If you have not seen my previous guide "BEWARE! FAKE KOOBA HANDBAGS BEING SOLD AS AUTHENTIC" please click on the link that takes you to all of my guides and read that guide for additional information.

This guide is to show a more detailed look at a fake Kooba handbag.  I'm sorry the pictures aren't larger but Ebay re-sizes the pictures to this size. More details about fake Koobas are in my previous guide. 

A few months ago, I won a Black Kooba Braedon after reviewing the listing and pictures in great detail.  The bag in the photographs was authentic and had the correct Kooba and Saks Fifth Avenue tags attached.

To my surprise, when the bag arrived, it was NOT the bag in the picture but a fake. A terrible one at that. And no Saks Fifth Avenue tag. I was a victim of the old switch-a-roo. 

I took pictures of this fake bag so that I would have them for this guide.   Here they are and some details of what to look for in a fake:

Now, this is great evidence of a fake below.  This is a lack of finishing the bag out, a hallmark of fakes. Find where the leather is connected under the stitching. On an authentic Kooba, it will be so tightly stitched that you can not lift up the seam.  And even if you can lift it a millimeter, the underside will be the same color as the exterior leather. This section of material is not even leather, it is a fake material as you can see by the bright white color.

Here is another section of the bag with a different color backing. This particular section is leather, very cheap leather, but it is unfinished leather with a brown backing. Again, on an authentic Kooba, this would be a black backing on a black bag and you should not be able to lift up the seam to see any color variation.  On some neutral color authentic bags, you may find a SLIGHT difference in color on the back if you are ABLE to lift up the seam at all.  But you will not find a color difference like you see in these two photos and black bags will not have this.  They will match on the underside.

This is the exterior plate and it shows the terrible stitch work of this bag.  See how ugly the seam is?  Not arrow straight, tight and smooth like true Kooba stiching.  Always ask the seller for a close-up of the outside stitching is possible and compare it to close-ups on the Kooba website.

Look below at the interior lining seam.  See how part of it is folded in correctly then part of the seam is not?  The seam on the left side is how it should look, all the way across on an authentic bag. The seam variations are another hallmark of a fake bag.  You may occasionally have a bit of the seam that isn't perfect on an authentic bag but not SEVERAL inches of it unless the bag is a factory second or has been repaired. 

Many times an authentic bag that you get on Ebay that is NWT for a greatly reduced price has been repaired.  Depending on the problem, the seam has to be opened up to do an interior repair, then it is sewn back up and can cause seam irregularities.  A bad seam is almost always an indication of a factory second, a repair or a FAKE.  I've never purchased an authentic Kooba bag at an authorized retailer that had seam issues, this has only happened with bags from Ebay or from an outlet like Saks Off 5th.  So, if you regularly buy your bags from Ebay and never from an authorized retailer you may not realize the quality of the bags on the showroom floor that are selling for full price. 

These repairs are usually NOTHING MAJOR and are not anything to worry about.  Sometimes a stud may need to be replaced and they have to get to the back of the stud so they have to undo the lining to get to it.  Things like that.  I don't mind a small repair if it will save me a few hundred dollars!  But if your seam looks "funny" check the other details on the bag for confirmation of authenticity if you are unsure.  If the bag appears to be authentic but has a funny interior seam, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

See the crooked interior plate?  It would be extremely rare for a crooked plate to make it to the shelves of an authorized Kooba retailer.  This is a $600 plus bag (an authentic one).  They would get the plate straight.  Again, this could happen to a factory second authentic bag, so don't worry if you get a bag from an authorized retailer if the plate is crooked.  If you get the bag off of Ebay or another online site, check the other details of the bag.

Now this requires a magnifying glass in some cases.  But notice how much easier the tag on the right is to read compared to the one on the left?  The handcrafted in China tag on the right is from an authentic bag.  If you flip the tag inside out you will still see clearly written letters on the underside. The fake China tag will be have fuzzy lettering on the outside and very hard to distinguish letters on the inside.

See the leather? (or "supposed" leather) It is wrinkled and creased, not built in, finished wrinkles like an authentic Kooba but wrinkles from being stored and/or shipped.  This would not happen to an authentic Kooba. It would happen to synthetic material though.  Many of these bags are not even real leather, although they claim that they are.  Immitation leather these days isn't as obvious as it used to be. They even use a leather scent (as in a perfume or air freshener!) for this fake stuff to try to cover the synthetic smell and to make it smell like leather. 

 See the quality of the leather in the close-up photo of the Kooba Ginger below? These are built in crinkles that are from the leather finishing process not from being stored or transported.  These wrinkles are SUPPOSED to be there and they LOOK that way.

I wish I had more room and photos of more fake bags to show you but FORTUNATELY, I do not have any other fake bags to photograph!

REMEMBER, these are just things to look for to help you determine if a bag is fake or not.  A fake bag may not have ALL of these issues.  Your gut instinct will usually tell you if a bag is fake or not (or at least it should).  So, if you have that feeling, start looking for these "clues".  And remember that ALL Kooba handbags are not PERFECT, they are made in factories by humans so you may find an occasional interior seam that may have a slight problem.  But if the inside seam looks really messed up you need to look at the rest of the bag to determine authenticity if you are unsure. 

I will try to become more current on the newer bags.  I have been extremely busy this year and just haven't had the time to purse shop like I used to and I haven't been out of town to look at styles that are not being carried by our local retailers here so forgive me if my guides are a little out of date. The retailers here in Memphis only carry a select few styles.  But I do the best I can to keep you updated on what I find out and any new information that I come across.

Once again, I suggest visiting IOffer . com to see the Kooba handbags listed there as most are fake.  Looking at plenty of pictures of fakes then comparing the photos to the Kooba website will help.  Be sure to click on the CLOSE UP button on the photos at the Kooba website (or any authorized retailer) to see details a little better.  Do a search for Tradekey Replica Bags also...you will find numerous brands that are being counterfeited.  You can also visit the PurseForum for help although that can be a little misleading as I've seen plenty of authentic Kooba handbags (usually older models) on there being called fake which infuriates me for the sellers.  Just remember, their advice is just like mine..just meant to be a guideline.

You can also visit mypoupette for an authentication.

You can also do a google search for KOOBA REPLICA to see if your bag of interest is being counterfeited.

Please be sure to see my other Kooba guides on Ebay for more information and for a list of recommended Kooba sellers on Ebay.

Please take a moment to vote at the bottom if you found this guide helpful!

THANK YOU FOR VISITING MY GUIDE.

Christi

CHRISTID2303