Sunday, July 26, 2009

How to Spot a Fake Louis Vuitton (LV) Handbag

Many people want to own an authentic Louis Vuitton purse or a LV handbag because of its unique and luxurious design. If you want to get a genuine authentic Louis Vuitton purse or handbag and you don't want to be ripped off by purchasing a fake one from a dishonest seller I have a few tips and guidelines to show you how to spot a fake Louis Vuitton purse or handbag. Depending on where you make your purchase, if you want to buy you "LV" Louis Vuitton handbag from a fifth avenue high end department store such as Neiman Marcus, Saks or Holt Renfrew then most likely your purchase will be safe. But many people like myself want to go treasure hunting and look for handbags at a more reasonable price. Places such as Auction, Ebay and other online stores have many listing of handbags and purses of all the designer brand names you can think of and out of the many daily listings, a portion of them are fake replicas. Some of the listings are actually good deals that people just can't miss. Anyway please read through the lists below to learn a few things about this one and only one, unique designer brand handbag so that you can spot a treasure and scope out the fakes, make a fun shopping experience.

Guidance #1:

As with all other designer brand handbags you must know the hardware of the brand. For more information about a particular handbag or purse style, you can check the Louis Vuitton website or visit your local boutique for the information about the style. For example, you should find out if the product have a date code, should it have one and where in the handbag if it does, what the particular style is supposed to be lined in, whether it should have feet, if it should have a d-ring inside and where. For example if you find a Speedy LV with a lining other than a brownish cotton canvas lining, you should question its authenticity because the lining of a LV Speedy has never came with other linings than the browning cotton mentioned above. Also a LV purse or handbag has never been made with a brown suede lining, even in the vintage pieces. Check the zipper and zipper pulls, purse snaps, buckles and other hardware you can find on the handbag, they all should have the LV branded on them. The Zipper pulls should be brass hardware and heavy to the touch and feel. If you have any LV monogram in a crease it is fake. If you find any "LV" crooked or in the stitch it is fake. Louis Vuitton has a passion for perfection for each of their handcrafted purse or handbag since the 1850s. They carefully design where the LV should be place on the bag and the LVs are always positioned on the bag with balance. If you have a ruler you can actually measure the LV from one corner to the next and the position from both end and top and bottom are always very close if not the same. LV handbags are made of canvas with cowhide leather straps and sidings, the edge of the leather will be dyed red. After the handbag is used for a few weeks, the leather will oxidize and the color will fade and become more brownish. If you are buying a used handbag, ask how long the bag is used and ask for picture of the bag to see if the leather has began to fade. If not, walk away from it. One critical thing that you can miss when checking a LV handbag or LV purse is the stitching. The Louis Vuitton handbags have the same number of stitches on all similar compartments. For example, if you count the number of stitch on the stitching of the handle or strap, count the stitch on both sides of the bag and also on both sides of the same patch. If one side has four stitches the chances are the other side will have four stitches. If not, it is very likely that the piece is a fake. The seam and stitches are always perfectly even, so if you find one that has uneven seam, it is not a real thing.

Guidance #2:

Know the pricing. Louis Vuitton Handbags or LV purses come in a price range of almost $400 to well into the $1,000s. So if you find a deal for less than $300. That is not a deal but a fake. Is simple, think about it, if you paid thousands for a handbag and it is an LV handbag, would you sell it for less than a few hundred bucks, even if it is used? Every LV is a master piece and its owners have pride in themselves for ever owning one, am I right girls? So yeh, you won't find an LV for less than the price range listed above. Unless you need the money to save lives, you don't rip yourself off like that. At least I won't. So next time when you are looking for a Louis Vuitton Handbag or any other designer handbag, remember that the price should be reasonable. If the original piece is sold for $1,000 in the store, don't expect to get for half the price, even if it is used. Louis Vuitton bags are limited in productions for each piece and so no one is stupid enough to sell it at such deep discount. Unless it is ripped, damaged or is a stolen good.

Guidance #3:

Knowing where and who is a authorized seller of the Louis Vuitton Purses. If you find some guys selling the bags on some streets or some no name stores along with some no name or cheap handbags, you can bet that the piece is a fake. You can find real genuine Louis Vuitton handbags online such as Ebay but there are also many fake replicas. If you find a good deal, check the seller's feedback, ask questions about the bag and the refund policy. You should also ask Ebay, Paypal or your credit card company about fraud protection. You can find real genuine LV purses online from the authorized seller at www.eluxury.com

Guidance #4:

Louis Vuitton handbag might have upside-down LV and other monograms on one side of the bag and perfectly up right on the other. This is perfectly normal depending on the style. Some LV purse are crafted with one large single piece of canvas and so when they fold the canvas into a handbag, one side will have perfectly normal display of LV logo and monogram and on the other side, the LV and monograms will be upside down. So when you see an LV with this description, it is not necessarily a fake.

Guidance #5:

Check the LV tag inside the handbag. It should be in a perfect rectangular shape and the "Louis Vuitton" name and "Paris" is carved in deeply into the tag. If you find an LV handbag with un-perfect rectangular shape tag inside the purse, or fading engraved "Louis Vuitton" name, it is a fake.

Keep these simple but critical details in mind before making your next purchase. I will keep updating this guide regularly to share my research and findings with you. I want all of you to make wise decisions and not to get ripped off. If you are to buy LV purses from eBay like I have, make sure you contact the seller about his/her guarantee and refund policy. Check the listing for eBay coverage against fraudulent transaction and items. Finally check with Paypal to see what kind of protection you'll received by making the payment through their system. Generally speaking, eBay together with Paypal offer excellent protection for buyers. But if you want to avoid all the unnecessary hassles and headaches in recovering your money follow the guides provided above to minimize your chance of being duped. Ok, good luck and happy shopping.

By Vivian Zhang

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Its nice blog,i like its.Cheer up.

Hendra desta said...

hi
thanks to blog before, and your blog ist's so nice....and so your product...good luck for you

Anonymous said...

Hi Vivian,
This is great advice! I like to shop the garment district in L.A. and you never know what you're going to get. Please stop by Mymompreneur.com and share some of your wisdom.

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Isabella Rosso said...

Either way, I don`t have a problem wearing a replica :)