How to avoid buying fake Juicy Couture merchandise

Unfortunately there are a lot of unscrupulous sellers on Ebay passing off knock-offs or cheap imitations on designer merchandise such as Juicy Couture jewelry, bags and clothing. Here is a quick guide taken in part, from my Juicy supplier on how to tell if what you are purchasing is the real deal or some fake knock off. 

Below are pictures of knock off 2006 Velour Backpack, Hobo, and Daydreamer with Pom Poms.

And Below are the Authentic bags. Notice the difference in the Pom Poms, they should be fuzzy and multi colored. Also notice how sloppy the stitching is on the front and the little X stitches which the authentics do not have. Their Fake Daydreamer is the worst as the daydreamer looks nothing like this and none of the new 2006 Fall Pom Pom Bags have that type of Juicy logo. Instead all The new daydreamers have Juicy Royal on the front with Pom Poms on the side.

Juicy Couture Made in the USA?

• The first thing to know and the most unknown information on finding an authentic Juicy Couture Bag is that 90% of Authentic Juicy Couture Bags and Jewelry are actually manufactured in China and have "Made in China" on the manufacturers tag. I encourage all of you interested in buying a Juicy Couture Bag or jewelry to take a trip to an authorized Juicy supplier, Juicy's company stores, Nieman Marcus or Nordstroms and check out the tags and you will see they all say "made in china". But you thought Juicy Couture was Made in the USA right? So did I until I started selling them. The truth is almost all affordable designer bags are manufacturer in China, however the company itself is "made in the USA" hence why Juicy Couture and many other popular Designer Handbags such as Kenneth Cole and Coach all claim to be USA companies, but get their merchandise is absolutely manufactured in China. This is why Juicy Couture uses the slogan "Made in the USA". So what does this mean? Unfortunately the actual tag is not as much help in determining a Fake Juicy Couture item. When purchasing a bag make sure there is a Juicy tag on it and the bag is made of genuine cowhide leather.

• **IMPORTANT** WHEN PURCHASING A JUICY COUTURE PIECE OF JEWELRY CHECK THE GIFT BOX IT IS PACKAGED IN. THE JUICY LOGO IS STAMPED ON ALL GIFT BOXES. As I write this I can't believe I am looking at an auction from a another seller for what is advertised as authentic Juicy earrings listed at $8.00, sitting in a gift box without the logo! JUICY COUTURE JEWELRY GIFT BOXES ARE DISTINCTIVE CLASPED HEAVY DUTY AND ATTRACTIVE. THEY ALL HAVE THE JUICY LOGO ON THE INSIDE. sOME HAVE THE LOGO ON BOTH THE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE BOX. SOME WILL HAVE CARDBOARD SLEEVES OVER THE ENTIRE BOX. From time to time we do run across Juicy shelf pulls and they will NOT have a gift box. Our distributor does assure and guarantee that these are genuine Juicy pieces non the less.  

Authentic Juicy Couture Characteristics on hand bags

• Almost All Authentic Juicy Couture Carriers have small metal knobs with Juicy Couture Engravings on them. If your bag has little metal knobs or feet at the bottom of the bag, make sure there are little Juicy Couture marking on them. Replica bags have plain knobs and feet.                                                      
• The tag should say 100% Cowhide Leather, cheap imitations have "leather like" material. Authentic Juicy Bags & Carriers use 100% real leather trim, handles, ect. Real Leather is nice and Soft and has a Matte Pebbled Finish on almost all leather Juicy Couture Baby Fluffs, Totes, Satchels ect. Even the Metallic Leather Bags have a more Matte Finish. Unfortunately fake bags are becoming more advanced and many actually use real leather.
•  Almost All Charms & Hardware will have Juicy Couture or some type of Logo engraved into the metal. I've seen several imitations where the hardware is plain. 

Authentic Juicy Couture Sellers

• Be very weary of sellers who do not disclose information about themselves.
• Ask your seller questions!! Authentic Juicy Couture Sellers are easy to communicate with and are not afraid to answer your questions.
• Be very weary of low starting bids. Although it is popular on ebay to start bids very low and sell low Buy It Now, if you bought a Juicy Piece necklace or bracelet for less than $30.00 or a Juicy bag for less than $100 chances are you are buying a fake. Let's face it. Sellers of authentic merchandise DO pay quite a bit of money for genuine Juicy merchandise even if it's been discontinued or a store is going out of business. Wholesalers and liquidators DO sell for a lot less than wholesale but even at less than wholesale, it's still not cheap to purchase genuine Juicy merchandise. If you see an "authentic Juicy bag for the Buy It Now price of $50.00, you can be certain it's not a real Juicy bag. If you see a Juicy bracelet or necklace at the Buy It Now price of $25.00 you can be certain it is NOT geniune Juicy jewelry. We cant stress how important this is. The majority of Authentic bags that are on ebay are listed at Full Price, it is not common for people to be able to get Juicy Couture at wholesale prices. Please don't forget to ask your sellers where they get their Juicy! Most Juicy Couture Bags sell for $200-$400 so expect to pay $150-$300 as a reduced rate. Most smart sellers also know where to purchase genuine Juicy jewelry at a reduced price from overstock shelf pulls or going out of business sales or know a reliable and BBB certified Juicy redistributor. This is where I find and buy my Juicy jewelry. From a BBB certified redistributor. I can't possibly sell you these bracelets and necklaces at $25.00 as my Juicy jewelry IS authentic and I pay more than 25.00 even on closeout. If you see the same necklace or bracelet that I am selling on here for $45.00 when it retails for $$85.00 and another seller is selling theirs for $20.00, chances are it's a fake. (Or they are desperate for money!) The problem is the fakes are very nicely done and some quite attractive. I can easily get those as well and may even purchase some of them to sell on here cheap, but I WILL disclose when I am selling a knock-off or look-a-like. I do not rip off my clients!  

• Juicy Couture sold from outside the USA are probably not authentic(not to mention if something does go wrong you will probably have a hard time communicating with the seller so international sales are usually non refundable). While most Juicy Couture is manufactured in China, those manufacturers are under strict contracts. All Juicy Couture is shipped to distribution centers in the US.  The only way to get discounted Juicy Couture is to get it directly from the Distribution Center, not just anyone can do this, you really have to know someone.  My reseller is a trusted source who does purchase from Juicy Distribution centers and authorized Juicy retailers ONLY.

•  Also almost all counterfeit bags are made outside the USA so the odds of finding an authentic Juicy Couture Bag are better if it is from a US seller.

• **NEW** DROP SHIPPING SCAM: Juicy Couture Manufacturers in China would never allow this and are in strict contracts. Many companies do what is called "Drop Shipping". So an ebayer puts a fake bag up for bid using the picturer from the manufacturer in China. Then when you buy the bag the ebay seller pays an extra $5 to have the Fake bag manufacturer in China ship the bag directly to you. So they basically make a huge profit by just collecting your money and sending it to the manufacturer in China. The box will often have chinese writting and is usually shipped by a non traditional carrier.

• The most obvious is to make sure the bag you're buying was actually made by Juicy Couture. I have seen several pictures of Fake Juicy Couture Bags which are similiar to the original but are made of different material. The most common is the color. Juicy Couture comes out with a line of colors each season and fake bags are usually way off, either not having the same shade or having colors that Juicy Couture has never even come out with.                                                      

The picture below doesn't need much explaining, it is an obvious fake even though the shape and details are similiar to the original the color is all wrong, the material is not real leather and I don't believe this bag ever even came in that weird purple metallic foil color.

This bag is very common on Ebay and is available in several different colors. This bag was never even made by Juicy Couture and it's been on auction for over $200.

This is a fake Velour Baby Fluff. These are not Juicy Couture Colors and this style Juicy Couture was never available in the style. Also look at the metallic handles. If the metal looks more like Foil it is not authentic Juicy Couture

This is a fake leather baby fluff. See how the leather looks more like plastic. Also the leather baby fluff never came in this color and this style is so old it is no longer even being made. This is a replica of the original baby fluff which came out several years ago.

More you should know about Juicy Couture

• many people don't realize that about every 6 months Juicy Couture comes out with a new style of the same bag. For example the most popular styles like the Baby Fluff & Daydreamer Tote are constantly coming out in various styles, new colors, etc. Only the newest styles are available in Department Stores and when they sell out the latest season bags take their place.

• The interior of the Juicy Couture Bags vary depending on the color of the bag NOT the style. Every Baby Fluff Satchel does not have the same interior. That also goes for most of Juicy Coutures Bags. They are color coordinated, so if you ordered a Tea Dye bag it has a blue interior it doesnt mean its not authentic.

• When Department Stores choose the bags they put on Display they are extremely choosy and will ship back any bags they feel are non displayable. Juicy Couture Bags are not like Louis Vuitton Bags, they often do have defects, but it is very rare to pay full price at a retail store and find one with a defect. This is also why each department store only carry one or two of each bag.

NOTE-This guide was posted in a similar format from the company I purchase my Juicy Jewelry from. They do want us to spread the word to all ebayers on the dangers of purchasing fake Juicy Couture items on auction sites, I firmly believe in this as well. I can't think of a better way to spread the word about fake Juicy Couture items than to post it in this guide. So buyer please beware when shopping for designer bags, apparel and jewelry. We live in a world where people really do rip others off without feeling any remorse or regret. Don't be a victim. Once you purchase a fake it's almost impossible to get your money back. Check out the feedback and buy from reputable sellers. Chances are if you see a newbie selling a Juicy bag for 100.00 it's a fake. If they are selling a bracelet for 20.00, chances are it's a fake or it fell off the truck if you know what I mean. Also be wary of short auctions. Many fraudsters will want to close their auctions asap so they can't be caught before they take your money!