Have you ever found yourself wondering if that great deal was too great? Could you spot a fake Gucci wallet or bag?
We know you work hard for your money. We also know that what you carry is important to you – you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t.
This is precisely why we wanted to spend some time to show you how to make sure that the Gucci wallet or bag you’re getting is the real deal.
How To Spot a Fake Gucci Wallet or Bag
In this article we are going to help you when it comes to identifying whether a Gucci wallet, wristlet or bag that you have your eyes on is legitimate or not.
Let’s be honest, sometimes just trying to figure it out yourself, especially if you’re not familiar with the brand or their products, can be extremely difficult (and ultimately financially costly). We are going to look at different aspects of the brand and how they design their wallets to help you tell the difference.
Gucci Takes Spotting Counterfeit Products Seriously
First and foremost, know this… Gucci takes this very seriously. Besides hurting them financially, discounting their brand and losing trust with their customers, the “fake” industry is tied to some pretty bad stuff. We mean really bad stuff… things like organized criminal activity and child labor.
The USPTO states “counterfeiting is the largest criminal enterprise in the world, with domestic and international sales of counterfeit and pirated goods totaling between an estimated $1.7 trillion and $4.5 trillion a year” (source).
Like most luxury goods manufacturers, Gucci (or its French parent company, Kering) spends a lot of time and effort chasing down and taking action against counterfeiters. In 2020 for instance, Gucci took action to:
- Seize 4.1 million counterfeit products
- Take down over 4 million counterfeit product listings
- Shut down or disable 45,000 websites and social media accounts
Now, let’s look at a few things that you can do (as the consumer) to protect yourself from counterfeit products:
Design Flaws
The most obvious feature to check on a Gucci wallet or purse is the logo.
If a wallet is genuine, it will have the signature double-G logo. You can always have a look online if you want something to compare it against. Many counterfeit wallets will use C’s , or G’s that don’t match the style (we’ve seen a bit of everything).
In addition to the logo, check the way GUCCI is stylized. Are the letters capitalized and in a serif font? Again – check the writing against online images on Gucci’s own site.
Underneath that, the words “made in italy” should also appear – in all lowercase!
Sidebar – Why Does The Gucci Logo Have Two G’s?
You might be wondering why Gucci has the double G in their logo. It’s a nice touch actually. The logo was created by Aldo Gucci in homage to his father, Guccio Gucci, who founded the company.
The Animals
You can also check the animal designs – although there are a few of them and they do vary.
- Gucci’s animal symbols are inspired by nature and have hidden meanings
- The bumblebee, snake, tiger, butterfly, lion, and bee are some of the animals that appear across the collections
- Gucci’s animal symbols represent strength, bravery, and power
Really what you can check there is the quality and whether they look like the animal designs on Gucci’s own site. Since they vary quite a bit the styles are less useful in determining a counterfeit, although a different animal might be a big giveaway!
Another part of the design you would do well to pay attention to is the “color” of the wallet or bag that you’re buying. First and foremost, ask yourself – “Is this a color that is ACTUALLY being offered as part of the variant for this particular product?” Sometimes it’s not. Have a quick check on their website to ensure that it is a valid product 1) being made by Gucci and 2) that the colors match up.
Fabric Issues
All Gucci wallets and bags use the finest of materials, so it’s a bit easier to tell a counterfeit product if it is using sub-par or shoddy materials.
Feel it. In the case of a wallet, the leather should be high-quality leather. It should be soft. The leather used in these wallets is very fine and if you rub your fingers over it, you’ll feel a soft and smooth material. Fakes would typically not have such a smooth consistency to it and would feel a bit more rugged and cheap.
Use your own judgement – if it “feels” fake it probably is. It shouldn’t feel like plastic or bonded leather (pleather). Unfortunately, materials such as these are common in the manufacture of counterfeit Gucci wallets and/or purses.
Check the Stitching
Next, take good long look and examine the stitching.
- Is it done professionally and to a fine finish?
- Is it in a perfectly straight line?
- Are there any frays in the stitching or places where it’s coming undone?
At the end of each line of stitching it should always be stitched with none missing. We’ve seen some beautiful knockoffs with HORRIBLE stitching. It’s a telltale sign if something is not “lining up” here.
Short version: does this really look like the quality of stitching that would get past a Gucci-level quality inspection?
Flimsy Hardware
Gucci uses quality hardware on all of their wallets and bags. It is typically a very heavy metal and isn’t plastic. It won’t flake off or dull easily…you really have to do some damage to it to cause the buttons to chip/flake. The zippers that are used in Gucci wallets are (typical of high end designers) made from YKK Zippers.
You can find out more about what YKK Zippers are here, but basically they are metal standard zippers with YKK in upper case with a line above and below the zipper.
If the Gucci wallet or purse you’re looking at has a plain zipper alarm bells should go off, and you should avoid the purchase, as it has a good chance of being a fake. The middle seams of the wallet in particular should also not rip or tear over time along the zipper.
Price Too Good to Be True?
There are plenty of resources on the internet to compare the price you’re being offered the Gucci wallet or purse to. Early warning signs of a counterfeit wallet or purse are a heavily under-priced product or a heavily overpriced product.
Have a quick check on Amazon or the Gucci website to see how far apart the prices are. Per the Gucci website, there is also a list of authorized Gucci retailers both online and offline.
Of course, someone might have bought a Gucci wallet or purse and not initially liked it and will be listing on eBay.
Honestly, that’s fine and we’ve seen a lot of folks completely happy and satisfied with their eBay or Craigslist purchase, but we’ve also seen a lot get burned with a scam.
A Few Other Tricks To Help Spot A Fake Gucci Wallet Or Bag
The Glue Test
Other good tricks that are good to know – give the Gucci wallet or purse what is called a “glue check” when you first purchase the product. Rub your fingers across all of the seams and see if you can detect any signs of glue. Any presence of residue typically will mean it is a fake Gucci wallet or bag, as all of the authentic products are quality tested before being shipped.
Check the Serial Number
It would be nice if there was a way to quickly check a Gucci wallet’s authenticity from its serial number, but it’s not quite that easy. Like many manufacturers, Gucci have changed their serial number standards many times.
Here’s our short version: on a modern product, expect to see two rows of numbers, 10-13 digits in total.
If you can’t even get a unique serial number to check, what can you do?
Image Check
One trick is to go online and search that particular style code in your favorite search engine (enter the code in the search box and click the ‘images’ tab). You’ll see similar products come up for legitimate Gucci wallets or bags. Of course, that isn’t a 100% guarantee as fake numbers can get published too.
Auction Sites
If you’re buying from an auction site like eBay, sometimes it can be beneficial, and could possibly save you money, to ask the seller to take a picture of the Serial Number/Style Number on the product so that you can do these checks before spending any money. There is also an eBay forum where people discuss this sort of thing regularly.
If You Have Bought a Fake
If for any unfortunate reason you have fallen victim to the purchase of a counterfeit Gucci product you have a couple of options at your disposal.
First, you can report it by emailing information and pictures of the fake wallet, purse or bag to counterfeit@gucci.com. This should only be used for reporting a Gucci Wallet or Purse that you’re confident is counterfeit, as the staff there won’t be able to assist in verifying or authenticating whether your product is real or fake.
Secondly, you can approach the seller, explain the situation, and ask for a refund. This might sound like a long shot, but if you bought it from someone who genuinely did not realize it was a fake, you may be able to come to an agreement.
Of course, if you picked it up from a street vendor, that’s not very likely…
Final Thoughts
By following all the tips and tricks that have been given to you in this article today, you’re now well educated and prepared for the assessment of a Gucci product you’re suspicious of being real or fake. Gucci wallets tend to be very expensive on average, so it can be an awful experience for that money to spent on something that is not the real thing. Happy hunting!
All product names, logos, brands, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners