Knock Off vs Designer Inspired

  What's the difference? Have you ever been to a "purse party" and wow, Coach, Louie, Dooney, Prada, Gucci, Chanel all for around $80 -- chances are you are NOT getting a designer bag for a deal! What you are getting is a KNOCK-OFF and you are paying way too much for it! Designer bags listed above don't sell their bags at purse parties or in salons... they don't have to -- they sell their bags in major department stores, their own retail stores and their outlet stores.
  Knock-offs are really becoming popular as many women want a designer bag but the cost of a true designer bag can be staggering. Not everyone can afford to carry the real thing -- but knock-offs aren't the answer -- it is better to own a designer inspired rather than a knock-off. So you are asking what's the difference? Well, when I first opened the store, I did some research on the difference and let me tell you, what I found out was very interesting!
   Knock-offs tend to try to copy every aspect of the real thing in hopes of duping the public into thinking you are getting the real thing at a bargain basement price. In fact, they are illegal. Take a Coach knock-off for example: they are coming now with the leather Coach label inside with a serial number, key fob & leash -- signature C's and using the same type fabric and colors of the current season... however, quality is so far below Coach that often times the knock-offs fall apart within a couple of weeks and you won't be able to get a refund.
  Designer-inspired on the other hand have similarities to the real thing but since copying a trademarked items is illegal, they change something about the bag, don't put any serial numbers or labels on them leading you to believe they are anything other than a designer-inspired bag. If you get it from a reputable bag dealer, they will stand behind their product and you will get your money back -- plus the price is much more reasonable.
  The sad part is that you aren't being told that what you are getting isn't real. It happens more than you think. I actually met a lady the other day whose "Coach" bag had been stolen and she was wanting to replace it. She had gotten it at her salon and paid over $300 for it and over $100 for the matching wallet.
  Unfortunately for her, they were probably not real and she was not made aware that she was getting a knock-off.
  It is really hard on those of us who have handbag boutiques because we can't get the designer bags because of all the counterfeit bag dealers out there. I've even had someone try to sell me the illegal knock-offs with the enticement that I could get over $50 for them.
  I politely declined. If you don't want to pay the high price for the real thing... get a designer inspired. They give you the look you want, for a price you can afford and they hold up longer. Plus, if they don't, you can get your money back the majority of the time!
  I have talked to Coach and Dooney directly and they gave me some tips on ways to determine if a bag is authentic plus, there are a lot of articles out there on the subject. I will share that in the next newsletter. Remember the old saying, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is".