LET’S GO THROUGH SOME TIPS ON HOW TO AUTHENTICATE A MULBERRY BAG AND HOW TO SPOT A FAKE MULBERRY BAG!

Following on my last post about how to snag a Mulberry Bag in the sales or for a discount, I want to quickly give you some pointers on how to spot a fake Mulberry bag. Super handy if you are shopping second-hand and don’t quite know what to look for and what to check to authenticate your dream Mulberry bag-to-be.

You can buy Mulberry handbags on places like Ebay , depop, even car boot sales and anytime you are doing this, I urge you to be really careful in checking that what you are buying is authentic, particularly if you are paying a hefty price for it.

BUYING MULBERRY HANDBAGS ON EBAY : TIPS.

You can 100% buy some incredible second hand Mulberry bags on ebay, HOWEVER, do your homework, check you are buying from, their feedback and also if they are selling multiples of 1 type of handbag…..beware!

Also….the price….if it’s too good to be true, it usually is.

I would be inclined to trust sellers who are selling the odd bag here and there as opposed to consistently just the same Mulberry handbags. They *may* specialise in Mulberry second hand handbag sales but Ebay probably isn’t where you would choose to sell if you are. I prefer to buy off someone *like me*….just selling their old bag to make some cash as opposed to a person churning out multiple bags of the same style. You can look on their seller profile to see what other items they are selling and also what items they have sold. Have a good look…..and ask any questions if you are curious or if you would like to see more photos and close-ups.

Always pay with Paypal if you buy a designer handbag (or anything of high value!) on Ebay, as you then have buyer protection and will get a refund if it turns out the item you purchased is in fact, a fake.

If you want to see some other great places to buy Mulberry handbags second hand (and safely!) then do check out my Mulberry Handbag Sale post.

HOW TO SPOT A FAKE MULBERRY BAG!

I don’t have any fake Mulberry bags to take photos of and compare BUT what I can tell you is what anytime I have seen a ‘Mulberry’ bag I can tell within 5 seconds if it is real or not. More often than not, I can tell simply by looking at it. If it’s a ‘good’ fake then a quick look inside, a check of the leather and stitching and the appearance of the hardware and it’s job done. I once made the mistake of telling a friend ‘You DO know your Mulberry bag is a fake don’t you?!’ because I was low-key worried she had paid the price for a real one. lol. oops.

I also think if you have experience of owning Mulberry handbags and a few different styles, it will make spotting fakes VERY easy. However, this post is more for you if you perhaps don’t own one and you aren’t sure of what to expect, how the real ones may looks and feel and you just really want to make sure the Mulberry handbag you are buying is REAL.

I will share images of my bags and certain details to look for etc throughout the post. I need to re-iterate that these are all authentic and 100% real Mulberry handbags, some are very bashed up but the quality is easy to see I think!

5 THINGS TO LOOK FOR ON A REAL MULBERRY HANDBAG:

1.Hardware:

I find it quite easy to tell from the hardware on a Mulberry bag. Often fakes will look super shiny and they won’t feel heavy or luxe. On an authentic Mulberry handbag you will have the Mulberry tree emblem or ‘Mulberry’ written on hardware over the bag and this will be in line with how it looks on their website…and it won’t be wonky! Please note, not EVERY piece of hardware will be embossed over the entire bag.

Every Mulberry bag has a brass disc within the bag which will be have the Mulberry tree logo on it, underneath this is where you find the serial number. Also note: just to make things a little trickier, not EVERY authentic Mulberry handbag has a serial number : read more below on this.

Below are some examples of the hardware on REAL Mulberry bags, and the brand embossing. 

2.) LEATHER:

The leather used varies across Mulberry bags. Many Mulberry bags are made from a thick, sturdy grained leather and these will feel really structured.  Some will have a softer ‘ thinner’ leather, but overall, if you can tell quality leather then it shouldn’t be too hard to spot a fake. A lot of the bad fakes aren’t even real leather. I find giving a bag a good sniff is a sure way to tell if it’s leather.

3.) LINING:

Mulberry bags differ in their lining : some aren’t lined at all, some have the mulberry tree logo printed over the lining and some are plain. Now you should be able to tell simply from the quality of the lining. It will be stitched well, it feels expensive, and you should be able to tell if it’s good quality or not.

Below are some examples of the lining on 3 different REAL Mulberry handbags. Some of the bags are newer and there is also an example of a vintage Mulberry handbag lining (middle!). Look at the quality of this stitching on all of these bags : it’s neat and secure. 

4.) REAL MULBERRY….MAY NOT BE MADE IN ENGLAND!!

This is good to note as I was surprised myself when I saw a ‘Made in ?’ in one of my Mulberry’s. Unfortunately, since the brand has gotten so big, not all Mulberry is now made here in the UK : there is also factories in Turkey and China.

5.) SERIAL NUMBERS.

Again, don’t be put off if your Mulberry or one you are purchasing doesn’t have a serial number. Not all of them do! They don’t make it easy do they?! However, some fakes will have serial numbers. I think out of all of my Mulberry handbags, 1 or 2 never had a serial number. These were purchased from Mulberry directly!

Regularly used fake serial numbers include 254571, 026904, 565321 and 262541 although there are many more.

THE BEST PLACES TO BUY A PRELOVED / SECOND HAND MULBERRY HANDBAG:

• Ebay

• Vestiaire Collective

• Mulberry preloved (on their website)

• Fashionphile

• Vintage stores

I have a whole other post about the best places to shop for a second hand Mulberry handbag OR the best places to get a discount on a Mulberry handbag, including the best outlets etc. So if this is your thing, then defo check-in with this post : Mulberry Bag Sale : Where to Buy A Mulberry For a Discount.

In Summary, the 5 things you need to look over to check your Mulberry handbag is real :

1.) Hardware

2.) Leather

3.) Lining

4.) Where it’s Made

5.) Serial Numbers

So I hope you found this post on authenticating a Mulberry Handbag / How to spot a fake Mulberry handbag helpful and of use. I know when I have been buying second-hand I scoured the internet for tips on how to make sure it’s a real designer bag. You don’t want to be caught out : it’s one thing knowingly paying £40 for a fake Mulberry bag, it’s quite another paying £400 for the same fake.

If you have any more tips and tricks on how to spot a fake Mulberry handbag : feel free to share them below! Or as always :  ask any questions you may have!

SHOP ON MULBERRY PRE-LOVED : (my favourite place)

SHOP NEW IN MULBERRY :

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