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Experts Teach Telltale Signs of Designer Fakes

By Serena Solomon | January 9, 2012 7:13am | Updated on January 9, 2012 7:21am

EAST VILLAGE — Ask Viki Stevenson the quickest way to tell a fake Marc Jacobs bag, and she'll tell you it's all about the demeanor of the person trying to sell it to her.

"When they are trying to sell fake things and they know it, they are just really quiet," said Stevenson, the manager of Chelsea fashion consignment store the Buffalo Exchange.

The quality of the leather and stitching, the strange zipper and off center nameplate all confirmed Stevenson’s suspicions as a recent seller tried to pass off a fake bag as real in the West 26th Street store.

It happens so often — about three times a week, says Stevenson — that being able to spot counterfeits is a crucial part of business at consignment stores that specialize in trading second hand items.

The poor quality in stitching was one of the signs that gave this fake Chloe bag away.
The poor quality in stitching was one of the signs that gave this fake Chloe bag away.
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DNAinfo/Serena Solomon

It's so important that Buffalo Exchange staff are trained to spot subtle differences between fake and genuine items, and even go on field trips to see the real thing.

Stevenson and other experts fall back on telltale signs such as zipper types, leather quality and trademark workmanship of different fashion houses to authenticate or dismiss an item.  

While many prospective sellers are not aware the possessions they put up for sale are counterfeit, occasionally some knowingly attempt to pass off a fake designer item for a real one, to get a higher price.

"It could be anybody. It could be a girl who has a mix of really high end things," said Stevenson. "She has great stuff and then 'that' will sneak in."

At the Buffalo Exchange, those pawning items can either receive 30 percent of what the items will be resold for or 50 percent of that price in store credit. The store has a zero tolerance policy towards counterfeit items. Managers such as Stevenson have only moments to establish an item's authenticity and, if there is any doubt, sellers are turned away.

"There are so many different levels of fake bags," said Stevenson, who also rejects many bogus shoes and the occasional clothing piece.

"There are cheap plastic ones, then there are the ones that have real leather."

Stevenson produced a baby pink Chloe bag. The soft leather, the heavy buckle and nameplate made a strong case for authenticity, but the bag was a fake.

A woman who admitted it was a fake while attempting to sell the bag to Buffalo Exchange ended up donating this one to the store. Stevenson held onto it to educate her staff.

"Once you have been around real bags, the fake ones are easy to tell,” said Tania Anthony, 42, from the online consignment store Resale Riches.

Once a woman attempted to sell her a fake Fendi Spy bag, assuring Anthony it was purchased from the brand’s store in Italy.

“I assume that they don’t know themselves," she said, believing many people are convinced their item is real.

Staying one step ahead of the counterfeits can be difficult, according to Anthony. People can produce a fake receipt in an attempt to prove a purchase that never happened. Lucy Haslewood from the Secret Stylist blog has even encountered counterfeits that are sprayed with a leather scent to cover up synthetic materials.  

When judging a resale item’s authenticity, New York-based makeup and fashion consultant  Suresh from Suresh Beauty, who often calls out fake items through his Twitter feed @sureshbeauty, advises shoppers that a real item can get better with age.

“Authentic products often wear very well,” wrote Suresh in an email to DNAinfo.com. “The way the materials fold and crease is very symbolic of the brand's heritage.”

The artist, who has a celebrity rich clientele and considers himself a huge advocate for anti-fake, also suggested slinging a bag on your shoulder.

“A well-made designer bag is weighed and balanced so that it always appears perfectly stable on a shoulder or arm,” wrote Suresh, who spends his work days surrounded by designer items.

Amanda Garrett, the 33-year-old store manager at another Buffalo Exchange on East 11th Street, would not be surprised if she was presented with a couple of counterfeit items each week.

"Sometimes people will argue with you and we will just say ‘I can’t buy it if I have questions about the authenticity,’" said Garrett.

For her and her team, copies of contemporary high-end brands such as Alexander Wang are proving difficult to detect because they don’t have the established traditions like older brands.  

"If the Coach bag has a pattern on the outside, it should have a solid [color] on the inside lining and vice versa," she said as an example.

Recently Garrett turned away a woman who attempted pawning an Alexander Wang bag given to her by her boyfriend. She delicately told the woman the bag was counterfeit.

"She said, 'I can’t believe it is fake, I am going to kill him,'" said Garrett.