Most of the people today are totally unaware of the issues behind the business of illegal fashion goods, particularly with designer handbags, clothing and accessories. The replica bags available all over the internet marketplace justified with “sellers are just giving people what they want at an affordable price” are nothing but excuses for breaking the law.
According to the International Trademark Association, $460 Billion worth of illegal goods were bought and sold online last year.
The sheer volume of luxury bag replicas available in the market are baffling, every other person on Instagram and WhatsApp is selling them at throwaway prices. You may have seen Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel and YSL bags for a meagre Rs.2000 to Rs.3000, whereas, some of these original bags are priced above 1000 Euros.
Is Buying a Counterfeit Bag Really Such a Crime?
While buying a fake bag may not be a crime per se, but the scary truth is that this counterfeiting is linked to crimes such as terrorism, human trafficking, drug smuggling, gang activity, and child labor. These illegal goods destroy the reputation of brands, contributes to an unethical labor market, and subsidises organised crime.
Next time you see a replica luxury hand bag, think about the fact that it may have been stitched by a child being forced to work under extreme pressures, then the money used from the sale of it funds terrorists purchasing weapons.
5 Ways to Tell if a Hand Bag is Real or a Counterfeit
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Material
Louis Vuitton is made up of a coated canvas with a leather trim, these small details are what one should look for while purchasing a luxury bag. If the trim of the bag is supposed to be made of leather it should be dry, not oily, slippery or sticky. The bag should also feel a little heavy and not hollow. If its only available in one colour or is imprinted with the designers name these should be checked before purchase too.
The original Louis Vuitton handbag
A replica posted for sale on Facebook, it also has a matching purse to go with it! The design is similar but the material and colour differs.
2. Making
The workmanship of the bag, should be thoroughly inspected. If you see any loose threads, thats a sign of a sloppy job done and not of a designer luxury handbag.Check the seams for matching, whether of the quilting on a Chanel bag, or the pattern on a Louis Vuitton.
3. Lining
Counterfeiters rarely get an inside look of the bag as they generally work with photographs. The inside of the bag will definitely be different from that of the original.
4. Misspelling
Fake handbags will often be misspelled, a letter will be missing somewhere which would definitely be a givewaway even if the rest of the design is the same. For example some copies have Chanel bags spelled as “Chenal”.
Knockoff Louis Vuitton bags often switch th ‘LV’ to ‘VL’
5. Country of Origin
Some counterfeit handbags will have the wrong country of origin printed on them, such as Chanel made in France are counterfeits while those that say Made in Italy are the real deal.
Have you come across a counterfeit handbag? Let us know your experience in the comments below.
