Best 8 tips to spot the fake designer item

Best 8 tips to spot the fake designer item

A Vancouver company sees many counterfeit branded products every week. They give us tips on how to distinguish the fakes from the real thing.

No wonder there are as many fake branded products in Vancouver as there are real ones. But how do you tell them apart?

According to Courtney Watkins, founder of the luxury goods store Mine & Yours, it is becoming increasingly difficult to spot the fakes. Experienced shoppers in the store come across several counterfeit items a week.

The resale store puts each designer item purchased through an internal authentication process, which uses third-party authentication technology to determine if the item is genuine. 

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Watkins breaks the process down into a few necessary steps: verification of the item’s construction, smell testing, and, in the case of bags, third-party digital authentication. 

Article construction takes into account details such as stitching, date and style Code matching, and fonts. 

Seams

“We look at the seams, which are usually very important, and make sure they are perfectly straight and that there is the same amount of stitching from one side to the other.

According to the expert, symmetry is often the easiest way to distinguish an item from a fake brand, especially if the seams are irregular. 

Codes

“Some bags have a code,” he says. “We compare serial codes and date codes and see if they make sense.”

Watkins adds that a quick Google search for the code should bring up the item in question, and if it doesn’t, it’s probably not a genuine branded item. 

According to the expert, each bag has a different code. For example, Chanel and Louis Vuitton have a date code, while Gucci, Balenciaga and other bags have a style code. These codes are attached to a leather label or hidden in a pocket or next to a seam. “You have to look for them,” says Watkins. 

Fonts

Fonts and labels are another way to tell if an item is fake: “Another method is to check the font on a label and compare it to a real item, or look at the quality of the label,” he explains.

Smell test 

After examining the construction and overall quality of the item, Mine & Yours’ authentication experts conduct a smell test. “Counterfeits are often made from fake leather or a fake product, not real leather. Sometimes we find counterfeits that smell a bit toxic, like chemicals,” says Watkins. 

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Boxes and Dust Bags

Verifying the item itself is not the only thing to do in the authentication process. Everything that comes with the item serves to indicate its authenticity, including the packaging. Comparing the box to an authentic one, especially the logos, and looking at the quality of the dust bags is another way to spot a counterfeit item: “The logo will be slightly off-centered, or skewed and not perfect. Or you’ll get a dust bag that looks so thin and cheap and like it’s falling apart. Chances are, if it’s not real, neither is the object it contains,” Watkins explains. 

Third-party authentication

For bags, which are more often counterfeited, Mine & Yours works with authentication companies Entrupy and Real Authentication, which use technology to confirm authenticity. “Entrupy uses a microscopic camera and advanced artificial intelligence technology to compare bags against a huge database of authentic and counterfeit items,” reads the resale store’s website.

Rule of thumb

Other commonly counterfeit items are shoes and clothing with logos and fashion items from the current or previous season. For those unfamiliar with branded items, such as experienced Mine & Yours shoppers, Watkins says the best way to find out if an item is counterfeit is to ask the seller where they got it from and ask for a receipt. 

“If you’re buying from someone, don’t be afraid to ask where they got [the item] or if they have a receipt,” Watkins says, adding that many designer and high-end stores, such as Holt Renfrew, keep a record, so if the seller doesn’t have a receipt, you can also call the store and ask for one. 

“Do your due diligence, ask around and use the Internet,” he advises. “Look at the quality, does it look like a $1,000 pair of shoes, does it look well made, is the construction good? Use your phone and Google style code [or] and see what it says. What does the label look like? Just do a little research.

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Low-priced designer jewelry is possible

Despite the numerous designer fakes scattered around the city, the chance of finding an authentic designer item in a luxury store is not small: “There are a lot of rich people in Vancouver. Some people come and bring us their items, but others donate them,” says Watkins.

“Especially if they only have one or two designer items, they may think it’s not worth going [to us], so they bring one or two items to a store and get rid of everything,” he says. 

If a random shopping trip reveals a potential design treasure, it may be worth taking a closer look. 

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