Friday, February 15, 2013

Collector Pays P1.3 M for Fake High-end Bags


MANILA, Philippines - A 21-year-old businesswoman, who collects designer bags, has filed charges against an online reseller who sold her two fake Hermes Birkin bags, for which she paid more than P1.3 million.

“It was only when I decided to re-sell them that I found out they were fake,” she told The STAR in an interview yesterday.

The woman agreed to talk on condition of anonymity. She also asked that the online reseller, whom she charged with estafa before the National Bureau of Investigation, not be named. The two parties are set to meet tomorrow at the NBI headquarters.

The complainant said she only wants her money back.

“Everyone we consulted, even the Hermes store here, told us the bags were fake,” the woman said.
She said she found the reseller through Instagram in November 2012 and bought a bubblegum pink Birkin (a rare color, according to her) for P660,000 and an orange Birkin for P690,000.

The two bags were delivered to her in January but she had kept them in their boxes and never checked them until she decided to sell the bags after she gave birth later that month.

When her elder sister took the bags to a prospective buyer, she was told they were fake.

Collectors
The two sisters had been collecting bags over the past five years and have about 100 pieces, most of them by well-known designers.

The elder sister said the deal made by the complainant, which she did not know about, seemed a good one since the two Birkin bags she bought were really rare.

“We could get those from the Hermes store (in Greenbelt) but the waiting time is about two years,” the elder sister said.

The complainant said when she told the reseller that the bags were fake, the reseller referred her to a “Birkin expert.” The reseller “told us she would return my money if that person would say the bags were fake. But when he did say they were not authentic, she still refused to give me a refund,” the woman said.

The expert told her to go the Hermes store in Greenbelt to have the bags checked. “We were told by the store manager that the official authentication from France would come in after about three months since we would have to send the bags there. But the manager said that based on just the paper bags, the boxes and the feel of the leather, the bags were fake,” the complainant said.

Source: The Philippine Star
Author: Reinir Padua
Date: February 12, 2013

116 comments:

  1. Dapat si FP ang magbenta ng mga hermes sigurado ako di fake yun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wag na kasi bumili nag mamahalin hndi nman sisigaw yan n hoy tingnan ninyo ang bag ko hermes to. Share ninyo n lng yan mga pera ninyo sa mga nagagailagan. Pag namatay kayo hndi nman ninyo madadala yang hermes n yan

      Delete
    2. ang tanong?
      bakit mahal ang bag?

      Delete
    3. @Anon 5:39pm dahil mahal ang ginamit na material?

      Delete
  2. Kung collector talaga sya as she claims at for several years pa, bakit di nya alam ang difference ng totoo at class A?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nung dumating daw yung bag nung Jan 2012, hindi nya chineck yung bag at hinayaan lang nya muna nya sa box. Nung iresell na dun lang nya nalaman. Kasalanan din ng buyer kasi di nya chineck

      Delete
    2. My pagkaechosera tong si complainant! Pwde b nman ung bbilhin mo e di mo iccheck,kht sulyapan nya man lang at libo2 n nman ang binyad nya. Bka ngamit nya n to,she's just too shy to admit na fake ang ngamit nya.

      Delete
    3. hahaha tama ka anon 1:31AM. pupwede ba naman yun na di mo titingnan yung purchase mo lalo't it cost you million bucks? echozera talaga! henaku!

      Delete
    4. oo nga! kung yung binibili mo sa mall pag uwi mo ng bahay e tinitignan mo agad ito pa kayang worth 1.3M at online mo lng binili?! Dapat excited ka at Hermes yan!

      Delete
    5. oo nga, ako nga kahit mga make-up lang na nabili ko sa ebay o multiply binubuksan ko agad at kinikilatis kung fake. eto pa kayang Hermes.

      Delete
  3. "hUY" sisters ba? sorry, clueless aketch.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. susme sige malapit ka na, hula pa. some people don't deserve the internet.

      Delete
    2. Sus kung makapanglait ka! Eh sa hindi ko naman talaga alam! Dapat ba pag nanghuhula laging tama sagot?!! Che!

      Delete
    3. Omy this is for real. his really guessing who's on the "blind Item" LOL

      Delete
    4. Anon 12:51 His??? Baka HE'S. are you for real?!!

      Delete
    5. nakocorrect nya na late lang napost.

      Delete
    6. Lol anonymous 12:51 ayan na biktima ka tuloy ng grammar police. :D

      Delete
    7. anuvah?! magbasa ka kasi..

      Delete
  4. Haynakey. Haste makes waste. Maghintay na lang kasi ng kulay na gusto at sa store talaga bumili. Duh. - baklang insomniac

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. tama sa legit stores na lang bumili kung may pera naman talaga.

      Delete
    2. hindi naman kasi question ang pera, for you get a hermes bag lalo na kung marami gusto nung color na yun, you have to get in line and wait for a year if not more! you cannot just go to the store and say i'll buy this color.

      Delete
    3. Two years nga daw ang waiting time. Excited si ateng bumili eh. Tapos nung nakuha na niya, di man lang niya tiningnan ayon sa salaysay niya. Labo lang.

      Delete
    4. korek! di man lang tsinek ang bag... kalokohan naman!

      Delete
  5. yun seller kaya nito sya din seller ng fake lv bags. isip isip

    ReplyDelete
  6. I just find it strange that a collector, as she claims, like this lady would not bother checking the bags immediately. Isn't that what any normal person would do, especially if you paid 1.3 million?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TRUE! Parang impossible na di niya chineck.

      Delete
    2. yeah weird! even you are just buying a cheap bag from the store itself, you always check if there's a damage etc. and you cant just say that you didnt check it because you are too busy, we are talkin about millions here.

      Delete
    3. Pag bumibili ako ng secosana chini-check ko 2x bago bayaran sa counter

      -clawdin

      Delete
    4. Tomooohhhh! Meron a na nga anda pambili, bakit sa online seller pa. Bili nalang cya ticket abroad at dun a cya bumili. Tama bang sa online seller ka bumili, worth or more than .5m TAPOS wit mo ichecheck merchandise??? - parloristang tomboy

      Delete
    5. Kung ung mga social climber jan, bubusisiin agad un. Since she's a collector (and rich), ung product ang mahalaga at hindi ung price. Popular siguro ung online shop.

      Delete
  7. dapat ipacheck na rin yung previous bag collection nya if meron talaga. tsk tsk malamang sa malamang may fake din dun kasi hindi siya marunong tumingin ng fake at orig.

    ReplyDelete
  8. ang hindi ko maintindihan sa magsisters, eh bakit nagbayad ng ganung halaga ng bag tapos hindi tinignan ang mga binili once received, ikaw na gagastos ng million sa bag hindi mo ba kikilitasin lalo nat sa tao mo lang naman binili? syempre may possibility na fake yun dahil hindi mo naman binili sa shop. diko alam kung shonga tong magsisters o eng eng lang talaga. ano yun, nung ireresell nila chaka lang binuksan? di dahilan yung pagkabusy lalo nat million ang pinaguusapan. kahit nga na simpleng bag lang bibilin mo sa mall ichecheck mo pa rin kung may damage. kaloka

    ReplyDelete
  9. caveat emptor.. -buyer beware..lalo na for online transactions..dapat sana nag exert sila ng effort to check the item upon receipt..lesson learned yan sa kanila..ang mahal nga lang ng cost!

    ReplyDelete
  10. if you can afford to pay 1.3M for a couple of bags, why not just buy at the store itself? at least sigurado ka na dun

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. cause nga. you cannot do that in hermes lalo na for an in demand color! you have to get in line!

      Delete
    2. Kasi nga 2 years ang waiting period Teh! Sinabi naman yan sa article di ba? DUH!

      Delete
    3. Try reading Bringing Home the Birkin, meron mga tips dun kung saang Hermes boutiques in Europe na madali makabili ng Birkin. Yun nga lang di a makakapili ng kulay, leather etc. you usually settle for what color and leather is avilable.

      Delete
  11. Care ko bear!!!! Pero dahil nandito na at malamang gusto nila mapagusapan so ito and aking pananaw , Sa umpisa pa lang may Mali na eh.. Why would you spend that much money for a bag named Hermes, why not buy it directly from the store. Even if you have to wait for eternity. if it's rare. what make you think that you're the chosen one to be the first, to have one, among, billions, and billions of people, who are definitely richer, and have connections to purchase it first before you. To think you just live in the Philippines for crying out loud. Lastly why do you have to broadcast your stupidity for us to read. When it's your greediness and lack of judgement that placed you in that situation. it's your problem go solve it yourself quietly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Slow clap for anonymous 0105am !!! - baklang gising pa din dahil sa insomnia

      Delete
    2. Korek! I super agree with you 1:05 AM! Kashungahan ang di mo icheck ung binili mo at bakit ka sa online bibili? Mas maraming fake sa online. Buy at legit shops! Haaaay

      Delete
  12. Mura kasi sa binilhan nila, usually pag ganyang rare color 1m eh. Eh tag 600k lng daw nabili eh. Lol!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Koreek esp kung rare color daw?? Baka hindi lang 1M yan noh! Pinaglololoko yata tayo ng complainant na yan.

      Delete
  13. Mag donate ka nlng sa charity kesa bumili ka ng oa sa mahal na bag! Hahahaha hindi mu yan madadala sa hukay! Hermes na kabaong baka meron! Hahaha

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hay nako hindi natututo ang mga Pinoy! Syempre kapag mura fake yun! Bigyan niyo nga ng zest-o bag yang mga uto uto na yan. nacacaloca.

    ReplyDelete
  15. 21 yr old "businesswoman" daw? Social climber, este socialite yan. Notice nyo na kailangan pa talaga sabihin na collector silang magkapatid with more than 100 pieces? Eh di baket hindi siya bumili sa Hermes mismo? Kung talagang dedicated collector siya eh di sana nag pa wait list na lang ang girl, 21 lang naman siya. Gusto lang niyang malaman ng lahat ng friends niya na ma-datung siya. Anonymous daw sa atin, pero I'm sure siya ang hot topic sa social climbing circle niya.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Collector posers lang mga to! Collector ka di mo kaagad binuksan at kinilatis yun binili mo? At di mo alam a japeyks nbili mo?

      Delete
  16. ayan hindi na kayo nadala, sayang lang pera nyo tsk

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ang totoong collector at mayaman dapat sa hermes store bumili hindi sa random online seller..dami mo na palang collection e napeke ka pa...tapos mahal ng bili mo di mo binusisi mg maigi...next time be a wise buyer..check mo din ibang bags nyo baka sa dami e madami din ang peke...hehehe

    ReplyDelete
  18. BS. 21 years old businesswoman? been collecting for 5 years na? Bs story.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly! I don't believe this story either.

      Delete
  19. Why not look at the complainant's intention instead? Di ba mas mabuting naireport na yung issue para di na makabitima ng ibang tao? I mean she might be stupid enough to buy online and not check the goods after but we never know how busy a person can get.

    Besides, 400,000php discount from the Retail Store? That's quite a score. Almost 50% ng halaga na yun. Who doesn't love price reduction?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. almost 50% price reduction? doon pa lang dapat the buyer sensed something off na. always remember: if something seems too good to be true, it most likely is not.

      Delete
  20. "It was only when I decided to re-sell them that I found out they were fake"

    hahahaha hindi mo man lang sinilip yung binayaran mo ng 1.3 million?shunga lang? o baka echosera lang? nashy ka lang aminin na hindi mo talaga alam ang pagkakaiba ng fake sa hindi.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. tumpak!tumpak!tumpak!tumpak!tumpak!tumpak!

      Delete
    2. sana ang common sense, nabibili din. hahaha

      Delete
    3. ang tinde. nung ire resell, saka lang napansin na fake??? OH COME ON!!!!!!

      Delete
  21. i'm sorry but anyone who collects bags can tell (based on the pictures above) that those bags are fake.

    ReplyDelete
  22. based on the picture, the leather seemed very cheap. the ones you can buy at dv soria or cd-r king (leather casings)

    -kirk4565

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. tama. picture p lang ang baduy na.
      nung bumili ako ng 43k n lv neverfull mayat maya ko inaamoy at sinisilip sa box e. yan p kayang worth 1m

      Delete
  23. it's a material world!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Pakakawalan mo din lang ang ganong kalaking pera di mo check kung legit ang goods sold sa iyo? Collector ka di ka marunong mag detect ng fake at real. Come on!

    ReplyDelete
  25. grabe, ako nga 600pesos lang bag ko pero kung macheck ko before bilhin hihihi wala pang 10% ng cost ng bag nila! hai ang mayayaman talaga!

    ReplyDelete
  26. kay JinkyPac na lang sana bumili! sigurado pa!

    ReplyDelete
  27. FP.. saan kinukuha ng mga online sellers ang mga Hermes bag na binebenta nila kung matagal mag intay sa Hermes store? Katulad nung artista na recently lng kinasal ang daming Hermes na binebenta nun.

    ReplyDelete
  28. kasi naman may "pera" na nga at "mayaman" di pa sa store bumili ayan tuloy! :)

    Jenny Rose

    ReplyDelete
  29. Mkapagyabang lang...gnyan n ba tlga sa Pinas ngayon? Talamak na ang mga social climber?!?

    ReplyDelete
  30. lahat ng magcomment dito ng negative about the complainant, siguradong purita mirasol. Inggit lang kayo dahil, kumulubot na ang balat nyo sa katandaan pero Secosana bag lang ang afford nyo. Samantalang sya ay may collection na ng expensive bags at the age of 21. TARAYYYY

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Peke naman yun nabili nya. Belat

      Delete
    2. Ba't kami maiinggit? Hindi nabibili ng pera ang utak at street smarts. Siya ang mainggit sa amin!

      Delete
    3. @3:05 hahahaha!! natawa naman ako!! tumpak!! hahaha

      Delete
    4. at least ang secosana walang fake!!!

      Delete
    5. ano bang paki niyo kung gusto namin bumili ng expensive bags? saka pls lang, tigilan na yang drama na ipamigay na lang sa mahihirap o nangangailangan ung pera kesa ipambili ng hermes! hindi porke bumibili ng mamahalin at di nagbibigay sa mahihirap e masamang tao na! ang masama eh yung parati kang nanghihingi at iniaasa mo sa iba yung needs mo at di mo pagtatrabahuhan yun! saka wa kayo pakels kung ano ang gusto namin bilhin!

      Delete
    6. Maka namin naman si anon 10:01 am wagas! Hahahahahaha!

      Delete
    7. korek 2:09. sya na ba bigla ang pinaguusapan? o yung sisters to, nadulas na lang

      Delete
  31. I don't think the victim is a true bag collector. Sinabi na lng yun para mayaman ang dating nya. Ang tingin ko pa dito may angulo na talgang alam nyang peke ang bag at pinapalabas lng nya na sya ang napeke dahil hindi na nya maibenta.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pwede din yang angulo mu teh! :)

      Delete
    2. omg!!!!omg!!!!omg!!!!omg!!!!omg!!!!

      Delete
    3. Galing galing mo!!!

      Delete
    4. sabwatan portion! nung nahuli ng buyer, hugas kamay

      Delete
  32. some people are so ST**ID

    ReplyDelete
  33. Hay naku! Tama kayo kung ganun kamahal ang binili mo hindi mo ba ichecheck yun tsaka pag bago ang bag lalong lalo ganun kamahal iiwan mo lang ba sa kahon yun ng ganun ganun lang. Di ba may proper storage and pag linis ang ganyang kakamahal na bags. Palagay ko malaki ang lusot ng reseller dito kase pwede nyang sabihin na tunay ang binenta nya tapos pwde naman itong nagpapa media na ito ay pinalitan ng peke na bag. Oh di ba baka gusto mag swindle din nito. Kase ang dami na nangyari between dun sa time na binili ang bag at sa time na nagrereklamo yung buyer. Tingnan nyo gusto pa nya ibenta. Ibig sabihin nangangailangan ng pera

    ReplyDelete
  34. Kulit talaga ng mga pinoy ang hilig sa mura kapag mura peke!!!! Sa store kc bumili wag sa online seller wake up!!!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Obviously unang tingin fake. Tabingi o! Natural tatanggihan ka ng reseller e beyond warranty period ka na. Dapat nun ka pa nagreklamo. Tignan mo na mga designer bags mo na di mo pa nabubuksan...malamang kalahati dyan e fake din. Kung totoong collector ka at napansin mong mura benta diba mapapaisip ka? E pumatol ka pa. Ginusto mo yang nangyari sayo. Panindigan mo!

    ReplyDelete
  36. As a collector, I get a different thrill out of buying outside of retail outlets. It's advantageous for several reasons such as immediate availability (vs wait list and OOS) of rare or models with limited production. It's not always cheaper but it happens too so I won't be too harsh on the sisters for buying outside of an official retail outlet. What I find unacceptable though is their carelessness. It's not a matter of having the money to buy something. It's the whole process of learning every possible detail you can about the items you collect, it's history and even the future direction the company is taking your collection too. It goes without saying that identifying fake or replicas is part of the skill a collector acquires. As a collector you always have the money to buy for what you collect - ie if your budget is limited, you save for it or forego purchasing something else. So I don't understand the letter sender beyond sowing what she reaps. If you plant stupidity, you reap its rewards.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Before I buy a designer bag from a friend, it's my condition that I first have it checked to the bag's corresponding store here. This is to make sure that I'mgoing to have my money's worth. There's no shame to do that.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Wait...she already gave birth at age 21? O__O
    Ang bata mo pa teh!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Masyado ka namang nashock, teh. Nine years old nga, nanganganak eh. Nood-nood din ng balita.

      Delete
  39. yung sisterakas na boses palaka, pero wag ka, day, feeling ferosha! infernez, madatung sila pero parehong mahilig sa mga libre!

    ReplyDelete
  40. any idea kung sino to?

    ReplyDelete
  41. paperbag p lng fake n eh....

    ReplyDelete
  42. sabi sa hermes they don't authenticate no! so di rin valid yung personal opinion ng nag authenticate dun! ano ba yan! kung collector ka dapat alam mo na HERMES FRANCE lang ang pwedeng mag authenticate!

    ReplyDelete
  43. They were saying they did not want to wait for two years so they decided to purchase the bags from the online reseller... PERO di man lang binuksan kahit peek lang? So sa anong parte sila impatient to wait?

    ReplyDelete
  44. Nagbayad sya ng cheap eh di dapat expect then sila ng cheap na item.

    ReplyDelete
  45. eto si L of B, tiga BF meron sya dun mala castle na bilihan ng mga bag. First floor puro "authentic", second floor mala divisoria ang mga merchandise

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oh my gesssssss alam ko to!

      Delete
    2. yung sinasabing basurero ang asawa at naging mayaman?

      Delete
  46. kalokohan tong storya na to!!

    ReplyDelete

  47. halatang alibi lang niya ang nalaman niya na fake nung niresell niya. malamang nabuking siya na nagbebenta ng fake kaya ayan.

    ReplyDelete
  48. eh kung di rin lang nya ichecheck at maghihintay pa sha ng kay tagal tagal as in after pa manganak eh di sana nag wait list na lang sha.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Either super rich ito na barya lang angP1.3m kaya di na-check ang merchandise before paying... or di sya talaga bag collector... Paperbag pa lang peke na... A real collector should know a fake from a replica. Amoy, feel of the leather,stitches, etc... aral ka teh...maraming sites that can help you spot authentics from fakes!

    ReplyDelete
  50. Bottomline, BUMILI KA SA BOUTIQUE NG HERMES TALAGA! St******y lang yung ayaw mag wait ng two years! Collector ka di ba, so buy ka muna ng iba while waiting for your Hermes bag. Secosana bilhin mo sa SM at sure na sure ako ORIGINAL yun, dami pang style and colors. Kainis!

    ReplyDelete
  51. the alibi or apologia the plaintiff presented in her lodged complaint is in no way a credible one as the claims she/they (she & her sister) made are ridden with inconsistencies & pseudo-facts. for instance, her claim that she wanted to buy an Hermes that sports a rare shade (rarer than most Hermes merchandise out there in the market, that is) is obviously a pathetic attempt to save face from the disgrace that she's become after having been made a f**l by the online seller. for starters, as one smart comment in this thread stated earlier, Hermes bags, especially the ones that come in rare colors, do not come cheap and often, just one of these would cost a million or several millions. boy, these designer-bag-collectors thought they got a steal, a huge bargain. unfortunately, it was the two of them in the end who got stolen from and "nadugasan". poetic justice indeed. moreover, if as they say they are serious collectors of designer bags and hand bags as they

    ReplyDelete
  52. I honestly don't understand the point of spending over $20k JUST for one bag. Yes, the materials that were used to make these are beautiful and the goods are very well-made but you can find an excellently made bag similarly, if not much better, to these designer bags for a lot cheaper. Even if I win the lottery, you would never find me in a LV or Hèrmes or Gucci or Coach stores. I find their products overrated and ugly. I'm not rich but my mom is and she once asked me if I wanted an LV speedy bag for my birthday but I said no. Instead, I chose a nice custom-made leather bag for 1/6th the cost of that certain LV. I feel like people only buy these expensive designer bags just so they can show them off.. or show their money off. I don't want to walk around Lower Manhattan with an LV bag. I'd rather have people come up to me and ask me, "Hey, I like your bag. Where'd you buy it?" compared to having the LV bag that's already everywhere and which you have no way of telling if it's a knockoff from afar.

    ReplyDelete
  53. I am a birkin collector myself, and i know for the fact that you do not go around asking people to authenticate your birkins, kasi ang alam ko, the only one who can authenticate birkins are the carftsmen who did it, it's all handmade so no bag is alike, and i know na may "HORSESHOE" logo talaga linalabas ang HERMES for their premium birkins, nakakapagtaka lang, if they have the means, sinabihan na pala sila ng HERMES GB na ipadala sa FRANCE, dun lang macoconfirm, bakeet ayaw nila??? Alam nyo, wala naman talaga AUTHORIZE mag autheticate dito sa PINAS, kahit sino ka pang bag authority over the net or whoever, ang siste, pano pag tunay talaga ung bag tapos sa dami ng collections nila, pinaghalo halo na ang paper bags etc.. kasi di naman din naten alam san nila binili ung ibang Birkins nila. tska imposible di nila chineck yan! ano un, surprise??? or ganun lang sila kapabaya? SIMPLE LANG: PADALA NILA SA FRANCE YAN. wag na silang mag

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. sure ka collector ka ng birkin?

      Delete
    2. very well said! simple lang naman padala na yan sa FRANCE!

      Delete
    3. ateng yung pagkagamit mo ng authorize naka-all caps pa eh dapat AUTHORIZED

      Delete
  54. i heard the accused was arrested na. Do you who is this online seller?

    ReplyDelete