The holiday season is here and we’re all clamoring to buy gifts for our loved ones. If you are going for the luxurious gifts, how do you ensure luxury authentication? On the other hand, if you can already tell a fake from the real thing; more power to you. But if you can’t, help is at hand in the form of Samantha Toh, Associate Merchandiser from the Atelier Team at Reebonz. She is here to teach you ways you can ensure luxury authentication when it comes to luxury shopping.
It doesn’t matter if it’s your first time purchasing a luxurious leather handbag or shopping for your next keepsake. You’re probably wondering what signs to look out to ensure that the item you’re about to purchase is genuine. Just follow this seven-pointer guideline from the stylish guys at Reebonz and confidence will be your second name during your next branded purchase.
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Ways to Ensure Luxury Authentication
Identify Date and Location Codes
According to Samantha, this is the first thing you should consider doing to ensure luxury authentication. Articles from brands like Hermès and Louis Vuitton are often accompanied by date or location codes. This is a mishmash of alphabets and numbers that are stamped on the leather of the inner linings, or an interior tag. To identify your article’s manufacturing location and date, you can simply pull up the search bar to enter the code. However, these codes are not a foolproof guarantee to an item’s authenticity.
Inspect materials
The tangibles are often a telltale of poor quality, to prevent you from falling into the trap of a designer sham. When the leather is subpar and the hardware unnaturally light, you would know – always go with your gut feeling!
Inspect craftsmanship closely
There’s no room for compromise in artisanal craftsmanship. If you spy with your naked eye a stray stitching, crooked cutting or askew hardware alignments (which are all unforgivable giveaways of shoddy craftsmanship), there’s a very likely chance your designer handbag is a bogus.
Search for the Authenticity Card
More often than not, bona fide articles come with an authenticity card that will detail information of the item in question. The official paperwork that comes with luxury timepieces may even provide additional information. This includes serial numbers, calibers or a gemstone report. However, it is important to realize that while these authenticity cards may be proof, they can easily be forged too. And this can leave your luxury authentication pursuit in jeopardy.
Inspect Accompanying Accessories
Beyond an authenticity card, as a way to ensure luxury authentication, you may also check if your purchase comprises of a complete set of accessories to support its genuineness. For brands like Givenchy and Balenciaga, orders are often provided with a material swatch. If it’s missing from your packaging, it could be a counterfeit. Also, don’t overlook the details! Dust bags may seem like an insignificant indicator, but experts have confirmed that their colors are suggestive of a bona fide purchase.
Look for Inconsistent Combinations
In this day and age, it takes only one click to practice discernment. Before you check out your next prized possession, conducting prior research on the brand can assuage potential risks. For example, identifying any inconsistencies in comparisons of size, material and hardware color will raise a red flag.
Investigate Seller’s Credentials
How well to ensure luxury authentication than investigating the seller of the item in question? When it comes to buying on social platforms, it is always good practice to keep an eye on seller ratings and buyer reviews. To take it further, request for pictures and information from the seller directly; after all, the customer is king! If the seller appears unwilling, something fishy is definitely brewing.
Although when it comes to online buying you can sometimes be disappointed. Good news is that there are still a few luxury shopping online platforms like Reebonz who go out of their way to make sure you get the real deal. Oh and they stock more than 800 designer brands, leaving you little room to maneuver elsewhere. But still, if you are purchasing through their online platform, follow the above ways to ensure luxury authentication. After all, it is Samantha from Reebonz’s advice.
xoxo
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