In this blog we will be covering, on customer requests, how to tell if brand name glasses and sunglasses are fake or
real. In other words what to look for when making a purchase online or from someone to make sure you are getting an
authentic pair of sunglasses.
Here are some general
tips on sunglasses. We will be going through each brand in later posts:
1. Does the item exists in collection?
Some
sunglasses collections are rather large. In fact over the past few years brands like Dior and Gucci has been very productive with issuing new models of sunglasses. On average there is close to 40 new models issued each year. Each model comes in a variety of colors. Minimum two colors, but more often 3-4 colors. So it's hard to
keep up with thousands of items, which allowed counterfeit bloom.
You have to refer to that brand official website to check most current collection. Also, on
ISeeGlasses.com you will be always able to find items by the collection year. We try to keep up with all the released items and write about them in
Twitter.
Many companies that make fakes don't even bother buying an actual glasses to make a replica. If you just type "buy Dior sunglasses cheap" in Google you will find many items that don't match a catalogue.
Simple way to check, if you are looking at the item on hand or online is to type the model number in search and see how it looks like. If you find the item in Dior, or whatever brand you check on their website,
Neiman Marcus and our website, then item is real.
2. Do you buy from Reliable Source?
You can be assured,
on ISeeGlasses, all sunglasses and glasses are 100% authentic, real and current models. You can't get old models from us because we don't stock them, they have been already sold.
We assure you by writing this blog,
sending you a picture of actual item you will be getting in the mail and packaging. If you don't like what you bought, you can return them. But we can tell you 100%, you will never be returning the item because it's not real.
Sunglasses from our website are real and we will prove it to you in many ways.
BE WARE. Stores like Winners and Marshalls often sell fakes. Yes, fakes. I had many people come to me showing me what they bought there for $50. And I was never able to find it in old, even 5 year old catalogues. Also, sunglasses wasn't even feeling right, missed important elements etc. It is not clear how these large stores happen to sell these items.
You would think that companies like Dior, which actually belongs to largest fashion conglomerate in the world LVMH, would be able to fight counterfeit in developed countries such as Canada or US, or even their native Italy. This is not the case. If you ever went to Rome, you would see fake items for sale right on the main streets, often in front of actual brand stores. If they can do it there, they can do it anywhere. The less developed country is, the more likely item is fake if bought on the streets somewhere. Reason is very simple: it is very expensive to fight each little guy, brand name companies don't have resources to expedite teams of lawyers after each person involved in fake chain.
So,
make sure you checked your source. And by the way... on eBay, 99% of items are fake. Unless the buyer can show you the receipt where they bought if from, don't take a chance. Even $50 is a lot of money for a fake item.
One
very reliable source in North America is optical boutiques. They are a major distributor for the many high end sunglasses today in Canada and the US. If boutique is located in a known shopping mall or shopping area and has been around for number of years, 99% you are getting a real item. But these
stores can also demonstrate to you why their items are authentic. They have official,
updated promo materials given to them by brands, knowledgeable stuff and return customers. They also have full collections of sunglasses, which as I said earlier, would not be the case elsewhere.
3. Look for Details
Everyone will tell you to look for details. But what to look for? Ideally
you have seen that exact real item before online or in store to know what to look for. Unlike
Luis Vuitton purses , sunglasses have way more variety of details. Shape, color, material, crystals, hinges, screws, text font and size, size of the sunglasses, where things are typed - list goes on. If you want to get a full list for each brand, check our other articles. Just type brand name in Search of this blog and see if we have a post, or simply
ask us via Twitter .
4. Do Sunglasses Feel Right?
Feel can be only achieved by experience. It does not necessarily mean you have to had owned a real expensive pair of sunglasses before.
You can gain experience by walking into legit stores, touching, trying, playing with the sunglasses. You can even get a pair, wear it for a few days and return it. Stores, like Sunglasshut have 90 day return policy. This should be enough to get a feel of the actual sunglasses you want to buy elsewhere for less money. Of course Sunglasshut is the most expensive place to buy sunglasses, mainly because of this return policy that costs them a lot of money. Over the years, they turned themselves into a free rental shop. Take advantage!
5. Too Good to be True?
Rule of the thumb -
if item sells for less than it actual cost to retailer it is 100% fake. This is one of the reasons that even on some websites, such as ISeeGlasses.com, prices are in hundreds of dollars. All authentic sunglasses are made by hand in Italy or developed country (where what look for further posts). Skilled labor cost in such countries goes for $10-20 per hour. Especially in Italy where labor is unionized in most factories. There is also a lot of marketing expense that goes into promoting each collection, so you would want these sunglasses.
Prices on ISeeGlasses.com are already discounted and we make much less per sale that optical boutique would. But we still have costs. Real sunglasses do cost over $100 per pair.
6. Ask Us
If you are in doubt when buying from us or someone else, as us. Just ping us on Twitter, Facebook or here in blog and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
