Here at Studio_Blu, we've come to realize that finding reputable sellers and authentic items can be a very daunting challenge for the average eBay shopper. There are many wonderful sellers on eBay, but unfortunately there are also many dishonest ones too. We spent some time looking through designer listings and were shocked at some of the things we found. The following are some observations, tips and general advice when purchasing designer items. We hope that this will help ensure you a safe and happy shopping experience on eBay.

Because we have received many inquiries from this guide and found that the information was proving helpful, we have decided to expand it to include more information. There are size restrictions to eBay guides, so this guide has now been put into two parts.

Finding Reputable Sellers:

Feedback. We can't stress enough how important it is to look at a seller's feedback. This is the first clue to any problems (items not being authentic, damaged, slow shipping, etc.). eBay no longer allows sellers to have private feedback (buyers feedback may be private, but all sellers must have visible feedback). This is not the same as having the buyers ids private. Many sellers keep buyer information private to avoid scammers from contacting the buyers, but it also keeps potential buyers from reviewing what items the seller has previously sold. eBay has also changed the bidding process in auctions. The bidders ids now remain private during the course of the auction, only the winning id will be visible at the end of the auction. This is supposed to only happen when the bids are over $200.00, but I have seen this happen on auctions with much lower amounts.

When looking at the feedback, make sure there is feedback from buyers and not sellers. Make sure that your seller has some track record of sales. It is very common for scammers to purchase a lot of  low price items to establish feedback to then sell high price bootlegs. Also click into some of the feedback to see what items were sold. You don't want to see that all of a sellers prior sales were for 99 cent recipes or ebooks and they are now selling Chloe bags. That is a big red flag and the seller will probably not be around for very long.

Location, location, location. We have never seen any authentic designer items coming from any Asian country (Singapore, Hong Kong, China and the Phillipines). Asian countries have a very lucrative bootleg business. Don't be fooled by multiple locations. It is common for bootleggers to have a US city or Canada along with an Asian city for location. This means the item is coming from Asia. This includes seller and item mutliple locations. There are sellers listed in one country and the item location in Asia. Check to make sure both the seller and item are in the same location.

Also, be careful of Canada, Australia and the UK, many Asian sellers are feeding their items through these countries to make them appear authentic and last but not least, Eastern Europe. There seems to be a new wave of counterfeits coming in from Eastern Europe and Hong Kong. The most common from Asia (Canada, Australia, UK) are Diane Von Furstenberg, Chloe, BCBG,  Marc Jacobs, Marni, Philip Lim, D&G and Chanel. The most common from Eastern Europe (Canada) are Roberto Cavalli, Gucci and Armani. If a seller has mostly BCBG, Marc Jacobs, Chole and Diane Von Furstenberg all without tags, hit the back button they are all fakes.

Guides. We have actually seen some purchasing/authenticity guides written by bootleg sellers, sellers with horrible feedback, sellers in Asia and unfortunately sellers who don't have a clue what they are writing about. Before you take the advice of any guide, please look at the sellers feedback, location and item location. There are sellers who have written guides for the sole purpose of  making their items appear authentic. There is actually a Marni guide that warns not to purchase items shipped from Asia, but all of the author's items are located and shipped from Hong Kong. There is also a Dolce & Gabbana guide written by a seller of Old Navy clothing that is filled with misinformation. eBay does not monitor guides for accuracy or content, so it is up to the readers to do a little research on the seller who wrote the guide.

Common Red Flags in the Listing:  

This item was created for XYZ market/country and is therefore different. There are very few designers that create different items for different countries. Also, the seller is usually selling in the US and not in the country that the item was supposedly created for. There are a few designers which create lower end lines for certain countries (usually Asia), but they are usually much less desirable than the main lines.A big red flag.

This can only be purchased in XYZ country. Again, very few designers limit their items to certain countries. This claim is usually made by sellers in China, Singapore and Hong Kong. They claim that the item can only be purchased in Japan or Europe. If this were true (it's not), it would make sense that the sellers would be from those countries/continents. Japan is used frequently, because there is no eBay Japan. A big red flag.

This item might be slightly different than the flagship store version. This  is seen commonly on Diane Von Furstenberg dresses. There are no different versions. DVF dresses are uniform. It doesn't matter whether you buy it at a DVF store, Neiman's or Ebay, the dresses should all be the same. These are fakes. Be very careful with DVF dresses, unfortunately eBay is flooded with fakes.

Our items come directly from the manufacturer. The disclaimer will be used to explain why their items are different, have no tags, etc. The items are fake. Clothing and /handbag manufacturers do not sell direct and certainly not in a quantity less than $100k. Designer manufacturers do not sell direct ever. No one is getting authentic DVF dresses, Chloe dresses, LV bags, etc. directly from the factory.

No tags. If a seller has all commonly bootlegged designers and all without the tags. They are most likely selling fakes. Big red flag especially if the item or seller is in Asia.

Tags will be removed before shipping. There is no reason for a seller to remove tags. It is very unlikely that the item is authentic or actually had tags to begin with. It is very common to see tags in the photos, but if you look at the sellers other items, usually the photo showing tags was used repeatedly.

Tags/labels were removed to protect against returns.  No major department store will accept a return without a sales receipt, so there is no need for a seller to remove the tags or label. Items received through a secondary market (wholesaler, jobber, liquidation, etc) may have cut tags. The tags were cut by the original marketplace before they were sold into the secondary market. They may remove the designer name/size tag, but they don't remove all of the tags (holograms, fabric content, etc.). Be wary if there are no tags at all.

Tags/Labels were removed by major department store. Stores do not remove the inside label (they may cut or line through, but they do not remove the label entirely). Items purchased in the secondary market may have missing tags/labels (very common when purchasing through jobbers), but usually there are fabric content or sizing tags. If  the seller cannot provide any tags at all, it is unlikely to be what is advertised. At best it is a second or irregular.

Size/Content tags were removed to prevent returns. This is quite possibly the silliest thing written, but for some reason buyers continue to fall for it. The items are mall brands with the tags removed. Once again, stores will line through labels to show the item has been discounted and labels will be cut before they are sold into the secondary market. No store will leave the label intact, the paper hang tags intact and then flip the garment inside out and find and remove the size and material content tags. Have you ever had a salesperson turn an item inside out to look for the material tag before accepting a return?

This blurb is commonly found in fake Dolce & Gabbana dresses (this scam is also used with other designer garments). The dresses are mall brands with a Dolce paper hang tag (if there is one, the back will be blocked out, unless they happened to have one with a size and color close to what they are selling) attached to a sewn in Dolce label. The content/size is removed because it would show that the dress is infact, not Dolce & Gabbana. Mall brands will have US sizing. Be very careful with Dolce, there seems to be an abundance of tags/labels available to bootleggers. I actually watched a red Chetta B dress listed as Dolce, sell for over $900.00.

Because the bootleg situation with Dolce & Gabbana has gotten so out of hand, I have included some addtional Dolce information and photos in Part II of this guide.

Sample Designer/No Labels/Tags. This is another common scam. An item is listed as XYZ designer, but has no tags/labels. The seller usually states that this is a sample, so there are no labels and that the item will be slightly different than the original designer item. This is a big red flag. Most sample items have some type of sample tag. Unfortunately, I have seen this scam many times and is usually used with designer dresses (usually the dresses are coming from New York). These aren't bootlegs, they are just a low or mid-range department store brands with the labels removed. As I have stated before, there are many wonderful sellers on eBay, but there are also dishonest sellers. Just because an item is listed as XYZ designer, doesn't make it true. If there are no tags, labels, etc., it is unlikely the item is authentic. This an instance where feedback is usually inaccurate. There may be a few negatives for non-authenticity, but I have seen quite a few sellers who sell this way (one seller is particularly notorious) and they usually have good feedback.

New Without Tags. Make sure that the item is actually new. There are many listings which state new in the title or listing and only if you read the auction carefully will you find that the item has actually been worn/used.

PreOwned.  This is a new trick of the bootleggers. They list bootleg items as preowned/used to account for the fact that there are no tags. Used items wouldn't have tags, but they should have some type of label. This scam is becoming quite common with designer dresses.

Handsewn labels. You receive your item and the inside label is tacked on with two or three stitches, or looks crooked or doesn't match the item you bought. Unfortunately this is another trick of dishonest sellers. They purchase designer labels and sew them into low end clothing. If you inspect the rest of the item you will undoubtedly find that the stitching on the rest of the garment is shoddy, there are no other labels (size, fabric, hologram, etc.) and quite frequently the paper tags (if  they have any) and label won't match. Ex: the inside label of a Dolce & Gabbana dress has a paper tag for Dolce & Gabbana pants or a Dolce & Gabbana dress has a D&G paper tag.

Inflated shipping costs. There are 3 major reasons for very high shipping. 1. the item is actually in Asia, and that is the actual shipping cost to the US; 2. Fee circumvention. eBay listing fees are based on the price of the item. The lower the price the lower the fees. Shipping costs are not part of the listing fees; and 3. If for some reason you have to return the item, a lot of sellers will refund the purchase price only. Thus if you paid $10.00 for the dress and $80.00 for the shipping, the seller will return only the $10.00 selling price.

Inflated retail costs. This is a very common scam. An item is stated to have XYZ retail price in the title. Just because an item is stated to have a certain retail price, doesn't necessarily mean that it is true. I have seen items with ridiculous retail prices stated, that in no way reflect the actual retail price. If you see a designer which usually retails in the hundreds listed as having a retail in the thousands or a designer that retails in the thousands listed as having a retail in the tens of thousands, hit the back button. There are a few sellers who routinely practice this type of deception. It is always best to have at least a general idea of the actual pricing of any items you are looking to buy. This is not to say, that an item that is either rare, vintage, difficult to find or a special edition/collection, might not sell for well beyond retail price.

Too good to be true pricing. If the price is too good to be true, I can almost guarantee you the item is fake. There might be a one time casual seller who acquired an item as a gift, etc. and are selling very low (make sure this isn't just a story to explain the price, when it is actually a fake), but this won't happen with a seller with many items or any track record of sales. If  you see a seller with many items, all at unbelievable prices, their items are fakes. Authentic Roberto Cavalli or Chloe dresses don't sell anywhere on the planet for $89.00. Common sense should tell you that main-line Roberto Cavalli doesn't sell for less than dresses at Target.

Unfortunately, the more established bootleggers are aware that low pricing is a clue to authenticity and actually have high pricing. This is one type of seller that feedback is usually inaccurate. I'm not sure if they sell mostly to buyers who are unfamiliar with authentic items or if they sell to buyers who don't care if they purchase knock offs. I have personally seen many sellers with great feedback, who are selling nothing but fakes.

Keyword Spamming. Unfortunately, dishonest sellers will use the name of a designer in the title or body of the listing and only if you read very carefully will you see that either the item is XYZ style or XYZ inspired. This means it is not the by the designer mentioned. Always read listings very carefully and don't just go by the pictures. It is very common for sellers to have photos in the listing that have nothing to do with the item being sold. If runway photos are used, make sure that the item is in fact the one pictured and not just a representation of that designers work.

Many different types of items. Most sellers of authentic designer items, sell only designer items. They don't also also sell DVDs, car parts, used childrens clothes, beanie babies, Ipods, etc. This is not to say that a seller might not have acquired a few designer items and is selling them along with their usual goods, but any seller that has hundreds of  authentic designer items is unlikely to sell in other catagories also (at least under the same id). If they are all high bootleg catagories (video games, perfume, Ipods) be extremely careful.

Items don't make sense: If a seller has 3 LV bags, a Gucci dress and a pair of Manolo Blahniks (and claims they are from her personal closet), then the used Walmart clothing just doesn't make sense. In other words, look at what else they are selling. If it just doesn't make sense, they are probably fake. Also, be very wary of any sellers saying XYZ item is from their personal closet and then you see that they have 15 of the exact same item. Who do you know that would purchase 15 of the same exact dress (usually all without the tags)? It is a safe bet that they are 15 bootlegs.

Story Teller Sellers. Reputable sellers don't need to tell you a story. They present the item and list it based on the item, not their personal stories. Be wary of hardluck stories, too good to be true stories (I happened to be at Neimans during a fabulous $1.00 sale..never happened), divorce stories (selling my Hermes bag for pennies on the dollar because it was a gift from my ex, etc.). If an item is authentic and beautiful, it doesn't need a story to sell.

Missing Information. If the shipping isn't listed don't assume it is reasonable. Ask the seller. If the picture is blurry, ask for more photos. If there is information missing from the listing (color, size, payment options, etc.), always ask. Never assume or fill in the blanks yourself. If  you are unsure of your sizing, ask for measurements. You could be very disappointed when you receive the invoice or item, if you didn't ask questions about anything you were unsure of, before you bid. 

Grammar, Spelling, Syntax. If you look at a item that is listed in the US and the spelling is wrong, the grammar is wrong and the syntax is wrong, this is a big red flag. (this is not the same as common misspellings or typing errors, which can usually be attributed to simple human error). The reason is the seller does not speak English (at least not as a first or second language) and is most likely using translation software. This is absolutely not to say that speaking English is a prerequisite for an item to be authentic, there are many reputable and wonderful international sellers. Unfortunately on eBay, many times this means that either the item or seller is not actually in the US. Also, there are foreign sellers located in the US who funnel bootleg items from Asia and Eastern Europe. These items are commonly listed from NY, NJ and California (especially true for DVF, Cavalli and various handbags).  

If you found this information helpful, please vote. We are trying to determine if we should continue to write guides and if they are helpful to the community. Thank you.

Please see the continuation of this guide in Part II.

http://reviews.ebay.com/How-To-Buy-Authentic-Designer-Items-On-Ebay-Part-II_W0QQugidZ10000000001867929

We hope this information will prove helpful in your shopping experience. At Studio_Blu we sell only authentic items and would be happy to answer any questions.

Please visit our eBay store Studio_Blu for designer items: http://stores.ebay.com/studio-blu.

Also visit our second store Studio_Blu2 for mid-range clothing and shoes: http://stores.ebay.com/studio-blu2

Happy and safe shopping.