The truth about designer house brands, authentic VS counterfeit, and getting the best possible quality for your money.

Let's face it, women and handbags go hand in hand, literally. And yet, with the unlimited possibilities available on the World Wide Web, there are now more and more ecommerce web sites and auction site sellers appearing out of nowhere with very tempting promises to sell you "world famous brands" like Gucci, Hermes, Louis Vuitton and number of other famous designer handbags at "unbelievable" savings, "huge discounts" and so on. Who are they kidding?

Here is what you need to know about very famous Italian and French Designer Houses and their "Global Strategy" in selling handbags.

• World famous designer houses DO NOT sell their goods to the "independent entrepreneurs". There are no "close out" handbags sales, or wholesale distribution through the "secondary channels".
• Most of these authentic and very expensive handbags are produced in the limited quantities, and they are usually "sold out" during "current season".
• These famous authentic "brand name" handbags are sold throughout the world exclusively through the boutiques that are owned by these companies.
• If some "unsold" merchandise still remains at the end of the season, most of the time, it is simply destroyed by the famous brand owners in order to keep their very "hot" brands "on top of the world"!

This strategy of "supply vs. demand" apparently is working very, very well due to the sometimes "drastic measures" taken to protect respective brand's pricing and their brand name.

The most exclusive designers are particularly keen on this marketing strategy. In the garment industry, there is a "dislabeling policy" in which the designers' names and labels are simply removed from the garments then sold to the discount stores. However, handbag labels are usually imbedded or attached to the handbag in such way that they can't be removed. Handbags are simply destroyed by the brand owner (BUT NOT SOLD FOR LESS). Read on. There is more to know...

However, some very successful and very popular Designer houses do sell their authentic handbags to their licensed and authorized dealers.

• When such merchandise is sold to any "authorized dealer", the cost charged by the designer house is very, very high, and in most cases licensed dealers are not allowed to add more than 10-15% "mark up" to their cost of goods. In other words, the dealer's cost is only 10-15% lower that retail cost set by the designer house. As you can imagine, none of the legitimate dealers of designer brands with the high cost of "doing business", would ever offer or promote major price cuts, "sales" or huge discounts for such high fashion famous brand handbags.
• In fact, in some "fancy boutiques" selling authentic licensed handbags to the "very rich", there is a "waiting list" for customers wanting to purchase such handbags. In some places, wealthy customers are so eager to get an exclusive handbag, that they bribe (excuse us, we mean offer "substantial tips") the sales person to be the first in line to purchase such a bag. Then another bribe may be paid to the manager before the purchase is finally made.

The marketing and pricing strategy established by the world famous design houses is working out just fine for them. There is no way around it.

As you can see, so called "Great Deals", "very special" prices or "big discounts" for the very famous Italian and French world famous brand handbags are simply misleading. In most cases you will be offered illegally made "fakes" or counterfeits (unless the authentic handbag is sold as "used", or by an individual, who purchased such a handbag for themselves or received it as a gift).

The main point is: there is no independent "parallel secondary market" for such handbags. You should be well aware of this fact. We want you to be a wise shopper and to get the most value for your hard earned money.

There is more very important information revealed... Keep reading.

Now we want to share with you some facts about so called "Designer Inspired" or "replica" handbags...

• Even if such items appeared to be well made, they are ILLEGAL!
• Copyrights and anti-counterfeit laws are enforced in all civilized countries, where they forbid, sale, trade, manufacturing and OWNERSHIP of such handbags!
• These laws carry criminal prosecution for the violators. You are strongly advised against knowingly purchasing or being connected to such illegal merchandise in any shape or form.

Sometimes it is very hard to know if the handbag you are purchasing is the "real Gucci" or one of the other equally famous brands. Some "replicas" are made very well, and only the experienced expert could verify the authenticity.

Even, when visiting Italy, you are able to find your way to some so called "designer's brand name" discount warehouses, most of the items there would also be "fakes". If you are lucky, and ask very specific questions about their "paperwork trace", the honest wholesaler will politely tell you that they cannot guaranty the authenticity of their "beautiful" merchandise... Never the less, there are many such "wholesale" places in Italy selling "beautiful things" which can't be "guaranteed" for authenticity.

Such businesses in Italy are apparently doing very well because there are plenty of "independent entrepreneurs" from various countries buying "unguaranteed" merchandise, which consequently may end up on your lap if you purchasing it at "such a good price..."

If you are really in the market for one of these very expensive, famous authentic handbags, and you want to protect your substantial investment:

• Purchase your bag only from the original boutique owned by the designer's company themselves or from well-established authorized dealers.

There is another "angle" in this designer's handbag business. Today, due to the very high cost of qualified labor, many famous American and Italian designers manufacture their handbags exclusively in China, India and Thailand. In the best case scenario (but not always), Italian leathers are sent to these countries, where hard working people over there under sufficient supervision make nice handbags. There is nothing wrong with owning such legitimate and licensed bags. However, don't be confused by the famous designer names, and don't assume, that you are buying the most desirable, "Made in Italy" handbag.

It is our hope that after reading this article we assisted you in a better understanding of how to avoid "being taken" by unscrupulous people who take advantage of the very natural desire of every woman to own beautiful authentic famous designer handbags for a fraction of the cost.

Lastly, we want to share with you the following useful information... We here at "My Fantastic Bags", are not "involved" in these very high end brands for the reasons described in this article. Advanced Alliance International, Inc is the official name of our North American corporation. We import directly from Europe most of the products offered on this web site. We travel to Italy on a regular basis. We work directly with well known Italian designers and manufacturers. There are NO "middlemen" between us and our Italian manufacturers of these fashionable, stylish, high quality leather handbags, shoulder bags and purses.

Rest assured, we always have the "factory direct" official importation and customs documents, and/or official receipt on every bag we sell.

We hope you will enjoy browsing through our online catalog. We thank you for your business.

Please remember, your new beautiful authentic Italian handbag does not have to be very expensive in order to be enjoyed! SHOP ON!!!

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