How to Buy an Authentic Designer Bag

If you decided to buy an authentic designer bag, but do not want to pay the retail price you can always try to find good "deals" on the internet. Auctioning websites such as e-bay offer a lot of authentic vintage designer bags. Although not all of them are really authentic. So here are a few advices on how to tell a fake from the real thing.

- First of all, if you really are considering buying what somebody else is offering make sure you get a lot of pictures of the item. Some pictures should be real close up, so that you can see the stitches, the leather quality and so on. Do the homework, study what the real thing is supposed to look like on the official websites. (Louis Vuitton, for example, has close up pictures for most if not all of the items they offer.)

- It is a big plus if the exact same model is still for sale in the official store, so please, study carefully what it looks like. You can either do it online, as I said before, or you can even go to the actual store and ask to take a look at the bag. That is if there is such a store nearby.

- Compare the price that the seller is offering to the retail price of an item of the same kind at the official store (if your actual item is no longer for sale at the official store). If the price is way lower than at the official store, you should be careful. Nobody would ever sell an authentic Gucci, Prada or Chanel bag for less than half of the retail price.

- If the bag has a pattern like LV monogram or Gucci's "GG" check if the pattern is symmetrical and is not being cut off in a weird place. Designers pay a lot of attention to keeping the pattern "correct".

- Tags that hang from a handle are usually a clear sign of a fake designer bag. I definitely know that it's the case for Louis Vuitton bags, because when I bought mine I didn't have any tags or plastic wrapping around handles. So, be careful and check out what the bag looks like when they sell it at the official retail store.

- If you see glue anywhere, especially where the stitches are - then it is most definitely a fake.

- A used Louis Vuitton bag will never have the light beige handles. The color of the handles is light beige only when the bag is new. Already after a few weeks the leather becomes darker.

So I suggest that you do a lot of research before you consider buying a bag off the internet. I suggest choosing to buy an authentic bag instead. If you do not have designer stores nearby, you can always shop online. Louis Vuitton, Chanel and some other designers have on-line stores at their official websites. Although these stores are country-specific. There are also stores that sell items from different designers. Such stores are E-luxury and Bluefly.