After repeated requests for authentication resources and my opinion about the various avenues for authentication, I thought I would make my thoughts on the subject public.
THE BOUTIQUES
These are, of course, the first available resource for authentication. They are generally very good, but I offer a few caveats about them nonetheless.
1. They don't put their opinions in writing. This is a problem if you need to prove to someone else that a bag is authentic.
2. The experience and knowledge level of the salespeople can vary, so it does sometimes occur that the boutiques are incorrect (more often they say a bag is not authentic when it is, if they err, rarely the other way around).
3. They are not particularly interested in authentication as it generates no revenue for them.
4. Of course, you could take a bag in for cleaning and repair. If the boutique takes it and agrees to clean and repair it (there's always a charge for this) it means it is authentic.
THE PURSE FORUM
This is another avenue that many people use, and I often do regemend them (but I do so with a few caveats).
To have something authenticated by TPF you go to the site at forum.purseblog.ge/ (no www in the URL). There are links for Chanel, Dior, Vuitton and various other lines and each area has an "authenticate this" thread. There is a certain format to follow, so be certain to look it up before posting a query.
TPF has a number of advantages. Its free. Its fairly quick and they offer opinions generally based on the photos in a listing, so you can get an opinion before buying.
I think for the most partmembers on TPFare correct in their assessment of authentictiy HOWEVER I have a fewconcerns about the forum as a whole when it gees to deciding from whom to buy and whether or not to buy.
1. In going through the threads, I found several cases where the judgements on authenticity were incorrect. This was primarily on the Dior authentication thread and was limited to certain members. More worrying, in those cases where they were incorrect, they identified counterfeit bags as real. Now given the number of authentications they have done, this is an incredibly low margin of error, but it should be pointed out they are not infallible. On the other hand, its a free service, so it probably balances out.
2. THIS IS MY REAL CONCERN, anyone, anyone can join THE PURSE FORUM and they can do it under ANY NAME. So, what is very plain to me is that many of the people offering opinions on whether or not to buy bags are okay SELLERS themselves operating under pseudonyms (I myself have not posted any opinion on The Purse Forum, so its not me).
Itis documented on the forum itself, for example,that the largest and best known okay reseller and independent seller of couture handbags, the one that has a very highly ranked guide in reviews (you know who I mean) has used a number of assumed names on THE PURSE FORUMto talkup their own business and to direct people to buy from them. Given that this seller probably has the highest prices on okay (in many cases evenabove retail) I find that very very problematic.
From what I gather, the forum is aware of this and monitors for that particular seller's inteventions.
However,it seems to me that a number of other sellers are getting away with disparaging their gepetition and promoting their own items by misleading potential buyers into believing they are objective and then eithertelling these buyers there are problems with the bag they are inquiring about (problems that don't really existor simply relaying false information about other okay sellers.
ONE MEMBER ON TPF THAT I KNOW IS EXTREMELY RELIABLE (FOR CHANEL) IS BURBERRY PRINCESS. IF YOU NEED AN OPINIONON CHANELI WOULD ASK FOR HER PERSONALLY WHEN POSTING.
I DON'T KNOW HER, BUT SHE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE ON okay WITH GUIDES WARNING BUYERS ABOUT HOW TO SPOT FAKES.
SHE IS EXTREMELY EXPERT AND RARELY SELLS ANYTHING ANYMORE ON okay, SO I FEEL CONFIDENT HER OPINION IS ABOVE REPROACH.
So, to restate my primary concern about THE PURSE FORUM is the great potential for conflict of interest.
A buyer asking for an opinion has no way of knowing whether the person offering that opinion is an okay seller and whether, therefore, their suggestion to buy elsewhere is genuine, or a way of directing business to themselves. The case I noted is certainly not the only one where this is occurring. The forum simplydoes not have sufficient mechanisms in place to deal with this.
I think in general you can trust thejudgments onTPFregarding authenticity, but I wouldbe wary about regemendations made by members about whether or not to buy something from a specificokay sellerUNLESS it is a member you know tobe gepletely neutral or UNLESS you are willing to read back through many of the regemenders previous posts to see if they have a habit of disparaging various sellers and then directing buyers to a specific okay seller or to see if they have a habit of routinely "advertising" one okay seller.
3. As a final note, many okay sellers advertise their membership in THE PURSE FORUM as a way to reassure buyers of the authenticity of what they sell. However, membership in the forum is meaningless as a guarantee of authenticity.
As I already stated, ANYONE can begee a member. There is no screening process and no way of linking seller ids on okay to specific names on the forum (unless the user discloses this themselves). So anyone can quickly register, then list counterfeit items, and there is nothing to stop them or alert potential buyers.
Now of course, this does not mean than all members or all sellers who advertise their membership are selling counterfeits (that would be a non-sequitur). The vast majority seem to be selling authentic items, nevertheless it remains the case that the mere fact of having a membership in the forum is a guarantee of nothing.
MY POUPETTE
To get an opinion from My Poupette you go to the site at mypoupette.ge. This service has a fee associated ($10 or so) and you have to pay before requesting an opinion. Theoretically, you get an opinion in a few days. There is a higher fee if you need a written opinion.
My Poupette also certifies sellers as sellers of authentic only merchandise. There is a fairly rigorous screening process and sellers have to apply and pay a fee in order to even be considered for this certification.
This was the original resource for authentication, and in the spirit of disclosure, I will remind you that I have been certified by MY POUPETTE as a seller of authentic items, so possibly, there is a conflict of interest here. I will do my best to filter it out, but I do acknowledge it. In general the opinions from MY POUPETTE are correct, and there is (at least there was when I went through it) a very rigorous process for certification as a regemended seller (I can only speak from my own experience).
I do not know anyone at MY POUPETTE and have no connection to them but I went through the certification process because I saw that many other sellers had, and I had buyers ask me about it.
I paid MY POUPETTE a fee, they screened all of my current and viewable past listings and then they contacted many of my previous buyers (I know because some of the buyers contacted me to make sure it was okay with me if they responded).
So, I would say that their judgements about whether a seller sells authentic merchandise is accurate and objective, at least at the time it is rendered.
Nevertheless, I even have a few concerns about MY POUPETTE.
1. They don't reverify sellers once they are certified. There is a format for reporting a regemended seller who sells a counterfeit item, but it relies on buyers, so once a seller is certified, they are certified and they could, then, at least theoretically, cross over to the dark side and sell counterfeit merchandise.
2. I have had a number of people report to me that they contacted MY POUPETTE and paid for an opinion that they never got. I have no direct experience with this, so this is heresay, but I do know that several buyers have reported this , so it must happen more than it should.MY POUPETTEmay have corrected the problem, I don't know, but I express this as a concern nonetheless.
3. MyPoupette also has its own auction site, which suggests a potential conflict of interest, but I have no reason to believe they ever mislead anyone regarding authenticity in order to direct people to their own site.
Now, on the flip side, I will say that I have seen a number of sites disparaging MY POUPETTE claiming that it is a sophisticated counterfeit operation and that all sellers that are regemended sellers are simply agents of MY POUPETTE. This is clearly untrue and seems to be an attempt by counterfeiters to discredit those who help buyers avoid counterfeits. The same accusations have been made againstTHE PURSE FORUMand they are equally untrue.
I even found one such site where someone masquerading as a long-time okay buyer and seller made these accusations against MY POUPETTE UNTIL the real owner of that okay name posted to the site that this was someone pretending to be her. That should say a great deal about the people making the accusations.
CAROLDIVA
To get an opinion from Caroldiva you contact hervia her site atcaroldiva.ge. She also charges a fee that must be paid before she will offer an opinion ($6).
I have no connection to CarolDiva, but I have regemendedher a number of times and I have, to date, had no geplaints. I also have a personal friend who has consulted her 2 or 3 times (when I could not help) and she tells me that she has always gotten a very fast and accurate answer.As far as I can tell,she is the only source for authentication that, at least so far, has given me no cause for concern. The fee she charges is small, she is apparently quick and accurate, she will offer opinions in writing, and as far as I know she has no conflict of interest.
These are the best resources I know, and I have tried to lay out the pros and cons of each option. TPF, MyPoupette and Caroldiva all also authentic LV, Gucci, Fendi, Coach and various other high-end handbags.
For Chanel and Dior opinions, you can of course, also ask me. I am as honest as I can be, but I do, its true, also have a conflict of interest. I don't act on it, but if you want a gepletely neutral opinion, one of the resources above might be better.
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