Uneasy when a consignor comes in with a pillowcase full of Prada and Louis Vuitton bags? Real designer or “designer-inspired”?
Unsure if you should take that seller’s Coach? Real or “replica”?
That Gucci generate some anxiety? Genuine or gyp?
Counterfeit goods, from Guccis to Nikes to Rolexes, continue to pour into our country from China.
This Auntie Kate the Blog post helps you spot a fake.
Rant: (I’ve never understood why people think that others will be impressed by the handbag they’re carrying…especially if it’s a fake. One seller of counterfeit goods says: “They want it to look like they spent a lot of money on it. Like, it’s an image thing”. What, you want to project an image of disregarding the rights of the artists and manufacturers? Like it’s cool to say “Hey, I rip off people I don’t even know”? Like you’d trust this person to not rip YOU off?)
What do you do about this issue in your shop?
It’s hard to pass up all designer bags when the real ones can make your shop money. And when “everyone else” is doing it and you’re losing business to them.
How do you cope?
Do you rely on your personal knowledge? Hold your breath and hope you’re not going to be found out? Require the original receipt? Mark them all “FAKE” on your price tag, thinking that will suffice?
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
We constantly check to make sure items are the real deal. I am returning two Coach bags that just came in. I researched them first and looked for all the “clues” and they just didn’t fit. I will ask the consignor because I didn’t think they would buy “knockoffs”, but they belong to the daughter so she may. It is just isn’t right.
Opened in Sept. – talked to some other shop owner’s who sold ‘replica’s’. They told me it was okay to sell them if you wrote “replica” on the tag and priced them accordingly. Took in a few coach fakes and priced them at something low – like $15. WELL – about 1 month into it, caught up on the initial craziness, opened up the NARTS site and began reading and one of the first posts I read was about counterfeiting. I’ll plead ignorance, but I had never given it much thought. Seems there was plenty of reliable info on NARTS, what is and is NOT an okay thing to do. So I did my homework (albeit late) and educated myself about copyright infringement. Signs made, stopped selling replica’s immediately, began asking some of my COACH carrying customers questions about their handbags and got some super tips on how to spot a fake. There is much info on line also. Now I only take them from consignor’s who I trust purchased them from a COACH store or reliable source. If they tell me they don’t know, don’t ‘remember’ or paid $70 new or bought on the street corner or from a warehouse next to a car dealer 🙂 – I refuse those. A COACH easy spot is the hardware. It’s heavy, high quality and seamless. Another check is the lining and stitching. Linings are not of the nylon type material and stitches are never frayed or loose, nor are seams overlapping or curling. (I check out other’s in the grocery aisles now..)
I talk about not taking replica’s when people bring them in and haven’t had one person yet not say something along the lines of “GOOD FOR YOU, AND I WOULDN’T OWN ONE EITHER”.
Thanks Kate for this post. We’re new so I’m very interested in this subject. We have not been offered any designer bags yet but we will definitely not be taking any fakes. How will we know? Until we can get good resource information on how to tell the difference we will require the original receipt. Any recommendations on reliable sources?
Hey Dazzle, the 10-15 links on the original post and on our Links page at TGtbT.com are quite helpful, if you have the time to investigate. I hope others will share resources they have found as well!
I admit it. I used to sell fakes in my store. They are sooo common in my area, I didn’t think too much about it. Then last year at conference a shop owner shared her story about being her battle with a jeans manufacturer about her selling fakes in her store. That shop owner was not doing it knowingly. She thought she was buying from a reputable distributor. But that didn’t matter, it cost her over a hundred thousand dollars to fight it. Other store owners she knows lost her home and business. Right then and there I called my store and told them to pull every replica we had and I never looked back. I now do my research and feel great about my store. Oh, and a flea market a half an hour from me got busted by the feds two weeks ago for the sale of counterfeit merchandise. I’m so glad I don’t have to worry about that ever again. I do know other stores in my area that are still selling them. I wish I could convince them it’s not worth it, but I know it took me a long time to truly understand the issue, especially when your customers want the fakes and the cheap prices. I think my customers are just as happy now knowing they are getting the better quality even if they are paying a little more.