Buyer Beware: Don't Get Duped By 'Super Fake' Designer Goods

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- When it comes to designer goods, these days it's buyer beware.

As CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reports, some knock-offs are now so sophisticated, they're in a new "super fake" category.

"We would consider this a super fake, or a triple-A fake," Graham Wetzbarger, chief authenticator with the luxury consignment boutique TheRealReal in SoHo.

In other words, a counterfeit bag so good it can even stump the experts.

"The construction is very good, the proportions of the hardware is really great," said Wetzbarger. "They didn't get a lot wrong in the manufacturing of it."

Web Extra: Six Ways To Spot A Fake 

He says you need a trained eye to spot the super fakes.

"The lines between the genuine and the counterfeit are getting closer and closer," he said.

Chanel handbags and Yeezy sneakers can even be in the super fake category.

"I feel very silly, I've been a New York girl my whole life, I don't get duped like that," said Joann Montemarano, who spent $500 on a pair of Louboutins online, which turned out to be fake.

"They come in, they're crying, she pay a lot of money," shoemaker Yori Sachakov said, adding you should make sure the shoes come with a second, small logo bag with extra heels.

Web Extra: How To Spot A 'Super Fake' 

Vintage store owner Lynne Schilling educates her customers to check pocket size and logo placement on the bottom.

At high-end consignment retailer Rebag, CEO Charles Gorra developed an exhaustive authentication process – even smelling the leather and listening to the hardware.

"It's getting borderline impossible these days," he said. "If the fake is so good that it's not noticeable, then it's very problematic for everyone."

Another word of advice: Look carefully for a Made in China label. It might not be placed in an obvious spot, but if there is one, you're probably not buying an authentic bag.

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