As I walked through a popular shopping mall with my friends we laughed and gossiped as we always do. All of a sudden, my friend held up an impressive looking bag. It was an amazing looking Herschel bag, which she held dear. My friends and I were in awe. “Where did you get that from” I asked curiously. She proudly proclaimed, “I found this amazing buy on the internet,” and opened up the bag to braggingly show us her find.
I have always been careful when looking for a designer piece, especially online. Yet, I was immediately convinced that this bag was authentic. She had done her research so I didn’t have to worry about being scammed. Still, I was skeptical and we inspected the bag further to make sure the exterior and interior quality was worth the retail price. It was! That was when I learned the hard lesson that not all designer items found online are necessarily fake.
We inspected all the details to ensure the bag was real. For instance, we checked the interior lining to make sure it was the original Herschel fabric. We also made sure the zippers worked properly and the stitching was neat. Upon a closer inspection, we could tell even from a few feet away that the bag was of superior quality. We were impressed with the quality of the fabric, zippers, and pockets. We also spotted the rubber logo patch, which was a sign that it was, in fact, a genuine item.
In fact, what made it most interesting and fun was that we were able to distinguish a real Herschel bag from a knockoff. We noted the materials, color, design, and overall craftsmanship of our friend’s bag- it was so perfect and clear! We had to learn to pay attention to certain aspects such as the placement of the zip, the texture of the material, the size and shape of the logo, and whether the item was well constructed.
We also became very aware of the fake items that populated the market. In our search, we noticed many bags that were advertised as “genuine” but upon closer inspection, the quality was really quite poor. We even checked websites that were famous for selling counterfeit items. We had to be careful not to get scammed and it was practically impossible to buy from these sites without doing intensive research and lucky comparing it with an authentic version.
Not only were these fake versions expensive, but they were often made of inferior materials. The zippers also tended to move around and continually break. Even the logo patch that was supposed to indicate it was genuine, was usually of poor quality. When compared to the real bag, the differences were both pronounced and vast.
My friends and I walked out of the mall feeling great. We had spent the day learning, discussing, and ultimately shining a light on the world of counterfeiting. Not only did we walk away with a valuable lesson but also with a newfound appreciation for the need to be vigilant when shopping for designer items online.