How to spot fake clothes when purchasing online

I know plenty of people, including myself, who have unwittingly purchased fake designer clothing online. There are some very unscrupulous people out there who are knowingly selling fakes and taking your hard earned money in the process. I have set out a guide below to prevent you from getting duped.

1. PRICE

This is the most obvious way to tell whether an item is fake or not. Designer clothes are expensive, if you find someone selling them on eBay for a quarter of their RRP then they are obviously fakes. Just use some common sense. If someone is selling a brand new Ralph Lauren polo for £15 and you know it retails for £70 then alarm bells should start ringing. There is absolutely no way that they will be able to sell a genuine Ralph polo at that price and make a profit. It is obviously a fake. When purchasing online you are able to pick up a bit of a bargain but if an item is 10%-20% below it's RRP then proceed with caution. That's not to say that all items which are 10-20% below the RRP will be authentic. It may just be a clever ruse by a greedy person!

2. CONTACT DETAILS

If you are purchasing clothes on a website then make sure there are genuine contact details i.e. phone number and a physical address.

3. PRODUCT ORIGIN

Be aware of where the product was made or is coming from. Ask the seller where the product was made. Most designer clothes are only made in certain countries so this is an easy way to establish whether the product is genuine.

Lots of fake designer clothes are being mass produced in the Far East (particularly China). They are then purchased by people selling them online. Ask the seller where they get their clothes from. Obviously people don't want to give away their contacts but they should be able to allay your fears without doing so.

4. ASK THE SELLER

This is quite obvious but you would be amazed how many people don't actually do it! Simply ask the seller whether their product is authentic or not. Tell them that you know what to look for yourself, and give an example if you can. Also, ask them if they offer a full money back guarantee if the product turns out to be a fake. If you don't hear anything back then you've got your answer!

5. FEEDBACK

When purchasing on eBay always check the sellers feedback. If they have negative feedback then try and find out what it is for. It may be due to the fact that they have been selling fakes.

If they have 100% feedback then check what the feedback is for. It could just be that they have bought lots of cheap items to simply boost their rating, then suddenly they have loads of designer clothes to sell. This is a definite sign of a fake.

6. PHOTO'S

Avoid clothes with catalogue photo's. If you see this chances are it is a fake wholesaler from the Far East somewhere. You are much better off going for an item of clothing that has a unique photo which you can tell has been taken by the seller themselves.

When purchasing online ask for lots of photo's, particularly of stitching and labels. You can then find the authentic item of clothing in a High Street shop and use the photo for comparison.

7. TAGS

Don't be fooled by tags. Just because the item of clothing you want to buy comes with a tag does not mean it is authentic. Tags can be copied just as clothes can.

8. QUANTITY

Have a look at how many items of the same product the seller has got. If they are selling 100's then chances are they are wholesale counterfeits. It is very unlikely that a genuine seller will have this amount of the same item available.

If you follow the above guide then you should be able to differentiate between the authentic article and the fake. If I can stress one point it is to simply use common sense, particularly with regards to the price. If it sounds too good to be true then it usually is!

How to spot fake diesel jeans

Diesel is a very popular brand and plenty of people are turning to eBay and online stores to bag themselves a bargain. Unfortunately there is an abundance of fakes being sold out there. I have provided a list of what to look for so you can distinguish between authentic and fake Diesel jeans.

1. MICRO-STITCHING

Inside the jeans you will find the sizing label which will say "Made in Italy" on it. Below this you will find white/silver stitching and if you look very closely you will see the word "Diesel" if the jeans are authentic. It is quite hard to spot so you may need to use a magnifying glass. If you can't find then the jeans are fakes.

2. NUMBERS

Inside the authentic jeans you will find very small numbers above the Indian head on the jean size label. Such numbers are not visible on fake jeans

3. THE FABRIC

The fakes tend to have quite a thick, rough fabric whereas the genuine jeans are thinner, smoother and have an elastic quality.

4. DISTRESS AND RIP MARKS

Fake diesel jeans are usually created by machines whereas the genuine jeans are hand distressed. As such, the distress marks on the fakes will appear less realistic and the rips more accurate and precise.

Hope this helps.

How to spot fake Ugg Boots

Outside of Australia the name "Ugg Boot" is a registered trademark and can only be used to describe Ugg Boots sold by Deckers Inc. Also, Deckers have registered the name "Ugg Australia" to describe their boots worldwide.

Due to their popularity there are many fakes of "Ugg Australia" boots being sold online, particularly on eBay. Obviously a simple way to tell is the price they are offered at. Have you ever heard the saying "sounds too good to be true?" If they are being sold at an absurdly low price then they are definitely fakes. However, if they are discounted to between 10% and 20% off the normal list price then they may well be authentic. However, this could just be a ruse by the seller to try and get you to buy a fake pair of boots so you should be aware of the physical differences between an authentic and fake pair of Ugg Boots.

1. THE FUR

The authentic boot has real sheepskin fur which is thick, fluffy and cream in colour. The fake fur, however, is thinner, slightly grey in colour and bits of fur come away when rubbed.

2. THE SOLE

You will find that an authentic Ugg boot has a flexible sole whereas the fakes are quite rigid.

3. THE SIZE

Genuine Ugg Boots are usually a little bit bigger than the size actually ordered whereas the fakes are generally smaller. So, if you are advised by a seller to buy a size up from what you normally would then this is a a good sign that they are fakes.

4. THE LABEL

Fake boots will often have a blue or brown leather label pinned to them. These are not provided with genuine Ugg Boots.

5. SNOW BOOT DUST BAG

If the boots come with a protection bag which says "snow boots" then they are fakes. Deckers don't describe Uggs as snow boots and as such do not provide a protection bag.

6. THE SMELL

Obviously this isn't much help if you are buying online but the fake will smell of paint which comes from the dye used in the synthetic materials.

7. THE OUTSIDE UGG LABEL

This is a very good way to tell and you will often notice slight but obvious differences between the genuine and the fakes. For example the word "australia" is sometimes in bold on the fakes and is slightly higher up on the heel.

To summarise, the biggest give away is a low price and if you are purchasing online then ask for plenty of photo's, particularly of the outside label then go to a high street retailer who stocks the boots and use the photo's for comparison. If the photo's are of fakes you will definitely be able to tell the difference by looking at a pair of authentic boots in the shop.

I hope this is of some help.

How to spot a fake Ralph Lauren shirt

Yes, I have done this one! At first I didn't even realise it was a fake. I was inspecting the shirt when I noticed some sloppy stitching so I decided to do a bit of research into how to spot a fake. Here's what I found:-

1. SIDE SEAM STITCHING

The genuine shirt will have fine precise single sided seam stitching down the side.

The fake will have sloppy double sided stitching.

2. BUTTONS

The genuine shirt will have thick buttons that are a slightly pearl colour.

The fake shirt will have clear buttons.

3. THE UNDERSIDE OF THE PONY

The genuine shirt will not have rough stitching and thread showing though whereas the fake will.

4. SHOULDER STITCHING

This was quite a give away on the fake shirt I purchased.

The genuine shirt will not show any thread on the outside, it will be on the underside whereas the fake will have thread/stitching on the outside.

5. PONY LOGO

A genuine shirt will have one single, solid colour whereas the fake is likely to have more than one. With regard to multi-colour pony's the authentic pony will be a dark brown colour but the fake will be a lighter brown.

6. COLLAR

The genuine shirts have a fairly loose collar whereas the fake collar is stiffer.

If you are purchasing online then ask for plenty of photo's. The more the merrier. Ask for photo's of these areas I have discussed and hopefully you won't get duped!

Hope this has been of some help.