posted on July 4, 2002 12:24:41 AM new
Greetings -
Have been absent from the board for what seems like forever, but glad to be back Since the search feature was nixed, apologies if this topic has already been covered.
Prior to bidding on a stated authentic "Return to Tiffany" sterling tag necklace, I e-mailed different sellers, asking what they offered in terms of authenticity verification. Only one replied, stating that his source was a Tiffany employee who sold him floor samples. I couldn't imagine Tiffany's having any seconds or floor samples, since whenever a piece of jewelry is shown, it's polished before and after. I also thought it was highly unlikely that particular jeweler would unload any overstock to a secondary market. I e-mailed Tiffany, and they confirmed my suspicions in their reply...according to them, no one sells their stuff but them, and they have no overstock and no seconds.
For those of you who purchase name-brand goods for resale...what do you think? Is Tiffany feeding me the company line while the genuine articles really are available from other sources? Or are these sellers laughing all the way to the bank getting $100+ for fakes?
It's one thing to buy an inexpensive fake knowing you don't have the real thing...it's quite another to pay near retail for a fake.
Any thoughts are most appreciated. A great 4th to all of you
~~History was not made by women who behaved.~~
[ edited by divawear on Jul 4, 2002 12:25 AM ]
posted on July 4, 2002 04:40:36 AM new
IMHO, if I don't mind wearing a fake and passing it off as real that is my choice. If, however, a seller passes a fake off as the real thing and I buy it, then that is just wrong and I would try to put this seller out of business.
I think Tiffany has told you the truth, they would have no reason to lie that I can think of. IMHO they would not allow inferior items go out of their store.
posted on July 4, 2002 05:39:01 AM new
There are many fakes out there and I know it is hard to determine if it is one. Was this seller selling it as new merchandise or did they find it at a sale? New I doubt if it was Tiffany, Estate Sale it just might be.
Though of course I can't say with certainty, my opinion is that sellers offering numerous similar items for sale (as many sellers are, in this case) were likely not the beneficiaries of a great estate sale find. The items in question are presented as new and authentic...and there are at least 15 sellers repeatedly listing the same item.
If there weren't so many, I'd be inclined to go with stopwhining's stolen theory; as it is, I'm almost certain these items are fakes. The necklaces cost $185 retail, and I've seen the likely fakes with a final bid of $120+.
Given the propensity of fakes out there, I wonder why none of those bidders have asked the same question. Thanks for the replies!
~~History was not made by women who behaved.~~
[ edited by divawear on Jul 4, 2002 09:37 AM ]
Since the search feature was nixed, apologies if this topic has already been covered.