The Most Articulate Description Of The RealReal’s Future
Richard Kestenbaum, a contributing writer for Forbes.com recently published his views on the future of The Real Real and in a roundabout way, the industry as a whole and it's honestly, spot on. Richard, who is no stranger to The RealReal, documented his experience and the issues with the authentication process on The RealReal [...]
Is Cosette Actually Selling Fake Handbags?
There’s been much talk and reporting on Australian resale company Cosette and their selling of counterfeit luxury bags in the news lately and from the looks of it, this has been going on for a while. On July 27th, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that women were starting to accuse Cosette of selling them [...]
Stolen Rolex Watches Armed With GPS Trackers
$1.1 million dollars in jewelry and watches were stolen, one Rolex had a GPS tracker. On August 1st, NBC New Bay Area reported that robbers of a high end jewelry store in San Ramon, Ca we arrested after stealing $1.1 million dollars in jewelry and watches. Their downfall? One of [...]
What’s the difference between QR and Data Matrix codes for Luxury Handbags
Understanding the difference between Data Matrix and QR codes in luxury handbags Gucci bags DO NOT have QR codes in them. Period. I have seen this referenced on so many websites and here is where I am going to explain to you the differences between a Data Matrix code and [...]
My New Favorite Authentication Tool
Even though I have created courses and offer in person authentication classes, I am always on the hunt for anything that can help me learn or tools that can make the authentication process easier and I am so excited to share what I just found and have literally been using all night on every [...]
Vestiaire Acquires Tradesy
Vestiare Collective announces the acquistion of Tradesy PARIS and LOS ANGELES, March 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Vestiaire Collective SA ("Vestiaire Collective), the leading global online marketplace for desirable pre-loved fashion today announces the acquisition of Tradesy, Inc. ("Tradesy"), the US pioneer in the fashion resale industry. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. [...]
Louis Vuitton Date Codes Are Gone
Did you recently purchase a new Louis Vuitton at the brands boutique and notice something missing? Perhaps the Date Code? Don't fret, there's an explanation for this sudden (not really) change. In 2019, Louis Vuitton started experimenting with placing chips in their handbags and leather goods and "unofficially" have moved to using this model [...]
A Beginner Guide to Louis Vuitton – The Book
UPDATE December 2022 - I have just published a new, bigger book! Louis Vuitton: A Pre-Owned Authentication Reference Book which you can purchase on Amazon. 350+ pages with hundreds of images, visually reference date codes and heat stamps for most all manufacturing countries, vintage and newer heat stamps, a brief history along with comparison [...]
A Beginners Guide to Luxury Handbags – The Book
For the last few years I have been afforded amazing opportunities to speak at several national conferences about the luxury resale industry, how to get into and be successful and authentication. For each of these engagements, I spent months researching and putting together vast, educational presentations always thinking, this would be a great book. [...]
Is the online Louis Vuitton Calculator Accurate?
I am contacted on a daily basis about Louis Vuitton date codes and let me say it for the 1 billionth time, you cannot authentic by date codes. Period. While the date code in a Louis Vuitton item tells you where the item was made and when, this is not an indicator of an [...]
Education is key for the Resale Industry
Education is the theme for 2020. This year has been a big one for the resale industry. The RealReal went public and are still having massive issues with authentication, social media platforms have become the new place to sell, brick and mortar stores are closing left and right and large players are popping up [...]
Another woman arrested for returning fake handbags
I literally cannot believe another woman has been arrested for the same scam of purchasing luxury bags as places like TJMaxx and returning counterfeits. Clearly something needs to be done about the massive amount of return fraud that is happening with e-commerce. MIAMI, Florida - Owning designer handbags is more often than not on [...]