American fashion designer Michael Kors says: “Buying a bag and a watch is no less serious than choosing clothes.” It’s hard to disagree with him, especially when it comes to branded products with a mind-boggling price tag.
Distinguishing a high-quality, and therefore expensive, item from a counterfeit is a damn difficult matter. But if you know what to look for before buying, then even a person far from the world of fashion and luxury manufacturers can do it.
Thus, it is recommended to pay special attention to the quality of materials, fittings and seams. It is important to remember about certificates and accompanying documents - they must be asked from an official representative.
Package
The original Michael Kors bag is packaged according to the diagram. The product is supplied in a branded paper bag with the brand logo. The package is dense and smooth, holds its shape well. A thin package that wrinkles easily indicates a fake. Bags for sale in Russia are supplied in cream-colored bags.
Don't be alarmed if you receive your bag in a yellow or white bag. The yellow color means that the bag is from an old collection and has been sitting in a warehouse - just a few years ago the bags were yellow. Michael Kors bags are delivered to US stores in white bags. If you receive a white package in Russia, most likely you overpaid for delivery - your bag came from Asia to America, and then came back to our mainland.
The paper bag contains a transparent plastic bag, and in it there is a dust bag - a textile cover for storing the bag. The boot is made of soft-touch white fabric with a matte surface. The brand name is written on the case. Previously, cream-colored anthers with a round Michael Kors emblem were produced - this is also an original. In the fake boot, the fabric is synthetic, shiny and electrified.
The anther contains the bag itself, packed in bamboo paper. The paper bundle is secured with a sticker. Not all bags are completely wrapped in paper. Only fittings can be packaged. The paper is transparent or with a brand logo.
Lack of paper, plastic film instead of paper, colored paper are signs of a fake.
History of the fashion brand
This brand sells clothing, shoes, perfumes and various accessories (bags, belts, wallets, watches, jewelry). The history of the brand dates back to 1981, when the aspiring American fashion designer Michael Kors launched the sale of his fashion collection. The products immediately found their buyers both among bohemians and the mass consumer.
In the 90s, the couturier received several prestigious fashion awards. And in 2000, the first brand store was opened in the center of New York. 2 years later, Michael Kors Holdings was founded. It sells fashion products in its own boutiques and also engages in wholesale trade through a network of warehouses and department stores.
In 2003, a controlling stake in the company was acquired by Hong Kong businessmen. And in 2011, the company became public and entered the stock exchange. This made the owners multi-billionaires. Today, Michael Kors boutiques are located in several dozen countries around the world, including Russia. The company's headquarters are located in Hong Kong.
There are many stars among the fans of the fashion brand: Jennifer Lopez, Sharon Stone, Heidi Klum and others. The secret of the success of the company's products lies in the harmony between aristocratic simplicity and luxury. Michael Kors managed to combine American practicality with French sophistication.
Bags from the American designer are sold in 2 price categories. First-line products are made from high-quality genuine leather (snake, crocodile and others) and cost several thousand dollars. Simpler accessories are sold under the MICHAEL Michael Kors brand under the motto “affordable luxury.” Thanks to the company's flexible pricing policy, mass consumers can afford them.
The cost of these bags is 300-600 US dollars. More affordable natural materials are used here, but the quality of work fully corresponds to the brand’s reputation. Such products are counterfeited especially often.
Price list
The price tag on the original bag is light brown, identical to the color of the paper bag. Fake Michael Kors bags have price tags of any shade: bright orange, white, green, dark brown, yellow. The price tag of the original bag contains the following information:
- price in US dollars;
- barcode - a kind of barcode;
- product size;
- vendor code;
- bag color;
- material.
The main sign of a fake is a suspiciously low price.
Smartphones from Samsung
Android smartphones are also actively counterfeited. It's all about the price: Samsung flagships are comparable in money to the iPhone, and a copy can be bought for literally several thousand. There are several ways to distinguish a fake from the original:
- Samsung has proprietary services like Samsung Pay. They only work on the original smartphone.
- It is impossible to log into your Samsung account on a fake one. When purchasing, ask the seller to log in with your account or allow you to use yours - create it in advance from a personal computer.
- Before meeting with the seller, go into the store and turn the selected model in your hands. Remember what it looks like so you can compare.
- The low price should alert you. Even if the current owner received the smartphone for free, it is more profitable to sell it at a price as close as possible to the market price. The older the model and the phone itself, the lower its cost will be, but there must be logic in pricing.
Samsung advises you to contact a branded service center, where a specialist will tell you exactly whether the smartphone they are offering you is original.
Entrails
The interior of a Michael Kors bag can be leather, velvet-lined, or textile-lined. The lining in the original bag is not glued to the bottom, it turns out. The lining is made of thick viscose with a matte surface. The fabric is either marked with barely noticeable circles of the brand's logo, or the name Michael Kors is written on it.
Regardless of the type of lining, there are 2 stitches inside the bag - white and transparent. The transparent stitching indicates the date of manufacture of the bag, and the white stitching contains a ten-digit code – information about the model and batch number. Old-style bags contain one sewing - indicating the batch number and country of origin. Michael Kors bags are made in China, Vietnam and Indonesia, and very rarely in Turkey.
In addition to the tags, there is a branded business card in the inner pocket of the bag. It indicates the material from which the bag is made. Some collections include, in addition to the business card, a branded envelope with a miniature book inside.
Signs of a fake:
- the lining is glued to the bottom of the bag and cannot be turned out;
- glossy, shiny surface of the lining;
- bright dark brown or yellow logos or inscriptions are applied to the lining;
- There is no business card indicating the material.
Certificate and accompanying documentation
To confirm the authenticity of Michael Kors, it is recommended to ask for a certificate from the seller. Branded products of the brand are characterized by the presence of accompanying documents that confirm its originality. The fakes do not have any certificates.
Particular attention should be paid to the country of production. Many models are made in Vietnam, Turkey, China and Indonesia. Such products cost $250-1000. There are also premium accessories that will cost several thousand dollars. They are made only in the USA and Italy.
Accessories
Each element of the fittings is laser engraved with the inscription “Michael Kors” or the brand logo. Zippers, carabiners, locks, buckles, handle rings, even legs and magnetic clips are engraved.
If we compare the fittings of the original bag and the fake, the fittings in the original are heavier, although the total weight of the original product is less.
Inside the bag there is a long belt with carabiners. The belt is wrapped in bamboo transparent paper. If the belt is wrapped in plastic film, this is a fake.
Apple smartphones
A huge number of fakes was a logical consequence of the popularity of the brand. Of course, the iPhone is at particular risk. They are valued not only for their friendly user interface, good camera, high quality workmanship and long-term support, but also for their status. Often people are only interested in the latter, so they are ready to buy a case with an apple, but with dubious filling.
If you are not one of those people, then Lifehacker has written detailed instructions for you on how to distinguish a fake from an original.
- The original is made using aluminum (starting with the iPhone X - surgical steel), the parts fit tightly together, the back cover cannot be removed, the battery cannot be removed, there are no USB connectors or unclear parts.
- The silent mode switch is on the left.
- The iPhone is sold with a box on which the same IMEI is indicated as on the back cover or on the SIM card tray of the phone. The same numbers can be found in the smartphone itself if you follow the route “Settings” → “General” → “About this device”.
- If you connect a fake to iTunes, the program will recognize the fake.
- If, when you try to launch the App Store or open applications, you are redirected to Google Play, then it is a fake.
Quality
You can often tell an original Michael Kors from a fake at first glance. Pay attention to the quality of the seams - in the original they are even. There will be no protruding threads, peeling areas or glue smudges anywhere. Look at the bag from the end - the shape should be even. Take a look at the handles - on the fake, the material gathers in folds at the bend of the handles, while on the original everything is smooth. The Michael Kors inscription on the original bag is pressed in, but on the fake it is simply glued on top.
During transportation, any bag is slightly wrinkled. Michael Kors signature bags quickly regain their shape. A fake may never return to shape; traces of creases will remain.
The smell gives away the fake – a branded bag does not smell of anything. If you trust tactile sensations, you can distinguish a fake by touch. The original bag is soft and smooth.
Fraudsters know all the intricacies. If the fake differs in any way from the original, this indicates that unscrupulous manufacturers wanted to save money and time on manufacturing the product.
Bag from Michael Kors: learning to distinguish a fake from an original
The famous American brand does not leave a variety of women indifferent.
Fashionistas love the reasonable prices of the bags and, especially, the budget line, which allows you to change accessories from season to season. Serious ladies appreciate Michael Kors for its consistent quality and recognizable unique style. But even the fact that the brand is becoming more and more democratic, and even transferred the production of accessories from a specially designed budget line to some trusted Asian factories to reduce costs, does not stop the production of fakes. To ensure that you do not become a victim of outright deception, and do not become the owner of a replica at the price of a high-quality original, we will tell you how to distinguish the original.
Adidas sneakers
In terms of the number of fakes, Adidas lags behind Nike, but both companies are at the top. There are so many fake sneakers that Lifehacker wrote a separate guide on choosing original shoes.
High quality and the presence of a box are mandatory conditions. In addition, please note that the company logo is usually embossed or sewn on. If it's just painted on, that's a bad sign.
The New Balance brand is not in the top of the World Customs Organization, but these sneakers are also often counterfeited. And the advice works for them too.
Louis Vuitton bags
The huge number of fakes did the brand a disservice. The LV logo is now directly associated with counterfeits. To calculate the original, the same tips apply as for the Michael Kors brand. With some amendments:
- A bag cannot be cheap. The brand does not hold sales, so the product cost the previous owner a pretty penny. It is unlikely that she is ready to part with him for pennies.
- LV is a luxury brand with high quality bags. Even the number of stitches on symmetrical elements of the product will be the same. Don't be lazy to count.
- The design is arranged symmetrically, the parts are adjusted to each other so that the print matches.
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- Inside each bag - on a separate strap or some part - a serial number is stamped.
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- On modern models there is no leather patch with an embossed logo; it has “moved” inside the bag.
- The letter o in the Louis Vuitton lettering is always very round. Producers of fakes are sometimes too lazy to copy the font.
- Study a similar bag on the brand’s website: what colors the model was produced in, what kind of lining it should have. If there is a discrepancy, it is better to refuse the purchase.
