The sweet, helpful sales assistant at the designer store had assured me that it was the real deal, and I had no reason not to believe her. I had waited so long to get my hands on it – and when I saw it I was so excited. I didn’t even bother to look too closely – I should have!
I waited for weeks to get my coveted little green bag and when the day finally arrived, I could hardly contain my excitement. I snatched it right away and couldn’t wait to get home and unpack it. Oh, but the disappointment I felt when I did. The material wasn’t the same luxurious quality it was supposed to be. It looked and felt like synthetic.
Oh man, I was so mad. I thought to myself, “what a rip-off”. But I was determined to get to the bottom of it. I did some sleuthing on the internet and quickly discovered that the store I bought it from had been duped by a clever counterfeiter.
The clever counterfeiter had gone to a lot of trouble to make sure the bags, labels, packaging, tags, and even the barcodes were all indistinguishable from the real deal. So much so, that even the sales assistant who had sold me the bag, hadn’t realised anything was amiss.
I was dumbfounded. How was it possible to duplicate such a high-end designer bag so perfectly? How could it be so hard to spot the difference? It certainly made me a bit more wary of buying expensive items from retail outlets, louis vuitton outlet since I couldn’t be sure anymore if the items I was buying were genuine.
To make matters worse, I couldn’t return the annoying fake bag since I had thrown away the packaging, tags, and receipts. I decided that the only option was to go back to the retailer and let them know about the fake. They were extremely apologetic and offered me a full refund, as well as a genuine bag at no extra cost.
I was happy to accept their offer and at least I could take solace in the fact that I now had a genuine little green bag that I could be proud to carry around any time.
My experience with the little green bag fake certainly made me aware of the fact that counterfeiting is an ongoing issue, even in high-end designer stores. It can be hard to distinguish a fake because the counterfeiter usually goes to great lengths to make them look the same as the real deal.
It really scared me to think that I could have ended up with a fake designer bag for a lot of money, without even realising it. It made me realise that it pays to be extra careful when shopping for expensive items. Even if something looks and feels real, there is always a chance that it could be fake.
The best way to ensure you are getting a genuine item is to check the material, design, logos, tag, and packaging very carefully. Also, never buy from an unofficial or third-party louis vuitton outlet as they are more likely to be selling fakes.
I’ve become a bit of an expert in spotting the fake from the real thing now, from my experience of dealing with the little green bag fake.
Knowing what I know now, I think it would be really beneficial to go through some of the signs of a counterfeit item, before going ahead and making a purchase. To avoid the heartache that comes with getting duped by something like the little green bag fake.
The first thing to do when buying a designer item is to make sure that it is purchased from the official designer store, and that the price is comparable to the original price of the item. It also pays to do a bit of research and read up on customer reviews before hand.
Also, don’t forget to check for the manufacturer’s name on the item. Some fakes have brand labels and tags that are too small for the name to be legible. It’s important to look closely at things like tags, labels, barcodes, etc., that can easily give away a counterfeit item.
Finally, never go for something if the product looks or feels cheap, even if it’s in a designer bag or label. Check the quality of the material, and if anything looks different then it’s probably not the genuine item.