How Are Consumers Supposed To Know the Difference Between Authentic Luxury Handbags and A Fake?
The ideal situation would be to avoid purchasing a counterfeit luxury handbag like a Louis Vuitton, Gucci, or Chanel. But most people are entirely unaware of the severe issues behind fake designer handbags and fashion accessories, when shopping for luxury handbags.
There is a whole industry producing counterfeit handbags and fakes.
According to Angie Houston, founder of MyPoupette.com, a website that offers authentication services for buyers and sellers of designer bags and other luxury goods. She reports that of the bags she authenticates, abou7 75% to 80% of the bags are fake.
In 2018 counterfeiting is the largest criminal enterprise in the world, with domestic and international sales of counterfeit and pirated goods totaling between $1.7 million and $4.5 trillion a year.
The sheer volume of counterfeit handbags and other illegal fashion accessories poses a risk for consumers. How are consumers supposed to know the difference between a genuine, authentic designer handbag and a knockoff?
Purchasing an authentic version is best achieved by purchasing from an authentic brand boutique like Louis Vuitton, a licensed retailer like Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, or one of the others. A drawback is the vast majority of these products from the name brands will come with a hefty price, and designer handbags aren’t cheap.
Sporting one of the beautiful Louis Vuitton Handbags you received as a gift added to your self-esteem and helped you present the image you wanted to. To find out that the handbag was a Louis Vuitton look-alike is embarrassing and frustrating and a learning experience for the giver who thought the bag was authentic.
Selling counterfeit luxury items is breaking the law. Justifying the practice by saying that the sellers are just giving people what they want at a bargain price or the luxury companies have more than enough money to share is simply justification. The practice is wrong.
Knowingly buying a knockoff supports an illegal industry and encourages other dishonest manufacturers to fill the market with fake original designs.
Unknowingly honest shoppers looking to purchase one of the lovely designer handbags may be fooled by counterfeit handbags. It is easy to do and caught in the emotion of getting a “good deal” adds to a purchaser letting down their guard and not checking the styles, date codes, stitching, clasps, and other tell-tale characteristics of a real thing versus falling for one of the fake bags on the market.
Most popular designer handbags that are trending today will have a fake designer bag look alike. Look on Amazon, and you may find that counterfeit handbag sellers have flocked to the business to sell counterfeits, and they do so with ease. When you see Gucci bags that have the same price as the tennis shoes you bought at a local shoe mart, you know these are fake. The hard ones to find that are fake are the handbags that seemingly are authentic and carry a similar price as the real thing, and the purchaser is none the wiser.
Purchasers don’t have a training guide about how to authentic handbags, nor do they have authentication apps. They depend on the honesty and expertise of the shop they buy the purse from.
Secondhand stores, online stores, and pre-owned purse stores may get one pulled over on them and, unfortunately, have counterfeit handbags in their inventory.
Finding Luxury Handbags at a Pawn Shop
Pawn shops are a great place to find pre-owned luxury items like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, and Hermes handbags.
Pawn shops will buy, sell, and loan against designer handbags. Remember, they are a business and need to make sure that whatever article they are considering making a deal on has to be authentic. Most pawn shops have apps and equipment to authenticate the items they make deals on. It would simply be poor business practices if they sold knockoffs or counterfeits. They wouldn’t stay in business very long, and they couldn’t resale the items for what they spent on them.
Pawn shops use training guides, apps like Entrupy, and checklists to ensure they don’t get tricked into buying a fake Louis Vuitton, Gucci, or another designer handbag. They are experts.
There are some things you can do as a purchaser to help decrease the risk of buying counterfeit handbags.
Check the cost of the handbag. It is inexpensive. Does it even make sense that the bag is the real thing?
Know the materials used in the designer handbags you prefer. Is the quality of the material used in the bag you are looking at similar?
How about the hardware. Is it consistent with the name brands you know?
Pay very close attention to the stitch work. Counterfeit bags are getting better at replicating stitchwork, but you can tell the difference. So look.
Specific name brands have specific linings they use in the different designer styles. Does the lining look like it should?
The logo and serial numbers may tell you something. There are examples on the internet and social media of what to look for.
Are there answers in the pockets? A fake bag may have pockets inconsistent with name brands.
Shopping for designer handbags at Lambert Pawn in Whittier, CA, is one of the best decisions you can make when shopping for an authentic version at a good deal.
Conveniently located at 14158 Lambert Rd., Whittier, CA 90605; 562-945-0290, the experts at the shop are reading to help you when you are ready to purchase a pre-owned luxury handbag. Knowing the handbag style you like may help you as you look through their inventory.
They are skilled at authenticating luxury bags and other luxury items that are the latest trends in the market today. They will work with you to get you a great deal on a Chanel, Gucci, or Louis Vuitton bag. They are always looking to authenticate and value pre-owned bags for pawn or sale.
They turn away all counterfeit sellers and any counterfeit product that comes through their door. As an honest, knowledgable, and transparent pawn shop, they are considered a safe place in the resale market to buy pre-owned handbags.
Currently, Lambert Pawn has a beautiful Louis Vuitton Bellevue GM in Amarante Vernis Patent Leather. It is in good condition with some signs of wear, and it comes with a certificate of authenticity through Entrupy, a handbag authenticator. Carrying this bag will add class, style, and worth to your handbags and the styles you have in your closet. Buying secondhand through the pawnshop will save you money and reassure you that what you are purchasing is not counterfeit.
