Ok.  I used to work in the beauty industry and I am well versed on spotting a fake.  As an experiment, I have purchased random perfumes on eBay and lo and behold, I could tell they were a fake even before I took them out of the box.  And then upon removing the bottle and inspecting them it was SO OBVIOUS they were fakes.  This practice of selling fakes disappoints me as it ruins it for us professional sellers that DO sell genuine designer articles.

I wanted to write a quick guide on how to tell if you have received a fake/counterfeit chanel perfume.  These checklists apply to most upper-end designer perfumes also.

It is always good to compare the bottle you just bought to your old one.  Although sometimes bottles bought from Europe of the USA sometimes differ slightly in appearance than those retailed in other countries, the underlying common trait you should excpect is that trademarked luxury goods such as Chanel or Dior - their products ALWAYS appear to be the absolute best quality.  That's why they cost a lot.  There is NO manufacturing inconsistencies or flaws in their goods.

Some Tips for spotting fakes:

• Appearance of bottle - is it cheaply made, inconsistencies in the glass surface or interior contour/shape of glass
• Spray bottle cap - cheaply made, inconsistencies in the material, does not fit well or correctly
• Sprayer assembly - looks cheap, does not operate properly
• Perfume liquid - cloudy. debris floating around (seriously I have seen this), foreign mattrer inside bottle
• Labels - off center, painted on, not raised lettering, print rubs off easily
• Small collar around neck of bottle - is it off center, not fitted correctly?  Cheaply printed ie: the CC Chanel logo letters look weird, too thick/thin or not overlapping correctly.  Also look for different coloured bands than normal ie: black instead of gold
• Bottom of perfume bottle - cheap labels stuck on (some perfumes have these etched) stuck on crooked, info missing
• Boxes - look cheap, print rubs off easily, low grade cardboard, letters too bold, not raised or embossed print and the dead giveaway:  Words not correctly spelt. 
• Boxes - lack of serial numbers, trademark symbols
• Smell:  Usually the icing on the cake:  Does not smell anything like your last bottle or smells just plain disgusting
• Scent durability:  After spraying on your skin, scent fades somewhat quickly ie: 20 mins or quicker for EDP
• Colour:  Noticably different to what you would normally see in that perfume.

The old saying "if it's too good to be true it probably is"  If it's really cheap it is probably a fake.  You get what you pay for.  I have seen hundreds of bottles of Chanel No.5 auctioned off for US$35.00.  Impossible if it is real.  The wholesale price alone is upwards to US$100.

Just about anything coming out of China or Hong Kong - you have a 99% chance you will receive a fake.  On a wholesale level, they are not even trying to hide it.  I did a Google search a few weeks ago with the keywords "chanel counterfeit" and a whole bunch of websites popped up offering Chinese and Hong Kong manufacturers who will export fake designer goods.  Crazy...  Also beware of anything coming out of NY or Michigan.  Hotspots for fake perfume peddlers.