I’ll never forget the excitement I felt when I thought I had found the best deal of my life: buy a Louis Vuitton Neverfull bag from an LV outlet store. Growing up I always wanted to own a Louis Vuitton bag, more specifically the Neverfull MM because it is beautiful, functional, and iconic. That is how I realized it was available cheaper than its original price over the Internet, and I had to buy it. I quickly clicked “buy” without much of a second thought because I thought I had struck gold. But as you would recall, sometimes one can be given a raw deal when it comes to being genuine, and truth be told, I was soon to be taught a bitter lesson in that regard.

The Initial Thrill: Getting that ‘Deal’ at an LV Outlet

Again like many others, I grew a liking for branded products but was very much conscious of the amount I would be willing to spend on them. After reading a post on a forum that sort of described an LV outlet online selling heavily discounted genuine Louis Vuitton bags, I doubted myself but dismissed that they were not real. Well, it was an outlet, wasn’t it? They had all the current models including the Louis Vuitton Neverfull bags for which I was especially eager to purchase. I was over the moon when I placed the order thinking of how cooler I would feel walking around with one of the best items in the market which I got at a throwaway price.

The First Red Flag

As soon as the postman delivered the package, I was getting a bad vibe about it. To my eye, the bag seemed reasonable – as long as I didn’t look too closely at the fabric. First of all the leather under my touch did not feel as delicate and soft as it used to feel when touching genuine Louis Vuitton bags at the boutiques. However, I dismissed this assumption lightly, thinking that it could probably be true since it emanated from an outlet, it had to be slightly different in quality.

Uncovering the Truth: My fake Louis Vuitton neverfull Now I have come to understand it gradually. The more I worked with the bag the more I had concerns flooding into my small brain. I began my search into knowing whether it is possible to determine the authenticity of Louis Vuitton Neverfull bags. Here’s where I learned some important tips that I wish I had known earlier:

Check the Stitching: One of the things Louis Vuitton counterfeits are known to have is very intricate stitching. Stitches should be neat with smooth, equal gaps in between each of the stitches. I detected that some seams of the bag itself were not well sown: there were some discrepancies in the stitching as it went along, which I found to be my first real indication that all was not well, here.

Inspect the Logo: This means that the specifics of the logo need to have a clean look and that the emblem displayed must be LV. However, I felt that there was something that looked wrong and that was the positioning of the logo on my bag looked slightly blurred. It was not until then, that I came to appreciate the acute necessity of proper positioning of logos on a Louis Vuitton manufactured product.

Examine the Materials: Original Louis Vuitton Neverfull bags are made with coated canvas accompanied by leather details. The leather that they should be using should be soft and high end but the one on mine felt rough and very different from the original. On most LV creations there are stitches that the manufacturer warns will turn from golden yellow to brown due to exposure to the elements—this is another sign of an original piece. My handles remained the same light color and this told me that was true.

Look at the Date Code: Every bag that is produced by Louis Vuitton comes with a date code that also shows the place of manufacture & production. I was having a hard time searching for this code in my bag and when I managed to, it was not in the format of the correct codes which I had seen during my research. This for me was the final straw or as they say, the last drop that makes the cup full.

Learning the Hard Way

That moment when I knew I had been conned and I had just bought a fake product made me feel awful inside. It was rather mortifying to admit this even to myself that I had been conned. That an LV outlet was one to be offering such a deal was irresistible and I had been caught in the deal. I attempted to get in touch with the customer service of this website but to my surprise, they did not reply. I attempted all the measures within my capacity to return the item however they had withdrawn hence leaving me with a big loss.

Preventing a Repeat Mistake

There are so many things I would like to report from this experience and I hope that this article will help others not to fall into the same trap as I did. Here are a few essential tips on how to verify LV outlet authenticity: Here are a few essential tips on how to verify LV outlet authenticity:

Buy from Authorized Retailers Only: Information with regards to cheap LV products is a fallacy, LV products do not flood the market through outlets stores, or cheap websites. In a word, if you find some LV outlet store has a discount, very likely to be fake. The only way to be sure that an item is authentic is to purchase it from an authorized LV dealer, in a Louis Vuitton store, or the actual website.

Check the Seller’s Reputation: Physical products: very generally, if consumers are buying a second-hand car or computer for example, or from a third-party vendor, they should do their homework. Try to use such entertainment sites where users can rate and give various comments and look for specific services to check the authenticity of these points.

Get an Authentication Service: In case you already own a Louis Vuitton product and sometimes doubt whether it is original or fake, there are many expert options concerning can help you check the authenticity of your bag. They can scrutinize all the minute aspects which are not easily discernable to the common buyer in the market.

Know the Common Signs of a Fake: In my previous sections, I pointed out that stitching, logo alignment, the materials themselves, and date codes are the best giveaways. One should get acquainted with the aspects listed above before buying a particular type of product.

The Aftermath: This is what I did next.

As soon as I knew that it was an imitation bag, I had to think about how to act towards it. On other occasions, I get to the extent of wanting to discard it but I decided to retain it to remind me of what I ought to learn. I have since then saved enough money and I got the original Louis Vuitton Neverfull, from the Louis Vuitton store and the feeling is different. The real one has this or that quality, in terms of its feel or how it looks whilst on and after it has aged.

Yes if today I heard about this scam I still shudder thinking how much I spent on the fake bag; however today am wiser. I’ve advised friends when they want to be sure whether they are getting original LV from outlets or fake products. It makes you all the wiser if you come out of them in one piece at least, and I think that was what happened to me.

Conclusion

Therefore, if you are interested in purchasing something from Louis Vuitton or in particular Louis Vuitton Neverfull bag make sure to research. The catchphrase: ‘there is nothing in life that is free’ is probably the most accurate phrase one might want to use in a given context. Use only authorized dealers and familiarize yourself with the ways of differentiating an imitation. I want my story to reach out to someone out there and make sure he or she does not make the same mistake I made. Despite this, people should remember that a real luxury is a product worth spending money on, but only if the particular item is real.

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Tags: Louis Vuitton