If you bought something online and you are very skeptical about the authenticity of the merchandise, it can be very difficult to tell.  Other bloggers post "How to Tell if Its Fake" lists however their information usually isn't accurate so we wanted to share with you truth and myths about counterfeit merchandise.  Let's begin!

MYTHS ABOUT FAKE PRODUCTS

Companies DO change packaging styles. Having a package, tag or bottle that looks a little different from the last one you purchased is NOT UNCOMMON. I cannot even begin to tell you how many different styles of Victorias Secret PINK, Betsey Johnson or Versace tags we have seen over the past 15 years. So having a tag that varies in style from a prior purchase is absolutely NOT a sign of a counterfeit product (although it can be!)

99% of Licensed, Registered businesses located inside the USA are not going to want anything to do with fake products. You can look up the business by finding out what state they are located in and doing an "entity search" on the states ".gov" site. For example, if you want to look up all of our years of filings, you can do an entity search on Michigan.gov, because we are located in Michigan. With that being said, the businesses that do solicit counterfeit products are not "legitimate" businesses so when you try to look them up there will not be any results. Do you really think the guy from Craigslist with the case of CK colognes for $2 has a licensed, registered business?

“Made in China” does NOT mean it’s fake!!! This is a common myth. The vast majority of brands manufacture in China because the USA has minimum wage requirements, working condition / safety requirements and high taxes.  For example, in China (Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing), the average monthly earnings for one employee is equal to $318 - $358 USD (USA Dollars) whereas in the USA the average monthly income is over $5,500. 

Another myth is that name brands ONLY manufacture in one location. This simply isn’t true. As an example, we have seen Victoria's Secret merchandise (purchased by us directly from VS) made in China, Turkey, Indonesia, Vietnam, Canada and other places.  However, if the merchandise in question is clothing we have a great blog post called 5 Easy Ways to Tell if Clothing is Authentic.

“The color is lighter!”, “It’s Clumpy!”, “The scent isn’t as strong!” - this can be another myth of it being counterfeit.  The reason the product consistency is different is because of online sellers improperly storing the merchandise.  Most online sellers do not understand the importance of correctly shelving their inventory, which leads to the components within it breaking down, which impacts the color, texture and scent. Most new online sellers do not know that Makeup, Clothing, Body Care and Jewelry have storage requirements to keep them in perfect condition. Instead the new seller lists it on their site then simply puts it on a shelf until it sells. Meanwhile, without their knowledge, the product is literally deteriorating by the month. By the time it sells it really does smell different, look different and even feel different even though it really is a legitimate product.

Fake vs “Inspired”: An inspired product that is listed as “Inspired” is not a knockoff. This simply means the product is made to “look similar to” another product, but is NOT that actual brand. There is nothing wrong with inspired products. If the item clearly says “inspired”, do not report these sellers or listings because they have done nothing wrong.

SIGNS A PRODUCT IS FAKE

Here’s a couple ways to spot fake merchandise that are often overlooked due to lack of knowledge:

Shipping from Asia. As far as I know, every big brand we work with does NOT mass liquidate their merchandise to Asia. This means you can NOT purchase authentic $1 DKNY bras from China. If you see this, it is absolutely fake. Even if someone located in China ordered wholesale DKNY bras from a liquidator, like us, there is no possible way they could ever sell them for $1 because the cost of the merchandise plus shipping plus importing taxes / fees would triple or quadruple their BUYING cost. Once they add on markup they would have to sell the item for $12+, which equates to a normal, or higher-than-normal liquidation sell price.  

“Factory Liquidations”. Designer brand factories DO NOT “liquidate” or dump merchandise to sellers in Asia. Why would they??? Does this remotely make sense to you? Seriously, why would Tory Burch sell peacoats for $300 while also “factory liquidating” then in China for $6 so they can sell it online for $15? How would this remotely benefit Tory Burch? It wouldn’t.

Very few product details in the listing. If you look at actual listings for real name brand stuff, the seller takes the time to tell you all about it whereas a counterfeit seller usually posts a photo or two and keeps the details to as few as possible.

Super Cheap Price but NO Clearance Stickers. People often think that “wholesale” means the merch is only a dollar or two. This isn’t true. In fact, if you read our blog post called How Much Does Wholesale Actually Cost you will learn that wholesale is actually pretty expensive! The average wholesale buying cost is only 40% - 60% off of FULL RETAIL. So if the item retails for $100, the typical wholesale price is $40-$60. Sellers that offer merchandise at low prices are typically Liquidators. This means they got the item AFTER it was in stores and after it went to clearance. This means that is it VERY COMMON for 1-or-more clearance stickers to be on the paper store tag in addition to having typical imperfections associated with merchandise being on a store shelf, such as deodorant marks, makeup smudges, finger prints, etc. It is NOT common for the item to be available in bulk liquidations and also be in pristine condition with no clearance stickers and perfect paper store tags.

WAY TOO MUCH STOCK! If the sellers page is loaded with 300 Gucci Bags for $3,900 in addition to 800 Prada sunglasses for $6,000, 75pc Stella McCartney tees for $400, 100 Coach bags for $1,500, etc, this seller specializes in counterfeits. These brands DO NOT liquidate their stock like this. We have been in business for over 15 YEARS and I can safely assure you of this. We do get in these brands but it is few and far between. You will NEVER see us list a Lot of Coach bags for two reasons; 1. We have an actual contract with C*ACH that requires us not to use their brand name and 2. It is rarely EVER liquidated. C*ACH does NOT offer wholesale!!!!!! In fact, C*ach actively seeks out online sellers / counterfeiters and shuts them down!! We do occasionally get these items in from M*CYS or N*RDSTR*M, but it is NOT COMMON. We have NEVER had a listing of only C*ACH products.