How To Spot Fake Chanel Handbags

When shopping online for Chanel, especially secondhand, one of the biggest challenges is telling the real deal from the fakes. So if you plan to buy used Chanel bags on Ebay or anywhere else, it helps to know your bags inside and out. Here are some tips to save you time and money, and to ensure you don't get duped into buying any designer replica handbags.

1. See It To Believe it!

If the seller isn't offering up high-quality, close-up photos of the bag they're selling, don't even bother with them. Most of the things you'll want to look for to verify the bag's authenticity will require those kinds of photographs, and if they aren't provided, you're taking a huge risk.

2. Leather

Ideally the best way to check leather is by touch, but if you can't get your hands on the bag in question you'll want to look carefully at the grain. Confirm that pebbled leather has a unique imprint, and not a repeated pattern as fake leather often does. Lambskin should have that fine, buttery soft texture, while calfskin is tougher and very durable. Lambskin bags usually have "lambskin" in the title, so you'll know to look for it, but others aren't so obvious. Calfskin is always used in shoppers and totes, as well as the Cambon line.

You'll also want to check the leather for glue residue, since a lot of knockoffs are glued together and only have superficial stitching. And speaking of stitching, it should be even, neat and strong. Vintage bags should have a minimum of 10 stitches per inch.

3. Hardware

Real Chanel hardware should never bend or tarnish - that includes zippers, studs buckles, clasps and chains. As for the CC clasp, the right C passes over the left at the top, and the left passes over the right at the bottom. Look inside and confirm that they use flat head screws and that the words 'Chanel' and 'Paris' appear to the left and right.

  Authentic Chanel bag
Authentic Chanel Bag
Fake Chanel Bag

4. Questionable Quilting

The quilted leather you see on so many of your favorite classic flap bags is no small feat! If you look carefully you'll notice that the quilted pattern is consistent from the flap of the bag to the body of the bag when it's closed. That level of craftsmanship is simply beyond most replica handbags, so watch out for errors like the one I've circled in this picture. The same goes for the exterior pocket on the back of the bag. Remember - if the quilting's out of whack, send it back!

Fake Chanel bag
Fake Chanel bag

5.  Secrets Of The C's

The CC logo on your bag's interior can tell you a lot. Firstly, the space between the C's should be identical to the width of each letter (check out the photo to see what I mean) The CC should also be slightly raised, something a lot of designer replica handbags tend to overlook.
Fake Chanel bag

These tips should help you spot the most common errors found in most designer replica handbags, but don't forget to use some old-fashioned common sense too! Always study the authentic bag at the Chanel site and contrast and compare - keep your eyes open! Do that and you'll always end up with better bags, no doubt about it!