Examples of fakes.

I need to address a few things:

1) Not all fakes are easy to spot - making fakes is a BILLION dollar industry, some do a sloppy job but some do an amazing job.

2) When determining if you have a fake you need to look at the easy to spot indicators I have listed here.  If none of these apply to your item that DOES NOT mean that it's real - and not all fakes have the same indicators.  

3) Some people will look at the pictures here - see that their Lululemon item  for example doesn't have small c in China and think 'Well then it's OK.'   Likewise someone will look and say 'Mine doesn't have a size dot in the pocket - must be fake.' Again, not always true.  You have to look at each on a case by case basis.

4) These are just some tips but no the be all and end all of fake spotting ;) 

If you are just starting to learn about fakes please take the time to read ALL the postings here to learn more =)  

Pictures of FAKE Lululemon

*On the left is a fake tag, on the right a real one.
*Fake tag printing is off centre, and the font is wrong.You can
  notice this is the 6 at the top and some of the letters like 'a'.
*You'll also notice the 'C' in China - it is a capital on the real one and
  lower case on the fake.

*Read the fake tag on the left; it is "Designde" in Vancouver.

* Fake embroidered logo on the left.  Poorly made, thin circle
   around the outside, puckering, and overall the wrong shape.

* Fake zipper pull with paint chipping off.

* Fake size and 'I belong to' stickers. The actual stickers should be attached securely to the inside if the pocket.  They should not have this weird see through stuff over them.

What to do if you bought a fake.

So you think you bought a fake?  Here's what to do:

- I should mention that this will only work if you paid with Paypal or credit card -- if you paid by Western Union or a money transfer you are probably out of luck.

1) First thing you want to do is contact your seller and ask them if they will refund you.  Sometimes they will comply to avoid the hassle or because they didn't realize they made a mistake.

2) An honest seller will refund you for the item plus shipping both ways but they might make you pay for return shipping if they are less than honest.  In either case, if the seller will accept a return make sure you return the item with signature confirmation - that way they can't say they never received your item.

3) If the seller will not accept a return you need to file a complaint with paypal and/or ebay if that's where you bought the item.  This will freeze up the seller's account.

4) 'Escalate the claim' once you are ready to make your case.  Then follow Paypal's advice. IF they need a letter of authenticity you need to contact a third party authentication company*.

*authenticate4u.com has a staff of experts in various brands that will write these letters for you.  They are trusted by paypal. 

5) If you paid by credit card yo can also contact them - some companies can do chargebacks.

How to spot fake Louis Vuitton

How to spot fake LOUIS VUITTON - a beginner's guide

First, some important things to know about LV.LOUIS VUITTON NEVER...
* goes on sale. Ever. For any reason.
* allows anyone else to sell their product. You can ONLY buy it at an LV boutique (some boutiques are in other department stores such as SAKS but it is still an LV store.) Only louisvuitton.com sells online.

* has 'seconds' or any merchandise that would be less than perfect or sold at a discount. LV is handmade and if there is a problem it is destroyed.

These are some really easy ways to spot fake Louis Vuitton1) FAKE CARDS -- For some reason lots of fakes come with 'authenticity cards' - which is odd since LV doesn't come with them.

Here are some of the easiest cards to spot - the dreaded yellow card and green envelope.

2) Fabric swatches and attached tags. LV comes with neither of these.



3) POOR QUALITY. Louis Vuitton is worth a lot of money and it is very well made. So a great way to tell a fake is by looking at the quality. Look for things like sloppy stitching, drippy glazing (the red stuff around the leather) and bad alignment - the LV's and fleurs should line up and the LV's are very rarely cut off.




4) THE WRONG HEATSTAMP. This is the part on the bag where it says LOUIS VUITTON paris made in France (or Spain, or USA or others).The easiest way to tell a fake heatstamp is to look at the O's. They should be perfectly round. Fakes will have tall O's.
Real heatstamps never have the LV logo on them:







LOUIS VUITTON MYTHS...

* If LV has plastic on the handles it's fake. Not true - LV bags come with plastic which is supposed to be removed by the time it hits the floor - but some SA's leave it on when they give the client the bag straight from the back.

* The LV's should be upside down on one side of the bag or it's fake. - There are many variaions to this. Some bags are made with a single piece of canvas - so when it comes up the other side it will be upside down. However, some bags are made from more than one piece so they will not have the upside down logos. The speedy often will have a single piece of canvas - but during the time that the French Compant made bags (70's & 80's) they used 2 pieces - so both sides will be right side up.

* Authentic bags will have numbers inside, or the right kind of stamping or quality materials etc. but the fakes will not. --- Counterfeit bags are a million dollar industry -and they are made VERY well. Not all fakes are poor quality - and most are meant to look real. You can NEVER be 100% you are buying a real bag unless you get it from the boutique yourself. But there are ways to weed out the fakes so you can lessen your chances of getting a fake.
* If the LV's on the canvas are cut off it's a fake. -- While many bad fakes cut off the LV's there are some REAL styles that have the LV's cut off as well - so this is not always a tell tale sign. Sometimes they had to be cut off on one side to maintain the aethsetic of the main side.
* If it comes with a receipt it's probably authentic -- receipts are the EASIEST things to fake - all you need is a photocopier or a computer.


Get free authentications at www.effenhaute.com
Get professional authentications at www.authenticate4u.com

How To Spot Fake Lululemon

I will have some pics up soon comparing fake to real ones but for now here are some helpful tips:

"I can tell if it's real by the quality."  - the days of fakes only being poor quality are over.  Many of the fakes coming out of China are high quality and very similar to the real ones - here's why:
China does not have laws protecting 'intellectual property' so anyone can make anything over there.

Often a factory will be open by a company during the day - but at night that company is not there -- so someone else will come in and use the exact same machines to do the exact same work (this is the case with some Apple factories)
Or the exact same workers who are making Lululemon will go to their second job - making FAKE lululemon - and take all their knowledge with them to make the products available.

Specific to LULULEMON

- Check the rip out tag.  The name of the country where is is made should be capitalized. For example - if it was made in China the tag should say Made in China,  If it says made in china (without capitals) it is fake.  (This goes for Made is Vietnam, etc.)  It's the capitalization you need to look at.
(Lululemon is made in China, USA, Israel, Taiwan, India, Thailand, Peru. Peru)

- Check the spelling of the rip out tag.  Many times they will spell words wrong.

- Check the zipper.  If the item is new (last few years) it will have a lululemon symbol or YKK.

- Check the size sticker.  This should be stuck like crazy -- if it is easy to peel off it's fake.


If you need an authentication letter for paypal please go to www.authenticate4u.com 

To see some pics of fakes click HERE

Lululemon Fakes - the basics

Like every great brand, Lululemon is now the target of scammers.
Items are coming out of China where they are made to look a lot like the real thing.

Here are some things you need to know to keep yourself safe.

- Lululemon does not allow anyone else to sell their products.  Only Lululemon Stores, Lululemon Outlets, Lululemon.com and Lululemon Strategic partners are authorized to sell.  This can be easily verified by googling the store's name - if it's on lululemon's website it's legit.

- Lululemon does not sell their items to wholesalers and they do not have 'seconds' or close outs.  Anything that is left over goes to the outlet or the website where it is listed on 'We Made Too Much.'

- You can not buy lululemon wholesale.

- If you see someone who has many of the same item be cautious.  They might have bought up a bunch of stuff at an outlet or online --- but, if they are offering many NEW items at less than retail then stay away.

- One popular way to sell fake lululemon is at house parties.  Like Tupperware or candle parties these parties well a variety of items but they are usually fake purses and accessories and now fake lululemon.

- If you are going to buy Lululemon online (from ebay, kijiji or a facebook group) make sure you see a picture of the actual item for sale (not a picture taken from the lulu website).  Ask for pics of all tags and logos -- even if the tag is no longer there the lululemon symbol should be somewhere on the item.

- Also ask the seller where they got their items - if they will 'not reveal their sources' run the other way.

- ALWAYS pay with paypal and make sure you pay as 'goods' rather than a gift.  If you are scammed paypal will help you get your money back.  Some credit card companies will also protect you so to be double safe you can pay with credit card through paypal.

To see pics of fakes click here

Helpful links:
http://www.lululover.com/how-to-spot-a-fake/

http://www.lululemonstory.com/2011/09/lululemon-beware-of-fake-lululemon.html

http://isitcounterfeit.com/counterfeit-lululemon-athletica-hoodie