Discount Designer Handbags

Discount Designer Handbags

So it 4:45am and I ready before I need to be to catch my train into the city and since I been wanting to write about this for a while, now would be the perfect time to do it. LOVE handbags. I have a passion for them. Sad? Maybe. But it reality. Some women love shoes, I love handbags. I have about 25 of them from Prada to Gucci to Balenciaga, Kate Spade, Hermes (not the coveted Birkin or Kelly), Fendi and Tods. I just absolutely LOVE handbags. Although I paid full price for my older ones (and my Hermes since I bought it at the Hermes store in JFK airport), most of them came from websites online that sell AUTHENTIC high end designer handbags for much less. I bought my blue Balenciaga motorcycle bag (retail well over $1000) for $750. I bought my Prada large backpack online for $250. It retails for around $650. My black leather Tod bag, which retail at $995, I bought for $450. shopping online for handbags many women (and men) worry that the bags they are ordering are not AUTHENTIC. My friends all ask me before they order anything since I am the expert out of all of us. I decided to post a list of websites that you can go to for AUTHENTIC high end designer handbags for less. I hope that this helps you find what you want for a much lower cost than you find in a retail store. And if you come across a website that is not on the list above, don hesitate to send me the link. I let you know if the site is good or not!GOOD LUCK!
Arielle,
Do you have any tips on telling the difference between real and fakes? I not above buying fakes sometimes if I know it fake and it a good deal. I have fake Chanel sunglasses bought from a "street vendor" in New York.
But I hate getting deceived or ripped off. I into designer jeans and buy them online, so I do a lot of research on how to determine if they are authentic. Overstock auctions are a whole different story; those have the same level of fakes as ebay. I know that some fake purse sellers set up store fronts that give an air of authenticity.
I was never much into handbags until I met my boyfriend. His mother is VERY into high end fashion. She has the bags that people are on waiting lists for years to get. Most of these were bought from the stores, but she buys on ebay too, mainly to get the items that you cn just go into a store and purchase. On one hand, she has bought a Hermes bag on ebay that she took into the store in New York and had verified as authentic. On the other hand, my boyfriend bought a Hermes scarf she wanted from ebay from a seller with 100% feedback or close to it. Looked good, but only in comparing with authentic scarfs was the difference noticed. The seller took it back. I sent back a couple of things that I found to be fake on ebay.
Kelly - Prada bags are SUPER easy to tell real/fake. Usually, the fake ones (especially the micro-fiber bags) won be the same fabric. Prada micro-fiber happens to be thin where as if you purchase a fake, 9 times out of 10, the fabric will be thicker. When you find that one bag where the fabric is nice, the triangle is usually on wrong or the inside metal tag is on crooked. For leather Prada, usually the stamp in the leather that says "Prada" is stamped wrong, or the bags that are fake will have the stamp while the real ones have the triangle or vice versa.
Louis Vuitton bags that are thier classic monogram vinyl are usually pretty good fakes. Don however, puchase the fake monogram multicolor if you care if its real or not. The colors are usually not as bright, as vast, or as randomly placed.
Balanciaga bags have a sterling silver metal plate on the inside that will have an item number on it to prove authenticity. The real ones will also come with the extra strings that hang off the bag so that you can replace them. The real ones also come with a mirror that is encased in the same color leather as the handbag is, with strings on it as well.
Fendi bags are iffy. Sometimes you can find a great one. Make sure that if there is hardware, like the buckles on a Baguette or Mama bag, that the buckles have FENDI printed on the side. Fendi bags will also have an item number printer on the inside of the inner pocket, especially "funky" baguettes" Also, the fake spy bags I been seeing on the streets look pretty good. Considering Spy bags are well over $1200 retail, buying a fake is probably a great idea!
Gucci bags are similar to Fendi. Depending on what style you get, you can sometimes get a great fake. Just make sure that the leather trim looks good (if there is any) and make sure the zippers aren coming out of the side. A lot of times, fake Gucci makers don sew the zipper in all of the way and thats a tell tale sign. (Although there are some classic Gucci styles that have the unsewn zipper so watch out!) Also, leather quality will be no where near as good. Like Prada, look out for the stamping in leather in the proper places, as well as any placement of small hardware such as the Gucci Gs on the ourside corner of the bag (make sure they are straight.
I have never seen a 100% good fake Hermes bag. Usually it missing the stamp in the lock or the writing just above where the lock locks up on the leather. Someone who doesn know bags would never know the difference so it all about how you feel.
When buying handbags in general, always keep in mind that when there is a patterned fabric (Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Fendi) the designers will always try to match up the fabric in the seams as much as possible. Usually the fakes are very mismatched in the seems.
I have ordered from all of the websites I have mentioned and have been happy with each. Although, when I ordered my Balenciaga the blue I wanted was out of stock but it didn mention that on the website. I had to wait a little longer for the bag but had I known I probably would have ordered a different color. However, they were very gracious about it and didn charge me for shipping and handling. I would never post an article like this if I wan confident about the information I was giving to my fellow Gatherers.
Sandy - A lot of people feel that way. Eventually, you will come across a bag that you just absolutely have to have. My friend has been wanting the Louis Vuitton SPEEDY 30 bag for ages now. She had gotten a gift certificate to Louis Vuitton for her college graduation but still had to put $400 towards the bag. She came to me and asked me if it was worth it. You can wear it Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Rain, Shine, Snow. She ended up buying it.
I think the key to buying expensive handbags is to not go with the trendy but to go with the classic. Although an Hermes bag could run you upwards of several thousand dollars, it a bag you will have FOREVER. Same goes for Louis Vuitton. They are CLASSIC. I think one of the great thing about Louis Vuitton is that the bags gain more character with wear and tear.
Kelly - That awesome that she made money off her love for handbags! And thanks for the tip with signing up for the waiting list for my Birkin! But the problem is that I from the New York metro area so I can either sign up at the Hermes store in Manhattan or the one on Long Island. I guess waiting for it is all part of the experience of actually getting and having one. I order one on E-Bay but I tend to like to purchase bags like that from the store itself. That way should something go wrong with it, I can bring it right back (although I highly doubt a $4500 bag is going to have a defect but you never know). Thanks again!
Arielle,
I think you can call any store to ask to be placed on the waiting list, and then when the bag comes in they call you and then ship it to you. I not sure if you need a deposit or pay extra for shipping. I have to ask my boyfriend, because sadly he knows more about this stuff from helping his mom with her purchases. One of my favorite ebay sellers is selling overstock from their boutique in Texas or somewhere like that. They provide a phone number, which is comforting to me because most auctions don I called True Religion to make sure that boutique was authorized to sell their brand, and I ended up getting a great deal on authentic Joeys although I was being advised that they were probably fakes because the seller was new and pictures weren that clear.
Ah, but that the thing. you learn to be very cynical online. Don believe something is authentic just because somebody writes that it an auction listing or writes it on their web site. Most sellers of fakes will sell their merchandise on ebay or a storefront claiming that it real until they get shut down. It buyer beware.
The search results on the google or any search site are what match based on the word "authentic" being matched to sites using that word. That doesn mean they are actually selling authentic merchandise. I don know if google verifies their sponsored links. Probably not, as they are in it for the money they get from these ads. A note on google ads on other sites: I know a lot of people use these on their sites to make money and even make a living this way, but I don think google screens these ads at all. They tend to be the rip off sites that want to sell you memberships to freebie lists and other scams. This is the main reason I don like google and prefer yahoo.
Kelly - Thanks for more tips on ordering a waiting list item. I have to look into it. I also with you on just typing "authentic" into Google. I NEVER have ordered from E-Bay even if it says authentic, and even if the seller has a good reputation. For some reason it makes me nervous, as I sure it does a lot of people. I would definitely recommend watching out for websites that just come up on a search. You can do that to start, but be sure to weed through your findings and do the proper research before ordering. That how I found my sites.
Bonnie - I agree also. Whoever does that has a lot of nerve. It definitely inappropriate. But I also agree with Kelly, in that, if you find a great deal on a great bag, you can let your friends know about it.
Jessica - The only thing with Bluefly, SmartBargains and Overstock is that the prices aren as good as you can get on other sites. Although still discounted, you are almost better off going to the designers store during a sale time.