5 Ways to Learn if Louis Vuitton is Real or Fake
Did you know that Louis Vuitton is the world's most counterfeited brand?
I bet you did.
I've recently witnessed a steamy debate between buyer and a seller whether a Louis Vuitton bag is authentic or not. A buyer purchased the bag from this seller two weeks ago and was told the item is authentic. However, as soon as the buyer examined the item in detail, she was not that sure. This preloved bag came with a receipt and the seller insisted it's authentic cause she took it to LV previously and they were ready to heatstamp it. The buyer checked its authenticity with a very reputable authenticator, compared it to an authentic bag (same model) and also checked it with a team of volunteer authenticators. So who was right and is there a way to find out whether the item is authentic or not? Who is right?
What are the steps to verify a Louis Vuitton item authenticity?
Read more on LV authenticity:
Basically, you have the following options:
1) Take it to a Louis Vuitton boutique and ask them to check it.
2) Find articles/YouTube videos on Louis Vuitton authentication and check the bag yourself.
3) Find the same bag in the store and check the differences yourself.
4) Turn to a community of LVoers and ask them to check it.
5) Turn to a professional authenticator.
Which options would be the right one? Let's consider each option.
1. Take the bag to a Louis Vuitton boutique and ask sales managers to check it
Once and forever: Louis Vuitton forbids its personnel to check anything! If they took this responsibility, can you imagine how many claims they would have got? They do not give any official letters of authenticity. So if a seller is telling you that she is ready to go to the boutique and check the bag, it actually means nothing. If you go to the Louis Vuitton boutique, unless you have a great sales assistant, they will tell you that they cannot give comments regarding authenticity.
However, there is a different way you might consider. In every Louis Vuitton shop there is a bag service department. They also offer to heat stamp the bag with your initials for free.
What you can do is bring the bag and pretend you want to repair the bag or heatstamp it. If that's an obvious fake, they will not accept it to service saying that this item was not manufactured by Louis Vuitton. That will be an indirect authentication. However, with mirror fakes on the market it's not that easy to identify a fake bag and there were also cases when official Louis Vuitton service accepted a fake for repair. You can read about these cases on Purse Forum.
Now from 2016 they are asking for a receipt and the original purchase information (who bought the item, where and when). They can find this information in their database, therefore, they can confirm the fact that bag bag existed and it was purchased in Louis Vuitton. t. But guess what scammers do? If they are professional, they buy/steal original receipts and get a bag that would match this receipt (manuractured before the date on the receipt). If you go to their official service, they might say it's authentic cause the receipt is real but in fact that does not mean anything regarding authenticity of the bag.
It turns out (paradoxically) that official Louis Vuitton can not confirm the bag's authenticity.
2. Find articles/YouTube videos on Louis Vuitton authentication and check the bag yourself
You can fidn a lot of information on how to check the bag's auuthenticity on the Internet. There are articles, videos, photos, it's all free and you can get a lot of information. However, what I discovered is that not all of this information is true. I read several articles on LV authentication that said that if an LV symbol on Louis Vuitton canvas is upside down, the bag is fake (which is not true, cause the famous Speedy had been made from one piece of canvas and the letters are always upside down on the back). This information can be misleading and if you don't have enough experience with the brand, you do not know what to believe. It will also take time to learn all this information yourself.
3. Find the same bag in the store and check the differences yourself
Each authentication basically means comparing the bag in question to the same model but an authentic bag. So that's a good option but it has several drawbacks as well.
First of all, the bag in question is often an outdated model that cannot be found in store.
Second, one model may have several modifications and if you do not have enough experience with the brand, you do not know if the difference between your bag and the bag in Louis Vuitton means that it's fake or not. For instance, take a look at these two pics - this is the same model. Which one is authentic?
The truth is that the bag has been redesigned and they both are authentic cause at some point the bag has been redesigned. But you need to know that.
Third reason is psychological. Personally for a long time I did not feel comfortable coming to the store even to take a look at the bags they have. I knew the look the sales assistants will give me, a 20-something girl in a 50$ dress from H&M. I could not even imagine the courage it would take me to go to the store with another bag, take the same model from LV, sit and compare them. I'd rather pay to not to do that.
But if the model is still on sale and you're comfortable with going to Louis Vuitton, there's nothing stopping you :)
4. Turn to a Community of LVoers and Ask Them to Check the Bag in Question
Louis Vuitton has fans and lvoers worldwide and there are many people who can help you to tell a fake. Many of them will do that for free but (yes, there is always that 'but') the question is the following: who can you trust? The level of expertise is different in each case and most probably the person will not be local. They will give opinions, if the ebag is tatolly fake I do not doubt they will figure it out. But what if that's a mirror fake? (you do not believe in mirror fakes until you see one... and this is scary)
You can definitely do that, all it takes is just some time. But just remember that these are opinions.
5. Ask for paid professional authentication
Let's start with a definition of a professional authenticator. A professional authenticator is a person who has a lot of experience with the brand (he/she can probably be a former sales assistant or a person who owns a preloved items store) and for a small fee (10-15$) they can take a look at the pictures of your bag and say if there are any inconsistencies. What's interesting is that this person can give you an official paper (certificate/letter or authenticity) stating that this bag in his/her opinion is authentic/not authentic. This is the most official document you can get.
Opinion? Yes, this person can give you an opinion on the bag. Can they be wrong?
Everything's possible. Authentication experts are human beings too. Fakes can be amazingly good and in the majority of cases an expert can only judge from the photos of the bag. And there is a lot of information the photos can conceal. Their level of expertise differs as well.
However, here's the fact:
If your transaction was via PayPal and a trusted authenticator deemed the bag you purchased fake, then PP will accept the certificate as an evidence and return your money.
Search for an authenticator who can issue an official paper that is accepted in Ebay / PayPal claims. These people have a lot of experience with the brand and a reputation. They do it professionally which means they receive dozens of photos a day and assume the responsibility that comes with their decision. If they were wrong all the time, they would not have the expert reputation, right?
Conclusion
If you are ensure whether your Louis Vuitton bag is fake or real, a 100% way to learn the truth would be to have an official confirmation. Louis Vuitton does not issue this confirmation so it all depends on why you need to know the truth:
1) For your own peace of mind
2) For a dispute in PayPal
3) To prove the authenticity in non-PayPal transactions
If that's for your piece of mind, you can use all of the ways mentioned. The best chance you have is a paid authentication from a reputable authenticator.
If you need an official confirmation, get an authenticity certificate.
I hope this article will help you to make a choice. Feel free to message me if you have any questions.
