching should be of mustard yellow, not of a bright yellow color. It should be perfectly consistent in the size of the stitch, as well as its distance and quality. If the purse is made of Damier Ebene canvas, the logo “Louis Vuitton Paris” in a square should be in the same line on one side of the bag as it is on another. The classic monogram on a Louis Vuitton bag are interlocking letters LV, where V is slightly above L.

Visually, the leather on the fake bag is shinier with a smaller grain. The authentic pebbled leather park tote will never be shiny (though in the black leather has a slight sheen, all other colors are very matte). I also noticed that the leather on the fake tote had some striations or veining. I’ve never seen a real bag from The Row with any veining, and I think they purposely choose leathers that are completely without irregularities. At the end of the day, it’s important to remember that a designer handbag is just an accessory.

This is because counterfeit handbags are an illegal and highly profitable commodity. One of the biggest issues fashion houses face in the luxury market is the consumption of counterfeit products. In the UK, people who produce, sell, or possess these goods may even be committing criminal offences. The minute details that differ between fake and luxury are so small that the naked untrained eye doesn’t even notice them.

At the strip club, Earn changes his $100 bill into $1 bills, although is forced to give a minimum $200 as well as losing 20% of the money. He is then pressured by the club’s announcer to tip a dancer, which he reluctantly does. Despite paying for the table, Earn has to pay $200 just to get drinks and even has to pay a stripper just for dancing a few seconds in front of Van.

That’s a problem because, without the training that the true experts have, the copywriters can miss things, which are often things they shouldn’t miss. I was feeling pretty good about my purchase but as the days went on I got this nagging feeling. Maybe I was just feeling guilty for spending that much money? So for some reason I decided to do a little research into Tradesy (this is something I should have done BEFORE).

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This is what those dollars fund when you buy counterfeit accessories. On the pro side, wearing a fake designer bag can save you a lot of money. If you’re able to find a good quality replica, it can be indistinguishable from the real thing. Additionally, it can be a way to keep up with the latest trends without spending a fortune. Sure you can sometimes find designer bags for a steal at thrift stores because maybe someone didn’t know the brand, but more often than not, thrift stores are brand savvy and know their stuff so they up charge for them. So if the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.

From spacious totes and backpacks to slim crossbodies and belt bags, we’ve got a size and style for everyone. Shop our designer clearance bags for all the styles you’ve been craving (and the ones you’re about to discover). New laws stand to make things even tougher for those selling fakes. It also grants up to $25 million annually for the next five years to state and local law enforcement to help develop anticounterfeiting programs. An intellectual-property coordinator will be appointed to oversee efforts from the White House.

Years ago, we realized that we were being used as a “free authentication service.” But authentication is not free for us. We pay for the free shipping people use to ship a bag to us. And then, if the item is fake, we pay for the packaging and shipping to return it. But we obviously don’t want the fakes in the first place. So we implemented a $75 “in-person authentication and return shipping fee” in the case that an item is counterfeit and alert a would-be seller of this fee when they submit the item for a quote.

The hardware of fake bags usually has light and hollow hardware, as if they’re made with cheap metal or worse, plastic. It’s also a bad sign if the hardware is chipping off like the one on the left. The hardware on the right (real) still looks flawless. Inspect the text present in your luxury brand handbag. Check the serial number, which is an important part of any luxury item.

“See how shiny this is and how sticky it looks?” he said. “And the Balenciaga label is bolder here compared to the real one. It’s the little details that give it away.” Just an hour’s drive from Liverpool, the city of Manchester was once the epicentre of Britain’s manufacturing revolution. Today, it holds the dubious honour of Europe’s “counterfeit capital”. A fake Louis Vuitton, on the other hand, can smell of pungent glue, or may have no odour at all.

Now when purchasing secondhand, there’s always a chance that the previous owner got their dust bags mixed up so this isn’t a foolproof way to tell. But when added with the sum of my other points, it was obviously a fake dust bag. The shape was different (as pictured), and the font of the tag on the fake dust bag is slightly larger. If authorities do go after you for trafficking in fakes, don’t panic.

By the time I was home from the day, showered and ruminating in my bed, I couldn’t help but mention my observation casually to another friend who had also joined me at lunch. The FAA has limits on preservative solution in checked baggage. No more than 30 ml of free liquid solution in each inner packaging and no more than one liter in the entire outer package.