Kelly bags by Hermès are a coveted second-hand purchase — and are also commonly ripped off.
Edward Berthelot/Getty Images
Viral Hermès Birkin dupes are selling out at retailers like Walmart.
Actual counterfeits, unlike the Walmart bag, have been infiltrating secondhand luxury.
These are the most commonly knocked-off styles to look out for, and some easy tells.
An Hermès lookalike handbag available to buy from Walmart has gone viral.
People have been calling the bag a dupe, a term used to describe an item that's similar in appearance to a more expensive product. It does not claim to be from Hermès — and is not branded with the fashion house's name. But the bag, which looks a little like the iconic Birkin bag yet costs less than 1% of the price of a real one, is selling out as people seek the style of one of the world's most coveted handbags for under $100.
A real Birkin has a starting price of $10,000 and can run into the six figures. Buying one directly from Hermès requires establishing a relationship of purchases with the French fashion house and time spent on a waitlist, too.
For those who want an authentic Birkin — or any other luxury bag — the secondhand market has become pivotal, with its value rising to $50 billion last year, according to Bain & Company. With a limited supply of the most in-demand bags, some turn to resale to avoid the wait. Aspirational customers are also taking advantage of better prices as a gateway to luxury.
But the sheer volume of actual counterfeits demonstrates the dangers of buying on the secondhand market, which has been infiltrated by "dupe culture."
Business Insider spoke to Hunter Thompson, the director of authentication and brand compliance at secondhand luxury retailer The RealReal, earlier this year about the proliferation of increasingly convincing fakes.
"In 2024, if it can be faked, it's faked," Thompson said. "Someone wears something one day, and in a few weeks, it's been counterfeited."
Each month, The RealReal prevents about 5,000 fraudulent items from hitting the market and has kept more than 250,000 out of circulation since its inception in 2011. Some are sold by unwitting owners who have been misled, while others are part of a larger network of counterfeit suppliers seeking to make a buck from knock-offs.
"The level of sophistication there has definitely only increased," Thompson said, adding that wannabe sellers are even faking receipts, hoping that proof of purchase will sway someone to accept a rip-off.
Hardware — like the feet of a Birkin, zippers, and pulls — can indicate that something is off, as can discrepancies in logos and spacing. For less obvious inconsistencies, the company deploys a microscopic camera that compares the bag with thousands of others, looking at everything from the grain of the leather to the edges of a brand stamp.
Here are the bags that Thompson said are most commonly faked —and some tell-tale red flags to look out for.
"It changes and stays the same. There are always those bags that are going to be counterfeit," he said. "Anything that's popular is totally game for being counterfeited."
Hermès Birkin and KellyThe Birkin bag is arguably Hermès' most exclusive handbag, costing at least $10,000 — sometimes much more — and racking up yearslong waitlists.
Edward Berthelot/Getty Images
If you're in the market for a secondhand Hermès Birkin — priced $6,200 to $350,000 on The RealReal — or Kelly — priced $5,000 to $165,000 — be sure to turn it upside down and check the small pieces of hardware on its bottom.
"If the feet unscrew, it's bad," Thompson said. "That's the first thing I'm checking."
And if it comes with an orange authenticity card: code orange. "Hermes does not issue those," he added.
The stitching is also a telltale sign: Hermès bags are sewn by hand, so it shouldn't actually be as uniform and perfect as a machine-made stitch.
Louis Vuitton: from key chains to trunksLouis Vuitton bags — particularly those with the traditional "LV" print — are perennially faked.
Edward Berthelot/Getty Images
Anything Louis Vuitton — from key fobs to luggage — can be faked, Thompson said, with people perennially interested in the logoed bags.
For Louis Vuitton, the color is a dead giveaway, former employee Shelley Alvarado told Business Insider last year.
"There's a richness in color on the real product that doesn't appear obvious at first glance, but once you compare materials, you can absolutely tell the difference," she said.
Gucci's signature stylesA Gucci Chain Horsebit bag — one of the brand's more popular styles.
Jeremy Moeller/Getty Images
"Gucci, it's across the board and that's one that it's always up there — it always ranks very high in terms of counterfeit percentage for us," Thompson said.
Signature styles like the Horsebit or the Jackie are more likely to be copied than niche ones.
Like with Louis Vuitton bags, the logos are a helpful tool in spotting a fake. For example, the spacing and edges of the letters may be off, or the shape of a monogram.
Prada re-editionsPrada re-editions, like the 2002 Moon bag, have grown in popularity in recent years.
Edward Berthelot/Getty Images
In recent years, Prada has been rereleasing some of its styles from the early aughts, which have become popular — and popular to fake.
The triangular metal Prada logo is an easy tell, Thompson said.
"We're able to see the etching deep in, so we could see if it's striated, for example. That's a big red flag," he said, adding that the company uses its microscopic Vision software to check. With "20/20 vision, you're not really going to see that."
The Row's Half Moon bagAs quiet luxury becomes more popular, bags like The Row's Half Moon are more commonly counterfeit.
Courtesy of The RealReal
"There's the whole quiet luxury movement — those are even harder to spot," Thompson said, pointing to The Row, and specifically the brand's Half Moon, Alexia, and Sophia bags. "Things are more minimalistic, so there is a lack of identifiers."
Without logos, The Real Real zeros in on hardware, the grain of leather, and the stitching.
Celine's Luggage stylesCeline bags, including the brand's luggage styles, have become more commonly faked over the past year.
Courtesy of The RealReal
Celine bags, like the brand's Luggage styles, are more likely to be faked than they were a year ago.
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