How about a picture on the internet? Ever see magazine covers adorned with celebrities lately and then see the movie star a few days later *candidly*? Jennifer Love Hewitt is the hot item in this topic. She seems to miraculously lose 20lbs within days for magazine covers (She's on this month's SHAPE magazine) and then when she's photographed in "real life", she's about as average and you and me (and trust me on this, there is nothing wrong with that).
So here's the scoop: I get a lot of people asking me for pictures of the products that I am selling. That is great because you want to get pics that illustrate what the product looks like at various angles and as much as you can, you want to see the detailing of that product. You also want pics because what is handbag "A" to you might be handbag "B" to me (more on this here).
But here's the problem: most of the pics, no matter who took them, get compromised on the internet. So you'll see many of the same pics for products over and over again.
Why you ask? Well, let me tell you. I have to preface this next part with I'm not being preachy! I'm trying to be helpful. If you already know all of this, congrats, you're an experienced shopper. Some people are a lot more trusting, let's say, and they don't necessarily recognize all the issues that can come up with buying a replicated product online.
So here goes, as I have said many times, I personally travelled to, found and built a relationship with a factory in Asia that makes very good replica handbags that I then sell online to you guys. Having said that, I use a lot of THEIR pics. I also take some of my own pictures when I have the handbag in my own inventory, but the factory pics have the details a consumer really wants. The factory supplies us resellers with standard pics of their products. They are a factory and just like GM or Toyota, they have different lines. They have their version of a Lexus type bag or more specifically, their higher end replication (that I like to focus on) and they also have their Civic and Accord models, or more specifically, the line that most people can afford and want in a day to day bag. Like the Civic or the Accord, these handbags won't have the higher end leathers, the hardware details, and other bells and whistles, etc. And that's OK! Not everyone can be driving a Lexus!
The issue that arises from this is that *my* factory obviously does not just supply me. They're HUGE! And they supply operations way bigger than me. Do a search on Google. There are a lot of resellers of replica handbags. Those other bigger companies are also using the *same* pictures the original factory sends out to market their products to us resellers. But some resellers are using the same pictures for both the Lexus type bag and the Accord type bag. You with me?
In other words, there is a standard set of photos that the factory gives us resellers for mid end, high end and low end products. The photos are all different. And the factory is explicit in their directions about what constitutes high, mid and low end bags. But think about it. A reseller, who doesn't care and who is only interested in the bottom dollar and cents, will definitely use the better pictures to attract buyers, but in the end, may only be selling low end products. The really dirty resellers will photoshop to enhance and alter pics to make "their" products look shinier, more black, more brown or more of whatever effect they were trying to achieve just to sell the products.
How will you know which site is honest and which isn't? Man, come on, you don't!! It's like anything else in life, sometimes you get a great deal and sometimes you get lemons. There are no guarantees. Using your own common sense helps a lot.
So here's the final point. Don't get offended, turned off, or start to scream and rant about how you are being ripped off/scammed if I or someone else sends you pics that you know you have seen online elsewhere. It's ok. Really. Calm down. Take a deep breath, sister. You're gonna be ok.
While I and others reselling handbags do get most (not all) of our pics from the factories, your best bet is to ASK lots of questions about the bag, the detailing, the hardware. You should also build a relationship with your the seller of your handbags. You don't have to spend 20 hours of research to buy a handbag, but do some basic inquiries to ensure you are getting exactly what you are paying for.
The most important part is to learn about the return/exchange policy, what it will cost you to return and more importantly, if you can even return a bag once you buy it. If you find that you send off an email to a site's customer service about their return and/or exchange policy and they don't reply or they are wishy washy with their answers, well, that's a pretty good sign you don't want to deal with them.
This site when it's up and running will offer a full 14 days to return the product in its ORIGINAL condition. I want you to be happy and I want you to come back and buy more bags or tell your friends to do the same. You're not going to do that if you have a crappy experience.
So if you don't like the product, because, like we have discussed, pictures on the internet can only tell you so much, you can return it to me for either an exchange or a refund.
To protect myself and you, I take pictures of ALL paid and ready to be shipped product before I send them to the buyer. I take pics on how it was packaged, what the package contained and the shipping documents.
There is such a thing as scam buyers! They order, let's say, an awesome LV Mahina, and then try to return another factory's cheaply made, ripped LV Mahina, and tell me that is what I sent them. You can see where this gets messy. At the end of the day, sending the "scam" customer the picture set that I took before the package went out usually solves the issues.
If you are thinking of reselling bags through me or anyone else for that matter, do the same thing. You will save yourself a lot of headaches and costs.
Alright people, that's the lesson on photos. They may not always be what they seem on the internet.
Let's look at something other than Chanel and Louis Vuitton handbags. I just got this bag into my own inventory. It's the Miu Miu Vitello. This is a very well replicated handbag. It's super soft and the leather is worth the price of the handbag alone. The bag is $260.00USD and includes shipping to MOST countries. If you like in a country like the Republic of Togo, shipping will be extra. Just write me and I'll let you know.
Once I get some time to shower and feed my kids, I will take some pictures of the inside of the bag and add them to the library of pictures. For now, enjoy the factory's pictures!
Once I get some time to shower and feed my kids, I will take some pictures of the inside of the bag and add them to the library of pictures. For now, enjoy the factory's pictures!
I have in black.
I have it in dark brown.
And I have it in the light brown. A very popular colour for 2009.
Happy Shopping!
