Fakes at a Public Auction
About 2 weeks ago, I received a flyer in my mail for an auction. The flyer boasted some impressive designer names (Chanel, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, and more), so of course I had to go! This turned out to be really interesting...
According to the flyer, there was going be Chanel, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga and more! And, everything had been verified as authentic already. A chance to get designer items at a good price? Sign me up!
When I got there, the first place I headed towards were the bags. People were allowed 30 minutes to peruse through the items before bidding began. The bags were grossly tossed together in a giant heap. D:
But, what was crazier, was how most of the bags were counterfeit!
This was the first bag that I inspected. Chanel makes my favorite handbags in the entire world, and the classic double flap is what I personally consider to be the most gorgeous bag ever. This white double flap was an AWFUL fake; it is not AT ALL passable for an authentic Chanel in my opinion. I knew that it was fake just walking up to it.
I overheard a little boy with his family say, "What if this is a fake bag?" The father replied, "No, everything here is guaranteed real." The situation was quite helpless. Had I said something, it may have seemed that I was arguing with the guy or challenging his authority in front of his kid.
One lady saw me inspecting one of the Birkins, and asked me if I thought it was real. The lady looked like she may already own Hermes. Somewhat relieved that she asked, I gladly told her this was a counterfeit item. She told me that the item didn't seem quite right.
There were a lot of items there that were supposed to be of high dollar, art, persian rugs, very ornate jewelry, bags, and watches. I asked the auctioneer how they were able to recognize stones in the jewelry and how they verified gold content. He said that everything had been verified, but he didn't know how. ... Shady as he**...
The whole experience was very unsettling. It was nauseating to watch people bid up to $30,000 on jewelry that may not have been of precious metals and gemstones. My husband and I didn't stay very long, but long enough to see the fake white Chanel bag being auctioned off at $1600. 🙁
***It's important to mention that not all auction places are like this. There are reputable auction houses that truly verify their items, but this requires a lot of effort, and knowledge. Unfortunately, many companies are not as thorough as they claim. 🙁