Pretend Shopgirl, Part 1

The Multiply merchant community is just amazing. There's a whole underground economy online that sells anything a girl could ever want--clothes, bags, lingerie, shoes, books, makeup, perfume--anything but men (for now, anyway). It's like eBay, only cheaper! And I wanted to see how well that system worked.

So I ordered a bag, a fake LV. Why a fake? It was cheap, so if my little foray into Multiply goes awry, it won't hurt too much.

I'm not ashamed to say I've dipped into the replica pool before. In fact, the first time netted me a fab fake from a little boutique in Bangkok, and no one was the wiser.


COMMUNING WITH THE "SIS"TERHOOD

I shopped around the Multiply for a couple of days. All of them have pics of their merchandise, although not all post close-up details. Practically every one rated their bag a class Quad A or a Super A.

When I asked what that meant, I was told that Quad A and Super A look and feel like the real deal on the outside, but Super A even had serial numbers and care cards, just like the original.

I contacted a couple of vendors by email and SMS. Both responded quickly and politely. This was my first introduction to the sisterhood, because apparently in the Philippine embassy of Multiply, everyone goes by the same name: Sis.


My first vendor--let's call her "Ara"--ran out of the model that I wanted. A few days later, she found a similar item from a different supplier, but it was a higher grade (Super A) counterfeit and therefore significantly more expensive. She immediately sensed that I was not ready to part with that much cash, and she was very apologetic.

The second vendor, I dubbed "Sweet". She nabbed me with a model that I also liked, a LV Mirage Exotic Delft in burgundy.

Her site showed the bag from four angles--front, side, top and inside. Photos were a little fuzzy but not bad. Her promise of Quad A quality, with signature padlock, dustbag and free one-day shipping, was a bargain for PHP900 (US$21.50). So I bit her bait.

A few SMS later, I deposited the payment over the counter at BPI. Once I notified her of the payment (and I assume she checked her balance online), she shipped the bag via Xend courier service.

The next day, the bag arrived. (Note to self: try shipping merchandise via Xend!)


THE UN-REAL DEAL

First thing I spotted was the threadbare dustbag. But who's going to see the dustbag anyway, right? So I was not deterred.

Upon close examination of the bag, I immediately noticed that the metal tabs on the bag were scratched. Hoping they were just adhesive residue, I polished them with a microfiber cloth; they were scratched alright. In the photos, the marks looked like the brand name stamped on metal. Serves me right.

More bad news, the "brass" clasp was in screaming gold tone. Also scuffed but not as badly.

The laminated monogram canvas was okay, but it was not an LV monogram mirage. This means it didn't have the "fade to black" that creeps from the edges. Unfortunately, this is not something that's easy to spot in photos, especially if it's taken with a small digital camera by an amateur.

Likewise, the burgundy patent croc trim was passable, but the metallic trim was a shiny yellow. To make matters worse, the manufacturer couldn't even be bothered to use same-colored stitching on the croc trims. For example, burgundy croc is stitched with burgundy thread; yellow croc, yellow thread. Not burgundy croc with yellow thread.The offending contrast stitching appeared on the back--a part that was not apparent on the website.



To be continued