Hi! As you know, eBay is the perfect place to purchase anything for a great price. But you may not know that a great number of the items that claim to be real are actually fake! I myself love to buy designer bags and as I browse the listings I have noticed that about 1 out of every 3 bags are knockoffs! Everyone wants a great deal, but why waste your hard-earned cash on cheaply-made goods? I'll share my knowledge with you as we find out what makes an item authentic and fake.

I have found that the most imitated goods (or "bads") are handbags. Can you figure out which ones are real?

Obviously, the fakes were on the left, and the authentics were on the right. When buying a handbag, take note of the material its made of. Chanel and Coach are usually made of leather. Juicy Couture is made of velour with satin ribbons and leather, depending what model you want. The fake Chanel bag is made of a plastic-like or vinyl material, thats why it is bending and wrinkling. Another thing to spot is the material. Does Coach really make this design?

 Nope! Coach may have had cute, colorful designs, but they NEVER used keychains that spell "COACH" across the top of the bag! The replica Coach bag at the top of the page has polkadot, leopard, and zebra prints. The authentic one has the classic "c" pattern and wide stripes decorating all over the bag. The real Juicy bag has a fancy crown and script lettering while the knockoff has print letters and an ugly crown above the "Juicy"! Come on! Also, you should check out the handles. The Juicy replica has heart shaped holes in the straps and the fake Chanel has nylon straps opposed to the authentic leather ones. The other flaws should be obvious.

Apparel is also being imitated all over the site.

Abercrombie & Fitch is well imitated all over the internet, especially in Chinese websites. Check out the Darby hoodie. The fake one has white drawstrings and a "92" under the "BIE". The letters are chunkier and outlined in gold. The fake skirt is soft and not tattered like the denim that A&F uses. On the replica, the moose is big and there are bulky rhinestones scattered about. The real Coach flats have a leather label inside the shoe. The fake one is pointed at the toes and has a triangle heel. (I was only allowed to show 10 pictures in this guide, so if you want to see what the real products look like just go the official websites of the item.) The other  mess-ups should be obvious.

Finally, if the item seems to the true thing and you want to buy it, see what kind of package it comes in. A dust bag? It must be fake. A box? Ask for a picture, just so you can see if the box is real. If not, its fake.

I hope this guide helped. Next time you go bargain hunting, make sure you pay attention to the details and watch out for scams! Thanks for reading!