where 2 get knock off purses in Bahamas?

[ericamanda01]

We are going on the Costa Maya/Cozemel cruise, does anyone know if there are any places to get good knockoffs there? I love my real Coach and D&B's but I would rather put that money toward rebooking!

 

[FranP]

THere's also the embossed (not printed) leather label inside the Coach bags - I have a few good knock-offs and they have the embossed labels. good stitching, good C's, etc. - I think the thing that makes them different is the colors of the leather/suede and the canvas, i.e. my pink and ivory bag is a little bit paler than the originals and I believe the style bag I have does not come in the pink/ivory color - but who else would know this? I guess if you are a true fashionista and study the catalogs in great detail, you might be able to tell - but everyone admires it and no one even questions me. My DD has a genuine Coach black quilted diaper bag that is truly beautiful - but it cost much, much more than several of my bags put together!

 

[professorandmom]

A great tip for the purses which have letters on the outside, the real ones don't cut off any letters near the top of the bag, the fakes do

That said, I do know that there are some fakes that are so good that the only difference is the number of stitches per inch - off by one - who could tell that???
Barb

 

[Niagara2]

I have never been lucky enough to find any well made knock offs. I have been in Bahamas, Mexico, Caribbean etc. All the ones I looked at were not made that well. The leather was stiff and felt fake, the zippers were not good ones, the stitching was not straight, nor the patterns on the bags. Of course some looked like the real thing until you really examined it. I have real coach bags and a lot of Brighton. The flea markets in US have a alot of these too but the quality is not any where near the real thing. I have been to purse parties at homes but never to New York City. A co worker goes past the street dealers there into back rooms. That takes nerve too!
So - with all the said, where do you gals find the excellent knock Offs?

 

[CrzyforPiglet]

I was always told that if the purse has a design/logo on it to look at the sides of the purse where the seams are sewn with the body of the purse to see if the design and logo match up to each other. If it does then the purse is real, if not you're looking at a fake. Hope that makes sense!

 

[Aquagirl]

If you have any outlets near you they have great deals at the Coach and D&B outlets.

I have a D&B that I got at the outlet for $45. I'd rather pay a little bit more for the real thing than a fake that is not made very well! I can't see paying $45+ for a fake, I'd rather pay a little more for the real deal, but that's just my opinion.

I believe that there is a coach outlet in Orlando, can anyone confirm?

 

[captchris]

My sister works in a thrift store. A few months ago, she bought an authentic Louis Vuitton back pack for $3.99. Its like a $900.00 bag. This bag has a very small tear and was going to be thrown away in the sorting room. She saved and took it to a leather repair shop.

Just today, she called me and told me that she got yet again another good bargain. She picked up a Coach purse for $5.00.

All of this is greek to me, but she knows all of the name brands.

 

[ohioworkingmom]

There was a Coach outlet in Orlando, but nothing cheap. The cheapest purse we found was $249, so I am still happy with the "authentic looking fake" for $45.

 

[KimberlyC]

I have never been lucky enough to find any well made knock offs. I have been in Bahamas, Mexico, Caribbean etc. All the ones I looked at were not made that well. The leather was stiff and felt fake, the zippers were not good ones, the stitching was not straight, nor the patterns on the bags. Of course some looked like the real thing until you really examined it. I have real coach bags and a lot of Brighton. The flea markets in US have a alot of these too but the quality is not any where near the real thing. I have been to purse parties at homes but never to New York City. A co worker goes past the street dealers there into back rooms. That takes nerve too!
So - with all the said, where do you gals find the excellent knock Offs?

My manicurist goes to NYC when she visits her sis in NJ. She deals with the back room/alley thing (at least I assume - I don't ask any questions). She sells them for a bit of a mark up. I got a decent/ok prada and a really good Marc Jacobs. The Marc Jacobs is the black tote. Here it is: http://www.stylebymail.com/product.php?productid=176&source=nextag&campaign=marc jacobs

Its huge and I love it because its an office and a diaper bag for me. The leather is nice. It's definitely real leather. I don't know if its calf skin like the genuine but its soft and the stitching and hardware are very good. The lining is the dead giveaway that its a fake. The lining is not suede but its constructed well and who is looking inside? It retails for about $1000 and $530 was the cheapest I found it for on the link above. I paid $75 and you can't beat that for a real leather purse that is a pretty good look alike that no one but me would know was a fake. Ok, now my DIS friends know but none of you are telling, right?

 

[MOMTOCUTESTDOGEVER]

I am very stupid, and would probably end up in jail with my friendly banter.

Tag Fairy--where are you???

 

[watergirl]

THere is a Coach outlet near me. Whenever I am near by I stop in and look at the clearance section. I have found some really good deals. SOmetimes you can find a coach, Ralph Lauren or other nice bags at TJ Maxx you just have to go by often and look

 

[disneypoor]

I have bought several purses at TJ Max. You are right---you have to catch them at the right time. When you do find them, you can often find them for a pretty good price. I'm just excited to see the knock offs at the Bahamas!!!!

 

[Honu]

By buying these items (here or out of the country) you are supporting organized crime.

It also is illegal to transport more than a couple counterfeit trademark items into the US. It's considered trafficking. This applies to sunglasses, sportswear, jewelry, etc., not just purses.

To be willing to look beyond that just to carry around a logo is sad.

 

[disneypoor]

By buying these items (here or out of the country) you are supporting organized crime.

It also is illegal to transport more than a couple counterfeit trademark items into the US. It's considered trafficking. This applies to sunglasses, sportswear, jewelry, etc., not just purses.

To be willing to look beyond that just to carry around a logo is sad.

Tell me more about this. Why can a person go to LA and buy the knockoffs then? I know that there a lots and lots of vendors that sell them. I honestly don't know anything at all about what I can and can't bring back into the US as I am not planning on loading up, but I would definitely like to know more about this. I definitely don't want to do something that can get me in trouble. You are right, no logo is worth that!

 

[misseulalie]

What's the best way to pay in the straw market? Cash? I am assuming dollars are the best. can we use credit cards or could we end up getting unauthorized charges?

 

[Honu]

Tell me more about this. Why can a person go to LA and buy the knockoffs then? I know that there a lots and lots of vendors that sell them. I honestly don't know anything at all about what I can and can't bring back into the US as I am not planning on loading up, but I would definitely like to know more about this. I definitely don't want to do something that can get me in trouble. You are right, no logo is worth that!

There are 2 different knock off styles that are sold on the streets, brand inspired and counterfeits.

Mainly what you will see out on the streets of LA/NY are brand inspired. While the style of the bag/item is similar, the logo will be slightly different. For example, instead of interlocking Gs on a Gucci bag, it would have interlocking Cs or instead of LV on a Louis Vuitton it will say XO. These are legal to buy.

Anything with the name brand or logo on it is counterfeit. The feds have really come down on these vendors, so very rarely will you actually see them out on the streets. Many of the vendors do have them, but they are only likely to pull them out if they don't think you're a cop.

It is illegal to transport more that one counterfeit item of each type (one purse, one watch, etc.) through customs. Here is the link to the - US Customs site.

I have several designer bags I travel with and when I bring them, they get checked about 50% of the time now. It's just not worth it for a logo on a poorly made bag.

 

[disneypoor]

Wow! I never would have thought about this! I bought a Coach purse (fake, I'm sure) from a friend. Should I be concerned about taking it with me on my upcoming cruise? My friend was in Los Angeles over spring break, and she said there were vendors all over the street selling knock offs. She bought several Louis Vuitton and Prada's. I'm surprised the vendors can get away with that if the feds are cracking down. I think I'll pass on the knock offs this time!

 

[Disneynut1955]

My wife and I have a large Louis Vuitton collection and we were questioned about our luggage returning from our last trip. Customs wanted to make sure it was authentic (it is).

The big question for me is, why would you want to own something that is fake? For those of us who buy authentic Louis Vuitton, we can spot a fake from a mile away. On the fakes, the colors and textures are wrong, the alignment of the LV logo is always way off and a large number of these bags are in styles that were never made.

We respect that some people simply feel that LV or other name brands are overpriced or are nothing more than status symbols. However, we are confused by the number of fakes that people try to pass off as authentic. Even at our local LV store, ladies come in wearing the worst looking fake as though it is real.

Louis Vuitton only sells it products at Louis Vuitton boutiques, their own website (eluxury) and at a dwindling number of Saks and Neiman Marcus stores. They NEVER have sales (the price only goes up) and they do not have discount or wholesale. I would not trust any other source (97% of all LV items on Ebay are fake) for buying an authentic bag.

There is nothing wrong with carrying a non-designer bag, but don't embarrass yourself with a poorly made knock-off. In reality you are not fooling anybody and it may be an issue for you when entering the United States.

 

[ohioworkingmom]

I am going to speak only for myself here, in our case, the "knock-off" purse we purchased was bought by my 12 year old daughter. Granted some parents can afford a $250 or greater purse for their 12 year old, but not here! And personally, even if I could, I don't think I would. I work hard for what I earn, and I don't think kids now days respect what an adult does or has to do to earn a few dollars. She bought this with her own money, and I agreed that it was a good deal, even if it was not "real". Looking at the comments here, and the customs problems, I would be hesitant to go back and intentionally purchase another though. Lesson learned here, but again, some people have a perfectly good reason for not owning the "real thing".

 

[disneypoor]

To be honest, I am not a big purse collector. I usually carry my purse for quite some time and do not switch with my outfits, seasons, etc. I have friends who do have the real thing and friends who also have the fakes. I have always bought my purses (fakes or real) from these friends as I cannot afford to buy the real thing. (although I'd love one!) I guess if I'd stop taking Disney trips, maybe I could afford one???

I know that people who actually own the real thing can probably tell that mine is fake, but to be honest, I really don't care. If I like it, that is all that matters. Please don't flame me for this, but I just don't care what anyone else thinks about my purse. I couldn't tell if one was fake or real if they were both put right in front of me.

I do, however, care about getting into trouble with customs. Therefore, I will leave my cheap, fake purse at home for our upcoming cruise, and I won't be buying a knock off while in Nassau.