19 Tips That Can Help Us Spot A Fake Item

By Tom Pearson 12 months ago

Stitching

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The stitching on a fake garment is a telltale sign that it is not genuine. More often than not, the stitching is too large and looks out of place. Alternatively, the stitching can be too small, causing the garment to split and fall apart prematurely.

From The Bottom Shelf

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You may have noticed that the knock off products in the grocery store are often tucked away at the back or on the bottom of the shelving racks. This is because large companies want you to shell out on the name brand products and spend more money there.

Eye Strain

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Fake sunglasses are a common sight on the beaches of Europe, and are sold on pretty much every beach you will visit. These glasses are not UV protective, and are essentially just tinted plastic. This may cause strain on your eyes and give you headaches.

Cheap Looking

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Fake products are normally a lot cheaper than their designer counterparts, sometimes costing just 1 percent of the price the real item would cost. This cheapness is reflected in the quality, and it is clear to see by eye that the fake garment is a lot cheaper.

Price

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Want a pair of Rayban sunglasses, you might need to shell out a couple of hundred dollars. If you fancy yourself a knock off pair of Roybon glasses then you might pay $2 or $3 at most. This price obviously reflects the quality, but the fakes are handy to have in a pinch.

Clever Label Position

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Some fake product sellers will cleverly position labels and stickers to make their products seem real. The stickers and labels may cover up an incorrect letter, or possibly even cover up the area where you would expect to find an authenticity sticker.

Crazy Colors

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For some reason, most fake versions of products tend to be produced in weird and wacky colors. Rather than the subtle black or brown handbags you may find in the actual store, the fakes tend to be shipped in shades of lime green and hot pink. Strange...

Dangerous

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Buying yourself fake protective equipment, like motorcycle clothing or safety boots, is never advisable. Safety clothing is manufactured to meet certain standards and criteria, whereas the fakes are not. This could potentially land you in danger and pain.

Different Logo

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Sometimes the logo on a fake garment might look good from far, but far from good. In order to avoid copyright infringement laws, the fake companies slightly change well known logos. Examples include the Ralph Lauren mascot riding a giraffe rather than a horse.

Dimensions

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When looking into luxury goods like watches, you might notice that the dimensions are slightly different to what they should be. Glass may be thicker or thinner, the hands might be slightly too short and the band may seem to slack or even too tight.

Flimsy

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Items branded as luxury might seem a little bit more flimsy and breakable than they should be. The cheapness of the material is reflected in the cost you pay, so you shouldn't expect a fake item to hold up well to weeks and months worth of use and abuse.

Inside The Item

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A genuine designer handbag or item of clothing looks good on the outside and the inside, because the company making the item have the money to invest in quality material. You can spot a fake by checking out the inside of the garment as it may look cheap.

Branding

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Many counterfeit goods are often plastered with company logos in an effort to make them look real. Real designer items are usually understated, meaning the fake goods really stand out. It turns out in the case of designer items, less really is more. Are any of your items fake?

Just Feels Wrong

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The look, feel and even the smell of a fake item are pretty obvious. Sometimes you can spot an item is not the real deal just by gut feeling. It could be the way the item feels to the touch or even how it looks in certain light, sometimes you just know.

Manufacturing Mistake

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Some fake goods are actually real? Hear me out on this one, some fake goods are labeled as fake because they do not leave the factory with a stamp of approval, usually down to a manufacturing error. If this doesn't bother you, then grab yourself a bargain.

Missing Letters

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A lot of fake goods are covered in large logos, for example fake designer t-shirts normally proudly display the name of the brand they are attempting to rip off. It is common to see the fake items missing letters or being spelled incorrectly. Shocking!

No Authentication Card

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Many designer brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton come with cards of authenticity. The cards are located inside the garments and are a surefire sign your item is real. Counterfeit items nearly never come with a fake version of this authenticity card.

Outdated Design

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The counterfeit market is always trying to maximize profits. In order to get as much bang for their buck, they try and keep on top of current trends. This means the style of fake items are often slightly behind, and look very outdated very quickly. Have you noticed this one?

Poor Quality

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The quality of fake goods often reflects the price. When you buy fake items, you need to accept that the item is likely to not last as long as its genuine counterpart. The item may feel worse or look slightly the wrong color, but this is the price you pay.

Similar To A Real Product

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The point of a fake item is to fool people into believe it is the real deal. Who can blame the fake makers for making something look as similar as possible to the genuine. Normally fakes are produced to a price, but some fakes look incredibly similar to their inspiration.

Stand Out Features

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The stand out feature of a product, like a signature buckle or hand bag clasp, may look slightly off when compared to the genuine item. You can also tell if your item is fake is the signature feature feels weak, as if it is going to break after first use.

The Seller

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To be fair, some sellers do actively advertise that the products they are selling are not real, and reflect their pricing accordingly. Make sure to be cautious of the sellers who pass things off as real when they are in fact fake, as they may charge over the odds.

Unofficial Looking Stamp

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Sports jerseys like hockey and football shirts are normally stamped with the logo of the governing body, like the NHL or NFL logo. The logo is normally shiny and raised, whereas on the fake items the NHL or NFL logo is just a stamped on black and white sticker.

Weight

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The weight of a counterfeit item is often a dead giveaway that the item is not genuine. The weight is often very low, as the product is not made with quality material and is produced to a certain cost. Some fakes go the other way, and are a lot heavier than they should be.

Wonky Logo

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The logo on a fake item is often put in the front and center, however the items are never quality checked and it is common for the logos are sometimes put on wonky or slightly too far to the left or right hand side of the t-shirt, sweater or handbag.

Color

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The color of an item is usually the main giveaway, especially when it comes to designer bags. For example, Louis Vuitton bags normally come in their signature brown color, and the fake versions may look slightly too light , too dark or have the wrong color lettering.

Font

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The logo of a fake product is usually stuck on with a generic font, which 9 times out of 10 looks wrong. It is hard to explain why it doesn't look correct, but we just naturally associate certain fonts with certain brands just as much as the company logo.

Material

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The material used in fake goods is often a lot cheaper, in order to make the goods look the part and be more appealing. Expensive leather is replaced with very cheap and thin leather, and metal glasses frames are replaced with cheap and bendy plastic.

Shape

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Items like sunglasses or handbags will often end up misshapen due to manufacturing issues are the poor quality of the material used. It can be hard to tell at first, but when compared to the real deal it is obvious to see which item is real and which is fake.

Taste

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Rip off food items can taste just as good as the genuine brands they are attempting to impersonate. This one really comes down to personal taste, some people straight up refuse to buy the real deal, and others go completely the opposite way and stick to dupes.