EBay and Tiffany

I'd really like to get an "open heart" necklace by Tiffany. There are lots of
them listed on eBay, but I have great skepticism that they are authentic, even
when they claim they are. Is there any easy way to tell the Tiffany ones from
the knockoffs? Or, for that matter, does anyone have experience with a seller
that they know is reputable?
Thanks!
beeswing

The open heart necklace is beautiful. I would recommend you shop from
eBay sellers who specialize in high–end jewelry and have 100% positive
feedback. Compare the pictures you see with
http://www.tiffany.com/shopping/category.aspx?Category=Jewelry&CategoryID=13&c_id=WEB1&c_it=.
Also, ask the seller to certify the necklace's authenticity from
Tiffany & Co.

Please be very, very careful. The majority of open heart necklaces
(among many others like the "Return to Tiffany" items) on Ebay are
fake. There are a few ways to tell but it is virtually impossible to
tell unless you see them in person. Google in alt.fashion for a thread
a couple of months ago over this very topic. If you do buy one on
Ebay, take it in to your nearest Tiffanys to verify the authenticity.
They won't actually tell you it is fake, but they will tell you "they
can't verify the authenticity" and point out differences in what they
have vs. what you bought. That's according to two people close to me
who took in pieces that they purchased off of Ebay that turned out to
be fake. Both paid thru Paypal and were able to obtain chargebacks
thru the credit cards they used. Tiffany items on Ebay tend to go for
a large percentage of what they sell for in the stores, so it may be
best to bite the bullet and purchase directly from Tiffany's and know
without a doubt that it is authentic.
Amanda

As has been written before, most of these items are knocked off and,
once you get them, it will be pretty obvious the knocking–off has been
done with far less than consummate gold/silversmithing skill.
Here are some suggestions:
1– Look only for sellers with ridiculously high feedback; both in
number (oh, say, over 250) and percentage of positives (99.5%+)
2– Write prior to bidding and ask the seller to "guarantee the
authenticity" of the item. If it turns out to be a ::cough, cough::
replica, you have a much easier time with the process of returning the
item and getting a refund from a PayPal/eBay perspective. Sellers KNOW
eBay takes a pretty harsh line on replicas/fakeydoos/etc.
3– Pay with a credit card (PayPal or otherwise, for the purposes of a
chargeback if needed.
4– A legitimate auction will have a gazillion closeup pictures, and the
seller will be very likely to take pains to demonstrate (as much as is
possible) the authenticity of an item.
HTH,
–Joe in SoFla

On 8 Jan 2005 23:25:09 –0800, "JoeinSoFla" <jmgarcia...@yahoo.com>
wrote:
I think this is excellent advice, and I'd like to add that just
because a seller offers a Tiffany box/tissue/pouch, that doesn't mean
the item is authentic. I see people selling the boxes/tissue/pouches
all by themselves on eBay. I am sure that some people buy them to
store their original pieces (in case they threw them out or lost them)
but I get the feeling that many counterfeit item sellers buy these
things to package their fake crap.
Lots of Coach packaging and dust bags being sold on eBay, too. Dust
bags okay. But selling Coach *tissue paper*? Hmm.
Leigh
––
Consequences, shmonsequences, as long as I'm rich. – D. Duck