I have been researching, coveting, drooling over Louis Vuitton since that first now infamous Newlyweds episode where Jessica Simpson takes her white Multicolor Speedy 30 camping with her and her now ex-husband Nick Lachey back in 2002.  Or was it 2003? Anyway......

It saddens me and infuriates me to see the amount of fakes sold on ebay to honest, unsuspecting people who could just do a little research (like I did) to arm themselves against being scammed.

So I thought I would write this quick little guide to hopefully enlighten some people out there, and save them from spending good money on bad fakes!

I am the proud owner of five AUTHENTIC Louis Vuitton bags, one AUTHENTIC Louis Vuitton scarf, and one AUTHENTIC Louis Vuitton Wallet, one AUTHENTIC Louis Vuitton change purse.  Five items I purchased from Louis Vuitton boutiques, three from My Poupette sellers on Ebay.

I own a black multicolor Speedy 30, purchased in Oct.'05 from the Louis Vuitton store downtown where I live.  I purchased in Sept.'07 a Hampstead bag from the LV store in downtown Montreal when I was visiting family, and then in Jan. '08 I purchased the gorgeous Summit Drive bag (in Red Vernis) again from the Montreal LV store when I was back for a family reunion. I also own a white multicolor Koala wallet, purchased from the Louis Vuitton store in Banff, Alberta, and the Monogram Homme coin purse also purchased from the LV store downtown in my city.

From MyPoupette resellers, I have successfully purchased a Louis Vuitton Vernis Bedford bag, a Louis Vuitton white multicolor mini sac HL and a vintage Louis Vuitton circle pattern head scarf.

If you can't afford to buy directly from a Louis Vuitton boutique (and lets face it, not many of us can. I have a very, very generous husband who saved up for two years to be able to buy me my black multicolor Speedy 30 for my 30th birthday last year!!) the absolute BEST thing you can do for yourself is this:

1. Have patience and ONLY buy from sellers that are registered as My Poupette resellers. They have gone through an extensive screening and application process to fullfill the strict requirements necessary to be able to list themselves as My Poupette resellers.  Check it out on mypoupette.com and read all about it.  It's an extremely helpful website, and I learned a lot from it.

I say to HAVE PATIENCE, also because you don't want to rashly bid on something without doing your research, only to find you've been scammed.  Decide on what bag you've just got to have, and then wait for it to be offered up for sale on ebay by a MyPoupette reseller. Sooner or later, it will be. Trust me.

Unfortunately there is a lot of FRAUD and fake items on ebay.  You have to be careful, if you are unsure- don't do it.  If you have a gut feeling telling you something is not right, don't do it.  Ebay does as much as they can to prevent honest people from being scammed, and to allow honest people to sell good, quality authentic items- but when it comes right down to it, its "Buyer Beware".  If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.  Personally, I am not willing to take a chance on an unknown seller, and I would not buy used LV from anyone unless they are a member of  the My Poupette group (or ALVA as well) because that is the only way I can have piece of mind that my ebay purchase WAS authentic.

Here are a couple of things you can easily spot to tell it its a fake:

1.Price. Real LV is expensive, so if theres a Speedy 30 being offered up for a Buy It Now (BIN) price of $150.00, its FAKE. Speedy 30's retail for $2000.00 CDN new, so even if it's $600.00 BIN, it's FAKE.

2. Was it ever really made by Louis Vuitton? This one kills me every time.  For example: the Cherry Blossom Line (be it pink flowers on brown monogram canvas, or pink flowers on pink monogram canvas) was ONLY ever made in 3 styles of bags:   the Papillon, the Retro and the Pochette.  THAT'S IT!! So when you see a "100% Authentic, NEW, Cherry Blossom Speedy 30" or a "100% Authenticity guaranteed cherry blossom mini sac" or anything that is NOT the Papillon, Retro or Pochette- IT'S FAKE!

Of course, there are small leather goods like wallets, coin holders, keychains, belts etc.. that WERE made in cherry blossom pattern, so again- DO YOUR RESEARCH! If it was never manufactured by LV, it's fake and you don't want it.

Another example: white and black multicolor canvas have also NEVER been made in the Papillon style.

3. If the picture shows paper or plastic tags ATTACHED to the bag, either by string or plastic holders, it's fake! LV does not attach tags to their merchandise. Ever. Also, if you see a small, round plastic 'disc' style tag with LV on it attached to the merchandise, its FAKE. LV would never use something so tacky.

4. If the dust cover (mostly for wallets and small goods) has ROUNDED edges, its FAKE.

5. Tissue, or plastic wrapped around the handles/hardware- FAKE.

6. Read the sellers feedback, look at the pics of previous items they've sold.  If the seller has private feedback, and you can't read it- BEWARE! They are hiding something. If the bidders identity is kept private, BEWARE! I've always suspected sellers do this so they can bid against you, and up the price you pay, thus increasing their profits.

7. Know what the item you are looking at is supposed to look like. Again, and I really can't stress this enough- DO YOUR RESEARCH. Check out mypoupette.com, louisvuitton.com and other guides on ebay.  There are 33 colors on an Authentic White or Black Multicolor speedy 30 (and all multicolor items) but did you know that there are NEVER any yellow LV's?  or red LV's??  If you are looking at wallets, you should know that inside the wallet where it says "Louis Vuitton  PARIS Made in France" it's never stamped onto the material in black or gold ink, it's EMBOSSED- pressed right into the material, so it never comes off, flakes off, fades away.

Louis Vuitton is very symmetrical in appearance.  There is a pattern to it's monogram pattern, and it does not vary. Know the size of the pattern too, and that on wallets the LV and monogram flowers etc are SMALL.  Not so large they take up half the wallet and get cut off on edges.

8. Authenticity cards DO NOT EXIST. Most of the time, in ebay auction pics they are bright yellow. Sometimes they are a more muted yellow, or even cream in appearance, but know that LV doesn't provide authenticity cards with merchandise purchased from an LV store. I know, I bought two items from LV stores.  Don't be fooled by the inclusion of items such as auththenticity cards, care booklets, dust covers, receipts, envelopes etc. All that stuff can be faked easily by anyone with a good computer and decent printer or sewing machine, in the case of dustcovers.  Even packaging- boxes and bags- can be faked. It shouldn't be the deciding factor about whether you are going to bid.

9. What's in the bag? Again- do your research!! Is it mushroomy alcantra suede in the bag? Should it be brown canvas? Raspberry alcantra suede? If the inside doesn't match with what it's supposed to be, it's a huge sign that the outside- the entire bag- is fake!  LV wouldn't sell inferior merchandise. Know if there's supposed to be a patch inside, or a keyring, or whether it should have a zippered pocket or just a pouch. Know where the date code is supposed to be- is it there?  Is it embossed into the material, or is it stamped with black or gold ink?  The date code in my Speedy 30 is barely visible- it took me forever to spot it.  It's not something that's obvious.

10. Louis Vuitton does not wholesale. They do not offer up factory "seconds" at discounted prices. NO ONE, not celebrities, not billionaires, not even the Queen of England would be able to "make a deal" with the Louis Vuitton factories to purchase at wholesale/discount prices.  It just doesn't happen. Ever.  So any ebay listing, any website stating they have done just that is LYING to you. It's simply not true because it's just not possible. Don't believe them, don't bid, and save yourself the hassle.

Honestly- the best advice I can give you is to know what you are looking at, know what you are looking for, do as much research as possible about the bag you are interested in.  If you must buy from ebay, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE  buy from a My Poupette seller. It may take a little longer for you to come across the bag you want at the price you want, and YES, you will be buying used, but it's worth the piece of mind to know that maybe you spent $800.00 on a used LV bag, but it's authentic. It's real.  You'll have a great bag for a great price, and the satisfaction of knowing when people look at you and at the bag they'll be thinking "what a great Louis Vuitton, I'm so jealous!"  Instead of "oh, look, nice fake".

I hope this has been helpful! Have a great day!