How to avoid buying fakes on Ebay (part 1)

I hope it will help you... there are so many fakes on Ebay, it makes me sick. 

First Question :

Is a bag sold with a serial number and a card of authenticity necessarily genuine ? 

No, no and no !!! Quite all the fakes are sold with that kind of stuff !! The serial number, the card of authenticity as well as the dust bags or the holograms are probably the easiest and cheapest details to copy !

Still worse, the new trend of chinese counterfeits makers is to provide also fake invoices from stores !

Actually, it is quite hard to differentiate the authentic items from the fakes. But you can significantly decrease the risk by following these pieces of advices and rules :

•  Usually, a honest seller will publish a lot of detailed photos illustrating the announcement, with a very complete description. For instance, the main difference between a fake and an authentic bag is the quality of the leather : a honest seller will certainly take very close pictures of the bag, allowing you to look carefully at the details.

• Usually, a honest seller clearly answers to your questions. And he isn't angry because you asked him a question... If he seems aggressive, ask yourself why ? Is he sure of the quality of its items ?

• Usually, a honest seller has an excellent return policy and suggests paying you off NOT if you are not satisfied (you can be satisfied when thinking you bought a real) BUT if the bag is not authentic... This makes a real big difference.

• Search on Google for the bag you want. You will find many websites selling fakes, especially Chinese sites. Take a look !!! And look carefully at the pictures. A lot of sellers who are selling fakes have just the same pictures on their eBay announce...  They even don't spend a few minutes to take their own photos ! Please note, even if it sounds incredible, that there are many powersellers among these lazy swindlers !!!

• Is the same serial number as another one model ? Beware !!! Each modele (colour, size, leather) is defined by a serial number.
  

• The best way to see if a bag is authentic or not is to look carefully at the authentic (if possible in stores) AND fake ones. You'll see, with time, you will soon be able to recognize some details you can't see now. With practice you will learn a lot. And save a lot of money.
  

• Ask the seller a full refund policy if the bag is not real. Once you have it, go to the boutique to authentify it.  If you can't go to a store, at least you can call and ask if the serial number matches a real one.

I will continue my guide these days. If you have some suggestions or questions, I will be very happy to listen to.