How to Detect a Designer Knock-Off Handbag

There are ways to tell knockoff handbags from real designer handbags.

Designer bags aren't cheap; they come with an assurance of quality and a certain standard of prestige associated with brand names like Coach, Gucci and Prada. With 2010 designer bag prices ranging from several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars---and waiting lists that can keep you waiting for years to buy a designer It bag---some people turn to illicit knockoff handbags that they can buy in makeshift shops and in vans parked in places like Canal Street. Designer handbags aren't perfect replicas of the real thing, though, and there are several ways to tell if a handbag is a real or a knockoff.

Instructions

1. Check the stitching. If it seems uneven, loose or sloppy, the bag is not a designer original. Designers are able to sell their bags for high prices because they do quality work every time. Knockoffs are not as reliable.

2. Find out where the designer has bags made and check the labels on the inside of the suspect bag. Coach, for example, has bags made in China but not in Korea. If there's a label in a bag that says it was made in Korea, it is definitely not a Coach bag.

3. Note the details. Coach has zippers with "YKK" engraved on them, for example. If a bag lacks the lettering, then it's not an original.

4. Refer to the serial number. Many designers put a label with a serial number inside the bag. You can call a store and have this number checked before you purchase a handbag to determine whether it is a legitimate designer bag.

5. Check the pattern. Many fake Louis Vuitton bags have patterns that the designer never actually released. Coach knockoffs may have Gs instead of Cs, or the letters may be uneven or touching in the wrong places.

6. Consider the source. If the bag documentation or the packaging is worded awkwardly or misspelled, it's not an original.

7. Search for feedback. Especially if you're buying online, be sure the seller has good, legitimate feedback before you purchase it.

8. Go to the designer retailer. Experts will be able to tell quickly if the bag is real or if it is a knockoff.

9. Trust your instincts. If you don't think it's real, it probably isn't. Designer bags are made with excellent materials and workmanship. If you don't see that in the suspect bag, it is likely a fake.

10. Don't depend on receipts or price as a guarantee if you're buying secondhand. The receipts are easy to fake and some knockoff bags sell for hundreds of dollars.

References

• American Chronicle: How to Spot Fake Coach Handbags
• Seattle PI newspaper: Spotting a Knockoff Handbag Can Be Harder Than You Think