IDentifying Fake Visvim Backpack

[fogg]

I recently bought a Visvim Ballistic 20 backpack off of eBay -http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=013&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=230112607940&rd=1&rd=1

After doing some more research and receiving the actual bag I'm 99% sure its a fake.

Here are a few reasons:

-Its the 'Northern Isle' model, which I can't find any evidence anywhere of being produced in this red/white colorway. According to everything I can see on the net, it was only produced in navy or black with black or white wool bottom

-The tag attached says the bag is from S/S 06. According to catalogues I've seen, the Northern Isle was produced in A/W 05, not S/S 06.

-The metal chain attaching the tag is metallic and not white, which I've never seen on any other Visvim product.

-There is no Cordura tag attached or sewn into the back pocket of the bag.

-The leather pulls on the zippers are a lot thinner, shorter and cheaper looking than the pulls on my friends bag.

-For some reason the clamps that are usually on the left side of the bag did not come attached, but were in the pocket instead (this just seems wierd more than anything)

-The bag actually shipped from Beijing and not New York, although the seller claims its because its from the store Mess Beijing which has been profiled on Hypebeast

The seller says the bag is real, of course. He's offered a refund, but only if I leave positive feedback first which is not only insane, but would be supporting counterfeiting which I don't want to do if at all possible.

Can anyone else verify that this is fake? Also, is there any way to contact Visvim other than the [email protected] email address to get proof from them that this is fake? The seller (formatshoes) has been selling a lot of Visvim bags on ebay and most look suspicious. If these are fake like I think I want to be able to to to eBay and stop him from selling any more.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[chim]

dude, that bag looks fucking awesome. I've had a hypatex 20 and the details look right to me. If it's fake, its' the coolest looking fake ever. How much did you get it for? I'll buy it off of you =P

[Westbrook]

I was a little shaded out by the recent rash of old visvim backpacks on ebay also, but people around here seem to think they are legit. Something about those photos and the price doesn't sit right with me.

[herpsky]

the seller is in flushing NY.

RED ALERT

[Kasper]

how much did you really pay?

[fogg]

$200 shipped.

It looked legit to me at first. The price isn't that odd (The Northern Isle model retailed for something like 24,000 Yen), but I can't see any evidence anywhere of the Northern Isle being done in red/white and the season tag being off is a red flag as well. I looked everywhere and the only other place I can see this colorway is an auction on Yahoo Hong Kong auctions (another red flag, along with it shipping from Beijing).

Can anyone else confirm that is is fake or, conversely, that this backpack was ever actually offered by Visvim in this colorway?

Also, has anyone ever bought a Visvim bag and had it come with the clamps that go on the side not come attached?

[phelen]

Shit I brought a blue one from him too.

[fogg]

Well, maybe I'm wrong but all the signs (to me) point to his stuff being fake. I'm hoping there's someone here that can confirm that, though. If someone can confirm that his stuff is fake I'm hoping I can report him to ebay so that he doesn't sucker anyone else. However, to do that I'd likely need some sort of expert evidence or something from Visvim themselves confirming the bags are fake.

All the bags he has sold have been suspicious colorways as far as I can see. What confuses me is why would counterfeiters copy bags and make them in colors the originals never came in? It seems like it would be a dead giveaway. He also told me he is going to have the black/elk Visvim ballistic 20 this summer, so maye that has been copied too.

He emailed his "supplier" and the supplier says the bags are legit, of course. However, his only real reason he's given me to back this up is that he has positive feedback for other bags he's sold (as I told him, there are ebay sellers selling fake lacoste polos that have hundreds of positive feedbacks, so all that doesn't really prove anything). When I brought up the color never being produced by Visvim and the season tags being wrong his only reply was to ask why I bid on it then (I didn't know those things at the time or I wouldn't have bid on it, obviously).

I told him if he can show me any proof of this bag existing outside of his auctions and another one on Yahoo HK I'll gladly keep it, but he's shown me none.

[dunkin deeznuts]

What confuses me is why would counterfeiters copy bags and make them in colors the originals never came in? It seems like it would be a dead giveaway..

obviously not that dead a giveaway if no one can confirm it....if your gut tells you its fake it likely is........good luck finding out

another option is to try and call Mess Beijing (if they are legit) and find out from them....

[Olli Twist]

The backpack was only released in these colors:

black / black fisherman

black / white fisherman

navy / navy fisherman

navy / white fisherman

The label on the "fisherman" knit should be black. From the picture posted in the auction it looks like a white one (only a fraction visible). The label which is posted as the last image is definitely a sign for a fake as the octagon is too pointy and the font of the "V" is off completely, too. The real Visvim signet has rounded corners and the "V" is a bit stretched. The date is wrong, too. The Northern Isle backpacks were part of the FW 05-06 line "A Dissertation on Layers Relative to the Engineering of a Seasonal Collection".

It could be that the factory in China made a few extra and got a bit experimental with the colors.

Send it back.

Update: Visvim should probably consider using a different factory... These guys are going mad: check this green Liberty fake:

http://cgi.ebay.com/VISVIM-BACKPACK-NEW-WITH-TAGS-GREEN-NEIGHBORHOOD_W0QQitemZ230118193180QQihZ013QQcategoryZ52358QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[phelen]

fogg I try and help too.

[fogg]

Thanks, Olli Twist.

You're right about the Visvim label part, I forgot to mention that. On the bag its the older "Free International Labratory Visvim" tag with 3 bugs. That is also wrong for this bag.

I saw that new Liberty bag as well. Its a different seller, but the pics look the same. I guess someone started making these fakes because it looks like there are a few sellers.

[Crillz]

Yeah I mean besides the colors, tags, and small details that thing looks like it's on point. I wonder how the quality compares to the real one? Zippers and stuff look pretty damn good for a "fake."

[Hustla]

The bag is fake... all the bags he sold were fake. He got them from a source in China. He posts in Bapetalk2.com forum.

[fogg]

The quality seems OK, its just that its pretty obviously fake due to the details. If you want to find out though, you can have it for what I paid

It just sucks that it seems that, to get my money back, I'll have to leave him good feedback. Even if I can get my money back without giving bad feedback, when I do leave a negative he'll just leave one on my account making shit up about me (he already told me he'd do this if I give him a negative). eBay is retarded :/

[phelen]

The bag is fake... all the bags he sold were fake. He got them from a source in China. He posts in Bapetalk2.com forum.

Whats his username there?

[chim]

man, if he sells those packs for 60-80 i'd have no problem buying them. the colorways look insane, i love it

[phelen]

Here's the guys reply after I filed a complaint against him:

another UK buyer's complaine.i don't know what's going on with these buyers from UK.they keep saying my bag is fake but actually it's not. it's 100% authentic. i tried to contact http://www.hideoutstore.com/ but they never reply me.from what i seen they just sell visvim bag as i do. and i read through http://www.superfuture.com/supertalk/showthread.php?t=26408 also.this is more like a personal forums,people post on whatever they want to say.someone said it's real,someone said it's fake. i believe we can not count on it.my bag is 100% authentic.buyer keep saying this part looks different~other parts looks different etc.he can not provide me with any offical provment.wutever he said it's personal option.all my US buyers are happy with their visvim bag,they all left me good feedback and not a single person complain about the bag. once again,visvim produces different color different style bag every year.buyer needs to update his knowledge. i would like you guys to determine this case.this bag is 100% real i got them from trustable supplier they never sell fake as i do. check on the buyer's dispute.he just "THINK" this bag is fake.

Says he tried calling Hideout which I know is completely untrue since I been in constant contact regarding the matter, they have no clue what this guy is talking about. Says they sell bags.....duh yeah they're official resellers I guess they can spot a fake when they see one, and the reply from Dover Street Market isn't promising either.

Plus yeah Visvim produces different colors, but when the colors are completly not in the catalogue then something is wrong.

I seen loads of Ebayers with hundreds of feeback who brough fake Ralph Lauren polos, fake Bapes...so this is ridiculous.

[phelen]

He's also reading this thread too, so anymore damming evidence be nice though the hideout reply and DSM is pretty much conclusive proof.

[dunkin deeznuts]

this thread is also helping him tell the forgers how to make the bags even better

[fogg]

His only argument that they are real seems to be prior feedback on ebay, which doesn't hold much weight. Like I said earlier, I asked him to give me any proof at all this bag exists and I'd be happy. Its never been in a catalogue, never on any of the blogs that post everything visvim releases (including the asian blogs), and never even pictured anywhere else besides his auction and one on Yahoo HK.

[Fingathing]

Sorry but that bag is fake, its a good copy but the tassels are wrong and comparing to my Cordu the bag just isn't right.

[fogg]

this thread is also helping him tell the forgers how to make the bags even better

Yes, but its also educating everyone here who reads this about these fakes, and what to look for to spot them. I guess NikeSB.org and other forums that point out how to spot fake shoes are bad as well? Ignorance isn't bliss

[Fingathing]

The HK auction ones are fake you know, that should be a giveaway. No sign in catalogues, blogs, or websites....well game over.

File a complaint against him asap, just because people aren't schooled doesn't mean he should suck people into buying overpriced garbage.

Christ its bad as those kids who wear fape and believe its the real deal.

[Hustla]

He also is just closed his ebay account. I bet he closed his paypal account also.

[phelen]

The guy is now no longer registered!!

[Kasper]

He also is just closed his ebay account. I bet he closed his paypal account also.

ebay sucks about this, they're getting sued right and left over piracy and copyright infringement and they still don't do anything to prevent it or to protect the buyers and potentiel buyers. the proportion of auctions that you can tell are obviously fake is pretty hight and they won't do anything about it until someone buy something from them and then complain for a while. pretty stupid when you consider that they otherwise always favor the buyer in other kind of dispute...

oh, and i just realized you only paid like a dollar in the private auction, that sucks even worse...

[l3ootlegs]

tag is unclear,

color is not right...

and at least the fabric connected at bottom is just so wrong..

[fogg]

The guy has de-registered himself on eBay now. I think thats a pretty clear admission that the bags are fake.

The other Visvim bag up on ebay now from another seller definitely looks fake as well. The pictures look like they were taken at the same place the pictures of my bag were taken. What makes this odd is the pictures in the auction up now are actually tagged with the sellers ID. I guess whoever is producing these is also supplying sellers with tagged pics too.

[Olli Twist]

this thread is also helping him tell the forgers how to make the bags even better

Imagine: the "forgers" sitting at their computers, reading this thread and taking notes:

A) Must make signet more round

Only use original colors (I told XYZ so, but darn fool wouldn't listen) - ask Visvim for source of materials

C) Intimidate Hideout staff

D) New Idea: yellow backpack with green pony-skin bottom (possible conflict with ?)