This is a seller’s horror story – my personal issue – about a recent dealing I experienced as a seller with our friends at Paypal.

I sold a bag internationally to a lady in Italy. She paid with Paypal and in her item notation she asked that I ship this purse to a US address because it was a gift for her daughter. In a later email she explained this was the first time (ever) that she would be away from her daughter for Mothers Day and that her daughter had just become a first-time mother. I agreed and adjusted the shipping amount for her. I wrapped the gift beautifully at no extra charge and I shipped it (Priority) to New York, insured, wth signature confirmation. I confirmed that it had arrived and I went on with my life. We exchanged emails, the buyer could not thank me enough for going the extra mile and she posted positive feedback.

Three months passed by and I was alerted by Paypal that a claim from an international customer had been opened. I thought, that can’t be possible…accordng to Paypal’s own policies a user has only days to file a claim. But not when the seller does what I did. Read on –

I really could not believe this was happening. My little Italian customer was claiming she had never received her bag. Of course she had not. I sent it to her daughter. At first I had trouble finding my paperwork because it had been so long. I was surprised I’d not tossed it. Again, the dispute clearly stated she had never received her parcel. I emailed the buyer because I was sure that she had confused me with another seller. I reminded her that I had shipped the bag as she had asked, to her daughter in New York. She said oh yes, and then said she did not recall any sort of communication with me and only wanted to communicate through Paypal. I was shocked.

Paypal immediately withdrew the funds from my account which was of course hooked to my bank, meaning that they had my money. All $900 dollars of it!

I went back and forth with this buyer who demanded a full and then partial refund, although I still had proof that I had shipped it to the address she had requested. I declined any sort of partial refund based on principle alone. After all, I had been a good seller and believed I had done the right thing. Certainly, I had cared enough to go the extra mile and wrap her daughter’s gift for her.

I guess I knew all along what the outcome was going to be.

After two months, in a final conversation with a Paypal representative whose name was Brandon, I asked why they had awarded a judgement to this woman who had clearly asked in the notes area of her payment that I ship this to her daughter – a new mom – for Mother’s Day. I had provided them with all sorts of email communication and then pointed out my feedback. I pointed out again, the comment, and the address it contained. I also had provided him with the tracking number and the proof of signature delivery. He responded in the most sarcastic voice saying, this was an expensive lesson…never ship to an uncomfirmed address.

NEVER SHIP TO AN UNCONFIRMED ADDRESS! And, never ever use Paypal unless you are willing to risk a loss.

Unfortunately, I have shipped to unconfirmed addresses many many times with never any trouble. So much for good customer service…on both sides! Quite honestly, it ruins it for those honest auction customers who are plentiful. There is no protection benefit to Paypal from a policy like this. It shouldn’t be this hard, but sometimes, doing business with Paypal makes the whole thing NOT WORTH IT!!! If I could do business without Paypal, I would!

How to Look After your Designer Handbag

10 Tips for Bag Care

Follow, or at least consider these tips when you use your handbag. Your priority is to keep your bag looking good and stain free, yet to enjoy using it.

1. Look after your bag and store it in its dust bag cover or use a natural fiber soft pillowslip.


2. Handle your bag, especially lighter bags with clean hands.


3. Avoid handling the designer bag after applying beauty products, face foundation or hand creams.


4. If the weather is really bad and raining consider using a less special handbag.


5. Be careful when you visit a hairdressers with your bag, as hair products can easily splash onto handbags left on the floor at your feet. Clippings of chemically treated hair can land on the bag and leave marks.


6. When carrying a light colored bag consider using pencils rather than Biros-Biros can be difficult to remove. Don’t use your bag as a rest to place paper and write notes. Pointed pens can leave impression tool marks through paper rested on firm leathers.


7. If your bag has a chain handle, store the chain inside the bag to avoid scratching the outside leather when the bag is resting.


8. For storage, use bubble wrap to stuff your bags as it does not attract moths in the same way as tissue paper does.


9. If you are doing a big weekly shop then unless you are planning to impress a prospective Mr. or Mrs. right, avoid taking your special bag to the supermarket! Trolleys can scratch your bag and mark it permanently , as can spillage from foodstuffs such as yoghurts, cream, dips, squashy fruit, milk and even leaking cleaning products.


10. For long term storage, undo strap buckles so that impression are not created. Then if you wish to wear the strap across the body messenger style and need maximum strap lenght or need to shorten it to wera underarm style at a later date, this unbuckling of the straps before storage will stop areas becoming impressed and unattractive.

Store your bags in dust bags or pillow cases.

Don’t use grocery bags to store yoru best bags. When your precious bag is not on display, protect it with a dust bag or pillow case. There is no reason why you cannot just drop your handbag in to an old pillow case or your dust bag even when youa re at home and the bags contains yoru worldly goods. This way, a bag is less likely to get scuffed or scratched by pets and family or have odd spots of coffee dripped on it as others pass by.

If you have to store yoru bag in yoru desk or filing cabinet at work, check the drawers first for rough splinters or sharp edges that could damage and scratch your bag. Consider keeping a spare pillow case in teh drawer to cover your bag.

Follow the product cleaning instructions to the letter.

I must warn you never to inhale any spray products and use a well ventilated area and wear a mask.

Other cleaning treatments people have recommended include using baby wipes (they leave a great deal of lint behind) although they do work ok on coated canvas and hairspray on cotton buds to remove stubborn marks.

Saliva is also a suggested method by museums to clean leather, particularly carved leather in panels in ancient homes. Such carved leather panels may be dirty with smoke, dirt, and age. So this “spit” technique should also work on certain TREATED leather bags. Louis Vuitton is not one of these bags because of the untreated leather!!! Any of these will stain the bag further.

The craziest thing to clean Louis Vuitton with that works well. BRASSO. I know I know, harsh chemical used to clean hardware on untreated leather? You must be crazy. Well I wouldn’t recommend it to be used on new bags, but on bags that have a patina that is setting in it works well to remove ink marks and dirt stains. Yes I said ink marks. Finally something to remove them with. Take a small amount of Brasso and work it into a paper towel, then lightly rub the paper towell over the ink stain and it should easily lift without staining the bag.

If your not sure, test the ideas on an old bag or on a small spot on the bottom of the bags leather.

PS Brasso is also the best thing for cleaning hardware.

Bags in Transit

If you need to send your bag anywhere do make sure it is well packed and the box has padding around the bag. Put dangling metal logos or charms inside the bag or cover them with bubble wrap. Chain handles should be padded and if possible also placed into the body of the inner bag to prevent scratching the bag outer material.

Bag Insurance

You may wish to consider bag insurance. Most household policies only cover goods to a small specific amount. Therefore, it is a good idea to check with your insurer to make sure that they handbag and its contents are covered by your policy. This may mean adding a small extra premium to cover bag insurance. Specialist item extra insurance may be costly. Whether or not you take up insurance is your business, but be aware of the monetary factors.

Bag Safety

Look after your bag at all times. Fore safety on a day to day basis, always choose a bag with a full zip closure and inner zip pockets so random thieves cannot rifle through it in a moment. Open bags are easier to lose items from as well as attracting pickpockets. How often have you seen someone with their bag gaping open? If you noticed it then so will and unscrupulous chance thief. Probably often enough to know that care is not just about keeping your bag clean, but also preventing others from stealing it.

Thanks for reading,

Vintage Prime LLC

How to Look After your Designer Handbag

10 Tips for Bag Care

Follow, or at least consider these tips when you use your handbag. Your priority is to keep your bag looking good and stain free, yet to enjoy using it.

1. Look after your bag and store it in its dust bag cover or use a natural fiber soft pillowslip.


2. Handle your bag, especially lighter bags with clean hands.


3. Avoid handling the designer bag after applying beauty products, face foundation or hand creams.


4. If the weather is really bad and raining consider using a less special handbag.


5. Be careful when you visit a hairdressers with your bag, as hair products can easily splash onto handbags left on the floor at your feet. Clippings of chemically treated hair can land on the bag and leave marks.


6. When carrying a light colored bag consider using pencils rather than Biros-Biros can be difficult to remove. Don’t use your bag as a rest to place paper and write notes. Pointed pens can leave impression tool marks through paper rested on firm leathers.


7. If your bag has a chain handle, store the chain inside the bag to avoid scratching the outside leather when the bag is resting.


8. For storage, use bubble wrap to stuff your bags as it does not attract moths in the same way as tissue paper does.


9. If you are doing a big weekly shop then unless you are planning to impress a prospective Mr. or Mrs. right, avoid taking your special bag to the supermarket! Trolleys can scratch your bag and mark it permanently , as can spillage from foodstuffs such as yoghurts, cream, dips, squashy fruit, milk and even leaking cleaning products.


10. For long term storage, undo strap buckles so that impression are not created. Then if you wish to wear the strap across the body messenger style and need maximum strap lenght or need to shorten it to wera underarm style at a later date, this unbuckling of the straps before storage will stop areas becoming impressed and unattractive.

Store your bags in dust bags or pillow cases.

Don’t use grocery bags to store yoru best bags. When your precious bag is not on display, protect it with a dust bag or pillow case. There is no reason why you cannot just drop your handbag in to an old pillow case or your dust bag even when youa re at home and the bags contains yoru worldly goods. This way, a bag is less likely to get scuffed or scratched by pets and family or have odd spots of coffee dripped on it as others pass by.

If you have to store yoru bag in yoru desk or filing cabinet at work, check the drawers first for rough splinters or sharp edges that could damage and scratch your bag. Consider keeping a spare pillow case in teh drawer to cover your bag.

Follow the product cleaning instructions to the letter.

I must warn you never to inhale any spray products and use a well ventilated area and wear a mask.

Other cleaning treatments people have recommended include using baby wipes (they leave a great deal of lint behind) although they do work ok on coated canvas and hairspray on cotton buds to remove stubborn marks.

Saliva is also a suggested method by museums to clean leather, particularly carved leather in panels in ancient homes. Such carved leather panels may be dirty with smoke, dirt, and age. So this “spit” technique should also work on certain TREATED leather bags. Louis Vuitton is not one of these bags because of the untreated leather!!! Any of these will stain the bag further.

The craziest thing to clean Louis Vuitton with that works well. BRASSO. I know I know, harsh chemical used to clean hardware on untreated leather? You must be crazy. Well I wouldn’t recommend it to be used on new bags, but on bags that have a patina that is setting in it works well to remove ink marks and dirt stains. Yes I said ink marks. Finally something to remove them with. Take a small amount of Brasso and work it into a paper towel, then lightly rub the paper towell over the ink stain and it should easily lift without staining the bag.

If your not sure, test the ideas on an old bag or on a small spot on the bottom of the bags leather.

PS Brasso is also the best thing for cleaning hardware.

Bags in Transit

If you need to send your bag anywhere do make sure it is well packed and the box has padding around the bag. Put dangling metal logos or charms inside the bag or cover them with bubble wrap. Chain handles should be padded and if possible also placed into the body of the inner bag to prevent scratching the bag outer material.

Bag Insurance

You may wish to consider bag insurance. Most household policies only cover goods to a small specific amount. Therefore, it is a good idea to check with your insurer to make sure that they handbag and its contents are covered by your policy. This may mean adding a small extra premium to cover bag insurance. Specialist item extra insurance may be costly. Whether or not you take up insurance is your business, but be aware of the monetary factors.

Bag Safety

Look after your bag at all times. Fore safety on a day to day basis, always choose a bag with a full zip closure and inner zip pockets so random thieves cannot rifle through it in a moment. Open bags are easier to lose items from as well as attracting pickpockets. How often have you seen someone with their bag gaping open? If you noticed it then so will and unscrupulous chance thief. Probably often enough to know that care is not just about keeping your bag clean, but also preventing others from stealing it.

Thanks for reading,

Vintage Prime LLC

I have been asked many times, “How do I know what
elements should be a part of an authentic Coach handbags?” There are
two main ways to spot a fake Coach, and here they are!!:

There should be a sewn-in leather creed in
handbags & smaller wristlets and pouches. This sewn-in creed should
have a serial type number which provides the style number. Most items
by Coach are made in China

In addition to the sewn-in logo, you should see the a line up of the Coach logo C’s

So look for the logo & creed and good wormanship in lined up seams.

Disclaimer:  Please note that the auctions displayed to the right of this guide under the “Member Information” heading at the very top of the page are my individual auctions and are guaranteed to be for authentic items only. Additional items displayed farther down on the right side of this page under the “Items from eBay Sellers” heading are randomly placed there by Ebay, NOT me. I do NOT vouch for the authenticity of the items that are randomly displayed by Ebay, nor do I endorse any auctions other than my own! At any given time, several of the items Ebay choses to display are fakes! 

Welcome! I am the author of “Searching for Louis Vuitton: How Not to Get Ripped Off on Ebay,” a copyrighted publication currently sold on Ebay. My publication offers detailed knowledge on how to authenticate most of Louis Vuitton’s current handbag lines.

I wish to offer a free version here of the most basic information found in my guide, intended to get you started in your online search for authentic Louis Vuitton items on Ebay. These are some of the most important rules to follow:

1)  Learn About the Louis Vuitton Items you wish to purchase. Visit Louis Vuitton’s official site at Vuitton.com and Eluxury.com, the official LV online shopping site, to view pictures of the items you are interested in. Familiarize yourself with the specific details of the items:  the dimensions, the way the monogram canvas is cut, the material it is lined with, and especially the retail price. Also, make sure the bag you want is one that Louis Vuitton actually produced!

2)  Learn How to Spot of Fake Version of the item you want. Obviously, if you are interested in purchasing a $1200 Louis Vuitton bag and you find an auction with a buy-it-now price of $120, you have found a fake item. Familiarize yourself with how the fake version looks, so you will recognize it in less obvious auctions.

3)  Do not expect to pay substantially less than retail for a NEW, unused Louis Vuitton item. In most cases an new, authentic Louis Vuitton item will be selling for barely less than retail price, in some cases for more than the retail price. Anything advertised as new and unused selling for 1/3 of the retail price should obviously be avoided.

4)  Know Your Seller!!  Research the history of the person you are thinking about purchasing from. Does this person have a history (feedback) for selling authentic Louis Vuitton items? Does this person have negative feedback for selling fakes? Is this person brand new to Ebay, and selling numerous brand new, never used bags at a fraction of retail? Let common sense guide you.

5)  Avoid 1-Day Auctions! Most sellers will list their items for five to seven days (sometimes ten). One and three day auctions are used by fakers trying to make a quick sale before their listing is cancelled by Ebay. Think about it: If you wanted to attract as many bidders as possible to your auction, why would you list it for only one to three days when you could list it for seven?

6)  Avoid Auctions Where Paypal is Not an Option! If you use Paypal to pay for your Ebay items, you are helping to protect your purchase, especially if you chose the credit card option. I would not purchase any high dollar item on Ebay without using Paypal and my credit card. I am protected by both Paypal and my credit card in the event I receive a fake (or nothing at all)! Paying with money orders, checks, or Western Union is paying with cash!

7)  Avoid Sellers who do not specifically mention Authenticity in their listing. Many sellers will refer to their LV bags as new. New is not “authentic,” authentic is authentic. The seller should not only spell out clearly in their auctions that the item is authentic, they should guarantee the authenticity and be willing to provide additional pictures.

8)  Avoid Buying from Sellers using stock pictures from Eluxury or Vuitton.com. Sellers should post numerous pictures of the exact item they are selling. If they are using a stolen picture from the Eluxury site or the official Louis Vuitton site, their item is probably SO fake that it doesn’t photograph well!

9)  Pay close attention to Seller’s return policies. If the seller requires written proof from a Louis Vuitton boutique that their item is not authentic in order to provide a return, they are trying to scam you. Louis Vuitton NEVER offers written proof of authenticity from it’s stores.

10)  Extras are Nice, but can be Fake, too! Just because a seller is offering the item with an authentic box, dustbag, and tags does not make the item authentic. Fake LV receipts are actually for sale online! Base your opinion of authenticity on the ITEM, not the extras. And if the extras are also fake, that tells you the item is fake as well.

11)  Fakes have Date Codes, too! Don’t base your opinion of an item’s authenticity on date codes alone! The new fake Denim Speedies have the right date codes in the right place! Older, poorer quality fakes have fake date codes, but super fakes generally have plausable date codes.

12)  Dead Giveaways! If you see any of the following in an Ebay auction for Louis Vuitton, you can be 100% certain the item is fake: A white, circular “hang tag” with a black LV on it hanging off of the bag; a “swatch” of matching material hanging off of the bag; a yellow Louis Vuitton card placed in a wallet for sale; or white paper wrapped around the metal hardware on a bag for sale.

If you have enjoyed what you have read so far, and have learned anything and would like to learn more, please see my auctions for my book “Searching for Louis Vuitton: How not to get Ripped Off on Ebay.” And visit my Ebay About Me Page for pictures of my collection. Thanks for reading!

_______________________________________
PLEASE NOTE: The “Items from Ebay Sellers” shown to the right of this Guide are in NO WAY chosen or recommended by me, but are randomly placed there by Ebay based on my keywords. After viewing these listings I would like to warn readers that many of them are for FAKE items. Please know I am not endorsing any listings shown to the right of the text for this guide, with the exception of those items for sale specifically by ME.