Survival Guide to fake designer purses
Oh no! Your “steal” on that great Louis Vuitton purse just turned into torture…you discovered it’s a fake! What now?!?
Don’t feel bad – thousands of people are deceived by fakes every day. Most, unfortunately, don’t realize it. What’s the problem? Well, for one, the designers aren’t getting paid for their designs. The real problem, however, is that you’ve just bought a piece of junk, probably made of the cheapest materials around, and not worth anything like what you paid.
So what do you do when you realize you bought a fake? Thank goodness, eBay protects you from fakes. It’s against the law AND against eBay policy to sell knock-offs. This includes items that are called “like-designer” but have significant features of designer items. (For example, the LV logo from Louis Vuitton, or Coach CC print)
The important thing is that you have only 60 days to open a dispute and get your money back. Keep this in mind when you purchase any designer item!
Now, follow the next steps to dispute the item and get your money back. It’s important to use this process, instead of directly asking the seller for a refund, because (a) frequently they refuse and (b) what they are doing is illegal and they need to be kicked off ebay.
Step 1: Document the listing. Copy the pictures from the listing if you can – or copy the entire listing with description. The easiest way is to open the listing full screen, then hit Print Screen on your keyboard. Now, open Paint (all windows-based systems have it), do Paste, and then save the image as a BMP (bitmap) file. Do as many times as necessary to capture all the listing information.
Step 2: Document the item. Take good pictures, and write yourself some notes on why it’s a fake. If you had help from an authenticator, include the email or notes from that person.
Step 3: Go to ebay’s Dispute Console (in My Ebay, look for Dispute Console), and “Report a problem with an item”. You’ll need the item number. Select “Item Significantly Not as Described”. Ebay should direct you to PayPal when this step is complete, so you can open a dispute with them as well. (Hopefully you paid with PayPal)
Step 4: If you used a credit card (through PayPal or direct), contact them and dispute the charge – explain that the item was a fake. Most credit card companies are very supportive.
Step 5: Leave Feedback. Be sure to leave NEGATIVE feedback with explicit comments about the item being a fake. This helps warn other potential buyers away.
If you bought the fake from somewhere other than eBay, you might be out of luck. If you used a credit card, be sure to call them immediately and open a dispute through them. A brick-and-morter store will probably give you a refund, with a receipt, especially if you threaten to call the police about the sale of fake items. (Yes, it really is that illegal)
Of course, the best step is to be an educated buyer to begin with! Check out my Upcoming Guide to Buying Designer Purses, or search the eBay guides for specific designer information. Happy Shopping!