As technology has advanced, products that are fake and illegal have also become tricky to spot.
Counterfeit products have become widely available in markets, and can easily deceive people into believing they are the real deal when in reality they cannot compare in quality to the authentic product.
Their vast supply has resulted in brands suffering in sales as people may chose cheaper counterfeits and the economy of the country bears the burden.
However, be it electronics, cigarettes, perfumes, or any other product, there are little tricks you can use to spot these items and put an end to the counterfeit supply.
1. The Font & Spelling
The first step of spotting any counterfeit product is to check the font. Often, because these products are low on quality, there is not a lot of emphasis on perfecting the font.
There will either be an obvious spelling mistake or it may not be as well defined in appearance as seen in the images below.
2. The Quality of the Material & Finishing
The cheaper quality goods are easy to spot as they may have slight defects. These include the use of cheap material which can damage easily, color/print irregularities, messy threads, etc.
3. The Franchise(s)/Distributors
Original products are sold by authentic franchises and official distributors. The list of these official suppliers can easily be found online. Hence, if a shop or distributor claims to be selling the original product for a high price, be sure to check if they are authentic. Often, counterfeit products are sold for high prices, matching an original price to fool shop owners and customers.
4. Spotting a Luxury Designer Brand
We all know that if women love something asides makeup and diamonds, it’s the Louis Vuitton brand ! However, did you know that Louis Vuitton is the most counterfeited designer out there?
When authenticating Louis Vuitton purses, there are many details to study: leather, stitch trim, inside lining, hardware details, monogram pattern/alignment, d-rings, etc, but there are simple tricks to help you verify if the product is original or a fake.
The tail of the ‘L’ is short whereas the ‘O’ looks very big. Notice how the ‘TT’ have very limited space in between one another.
Here we can see the colors of both zips are very different from one another. The one to the right looks like it has gone black overtime. Its a fake! The one to the left is a real LV zip.
Similarly, the clip to the right is fake and the left is real.
Last but not the least, be sure to note the datecodes on the bag. LV bags before the 1980s did not come with a datecode. But most Louis Vuitton bags still in circulation will have one.
Countries and their Datecodes:
- France- A0, A1, A2, AA, AAS, AH, AN, AR, AS, BA, BJ, BU, DR, DU, CO, CT, ET, FL, LW, MB, MI, NO, RA, RI, SD, SF, SL, SN, SP, SR, TJ, TH, TR, TS, VI, VX
- Italy- BC, BO, CE, FO, MA, RC, RE, SA, TD
- Spain- CA, GI, LO, LB, LM, LW
- U.S.A.- FC, FH, FL, LA, OS, SD
- Switzerland- DI, FA
- Germany- LP
If you spot an LV bag with a datecode: XI 1920, its FAKE!
