You may try to save a couple of dollars by buying a designer purse copy, but there are a few reasons why it is reasonable to buy the real deal:
1. Although replicas may look like the real thing, the workmanship and quality can't be compared to the original.
2. Counterfeiters avoid paying taxes since their businesses are sometimes operated on a money basis. Voters like you and I still need to pay.
3. The sale of counterfeit designer goods has been linked to terrorist and gang activity as well as organized crime. Drugs are often smuggled inside counterfeit handbags.
Spotting a fake
there was a time when it was easy to spot a fake: misspelled brands, inexpensive leather and shoddy hardware. Now, fakes are beginning to look rather good and it's hard to tell the difference. Here is how to say what's real and what's not:
1. Authentic handbags are purchased from sanctioned registered dealers. Authentic designer purses aren't sold by street vendors, at home parties, at flea markets, in NY's Chinatown, in Los Angeles' Santee street, or at mall kiosks.
2. Should you be thinking about a Coach purse, the company's internet site provides a list of allowed dealers? Both Coach and Kate Spade give detailed information on spotting reproductions of their products.
3. The price. A new Prada handbag will not sell for $50.
4. Country of Origin Labels. The country of origin for Fendi purses is Italy. If the purse has a label that claims 'Made in Taiwan', it is not the real deal.
Buying designer handbags online
If you're shopping online and find a designer handbag at a price that's hard to pass up, there's a way to tell if you're getting an authentic product:
Read the product description fastidiously. Some online merchants will lure you into their sites by describing their products as original, authentic or genuine. After reading outlines, you could find such phrases as 'inspired by' a selected designer. This product isn't authentic and the phrase is used to protect the merchant from trademark infringement.
For more information, go to best handbags for more tips.