One guy called me and told me that he was dealing with a REALLY BIG online site and was told explicitly by their customer service people that the Hermes Crocodile Birkin replica was made with REAL CROCODILE skin.
I know this for a fact because I was on that site back in 2008 and got the exact same information. I laughed it off at the time (folks, if you and I try to buy crocodile skin to sew our own bag, it costs about $1,000 per metre, if not more). I was a bit surprised to hear that 2.5 years later, they are still claiming their bags are real crocodile or real ostrich or real snake. I used the same customer service this past weekend and sure enough, the rep, with great confidence, told me that the bag was indeed made with real exotic skin. This time, I didn't laugh it off. I started my barrage of questions. Asking him how that would be possible and how the bag is only retailing for $365.00usd online when indeed the cost of JUST THE SKIN would be more than that! After about 5 minutes, his "supervisor" came on to tell me that indeed the bag is not real crocodile but rather embossed cowhide (yeah, no shit).
A real Hermes Birkin in crocodile skin costs about $40,000 (actually more if it's a limited edition) but let's say $40,000 to keep costs low *smile*. About 80-90%% of that is the Hermes name and the amazing craftsmanship that goes into making the bag. The rest is the cost of the HIGH QUALITY skin that they use. Crocodiles are not cows. They are not bred the same way. Their skin has to be a certain number of years old before its even usable for something like a bag and, because it's hard as nails, it needs to be conditioned, tanned and made pliable to be made into a bag. THERE IS NO WAY A REPLICA FACTORY IN CHINA IS GOING TO USE REAL CROCODILE (or any exotic skin) FOR HANDBAGS.
While this may seem obvious, it's not a time to judge. I have had about 25 people in the past year write to me to ask me if they purchased a crocodile skin bag from me would it indeed be real crocodile? They all wrote to me after ordering a bag from some other site that had convinced them that the bag they would receive would indeed be real exotic skin.
Folks, be careful. In these tough economic times, and they really are tough, people will sell you the Brooklyn bridge and / or some awesome swamp land in Florida to make a buck. Please ask questions and please make sure you know the ins and outs of replica items before you buy them. When in doubt, always ask!
Please note that this post is IN NO WAY putting down the embossed leathers. This post was written to ensure you understand that no replica item is going to be made with real exotic skins. I actually don't think many people do a good job with the embossed leathers, BUT, I do wholeheartedly and honestly believe that the Hermes factory does the best job. Many of you have bought a crocodile skin Birkin from me to write later on that the bag feels very real. And it does. I think that factory has done an impeccable job in making cowhide look and feel, as much as possible, to real crocodile skin.
Quick tip for you all. If you absolutely must have the most REAL looking exotic skin bag. Like you HAVE TO HAVE EXOTIC SKIN but you need it to look AS REAL AS POSSIBLE, always buy good quality embossed ostrich skin. Again, I have seen many, many variations but the Hermes factory that I deal with has it spot on. About 15 years ago, here in Canada, ostrich was supposed to be the new beef. Everyone was opening up ostrich farms because the meat was supposed to be leaner, healthier and cheaper to harvest. So around that same times, there was a lot of ostrich skin for sale and a lot of secondary businesses were buying the skins and making neat items out of them.
I remember getting a pair of gloves made of ostrich skin about 12 years ago. I am not even joking when I say that I still have those gloves and they are used almost every winter. Ostrich is a very, very good leather (and meat - yum). My point in that digression is that I know what real ostrich skin looks like (I worked on an ostrich farm to go through university) and as far as replicas go, the ostrich skin seems to be the best replicated.
Long story short? If you absolutely must have an exotic skin, and it must look as real as possible, buy Hermes ostrich skin bags. If you absolutely must have a crocodile or alligator look and you need the best that the replica market can offer, buy Hermes products from a reputable reseller. And lastly, never ever believe anyone that tells you that their bags are made with real exotic skins. When a person says that to you, they lose all credibility on other counts. Therefore: RUN!!
Happy Shopping!!
