We’re prefacing today’s confessional installment by saying that we do not condone the purchasing of fakes. However, we would find it counterproductive to deny the existence of high quality counterfeits and to pretend that people don’t buy them. Today’s confessional was chosen for the author’s story on his fake Birkin purchase, despite owning a real Birkin and a vibrant collection of limited edition bags from a variety of other brands.
If you’d like to submit your own story, hit the link below and fill out our CC questionnaire. Enjoy the read!
[sc_cc_callout]The Basics
Age: 32
Gender Identity: Male
Location: Kansas City
Occupation: Radio Talk Show Host
Industry: Entertainment
Salary: $85,000.00
Household Income: $165,000.00
The Bags
Are you a PurseForum member? No
How many bags do you own? Couple Dozen
What bags are in your collection?
Hermes Birkin 40 Caramel
Hermes Birkin 35 Blue Jean
Hermes Jypsiere Blue Jean
Louis Vuitton Speedy 30 Giant Monogram
Valentino Roskstud Medium Burgundy
Bottega Veneta Knot Clutch silver satin
Louis Vuitton Keepall 50 Nomade
Chloe Drew
Louis Vuitton Pegase 55 monogram
Louis Vuitton Damier Infini 50
Chanel Double Flap 30 Black/shw
Louis Vuitton Monogram icare
Hermes Bolide
Fendi Peekaboy
Speedy 30 Dentelle
Hermes Kelly 32 Cacao/ghw
Louis Vuitton Damier Graphite Roadster
Louis Vuitton Petite Malle
How much is your collection worth? Last time I checked just over $100,000
What is your most expensive bag? Definitely the Birkins. But my wife and I only use the Birkins for travel. My daily is my large Fendi Black Peekaboo. (Peekaboy?) I absolutely love it and the eyes add a little bit of fun!
What are the most important brands or pieces in your collection? The Louis Vuitton Speedy 30 Dentelle. It’s a limited edition with a metal lace. A lot of people have said they don’t like that version, but something about it is magical. It was my first ever special edition and it holds a special place in my heart. It’s practical, well as practical as you can get for a couple thousand dollar handbag, art. I don’t think I could ever get rid of it. The other special edition that I regret not getting is the watercolor Speedy.
What age did you get your first designer bag, and what was it? 20. It was a Gucci monogram duffel. It sparked a passionate love affair with these weird, highly priced, greatly designed bags. Fancy cars and fancy bags are my only spendy habits in life.
Is there a specific bag you are looking to purchase next? The Louis Vuitton Armand Open Tote in brown. Mmmhm. That piece whispers quiet luxury. It screams silently, LOOK AT ME. I don’t like to shout my arrival, but if the spotlight happens to shine on me, I can perform.
I have my eye on the Louis Vuitton Prism Keepall… but its PVC. And over $3000. I can’t.
I won’t, I shouldn’t.
I hope I don’t.
I keep staring at on IG and my desires are growing.
I need to squash that.
Quickly.
Right?
Any particular bag that holds a special sentimental value? My Louis Vuitton Nomade Keepall 50 was one of the first pieces I ever traveled out of the country with. It was just released and I felt like a sophisticated badass. All the scratches that have occurred are each filled with a special memory and place. I don’t like to keep my pieces pristine. I like them to have a little life in them!
Do you feel like your bags change people’s perceptions of you or how you’re treated? Sometimes. When I’m with family and friends I usually keep it subdued and quiet. It’s when I travel that I like to show off my pieces. I can tell they (hotel staff) seem a little more eager to help when they see my entourage of designer luggage. Maybe they are hoping for a tip or they think I’m someone special. (I’m not). It’s fun to put on a show when I travel and I love the looks I get when I carry the 40 Birkin through the airport.
The Shopping
How often do you buy new bags? Several times a year. I try to wait awhile before purchasing so I’m positive I want a bag and its not an impulse buy. Wanting a bag is slightly more fun than actually buying it. Every time I purchase a bag I love, there is ALWAYS something else I find that I want. So I make sure to make the whole experience last as long as possible for each and every bag.
Which stores do you frequent the most? Louis Vuitton always seems to be my first and favorite. Followed by Hermes, I love the way their stores smell and how perfect everything seems. There is usually some family that is dropping major bucks so I always love to bask in their spending while I linger and look at the merchandise. Bottega Veneta has the sweetest SA’s. Their understated style seems to translate to the personalities of the ladies helping me. Chanel, Prada and Burberry are always on my list as well, but LV will forever be the brand that started it all for me.
Do you ever buy second-hand bags? Where do you buy used? Not yet… I REALLY REALLY REALLY want a LV Speedy Watercolor. Buying second hand is the only way I’ll be able to get one now. I have no problem with buying used. I just haven’t yet. But if I do, You know what the first one will be!
Do you sell old bags to pay for new purchases? Nope. I like to keep all my bags. I’ll sometimes just stare and rearrange my closest to hold onto each piece and remember the moments I had with each one. The little bit of money I would get back for them isn’t worth it to me. I know it’s not healthy to store memories in things, but hey, at least my estate sale will be kickass!
Do you ever feel societal pressure to purchase more bags? No. I have been able to … not live in society? I don’t feel any pressure to buy anything. I just feel the desire grow as I find cool and interesting bags, usually on IG. Only cause I want them, not because somebody is telling me I should. When someone tells me I should do something, I really don’t want to do that thing. Clean design is the best way to get my attention. Clean, quality design with no fancy fu-fu. I do have a desire to look at the LV prism as I mentioned earlier, but I could never justify dropping $3k on a plastic bag.
Do you consider your bag purchases investments? Only in memories and happiness. I think they will be quite the collection if I keep them in pretty good condition and my grandkids open up a chest of high end bags in the attic when I’m dead. They could be worth a small fortune then.
Who influences your buying decisions? My wife and me. She doesn’t like anything with labels so her daily is a Hermes Garden Party. If I see a popular bag on IG, it will peak my interest until I want to go look at it in the store.
Are sales associate relationships instrumental to your shopping? I love the small conversations with them. I understand they are just people so I will pretend I’m talking with a long lost friend. I don’t act like it’s something special to just be in a high end store which (in my mind) gives off a billionaire vibe and I’m always treated with the utmost respect and courtesy. They don’t influence a buy because if I’ve decided on a purchase, it’s settled long before I go in the store. I have no problem window shopping for months without buying. I just love looking at everything.
Why do you enjoy shopping, beyond just acquiring something new? I love acquiring art. Designer handbags are the closet thing to art that’s so publicly available while still being “exclusive”.
Have you ever felt like you received inferior service at a store or boutique due to your appearance, ethnicity or gender? I am glad to say I haven’t.
The Money
Who pays for your bags? I do. I never spend my saved money. I will always come up with a scheme or side hustle to make a few extra grand to I don’t feel guilty. It’s all extra money I’m able to create with either services or selling of goods.
Do you set aside a budget for your bag purchases? As long as I can make it from my side hustle* and not from my regular job, I can spend all of my side hustle money on bags. Which is about $10,000 a year.
The Taboo Topics
Have you ever purchased a counterfeit because you couldn’t afford a designer item? Yes, I have a real Birkin and a fake Birkin. I can’t tell the difference from 4 feet away. I occasionally will buy a super fake. The quality is impressive. It’s not that I can’t afford it. Sometimes in my mind, I think for $4,000 I can buy two dozen super fakes. If I can’t tell the quality. What makes it a fake? I’m torn.
Can you elaborate on what made you choose to purchase a fake? I decided to go down the fake lane a few years ago. I had my one authentic Birkin that I miraculously snabbed back in 2007 in NYC. It was equivalent to walking in the clouds, that purchase made me realize how extremely lucky I am.
It made me feel as though I had made it. And then I pondered why buying an expensive bag made me feel complete. Was it me telling the world I had things figured out? Did I want people to wish they were me? That didn’t sit well.
The Birkin was put back in the closet to age gracefully.
I was browsing the web a few years later when I stumbled upon a website that sold fakes. I found a camel colored 40cm Birkin with silver hardware. It was beautiful. And only $179.
What the hell.
I took a chance and sent my payment to some guy in China. 2 weeks later a package arrives to my door step. My heart started to pound in a similar pace as it did when I was in the Hermes store in NYC. I opened the box and was greeted with a decent quality dust bag that was branded Hermes.
My heart beats faster.
I unravel the dust bag and hold the brand new Birkin in my hands. The stitching is almost perfect. The leather is soooooo soft. The smell is intoxicating! I felt all the good things I felt when I first purchased the real one and none of the guilt. I was able to carry it around and travel without worry. It gets me the same looks as the other and if they ask I’m happy to say it’s not real. Everybody who asks always follows it up with, where can I get one.
Do you ever hide purchases from your significant other? At first I did. But then I started my side hustle to purchase bags and now I can buy all I want because it doesn’t come from our normal jobs.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve done to afford a bag? Maxed out a credit card. Now everything is purchased with cash.
Do you think your shopping is ever a problem? Have you ever felt like you were struggling with a shopping addiction? When I first started I would spend all my money on bags. Now I have found a sustainable way to continue to buy bags where I’m not using my income but my side hustle money.
The Rest Of It
Any other expensive hobbies or passions? Cars. I recently got out a lease on a Mercedes Benz GL 450. It was over a $1,000 a month. I realized how much I was spending on nothing. Now I own an older Lexus LS.
Anything else you would like to include? Buy what you love after wanting it for a while. Only use cash to buy. We don’t want our habits to cause us stress with too many monthly payments.
Tell us about your side hustle… For my side hustle, I resell items I find at estate sales. It’s a thrill and it enables me to fulfill my passion of treasure hunting, buying things and making money to buy more bags. I average about $1,000 a month doing this. It’s the only way I can justify these ridiculous bags that I can’t get enough of. I love researching materials and style and trying to detect trends. If I could write content based designer bags that would be another dream job.
If there’s some consensus that these “super fakes” are indeed so comparable to the real thing, I’m mystified that these discussions never confront some obvious points.
Are the authentic brands egregiously overpriced? I’m not advocating for sweatshop labour in any way shape or form but even with adjusting up from super cheap labour, is a LV Speedy 30, for example worth it’s current $1300 asking price? And so on for other bags and brands above the entry level. If you need to employ masses of authenticators to keep a business clean that’s a major red flag.
Copyright infringement So it’s clear that these bags are infringing on TM and brand, but stealing the intellectual property of a design? Witness, the migration of the iconic Chanel flap bag or LV Speedy or Birkin shape to almost every other designer brand. The brands themselves have been appropriating each others design elements with impunity. Where’s the outrage that the flap bag has been appropriated by Gucci so prolifically? YSL can make a nod to Birkin? That’s clearly OK. Or, maybe it’s because so many of these brands have a single owner and the illusion of diversity, is just that – illusion. The outrage at this practice is saved for when the Kardashians or other knockoffs do the same. This leads me to conclude it more of a class issue than an intellectual property one. It’s a bag.
The assertion that a handbag is an investment. Quite the marketing ploy. So interesting the auction houses have gotten in on this. There is no objective standard that can hold that an old bag even unused can hold or increase it’s value. The notion that they can, that a bag is an actual rarity is fake itself. And who benefits from this? The bag makers that use this idea to justify higher and higher prices and the auction houses who make commissions as they create this resale market. Of course a luxury bag has value and it’s a desirable cultural object, but not in the way real art is and not in the short time frame of it’s existence. When a Birkin achieves a super high price at auction, it’s Hermes who benefits by this new perceived value. It’s marketing. And who buys them? Who knows – perhaps Hermes themselves.
Designer bags are not just product but a conceptual construct. The whole thing is getting to be quite a turn off.
I agree on all points. The degree of seriousness with which we view designer brand bags is bordering on absurd now. As long as we play on the correct side of legality, to each his/her own.
Once again, I am sick and tired of the claim that fake handbag businesses fund terrorism. There is ZERO proof of that. With a simple research, I have discovered that the only counterfeit businesses that were actually linked to terrorism were pirated CD’s and fake Viagra. There is no known case of a fake handbag business involved in financing terrorism.
Also the claim of child labor is questionable, at least in the case of superfakes — the people who make them are highly skilled artisans with years of experience, whose work is so meticulous and sophisticated, that we now need professional authenticators to examine the goods. There is no way a child can take on such a complicated and challenging task. Before you parrot “fake bags support terrorism and use child labor” at least see if it is true.
I am not defending the fake industry, but the high fashion companies are using cheap scare tactics to discourage purchasing fakes. The claim of terrorism and child labor sounds like something a PR team came up with in a hurry, truth be damned. Being deceptive like this makes those companies look silly. They should have focused the campaign against fakes on something smarter, such as emphasizing the elegance in knowing that you own the real thing, instead of pretending with a fake bag, which would be an empty feeling because you know deep down that you are just a dishonest wannabe.
Owning and carrying a real bag feels great. I seriously doubt that this feeling can be replicated no matter how great and real the superfake looks. This is why we should only buy real bags, not for the bullcrap reasons spewed by moronic PR people.
I need to correct this statement since someone discovered that the Hebdo terrorism was linked to selling cheap fake bags on street corners. However, it is doubtful that any substantial portion of their funding came from fake bags, as the profit from these cheap bags cannot have contributed that much toward purchasing the expensive weapons used in the attack. A small portion in the funding of a single case of terrorism, does not represent the entire fake bag industry where billions of dollars change hands. When you generalize and claim that fake bags fund terrorism, this gross exaggeration makes your claim false.
I agree with you on every single point except my $1500 Hermes superfake and my $500 Chanel superfake feel way better than any of my authentic bags too because I have a gorgeous bag and no guilt for spending $5000 to $10000 like I foolishly have done otherwise.
I agree with you re: the quality of Chanel, but not Hermes. For instance, I wore Chanel ballet flats once to walk 2 blocks to church and back and the toe portion of the sole , being so thin, wore down to the leather. When I took it in to request repairs, at my expense, I informed the S.A. who simply didn’t give a damn. ( I’m a 5’10, 140# woman, but regardless it shouldn’t have happened). Also, the same with Chanel bags and the corners wearing too soon. For instance, I was tempted to buy a Boy bag and I asked the S.A. about my concern re: the corners. She said the bag, when removed from the shoulder, is meant to be placed on it’s back to protect the corners. What??
However, spending $1,500 on a super fake Birkin is throwing your money away, if you ever attempted to sell it. I have the opportunity to purchase 2 Birkin’s a year, the maximum from Hermes, and sometimes I sell them and turn a profit. However, if it’s your goal is to keep your bag forever then my argument is moot. Also, with all of the back and forth arguments re: fakes people are going to spend their money on whatever they chose regardless of the moral, ethical or legal consequences. The bottom line is that the fake market business is never going away as long as people purchase, and they will. It would behove the House of Chanel, for example, to maintain their quality and prices to retain buyers; however they won’t which, in part, contributes to the underground market of super fakes. I don’t condone fakes, but at the end of the day people will spend their hard earned money as they chose knowing the arguments from both sides.
Would you mind sharing that same information? I’ll never be able to afford an authentic bag.
Ladies please. There are plenty of forums dedicated to illegal activity, this is not one of them.
I am shocked at how many Purseblog readers are interested in purchasing fake bags
Sis, I don’t mind sharing at all but I wish that I could share with you somewhere other than here. The self-righteous among us would try to bring these sellers down. Can i reach you somewhere?
Yes, if I can email or comment you somewhere I’ll hook you up with some info, girl.
When I try to reply it brings me back to this page.
I believe you. I once compared my real bag with a superfake, To be very honest, the superfake was better made than the real one. With increasing quality issues at LV and Chanel, soon we might see fakes with way better quality control than the real stuff. I hope the brands pay attention to this issue, instead of just raising prices year after year without improving quality. Once I was at LV and saw a line of several people holding bags with ridiculous defects they were waiting to show the SA’s. But the bottom line is, only real is real, and fake will always be fake.
This thread is not intended for sourcing fake bags, so I deleted a few comments requesting sources.
Thank you! The comments made me very uncomfortable since this platform has integrity and it was being misused.
I saw all the comments asking where to get fakes and thought OMG a can of worms LOL
I heard that Dana Wodianka from Berlin sells fake Hermès handbags – be aware!
I can confirm this. Danijela Wodianka (also calls herself Dana) has scammed dozens of buyers with fake bags that she sells as “original” ones. Please be very careful when you deal with her.
I applaud him for honestly writing about fakes and the PurseBlog for publishing it. I agree with his sentiments and know that plenty of other people do as well.
There’s something particularly irritating with Hermes’ Kellys and Birkins, I don’t like the lottery feel of being able to buy one if they approve of me and my spending–so in that case I could make an argument for buying a fake one, but I haven’t and most likely won’t.
Agreed, but they do it to drive the price and force consumers to buy products they don’t necessarily want in order to get the privilege of purchasing a Birkin. I know, been there, done that.
Also, if fakes were so easy to tell then there wouldn’t be a need for professional authentication or “authenticate this” posts. So, let’s chew on that for a second.
Yeah, let’s chew on the fact that people are victimizing honest buyers by fraudulently selling them fakes for the price of the genuine article. But sure, there’s no harm in super fakes.
So I chewed on it and I am spitting it out. So people use fake bags to defraud honest buyers so therefore there is harm in fakes. So using the same line of reasoning you could postulate the following: People use lab stones to victimize honest buyers by selling them man made stones for the price of natural. Therefore there is “harm” in lab grown stones. People use reproduction paintings to victimize honest buyers. Therefore there is “harm” in reproduction paintings? People use glass pearls to defraud honest buyers so there is harm in glass pearls. People use advertising gimmicks like half starved teenage waifs wearing status symbols to fool women into thinking they need some handbag, face cream or diet to be good enough. Therefore there is harm in advertising and status symbols. Anything can be misrepresented or misused. The marketplace is treacherous. Buyer beware.
Who said that there was no harm in super fakes?
I think you missed the point that Kate was being sarcastic with her remark about “super fakes”.
I think you are the one who missed the point that Kate is all over the comment section, jumping to conclusions that people are defending super fakes.
I actually meant that poor Kate is mistakenly upset that we are defending super fakes, and that we are implying that the counterfeit bag business is harmless 🙂
There, there, Kate. No one said anything about selling fakes as authentic. Calm yourself.
I wonder, are the authenticators 100% accurate?
There’s an app called Entrupy which intends to eliminate the need for authenticators. Even though it is tech-based that uses algorithms, it is only 99.1% accurate. Therefore, I doubt that most authenticators can be 100% accurate in my personal opinion.
I doubt Entrupy plus the “authenticators” comes anywhere near 99.1%. People have awe for “authenticators” as if they all earned a doctorate in luxury good authentication at the Royal College of Art. When in fact they are low level employees with on the job training and not even themselves collectors. Most handbag enthusiast know more about authentication than the so called professionals. Recently an influencer Jessie Style’s friends sent bags bought at the Chanel boutique to authenticators and 2 came back as fakes. She knew for a fact they were real. Her bags were like new and unaltered but spa treatment or dye job can trigger Entrupy to reject your very authentic bag as fake as well.
Plus the manufactures are putting out bags so fast that it is difficult for authenticators to even know what details are uniqu
e to the bag and the fakes are coming out at just as fast a rate. Many of the luxury houses also have their hands in the counterfeit markets so it is all a big circle j@#k and collectors will one day find their “investment” pieces are worthless. Also not all the work is done in Italy and France just because a bag is marked “made in.” All that means is it was “finished” in Italy or France. So we are buying Chinese goods with French and Italian oversight. Some LV shoes are only soled in Italy. No wonder the super fakes are so good if the real thing is made in China anyway.
Still all collectibles eventually hit a market saturation level especially in the internet age where the “chase” is all done on the keyboard and the bags are selling new hand over fist into an already flooded market. At one time few women even dedicated fashionistas would own more than a half dozen bags. Women used to concentrate on jewelry as their trophies and might own one quality bag at a time. Now it is nothing for a women to own enough bags to stock a small boutique. The manufactures know this isn’t going to last forever and are desperately trying to cash in and ride this tide for all its worth. Eventually the resale market will collapse from its own weight and your Chanel double flap and mine will be worth practically nothing and only the most exclusive bags will hold any value at all. It happened to nearly every other collectible market from Steiff bears (even knew prices have dropped) to French glass. If the manufactures still churns out new products the collapse is inevitable.
I doubt it. Not to disparage the work that some of them do, there is no way they can be 100% accurate.
That is simply not true, there are lots of very talented authenticators with amazing records and work history. They’re employed by some of the best auction houses and resellers in the world. They have to be accurate or else these companies would have major lawsuits.
Respectfully, the best auction houses do not have a perfect record when it comes to art, archeological artifacts, manuscripts etc. They have created a new market niche for themselves with Birkin bags, which is not to say they are wrong, but they are self interested.
How would the auction houses and resellers know that they are 100% accurate? Does the absence of disputes prove that they have been accurate, or that there was no detectable mistake?
They get more than one opinion. It is not just one authenticator per bag, it is usually a team that look it over together and assess the authenticity as a group. I’m assuming they decide based on consistency with previous authentic versions and determine it from that. One authenticator is so well established she was able to tell a bag was authentic even though the craftsman made a visible mistake that should not be made on one side of the bag. It is usually multiple components of the item that need to verify it as authentic.
Read your comment one more time. When someone answered that the authenticators are not 100% accurate, you commented “That is simply not true, there are lots of very talented authenticators with amazing records and work history.” By this you implied that they are 100% accurate. Then you change your argument and repeat points that you think these authenticators are pretty good, and you trust them. You actually have no idea if they are 100% accurate or not.
Yes and I still stand by that, Not ALL have 100% accuracy. But I BELIEVE a lot do, I don’t have proof, I’m just saying I believe them and my proof is the popularity of these authenticators, resellers, and auction houses. Lots of people trust them, not just me.
Also I really can’t catch where I changed my argument since my very first post never implied EVERY single authenticator is 100% accurate, I was saying that “a lot” are and that I believe it. That is it.
Per my other post, we will not come into an agreement and we don’t have to, so I feel it is best to leave it here.
I stand by what I say, no matter how talented they are, none of them can be 100% accurate. Getting even just one wrong means not 100%. Come on, dude.
I mean it is possible, and even Hermes themselves have deemed their own authentic bags as fake when people have sent them to the spa to get refurbished, I’ve read a few stories of that happening. Anyone can be wrong and not 100% accurate, you’re right.
What I’m saying is that the inaccuracy is so rare and can occur anywhere, we can’t hold authenticators to such a high standard when brands themselves don’t know what they are doing. And there truly are a select few that have been 100% accurate, again, they would be doing risky business if they weren’t, their mistakes would catch up to them and they’d be jailed.
Jailed? You have to be kidding. Not even an airline pilot is held to such a standard. An authenticator’s “mistakes” would be a civil matter and their “mistakes” would not land them in jail. It isn’t illegal to make a mistake on the job. If that were true all stockbrokers would be in jail because their records aren’t even as good as a chimpanzee. Someone proved that. It is actually illegal to threaten someone with criminal prosecution/jail in a civil matter. Even if an authenticator is terrible in his job and is wrong as much as he is right the worst thing that could happen to him is to be fired. The auction house might be civilly liable but not criminally liable.
I disagree about that Hermes Kelly incident. All we know is that this authenticator is insisting that she did not make a mistake and Hermes are implying that she did. You actually do not know with 100% certainty that Hermes made a mistake. It is up to us to draw our own conclusion whether this authenticator is unfamiliar with this degree of likeness of a fake. I don’t understand why you keep repeating that they are close to accurate. That was not the question that was the topic of this thread.
I agree with you on your point about not holding authenticators to such high standards. However, it just makes it even scarier to buy pre-loved items when these superfakes are so rampant. Like I’d stand zero chance at being able to tell the difference, I’m sure. I want to buy pre-loved to save coins where I can, but not at the cost of being scammed.
I totally understand, that’s what everyone wants.
Do you seriously think every authenticator on TPF or the various ones who offer services are 100% accurate and have never made a single mistake?
I’ve stated twice in my previous posts that not every authenticator holds a 100% track record, but there are very few that have yes. And I have bought per their authentication, I fully trust two in particular and am very happy with my purchases.
You stated after editing (also you edited after I replied). Not trying to start a fight or anything.
I edited to clarify my points, not to change my stance.
I think I got the jist of Yoshi’s anxiety. She has previously purchased used bags based on opinions of authenticators. She might be feeling uncomfortable that we are pointing out the reality that the opinions of authenticators are not absolutely fool-proof. I should have realized this sooner instead of drilling her with logic:(
First, I’m a guy, although you didn’t know that so not blaming you but just to clarify.
Second, you really have given me zero anxiety so not sure where this is coming from, I trust my authenticators 100% and I do believe my bags are authentic.
I truly do believe authenticators do fantastic work and I still believe some are 100% accurate. Not drilling anything into your head, just letting you know that you haven’t drilled anything into mine.
I’m done here because we obviously will not agree on this topic and we don’t have to.
I agree that we should stop here. Others and I are tired of looking for logic in what you are saying.
Wow, you really didn’t have to be that rude about it.
I agree and I apologize for losing patience. I deleted my reply.
I’ve seen “edited” versions before on other links. Who does the editing? The commentator or the owner of Purseblog? I’ve often wondered.
We never edit or alter reader comments in any way, only delete them if deemed inappropriate. When you see an edited comment, the original poster made the changes.
I applaud his honesty for buying a fake birkin. I know plenty of people who buy fakes and are ashamed to admit it. They are social climbers who try to deceive others of their status. I dont mind buying fakes as long as i follow my rules. No hermes (except for a himalayan birkin), must be under $200, real one should be hard to get and not worth it for the price like the louis vuitton petite malle (over $2000 that can fit only a phone, key and credit cards) and gucci and prada (i find this brand having little value in the resale market). I buy a fake one as im still saving up for the real one. And once i am able to buy the real one, i give the fake one away. Chinese sellers have good quality ones at an affordable price complete with box and receipts. I dont mind buying fake shoes either. They will just get dirty anyway. I dont want to step on $1000 shoes. I buy a fake one not to deceive others but just because i like the style and color. I have heavy feet i guess because of if my shoes dont really last long compared to my bags.
On one hand I get what you’re saying, on the other hand most of the fakes in the market/in demand aren’t really amazingly unique or exuberant designs, or super comfortable shoes, or anything like that. Let’s face it, most people who buy fakes buy because they want the “status” without the crazy price-tag. Not saying I blame anyone getting fakes, and I’m sure there’s a tiny percentage of people who really, without any social influence, just fell in love with the LV Speedy or whatever, but if fakes were only bought for people’s own personal tastes and not to deceive/trick others into thinking they’re more affluent, then the fake-bag/shoe markets wouldn’t be full of LV Neverfuls and Chanel Boy bags.
I don’t think most people are trying to deceive others into thinking their affluent at all. Some people just genuinely buy a fake or an authentic because they like the bag. The fake market is full of all kinds of designers, believe me. From Chanel to Loewe to MCM to Tory Burch. So I think your argument is kind of silly. Furthermore, I think people who detest fakes so much are really just upset that they don’t think they look or can be perceived as affluent (read: special) if other people have the same sort of material possessions as they do.
I don’t support fakes, but I absolutely don’t care about people “noticing” my bags, which is why the only bag I own that’s obviously logo’d (a LV empreinte print bag) gets worn rarely. I enjoy bags like Celine trio where in all honesty it could be just a leather Kipling almost. I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing a Birkin (sorry Hermes lovers, doesn’t do it for me at all, and way too flashy).
So your argument is silly as well. 🙂 Because it’s the same thing: You’re saying not everyone who wears fakes is doing it to deceive others to think they can afford the brand, when MANY do. Just like there’s a dime a dozen handbag lovers who very clearly do it to appear “special”.
And sorry, I just honestly don’t believe that *so* many people are *so* deeply in love with quilted leather in the *exact* Chanel shape. Just not buying it. But it’s ok, we can have different opinions. Such is the beauty of internet.
I feel people primarily buy fakes because they can’t afford the “real” thing. I can’t get inside their heads to assume what they are thinking/feeling because I honestly don’t know or care. However, like you I don’t care about people noticing my bags. I was only able to afford designer bags after getting my kids through college and law school. Now I’m fortunate to own several, including Birkin’s, but I don’t notice if people look. I carry them for me and not to impresss anyone since a designer bag does not define me, I’m still just me. BTW, just curious why you think Birkin’s are “way too flashy?”. When I think of flashy glittered/bedazzled bags come to mind. Just curious.
Basing your opinions on how you “feel” instead of facts is the problem. Very rich women carry fakes who can absolutely afford the real thing. It is a social phenomenon. Read The Cut piece – The Rich New York Women Who Love Their Fake Birkins and prepare to “feel” differently.
I don’t believe you on the Birkin. I took my daughters (then 15 and 11) to Canal Street and went on a wild adventure buying cheap replicas that fell apart promptly but I didn’t care. I just wanted the adventure and each shop was more cloak and dagger than the last. One shop owner pulled the arm of a baby doll and a hidden 4 foot door popped opened. When we went inside the room was full of tourist. Anyway I bought a 20 dollar Birkin and wore it home. Everywhere I went women stared at me with naked envy. It was so funny, and I wanted to assure each and every one of them that it was just a 20 fake. That day was in my top 3 most fun days of my entire life. We visited FAO Schwartz, bought a ton of candy Dylan’s Candy Bar, ate a fancy Italian restaurant, visited time square at dusk and then flew home. I never wore the Birkin again and one of the handles came off just from hanging from its own weight. Still I learned that a Birkin illicit envy and truthfully I have wanted a real one ever since. Every cheap copy I bought that day inspired me to want and buy the authentic, but I still don’t have the Birkin and it has been 19 years. I am shopping for one now for my next birthday. You had to notice women looking at the Birkin. Why can’t you just admit it? I have a pair of 8mm CZ earrings that are set in 18k white gold, and I get the same reaction with them. I find women staring at them and they will ask me in hushed tones of awe, “Are those earrings real?” I assure them they are not but those bad boys make me want the real thing even though I know I have a terrible track record with earrings. That is the thing about counterfeits, even if you are the only person who knows, they make you lust for the real thing.
Maybe some people can afford authentic, but think spending $10,000 on one bag is ridiculous. There are a lot of people who enjoy the thrill of finding the best replica they can, there are entire forums dedicated to it just like TPF. Some of the people can’t afford authentics, but a larger majority have a collection of both authentic and replica or they quit buying authentic when they discovered high quality replicas.
You have more knowledge re: what other people buy than I do, but I would never buy a fake. My “thrill” is receiving an authentic bag that I purchased from a boutique, but to save $ on taxes I have it shipped to my home. Once my eagerly anticipated package arrives I open it and take in the delicious, intoxicating smell of leather that initially infiltrates my nostrils. Then I carefully remove it from its tissue and box to enjoy its breathtaking beauty. I proudly wear it, but not with arrogance because that is unnecessary and rude, but I internally enjoy it because I worked for it. As a single Mom raising 3 kids, and financing them through college and law school, I was only able to afford my 1st designer bag at the age of 55. Therefore, I was not interested in purchasing anything fake. But, if other people enjoy fakes that’s fine, but it’s not for me.
I also don’t think the counterfeit industry actually takes away dollars from ANY of these high end designers, because the target markets are completely different. The dollar someone spends on a fake would not be spent on the real thing if that fake were inaccessible. The people buying fakes aren’t buying something they would otherwise buy for cheaper, they would not buy the real one at all regardless, so the big houses aren’t actually missing out on those dollars. Now. What DOES happen is that a lot of people who could not afford those high ticket items appear as though they can by walking around with them, which I understand dilutes the exclusivity of it, and people snooty brands would not like to associate with are messing with their mojo. (Birkins at theme parks and what not (haha)). There are of course the people that can absolutely afford the real and just think it’s idiotic to spend that much on a bag (but they drive their bentley’s and ferrari’s with their fake croc birkins – real croc just not real birkin). Fakes are not my jam at all, a little skeevy to me, but we are all condoning highway robbery with the markups we pay for a logo on a questionable quality item, mass produced in factories whose origins are not disclosed because of zero transparency of supply chains. So. there’s that.
I don’t think it dilutes the brands’ revenue either. It’s a different market.
*THEY’RE
Forgive the grammatical typo!
Kyle and Ed: You discuss alternative viewpoints, but I think you are both right.
I really liked the article and the man’s honesty, at the end of the day a bag is just material.. some better than others and we can’t take it with us when we die. The import thing he mentioned is he doesn’t care/nor influenced by what other people think; rather it’s about how it makes him feel. If it makes you happy.. real or fake be damned. You only get one life to live and I hope you choose your own happiness over other people’s perceptions of you.
I don’t buy fakes but from what I’ve seen $175 is really cheap. I thought Birkin superfakes were in the $1200 range.
In reality it’s very easy to create an identical bag, no matter what the brand. Depends on how much the counterfeiters are willing to invest in R&D. It’s just a bag, not a painting. Leather and some hardware. The brands marketing strategy is to make us believe they have some secret formula or manufacturing process…nope!
I think the most important reality here, more than the issue of justification, is that the emerging of superfakes is throwing the resale market out of whack. Can the authenticators keep up with the degree of sophistication demonstrated by the superfake manufacturers? If an authenticator has, for example, 98% “accuracy” rate, would you part with over $10,000 on a Birkin based on that authenticator’s opinon?
Just loved this-more than any other. He’s a great writer, has a flair, and I so enjoyed his honesty.
I felt the same way!
Still pondering a straight married man buying designer bags……I know of no man who does this, so yes, interesting read for sure.
Omg, I had to reread the piece because I thought he used “wife” as code though he is gay. I’m with you, I do not of any straight man loving bags—expensive ones at that with such great knowledge.
I’m sorry, but what are you saying? What you wrote is confusing. Thx!
I replied to Smitty who stated “Still pondering over a straight man buying designer bags…” and my agreement that I felt the same bewilderment. That “I” would be hard pressed locating any straight male who loves and also purchasing designer bags That I had assumed the author of the confessional was misleading the readers with the word “wife” when he really meant husband because I was quick to assume he, confessional, was gay. Whew.
Thank you for your clarification. 🙂
My take is he buys what he likes, he’s very confident in his choices and masculinity. Also, I feel he’s the “handbag horse” in his family since his wife seems to carry fewer bags. I love bags and wish my husband was more like him so I could “borrow” his bags. 🙂
I thought he sounded very “metro”
Dana Wodianka aus Berlin hat zahlreiche gefälschte Hermes-Handtaschen verkauft!
This was an interesting confessional. I really don’t like carrying a fake it just makes you feel inauthentic. I would rather not have a bag than carry a fake plus you don’t know where the money spent on the fake is going for example terrorism or who made it.
I don’t know who came up with the notion that a fake bag sponsors terrorism. It’s absurd.
Understand how you feel. I once bought a fake Chanel tote, felt so guilty I quickly gave it away-never wore it anywhere, not once, felt ashamed, particularly when I could easily afford a real one at the time.
There are companies out there that take bespoke birkin & kelly orders, they charge 1600, and the quality far surpasses the real thing. They have the same colors, same leathers, same exotics, same hardware, same sizes, etc. Every single detail down to the zipper teeth is identical. They are all handmade in an artisan factory in China, and each takes about a month to make. They are paid well and a joy to work with. So, you tell me.
It doesn’t matter how real it looks it is still a fake counterfeit and illegal. They should stop these bags entering the country at customs around the world.
It’s not illegal to purchase. It’s illegal so sell.
In Switzerland, buying fakes can land you in court. Anyone caught with counterfeit goods will have the goods confiscated and destroyed. If they’re lucky, that’s the end of it. But customs officials are also required to inform manufacturers of brand-name goods who have filed an application for protection of their products of any infractions they detect. In that case, the purchaser of the item risks being taken to court by the manufacturer.
You state that “anyone caught with counterfeit goods will have the goods confiscated, etc.”. However, since there are so many really good fakes, according to other commentators, how can they tell? Are you referring to bringing something in through Customs? Or someone walking down the street, carrying an authentic Birkin can be stopped? I’m not naive, but your comment leads me to ask the question. Thx!
I don’t live in Switzerland, I live in the US. Here you can buy and use counterfeits to your hearts content. Selling them is the issue.
And I don’t live in the U.S., I live in a country where you can face real consequences (and rightfully so) for supporting organized crime through the purchase of counterfeit goods, whether it’s a fake Birkin, fake Rolex, or any other illegal copy of someone else’s work.
IMO, buying and using a fake is dishonest AND sleazy. I couldn’t afford a premium designer bag until I was over 50 and guess what? I survived. In fact, I thrived. Instead of buying illegal counterfeits (and they are manufactured and sold illegally, even if U.S. law lets you sleaze around with one), I focused on creative, original brands that I could afford — supporting younger designers, people who stand on their own creativity and craftsmanship, not criminal manufacturers who have to stoop to stealing someone else’s product design. I still support these designers, my bags are mix of premium designers and less expensive but still quality original designers at lower price points.
I don’t like fake bags. It would bother me to carry a fake bag. If I can’t afford a bag, then I won’t buy it. I’ll find something less expensive, but with quality leather and well made. I do think it’s a huge problem though if the fake bags are of better quality than the real ones. In that case, I think I would just avoid that designer even if I liked the designs. I wouldn’t want to support a designer that produces subpar quality bags, but charges ridiculous prices for them.
So then don’t judge others who are not breaking the law? Being that H had its most profitable year in history, I don’t think the brand is suffering. After buying my 12th REAL birkin, I added in some great bespoke superfakes so I could toss them around without worry. In my mind, having spent well over 200k at Hermes directly somehow doesn’t make me feel like I am cheating them. Their factories are in China too, lest we forget.
Not that I disagree with you about Hermes not suffering, but LOL if you think illegal = moral or alright. Just look at the goddamn tax laws or food protection laws in the US just to start with…
The manufacturers in China or elsewhere ARE violating international property rights laws. You are supporting illegal manufacturing, much of which is tied to organized crime, even if U.S. law lets you off the hook for aiding and abetting their illegal dealings. You are so eager to trot out all your rationalizations, it’s clear you know full well that what you — and others like you — are doing is unethical. You can stare in the mirror and bleat your outraged excuses til the cows come home, but those won’t change the fact: you are openly condoning intellectual property theft. End of.
Your opinions are duly noted, but they are only YOUR opinions, which are totally irrelevant to me or others. Perhaps since whether or not a bag is authentic gets under your skin to this degree, might I suggest YOU look in the mirror at the larger things in life. It’s just a bag. Literally. And anyone who supports fast fashion of any kind contributes to the same whether it be Zara or H&M. The big brands are not above sweatshops either, as historically documented. There is no clear line here, and wishing for one won’t make it so. My life is amazing where money is irrelevant, so I don’t have to make choices based on monetary impact. I would say that gives me an interesting sense of objectivity. Luxury is a ruse all around. Sometimes it’s fun to play, sometimes it’s idiotic to play. But it’s all just pure amusement in the end. I wish you some calm as you clearly need it.
That said, it’s not all “opinions”. Some of what Passerine said is actual fact:
– The manufacturers in China or elsewhere ARE violating international property rights laws.
– You are supporting illegal manufacturing, much of which is tied to organized crime
Ergo: You are openly condoning intellectual property theft.
Yes it is “just a bag”, yes people contribute to the problem by buying fast fashion. The fact that “everyone’s doing it” or that there’s no “clear line” doesn’t really make things ok. Buying fakes or or other products produced via illegal means is unethical. The fact that you are ok with or that it’s technically legal in the US it doesn’t change that.
For me the argument reads more like “I hate fakes because they dilute how special look rich makes me, but I can’t say that so here are some other reasons” and that most people really don’t care about IP protection or organized crime (which I’ll say louder for the folks in the back: THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF THIS).
No evidence of counterfeit goods funding criminal activity? US Department of Homeland Security has disclosed that the Charlie Hebdo attacks were funded by sale of fake designer goods. So is the Department of Homeland Security wrong? Italian Intelligence agencies also claim that most of the country’s counterfeit goods industry is run by the mafia. Are they wrong, too? If you want to read up, here you go, there are embedded links to papers by the UN, too, linking counterfeiting to money laundering and human trafficking: https://www.complex.com/style/2016/12/counterfeit-fashion-industry
Also, it’s mind boggling to claim that “most people don’t really care about organized crime”. Organized crime is far reaching and impacts more people than you know, and you can’t brush it off and make generalizations just because it doesn’t affect you.
I am not sure if you can generalize that fake bag businesses fund terrorism across the board, from this single isolated example. We don’t need to exaggerate other distant factors to know that buying a fake bag is unethical. It is a stolen design and trademark. It will never feel like owning the real thing. These should be good enough reasons not to buy fakes.
That wasn’t my point, I wasn’t making that generalization. My comment was to disprove the false claim that there is no evidence that the sell of fakes fund organized crime.
I agree, people shouldn’t buy fakes by virtue of them being fakes alone. But some people here don’t agree and are even making false claims to justify their position.
That’s right, there was that Hebdo incident that I was not aware of. I stand corrected. It is sad to see people trying to justify buying well-made fakes. I was actually shocked that several people here out-right asked where to get them. I thought Purse Blog readers were better than that.
One other thing to mention. How ethical is it when these luxury brands gaslight their customers when there are known defects? Remember the year of the Hermes “smell” – how MANY people had to complain before they actually acknowledged it? How about Chanel literally training their staff on how to make their customers think they are the one who are delusional when they are clearly seeing crooked flaps, upside down CC, flaking leather, or even GLUE on leather? How about when there is something wrong, the sh** they give customers for wanting to exchange or repair? How about Hermes deeming their own bags as fakes when they go to spa and confiscating them? Or SA telling clients to buy something b/c it’s “completely sold out” when it’s on the site ready to order or easily avail in another boutique? Or better yet, when a client returns something defective, accusing the client of damaging it? We can go on and on here. But let’s not act like these guys are above dirty, cheap, smarmy tactics.
Oh you forgot to add that Coco Chanel was a vicious and infamous antisemite and Nazi spy. When most of France was hungry and on rations she was swilling champagne and eating caviar at Nazis at the Ritz hotel in Paris. You know that compartment for her “love letters” well she might very well have used it to conceal the documents she smuggled to her Nazi friends. She also attempted to use her status as an Aryan to cheat her Jewish partner out of his share of her business. It didn’t work because he had the foresight to give everything to a friend Felix Amiot a Christian Frenchman who gave everything back to him after the end of the war. He is proof there are good people in the world. Coco Chanel is not one of them. I can’t stand things that have her visage on them like the charms and the dust bags. You can see her face changed and the ugly on the inside started to show on the outside. I can’t stand to look at her. She was pretty as a young woman but eventually she became an old bag of bones with a sunken profile. Chanel should distance themselves from her face and form at the very least. It kills me when people say they like Chanel because of the “history” of the brand. Really? That is the one thing I detest about the brand.
You are so correct. Neither side is completely innocent. Also the unexplainable jumps in prices every other year.
I agree with you re: Chanel since I’ve experienced it first hand. I’ve looked at handbags and when I point out a flaw either it “doesn’t exist” or it’s “supposed to be there due to the leather”? (Lamb skin is supposed to have scratches…hmmm). Or, when I point out a scratch they spray something on it, wipe it, then tell me it’s gone. Really? I’m not stupid, gullible or blind!
Not to mention that every big house out there is unethical in their own way as well. Shirking taxes with loopholes or secretly manufacturing in other countries and not disclosing. Or importing cheap Chinese labor to Italy or France so they don’t have so say “made in China”. Claiming hand made when products are “hand guided” through machines. Also Jane Birkin begged Hermes to remove her name from the bag as she detested how animals were being used in slaughter for handbags. They refused. There is no example of an “ethical” luxury brand. Some just try a little more than others. Some just hide it better.
‘Refused” is not the right word. They listened to her and made the appropriate changes. She then agreed they could continue to use her name.
I enjoy your very respectful insight. People such as Passerine can shout their opinions from whatever soapbox they wish and it will never stop anyone from doing exactly as they wish. If anything, he or she just looks like a jerk.
Thank you 🙂
What Hermes products are being produced in China?
Skins 😉 other Asian countries as well.
Hermes bullshit: the “Himalaya” white/gray croc skins are some kind of secret Hermes formula. I was in Kwanpen in Singapore and they had a whole selection of bags in that color. When I inquired the SA said it’s the natural color of the croc skin!!! So much for exclusive colors!!!
They lied about the rarity of Himalaya skins? That is unbelievable! Tsk tsk Hermes, shame!!!
So we’re good with theft, then?
It’s legal under US code to import up to 2 counterfeit items a year so, ummm, totally.
If it’s all just dandy, then take one of your fakes into Hermes, show it to the manager, and say, “hey, I’ve dropped over 200 grand with you, so you don’t mind my waltzing in here and showing off my counterfeits, do you? I mean, it’s legal to buy them, so we’re all good, right?”
Please video the conversation and put it on TPF.
I think you misunderstand the relationship between big houses and counterfeiters. They don’t want the counterfeiters to go away. They want them MANAGEABLE. One of the largest profit centers, other than sales, is copyright infringement lawsuits. The reporting of counterfeits leads to lawsuits which leads to huge profits. So they get the front end and the back end. Counterfeiters are not the enemy, just too many of them would be. And my SA by the way thinks it’s fun to compare the real to the fake. He gets a kick. The joke is on us a consumer, you do realize right?
Interesting read, but I would love to know what his “side hustle” of $10K is annually? Also, when I purchase bags I use my credit card for the benefits, but always make sure that I have the cash to pay the bill in full.
I just updated the CC at the very bottom with the gentleman’s response!
Thank you, Vlad! To take time from your busy day to ask the CC and to update the article was a kindness that I didn’t expect! I appreciate it!
I really enjoyed this one! I’m probably naive, but it’s not often you hear from a male, radio DJ, that’s straight about such an amazing collection of bags! I really liked how he was forthright about how he affords the bags too…some of these CCs don’t get into that so much
agreed – i put all my purses on CC. I dont want to walk around with thousands on cash and i like the points!
I didn’t understand your response to Ldcb. That person was using “CC” as Closet Confessional and you were using “CC” as credit card. It took me awhile, but I got it! 🙂
I make my living in the creative industry, so for me, the offense of fakes is in the stealing of intellectual property. People are making profit on someone else’s design. Even some of the “inspired by” offerings cross the line in my opinion.
Surprised by all those defending buying and selling “super fake” replicas. It’s theft (yes, theft of intellectual property is still theft),it’s immoral, it’s trading on the good will and reputation that a brand has built up over many years (sometimes many decades or even over a century), and it’s tacky. What’s more, the purpose of including serial numbers or date codes and receipts is to aid unscrupulous resellers in passing off a super fake as the real thing and selling a cheap item for hundreds or even thousands more than its worth, victimizing honest buyers who think they’re being ethical and buying the real thing, and ruining the secondary market, devaluing the collections of honest people who buy genuine bags and making it more difficult for them to sell. It’s a perplexing sense of entitlement to believe that you should be able to own a luxury item when you can’t afford it, even if that means stealing.
I am not sure if you are reading the comments correctly. We are now openly discussing that the issue of super fakes surpassing the real thing in quality is very much here, and is not going to go away any time soon. Yes we are amazed at how well-made the fake ones are these days. And some of the owners of real bags are getting pissed that other(poor) people get to flaunt very real-looking bags at only a fraction of the price. That is simply observing the phenomenon. We are not advocating the fake businesses. Are we not allowed (by you) to acknowledge that the business of super fakes is becoming so sophisticated that it requires extreme vigilance when purchasing from resellers?
What you mean is that you’re surprised that everyone doesn’t hold the same opinion that you do.
This is got to be my favorite comment!
Oh, yeah, and it’s illegal. Illegality, dishonesty and theft are all trivial, I guess.
I haven’t read the post itself, but I have been delighted in reading this train-wreck of a comment section. 🙂
Personally, I consider fakes to be unethical (whether you sell them or buy them) but the reason I would not purchase a fake bag (or fake anything) is because I find the experience totally unsatisfying.
It’s a strange artificial society with “fake” – fake hair (wigs, extensions), eyelashes, nails, breast implants, hair transplants, fake tans, veneers, butt implants, on and on. No wonder we seem geared towards grey areas in so many ways between what’s authentic and what’s ungenuine.
“What makes it a fake?” The fact that it was probably made in a chinese sweat shop. That it has no manufacturer’s guarantee. The fact that it’s illegal, immoral and total BS.
i’m shocked that this cc was posted and this comment section was allowed, but then again it is more anonymous that the forum.
This post has been discussed ad nauseam, but something he said kind of gets under my skin. He stated that he bought a Birkin, but questioned his own motives for using it so he put it in the closet and now carries a fake one? Why not carry the real one? If the public assumes his fake one is real won’t they think his real one is fake? It’s all so silly!