I'd work under the assumption that anything on Ebay from Mont Blanc, Dunhill etc... is a fake and work to prove it's real before bidding

Many real items do make their way as "new old stock" and can't be found online easily as they were never sold outside of higher end brick and mortar retailers.

Chances are if it's a fake there will be tell tale signs, poor details on the zipper pulls, shoddy construction etc...but if it looks the part it very well may be a find.

-spence

 

I hate to break it to you, but I'm 90% sure you got screwed into buying a fake. I've also purchased many designer items on ebay and learned a few tricks to tell fake from real.

1)If they do not explicitly claim it is 100% authentic, be very suspicious, even if they do, you still have to take it with a grain of salt.

2)If they ship from eastern europe or asia (regardless of where their location is listed), this is a red flag that it very well might be fake.

3)If they have low feedback like this guy, be very suspicious (they should have at least 20-50 sales before you're comfortable dealing with them because most other buyers might also get duped, but you want to check the feedback to see if one sharp person out there picked up on the forgery. Sometimes these con artists give refunds to people who leave bad feedback in exchange for removing their feedback, so any withdrawn feedback should be noted.)

4)If they don't show you close up pictures of tags (the tags inside and the paper tags), be very suspicious. Whenever I sell something, I'm always sure to have tons of pictures of the tags.

5)If they're selling items from famous designer names (e.g. gucci, prada, armani, versace, etc.) be suspicious because these are all very juicy targets for fakes. Mont Blanc DEFINETLY falls in this category. I've seen asian fakes of mont blanc goods that look almost as real as the real deal.

When I first looked at the bag, I couldn't tell if it was real or not, but I do find it strange it comes without tags or any claim of authenticity. But after looking at some of his other items for sale, I would not trust him at all. The tag on the dolce & gabbana bag looks nothing like real D&G tags you see in stores, it looks like something he printed on his computer at home. Same with the bally messenger bag, it comes with a red dust cover that doesn't have the right font face and looks totally fake. Even the little bally tag on the side looks off. Little details like that matter.

I'm not saying this to rain on your parade, but I've learned this from personal experience. I've brought burberry jackets and shirts on ebay only to find out they were fake 6 months later when ebay sent me a letter saying the seller was shut down for selling fakes. I've brought items like Salvatore Ferragamo and Fendi belts which I'm 100% sure are real, and then there are a few other items where I'm 99% sure they're real even after comparing them to the real deal in boutiques, but I will never be totally sure.

As much as it is a harsh kick in the pocketbook, if you're not an expert on what you're buying, you should just bite the bullet and pay retail. E-bay is very much a buyer beware marketplace, despite all the efforts by staff to ensure everything is legit.

Also, be cautious when comparing it to other items at a mont blanc boutique. Sales associates are not always knowledgeable enough to tell real from fake. As well, I've heard stories that some especially snobbish sales associates who look down their nose at buying at a discount on the internet would stoop to telling people an item is fake, even if its real in hopes of shaming them into returning the item, and buying the it from them.

For what its worth it is a nice looking briefcase, and if it is fake, it seems to be a pretty good fake. But if I were you, I'd be demanding my money back right now, because that is an insane amount of money for a knock-off. If you're going to buy knock-offs and you live in NYC, you can probably buy 10 fake mont blanc bags for that price on Canal street.

Hope this helps,
Omair

 

1)If they do not explicitly claim it is 100% authentic, be very suspicious, even if they do, you still have to take it with a grain of salt.

I'd have to agree with this as well...and don't think Paypal will be there for you in a dispute. I once bought a pen that while real was 1/2 the value of the pen actually pictured in the auction. There was enough wiggle room in the description that Paypal refused my claim which was simply astounding to me. Live and learn.

In cases like yours the problem is, unless you can provide proof it's a fake, how can they rule in your favor? The burden is on you.

-spence

 

For some reason the way the seller says "what you see is what you get" seems underhanded, it seems to fit with the lack of assertion that the item is authentic.

This reminds me of a guy I used to know who sold basketball cards on ebay. He would buy up fake Michael Jordan rookie cards at 50 bucks a piece... then sell them with the caveat that he was not sure if it was real or not, essentially playing dumb. So the buyer would 'take the risk' and buy the card for a few hundred bucks rather than a few thousand. The seller would be safe cause he left it open that the card could be fake, and he attracted plenty of collectors hoping to get a deal.

Basically ebay is a bad place to deal imop.

 

For some reason the way the seller says "what you see is what you get" seems underhanded.

I didn't notice that, but you're absolutely right, that is meant to be his out if anyone tries to drag him into a paypal or ebay dispute for selling them a fake. Now he has a solid defense that he never claimed it was real, and his listing was true, aside from the fact that the briefcase is a fake.

 

I take it it is not fake - no negative feedback on the seller from you.
You can usually tell if a leather item is fake or not after you have it in your hands - it is rare when you find good quality fakes. At the end of the day, if it is made well with great detailing, does it really matter what lable on it?
And the price seems right too - I have Designer Outlet Village in my town with Goldsmiths who sells Mont Blanc items all the time, sometimes with large discounts - I did see a briefcase there for £230. In fact, there was time when my used to buy some pens there for about £105 and sold them on ebay for about £130. He also bought damaged Dunhill lighter for £5 there, put flint in (this was the problem!) and sold it for over £50.

 

You can usually tell if a leather item is fake or not after you have it in your hands - it is rare when you find good quality fakes.

There is a new breed of fakes out there called "super fakes" by some, that are almost as good imitations at the real deal. I had a Burberry jacket from eBay, and it took me 2 years of wearing it before I realized it was fake. Another Burberry shirt I brought on eBay, I was convinced was real after comparing it to the real deal in a store, until I got a surprise email from eBay 6 months too late saying "this guy sells fakes - do not go through with the sale." Mont Blanc is a popular target for counterfeit artists.

And the price seems right too - I have Designer Outlet Village in my town with Goldsmiths who sells Mont Blanc items all the time, sometimes with large discounts - I did see a briefcase there for £230.

A con artist can easily price it right and come away with a very tidy profit, that information is readily available.

Again, I don't know if its fake or not, but from what little I know without seeing the briefcase, the listing has several red flags. But at the end of the day, if ggmerino got a briefcase he's happy with, thats what's important.