For our fellow fashion lovers, there really isn’t anything like the feeling of finding ‘The One’ – the perfect bag. You’ll have her forever, you say to yourself. She fits your style and personality like a glove. You’ll have a life time of adventure together, girls lunches, weekends away… we all know the feeling. But is she real? This is one of the most common questions we are asked here at Consigner's Closet when it comes to our pre-loved designer handbags.
The truth is, high end designer bag counterfeiters are becoming better than ever at reproducing the luxury bags we all know and love - a term now known as "superfakes", where the differences between the real and the counterfeit are almost indistinguishable to the untrained eye.
At Consigner's Closet, we pride ourselves on reselling genuine luxury items and make it our priority to ensure your new pieces are the real deal. Our team are fully trained and highly experienced in examining luxury goods. This, in addition the use of our in-house Authentication system, Entrupy, means you can rest assured that your newfound love will stand the test of time.
Authentication
Here at Consigner's Closet we encourage our customers and consigners alike to hold onto their receipts, should they ever purchase a high end piece brand new. The receipt is a key piece to help us prove the authenticity of the bag. High end designers keep a record of pieces purchased and it is not uncommon for our Consigners to call up the likes of Louis Vuitton and ask for a copy of the receipt of the bag they are about to consign with us.
However, we all know not all bags are purchased new. Some have lived colourful lives of having a number of owners and so many adventures. Nothing excites us more than a vintage Dior or Fendi coming in store. If only they could talk and tell us their tales. At Consigner's Closet, in the absence of the original receipts, we ask our consigners to pay a small fee so we can use the services of an independent authentication service called Entrupy to ensure every bag we sell is a genuine luxury item.
Entrupy is the world leader in ensuring authenticity of luxury products. They use AI technology to capture microscopic images and compare them to their database of millions of images of real and fake bags, telling us with 99.8% certainty if a bag is legitimate. All staff at Consigner's Closet are highly experienced in using our Entrupy device, and it is something we consider vital in helping us provide our clients with high end quality pieces at a small price of just A$30.
Click here to watch us behind the scenes, authenticating a gorgeous Chloe Woody Tote bag in store using Entrupy. If you need to know more, just ask us in store and we will be happy to explain the process to you further!
Tell-tale signs you can also look for in counterfeit bags:
The Logo
Any top end brand will be using logo plates that are consistent in shape and quality. Printed logos are always crisp and clear. Fake designer bags usually have a logo stamp that is blurry or inaccurate. The designer name may be spent wrong (e.g. Dior could become Deor). The font could be slightly different or off centre. The details may be small, but when you know what you're looking for, they can stick out like a sore thumb!
Touch & Feel Your Bag
Luxury designer bags such as Hermès and Chanel undergo a lengthy and strict process of production. They are made of high quality leather, often hand selected. The highest quality colour pigments are used and we all know that distinct smell of a true authentic leather handbag. Counterfeit bags are often made with lower quality materials, obvious glue on the joins or uneven stitching. Some even have a distinct chemical smell, a sure sign of being a fake.
Check the Hardware
We can recall a beautiful Stella McCartney Fallabella handbag coming into store for consignment. All looked perfect, however, when our staff picked the bag up the weight of the chain was a clear giveaway that she was a fake. An authentic Fallabella chain is solid and heavy. This one, much to our disappointment, was lightweight and clearly not of the same quality known of Stella McCartney products.
Check the Inside
Fake designer bags often look the goods from the outside. But once you open it up, nothing makes sense. Inconsistent lining or lack of serial numbers or hot stamps are a definite warning your bag is not authentic. Stitching is a dead giveaway when the thread is a different colour or the tension is too loose.
If you have a luxury bag to consign, get in touch at admin@consignerscloset.com.au, or click here to learn more!
