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Alexander McQueen Scarf on eBay - How to tell if it's fake?

ZeromusZeromus Registered User regular
edited December 2010 in Help / Advice Forum
Hey guys,

I was looking on eBay for an Alexander McQueen scarf for my girlfriend and came upon a few listings like this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/NWT-ALEXANDER-CLASSIC-MCQUEEN-SKULL-SCARF-GRAY-BLACK-/110616550264?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item19c1429b78

That seems... really cheap for this particular label and product, but I don't know how to tell if that means it's a knock-off. Any advice?

Thanks!

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Zeromus on

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    UsagiUsagi Nah Registered User regular
    edited November 2010
    The general rule with eBay and other internet purchases: if it looks too good to be true, it probably is

    Hell, the New York Times just did a piece on an internet eyeglass vendor that was deliberately dicking people over, it's an unfortunately common occurrence

    Usagi on
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    DeebaserDeebaser on my way to work in a suit and a tie Ahhhh...come on fucking guyRegistered User regular
    edited November 2010
    It's a knock off. Looking at the dude's feedback he's sold dozens of these for a fraction of the retail price.

    Deebaser on
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    bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    edited November 2010
    Well if the picture is indeed what he's selling, it may just be stolen goods. That's an unreasonably good knock off if that's the case. It could just be a picture of an item he owns and he just sells the knock offs.

    bowen on
    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
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    OnTheLastCastleOnTheLastCastle let's keep it haimish for the peripatetic Registered User regular
    edited November 2010
    I asked Usagi what that article was and it's a good read. Highlights the dangers of just google searching for an item and buying from the top retailer without looking up the retailer too. Linking for relevance! http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/business/28borker.html?pagewanted=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

    OnTheLastCastle on
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    matt has a problemmatt has a problem Points to 'off' Points to 'on'Registered User regular
    edited November 2010
    It's either a knockoff, or it's stolen. The fact it has a tag with a UPC on it means it either came from store stock that had already been tagged (since were it to come directly from the designer, it would only have the designer's tag on it as every store has different UPCs), or they're sticking fake tags on it to make it look like it was purchased from a store. Either way, there's no way they purchased it for any amount that would make selling it for $39 profitable.

    :edit: Also, if you check the other auctions they're running for those scarves, every single tag is identical, all the numbers are the same, which I'm guessing wouldn't be the case for a company trying to keep track of how many of each color they're selling. So I'm going to go with the tags being bogus.

    matt has a problem on
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    DarkewolfeDarkewolfe Registered User regular
    edited November 2010
    Ebay is used by such an incredible number of people that any product sold on it averages out to the correct price almost every single time. If you see something selling for significantly less than it should be worth, there is a reason, and it isn't "I'm the lucky person who found it cheap!"

    Darkewolfe on
    What is this I don't even.
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    bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    edited November 2010
    Pretty much what Darkewolfe said.

    Maybe a store went out of business and this guy bought a box of it for $1000 in an auction himself. Maybe he's banking on a low bid to drive it up. I mean Let's say he has 40 scarfs in that box and he's willing to eat a little bit of money in the hopes that 10 of those auctions make it past $100. Lots of scenarios. If it were me I wouldn't be looking for a deal rather than "Would I like to wear this?"

    bowen on
    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
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    bwaniebwanie Posting into the void Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Usagi wrote: »
    The general rule with eBay and other internet purchases: if it looks too good to be true, it probably is

    Hell, the New York Times just did a piece on an internet eyeglass vendor that was deliberately dicking people over, it's an unfortunately common occurrence

    the other way around works like that too, some guys went on amsterdam main street with some real rolexes , selling them for 200 euro. no-one wanted to buy them :)

    bwanie on
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    DeebaserDeebaser on my way to work in a suit and a tie Ahhhh...come on fucking guyRegistered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Even if it were stolen, the criminals could get a much better return with a lot less legal exposure by using consignment shops.

    Deebaser on
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    DarkewolfeDarkewolfe Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    bwanie wrote: »
    Usagi wrote: »
    The general rule with eBay and other internet purchases: if it looks too good to be true, it probably is

    Hell, the New York Times just did a piece on an internet eyeglass vendor that was deliberately dicking people over, it's an unfortunately common occurrence

    the other way around works like that too, some guys went on amsterdam main street with some real rolexes , selling them for 200 euro. no-one wanted to buy them :)

    Well, this was just him proving that no one trusts such a deal, right? That's because in real situations no one would be doing that!

    Darkewolfe on
    What is this I don't even.
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