I decided to write this guide to point out some mis-information floating around out there about Fendi bags and which ones are counterfeit and which aren't.  I recently posted my vintage Fendi bag for sale.  Mine is from the 80's...that popular stripe pattern bag w/ the leather stripe running down the middle of the front of the purse.  Someone wrote me a question on my auction asking for the serial number.  Knowing first hand that my bag was real, but did not have a serial number I had to do some research so I could accurately answer her question & post it right on my auction knowing someone else may have the same question.

First I googled Fendi authenticity and saw an ebay link at the top of the search results to someone's about me page who calls themselves the fendi lady or something to that effect.  I figured I'd start there....to my dismay she claimed that everything Fendi made has a serial number, and if it doesn't then it's fake.  Since I knew mine is not a fake I continued my research on Ebay....Most of the Fendi guides and such refer back to this Fendi woman's information (the one with the about me page that came up in my google results).  Not satisfied, I figured I'd call Fendi and get the information right from the horse's mouth, so to speak.

The first store I called was the one in the Short Hills Mall in NJ.  A worker answered.  I asked her if ALL Fendi bags had a serial number.  She said Yes.....  I couldn't believe it.  Well, I wanted another opinion.  I called Fendi in New York City, NY.  I hit the ext. for Customer Service.  I described my bag to the woman on the phone.  She identified my bag as one being sold in the 80's & that in the 80's they did NOT have serial numbers.  I wasn't asking her to authenticate my bag, I was just asking for information on how Fendi did things in the past.  The store personnel seemed to get very standoffish if they thought I was asking them to authenticate my bag.  This woman from the NY store went on to say that they (at the store level) cannot authenticate bags....and furthermore, there is NO database of the serial numbers available to check to see if the serial numbers are correct/ valid/ whatever on the bags having serial numbers.  She then told me something to the effect that only the "authorities" are able to tell a person if it's real or a fake.  Anyway, after that phone call I called the Short Hill's store back to tell them the info NY Store gave me to see what they'd say. 

This time, when I called the Short Hill's Mall store, someone different answered the phone.  I asked to speak to the first woman & was told that she went on break & was there anything she (this other person who answered) could help me with as she is the Manager.  I was more than happy to speak to the manager this time as I felt I'd get more reliable information being she probably knew more about the brand.  I told her what the person I spoke to previously from her store told me, then I told her what NY Customer Service had told me in regards to the older bags (specifically the ones from the 80's) not having serial numbers.  She apologized for her staff giving me incorrect information then she reiterated the same information that the New York store had given me that the bags back then did NOT have serial numbers.  She also added that ,at the store level, they are instructed to invite anyone who calls their store (asking for their bag to be authenticated) to come into the store and look at the Fendi bags in the store to compare their bags with what's in the store.

I want to share this information with the ebay community and invite them to double check my information with other Fendi stores or to call the ones I called to hear it for themselves.

I know it's frustrating that there are counterfeiters out there competing with us to sell their bags on a very unlevel playing field.  My bag orig. cost me hundreds, but it's old & I personally don't see the vintage Fendis (my style) selling for big bucks...I just want to get rid of it and make something off it, so it's priced at a price I feel I would buy it for if I saw it at a consignment store or on ebay.  This brings me to my final point "that if the seller isn't asking a lot for it, it's not real" is also a falicy, at least in my auction.  I often price things way below what others are getting for the same items just to get them out of my house and to avoid having to keep paying to relist them.