The LV Date Code

Received this nice email from someone.........regarding my previous blog:

"The date code thing is tiring but a legitimate inquiry. The LV salesperson who claimed that the numbers didn't mean anything was either saying what she was told to say or just being dishonest. The numbers do indeed represent a date. The date code was never intended to be something that the consumer was even aware of. That is why on many items it is very, very difficult to locate. The letters and numbers represent the origin and the month and year when that exact piece was created. The problem with inexperienced LV buyers is that this should not be the ONLY indicator as to whether the item is authentic. That is why the number is such a "secret" anyway. The counterfeiters take the real numbers and put them on their fake crap. Seasoned owners of LV know where to find the date code and also know exactly what it's supposed to look like. Sometimes, depending on the item, it is imprinted into the material of the lining, sometimes it is printed on the material of the lining. And as far as some items not having it, every item that is made now has a date code. Although, it may be impossible to find. Because as I stated earlier, it was meant for the factories to verify origin and birth date (like if one was returned for repair) not for us ebayers to use as verification to authenticity.

I sometimes ask for it if I am curious as to the age of the item.

Anyway, I just thought that you would appreciate the information. I am with you though, enough already. Some of these people are impossible!!!"

Now - I agree with what this gal has to say overall, BUT I am a pretty well seasoned Vuitton owner - I have had many over the years and all of them have been purchased either at a Vuitton Boutique, Saks Fifth Avenue or Bloomingdales. I have no idea where the date code might be in any of the many handbags, shoes, etc. that I have from Vuitton and have never even thought to look. Of course that is probably because I know that the merchandise is real and wouldn't have thought to look for it. So - as a seller of some Vuitton items for various people - I still don't know where the numbers are and I am not going to start pulling apart something to find it. If Vuitton has made these numbers so difficult to find - as a consumer it should be hard to find AND perhaps impossible to take a photo of it.

I think that what the salesperson was referring to the fact that for the owner of the item - it is not really that important. As a Vuitton salesperson - of course they would know all about it and where to find it - but for me as a seller of "used" merchandise or merchandise given to my by people, I can't take apart this wallet to try to find this number for someone. I could probably rip the wallet trying to find it and especially taking a photo of it. I also understand that the fakes will have numbers inside theirs too! As a seller I feel that I have the responsibility to know whose things I am selling and ask them the important questions as to the item's authenticity. I definitely do that and as a buyer of many Vuitton item I have a pretty good idea of what kind of quality I am looking at.

I guess I feel that it is more important for the buyer to know who they are buying from than for them to ask me to start searching for this date code AND taking a photo of it. I don't feel that way about the Chanel numbers (and of course the fakes have those too) - but I do feel that that little white rectangle with the matching numbers to the card is an important photo to take and if it is not there - a pretty sure thing that the item is not real. But having to "search" for this date code doesn't seem to make sense to me. I also feel that as a crazy "bag lady" I also have a pretty good feel when I am looking at a real bag and a fake bag. Chanel's might be the hardest to detect AND they also sell all kinds of "designer" bags in Turkey at the fairs that have all the names in them. So I totally respect a buyer's questions - but the "date code" thing with the Vuittons doesn't seem (to me anyway) the real answer as to whether a bag or wallet is real.

OK - let's beat that dead horse - oh THAT is such a terrible expression!

I did receive a Balenciaga bag from someone. It sure looked good to me - I have never owned one personally but have sold many for someone else. I know that this person only buys real ones and therefore have been confident selling them. But the last one that I got really looked good to me- but I asked the gal where she bought it and she told me "ebay" - well, with help from another ebayer was given info as to how to check if a Balenciaga was real or fake. It was FAKE! So as a seller - it is my job to do my detective work before listing anything like this.

Ahhhh- that's it - no more on the date codes (unless someone has some more interesting info pertaining to this subject).