Name: Trish

April 2007

I came across my poupette.com by accident after I already made a purchase from La Perle. The purse an Oscar Waltz (LV) was delivered after being paid via credit. I had a few doubts of it being authentic, such as the dust bag, seam locations on the front and rear trim of the bag and the smell of the bag. It was shipped from Hong Kong. Then I came across your web site and felt like I got scammed since La Perle was not recommended. I emailed them with my concerns but they neither agreed or disagreed that it was authentic. I was advised to return the bag with a tracking # and to follow their return instructions if I did not want the purse. I did but considering the purse was a little expensive I figured well I might not even get to keep a questionable authentic and end up with nothing but lost money. La Perle was forthright and did refund my purchase price in full. I appreciate that they did refund what was due me. I still am so curious if it was authentic or not. I guess I'll never know but I am glad I went with my instincts! Thanks for the insights!!!!

Name: Mindy

April 2007

I went to an online site--it's still active (goelegant.com) and they say all their handbags were "authentic". I was mostly interested in Louis Vuitton handbags so I bought one at a great deal (to good to be true obviously). I was so sure it was authentic because it looked just like an authentic. After a Poupette authenticated that it WASN'T--that just p--sed me off. If they're going to sell handbags online, they should let everyone know they're only "replicas" and not the real deal.

Name: Fran

April  2007

Well, I have two horror stories. My first experience was purchasing a Juicy purse for my g/daughter. Of course you must pay immediately which I did. I could never obtain a response from the Seller because I wanted to be sure the purse was genuine. I never received the purse, and through my visa credit card was able to get a refund of the entire amount.

The second incident was about a week later. I wanted to purchase a genuine Chloe purse. I bid on one that was "authentic" as told to me by the Seller. In the beginning the Seller and I had a good communication. Then I received notification from ebay that the Seller had been suspended. Well, great. I had already paid for the item. I filed a claim. The Seller kept telling me the purse was on it's way and not to worry, it was authentic. Since I had no way of knowing why the Seller was suspended, I actually felt sorry for the Seller and told her/him that I would cancel the claim.

I received the purse, and it is beautiful. However, the tell tell sign is the Chloe lock. The key opening is upside down so I immediately knew it was a fake purse. Of course my claim had been closed so now my only alternative is to dispute the charge on my Visa card. I am sure they are going to love me for the 2nd time this month. I guess the moral of the story is 1)Seller was new, 2)Seller in AU, and 3)never end the dispute until you know for sure what you have purchased. Now, I have e-mailed the seller 5 times, and I get no response. I did complain to Ebay and to Paypal, but I am irritated that Ebay did not disclose why the seller was suspended. I am also irritated that Ebay allows such situations to occur. You win an item, you pay for it, and the Seller has your money before you even receive the item. If we must pay quickly, ebay should at least be selective about the Sellers.

Well, that is my sad story.

Name: Wendy N

April 2007

In May 2006 I went in search for a Louis Vuitton Murakami speedy. Not being an expert on LV, and living in an area that doesn't sell them retail I began to look online. I had seen many many of these handbags for auction on Ebay, so I decided to bid on a few. Unfortunately, I kept getting outbid time after time. Finally, I found and bid on a beautiful Murakami bag with the matching wallet included. The Seller stated that the bag was 100% authentic and was including all the paperwork, dustbag, etc etc. It was ending very late at night so I stayed up to do whatever I could to win the bag, which I did.

When I received it, I was very pleased. It was beautiful and seemed to have everything it should. I used the bag around 6 times and took very good care of it.

Recently, I decided to purchase another LV, and resell this one. Upon listing it on Ebay, I was contacted by several other sellers telling me my bag was counterfeit, and then Ebay pulled my auction as well. I was completely floored. I had no idea that the bag was a fake. Thankfully, Ebay was very understanding and refunded all of my fees and I have not been restricted from selling.

To make matters worse, I contacted the seller with absolutely no response. (They have continued to sell fake LV bags, but now their listings are private) I also contacted Paypal which is how I paid for the bag, but they will not do anything either since it is past the 45 day mark to have my money refunded. So now, I have a worthless counterfeit that has cost me hundreds of dollars and no way to recoup any loss.

I did learn a very expensive and valuable lesson, however:

AUTHENTICATE...AUTHENTICATE...AUTHENTICATE.

Name: Jen

April 2007

I know this commentary is supposed to be about the horrors of buying fake bags, but I have one about the horrors of selling an authentic bag on Ebay.

I have a gorgeous Louis Vuitton Petit bucket which I sold, and then VeRO stepped in and cancelled the transaction, claiming trademark infringement. Not only had I gotten the bag authenticated at my Louis Vuitton boutique prior to listing, but I then had  My Poupette authenticate it after the auction was cancelled.

I think having the VeRO program on Ebay can be a good thing, but in this case can also be a VERY bad thing. Not only did this cause the cancellation of the Petit bucket, but the cancellation of 5 more auctions after they were already ended and paid for. People are demanding their money back, and questioning my integrity as an honest seller. And to top it off, my account is no longer in good standing, as I have lost my Power Seller status and can no longer list any designer bags - of which I have quite a few, and most are from clients for which I consign.

I guess, in summation, it is as rough selling out there as it is buying. There are people like myself who may not be My Poupette or ALVA members, but do have authentic designer items to sell.