Shopping expert presents advice on avoiding online scams this winter

Burberry’s performance was buoyed by a 46-percent surge in Chinese purchases of items including its handbags and famed trench coats – Copyright AFP/File IAN TIMBERLAKE

From Black Friday, via Cyber Monday, and culminating with Christmas this time of the year is associated with the retail sector and consumer spending. For many would-be shoppers, the current economic outlook presents challenges. This has led some consumers to embrace the second-hand market.

One advantage of this is to help to reduce over-production. However, for those seeking a better deal risks are presented in terms of websites or stores selling fake goods. One such product that is often subjected to counterfeiting is designer bags.

This makes Ben Schreiber, head of e-commerce at Latico Leathers, an appropriate person to canvass in terms of advice for those seeking to avoid being duped. Schreiber advises that it is always worth doing due diligence when buying second-hand. He shares this advice with Digital Journal.

Start with doing your research

Schreiber says tread cautiously: “If you can’t buy your handbag or any other designer good from the brand directly there is going to be an element of risk when purchasing designer goods online, however, according to Ben you can minimise these risks by researching the product.”

He adds: “If you are going to hand over your money to someone online then you want to be as prepared as you can be. One of the best ways to research a bag is to go in-store and look at that exact model of bag. Look at the quality of the material the bag is made out of, how it feels and how it looks in different light.”

Inspect the merchandise is another key tip: “Take care to look at the hardware on the bag, the interior lining, the stitch work, and if there are any interior pockets or logos. Once you have fully inspected the real bag in-store, you can write down the details and then compare it to the second-hand bag that is being sold online. If you can’t see these details, ask the seller to send over more photos, you can then compare the online bag to the one you have inspected in person.”

For website orders, Schreiber  advises: “If you do buy a bag online, the one thing you must always do when it arrives is to sniff the bag. While this sounds a little silly, it’s a great way to know if your bag is real or not. Replica bags often don’t smell good and they have a plastic or industrial smell to them. If your new online purchase smells off, return it.”

Common counterfeit problems

It is a problem that many fakes are difficult to spot as the quality of counterfeit goods improves.

Schreiber recommends: “The hardware on a designer bag is one of the easiest tells if a bag is a replica or not. All the hardware such as zippers, clasps and closures should have the same finish. Some brands are an exception to this rule, such as Chloe which sometimes uses different hardware but generally speaking, all hardware should be uniform. The hardware should also be solid and not chip.”

Attention to the detail, Schreiber adds: “Pay attention to the small details too, Chanel for example uses a higher stitch count per inch than replicas so that their quilted bags look less puffy. To the untrained eye this can be hard to spot but if you know what you are looking for you can protect yourself from being scammed.”

Know the goods is also an important point, which Schreiber develops: “The materials a bag is made out of can be wrong too, for example, the Louis Vuitton classic monogram bag is made from a canvas material and goes through a 100-stage process that makes the bag near impossible to replicate. Counterfeiters will use a grainy leather material to get as close as they can to the original but once again if you know what to look out for you won’t be duped.”

Is the bag the correct shape or size

With so many different models of luxury bags on the market it can be difficult to know if the bag is real.  

Schreiber says the consumer needs to have an idea of what they are intending to purchase: “Having the basic knowledge about the bag you want to purchase could save you from being tricked. One bag that is often counterfeited is the Hermes Birkin, and knowing that the bag is only available in 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 centimetres can allow you to measure the bottom of your bag to see if it is a fake.”

Does the bag come with authentication cards or documents?

Another important consideration are the authentication documents that should come with designer bags.

Schreiber add: “Not all luxury bag designers will provide you with authentication documents, Louis Vuitton and Hermes don’t provide any authentication documents so if you see a seller claiming they have them then it is a counterfeit. Chanel bags on the other hand do come with authentication cards that will have a 6-8 digit number on them. However, Chanel bags made before 1984 won’t have them.”

Too good to be true

Schreiber’s final piece of advice is for the consumer to have a realistic understanding of the price: “When shopping online you simply need to be wary of deals that seem too good to be true. If a bag retails in the thousands but you are getting it at a 90 percent reduction in price then you may be getting scammed.”