Like many shoppers,  I look on ebay for deals.  I wanted to find a nice Ralph Lauren wallet for my boyfriend, but I noticed that a lot of the wallets on ebay were of the same two common styles.  To me, that is a tipoff that someone somewhere is manufacturing a lot of identical wallet fakes and selling them at heavily discounted prices.  Sure enough, a quick google search for "Ralph Lauren bifold wallet" found one site selling those exact two wallets I saw for $18.95.  I'm sure there's quite a few more out there.

I decided instead to buy a wallet straight from RalphLauren.com--expensive, but at least I am 100% sure of the authenticity.  Here are pictures I took of the real wallet and packaging compared to some fakes that I found on ebay.

Tags:

Just because a wallet comes with tags, does not make it authentic.  All the fakes now have pretty good imitation tags, but they still can't get the font right.
           Real tag                          Fake tag

Notice how the font on the fake tag is thicker.
On the real tag, the font is noticeably slimmer on the horizontal parts--something that fakes don't get right.

The Logo:

The iconic polo logo should always be very well detailed, regardless of whether it is printed, sewn, or imprinted on.

       Real logo                      Fake logos  

Notice how the fake logos are mostly empty in the middle.  The polo mallet is also too thick, the one on the far right looks more like a Flintstones club.

Packaging:

Real box cover                    Fake cover 

Again, the font here is too thick and the polo logo is also not detailed enough.

As shown in the above pictures, the easiest way to spot a fake is to compare it with the real thing.  When it comes down to details, fakes just can't get every single thing correct.

If a seller's pictures aren't clear, ask them to take better pictures. This is very important since it is hard to verify authenticity with blurry pictures.

Here is a real imprint           Here is a fake

It is hard to tell that this is fake though, because the picture quality is poor.  So always ask for clear pictures!

Be especially careful of these two styles:

             Both are FAKES

I have yet to see a real one of either of these on ebay!

Other red flags:

(These are not just for Ralph Lauren wallets, but for many other high end brands.)
-Seller has many of the same wallets.
-Seller has buy it now for $25 or some other ridiculously discounted price.  Use common sense!  These wallets retail for $95 and over.  Even heavily discounted, these sellers would not be making a profit on a real authentic wallet for that kind of price.
-Seller uses weird angles for the pictures.
-Pictures are unfocused and blurry.

Okay that's all I have for now.  If you have any questions, have helpful tips to add, or want an authenticity check, feel free to message me.

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