Mulberry is one of the best leather brands around. It is also, unfortunately, one of most faked brands on the market. How to you avoid accidentally buying a fake?
1. Buy from an authorised retailer. This is really the only 100% foolproof way. Some fakes are really good. In fact, with many brands, the fakes actually go out the back door of the factory where the real thing is produced.
2. Buy secondhand from a reputable reseller. Someone like Naughtipidginsnest is 100% reliable and she knows her products well enough not to be fooled by even the most devious fakes. She has sold over 5000 designer handbags and she is my No 1 trusted seller.
3. Look carefully at online sellers. Check their feedback. Do they have many of the same product for sale? Do their products have any of the following:
- plastic wire on the tag (Mulbarry only uses black string)
- ‘genuine leather’ tag in the shape of cow hide.
- white thread on the tag (Mulberry only uses black string)
- a very orange tinge in the browns
- crooked stitching on the label
- very uniform leather with no individual graining
- unusual models or colorways
- plastic wrap over the handles. (note, sometimes the hardware has plastic cling film for protection, as on a phone – this is okay)
- very shiny hardware
- sloppy stitching
- misspelling on the tags or labels
- dodgy and repeated use of the word ‘authentic’ or ‘auth’
- stock Mulberry photos
- crooked trees on the studs
- strange proportions
- flat rather than curved studs
if so – avoid!
4. Know your leather and your models. If you are familiar with the leather and the models and most importantly, the hardware, you are quite a bit on the way to weeding out the fakes. Watch out for:
- linings in models that are unlined
- fabric pockets
- serial numbers in models that did not have serial numbers.
- ‘Made in’ labels that feature countries other than England, Turkey and China
Use authentication services. The most well-know reputable and free one is The Purse Forum’s ‘Authenticate This’. These members will tirelessly offer their services free to members wishing to purchase or sell designer handbags. However, having helped out in this forum in the past and seen the downside of human nature – please do the decent thing and not register just to have bags authenticated and then swamp the authenticators with constant requests to authenticate bags you are wanting to buy or are selling. Do the right thing and contribute to the forums as well.
Some examples (from this very good site)
