Know What You Are Getting

It's a scary world out there and in this day and age, there are countless e-tailers and retailers trying to make their profit by selling inauthentic goods to unsuspecting consumers. Your best bet is to educate yourself, search for reviews from the site where you are buying, and do your best to know what you are getting. Here we disclose some tips to ensuring you are getting what you want: a premium product.
 
Plenty of fake designer denim comes with "tags" and "authenticity cards"; these are not necessarily proof that the item is legit. It's important to do your homework before buying to know what the tag from a certain brand of jeans is supposed to look like. While designers change up everything from hardware to topstitch on each pair of jeans, tags are almost always standard.
 
Know that there's no such thing as a "direct manufacturer" or designer clothing "factory-direct" from China...all of the top designer brands are retailed from wholesalers in the US. This doesn't mean that certain products are not -made- in China; the presence of a "Made in China" tag is not necessarily an indication of an inauthentic product. What it -does- mean is that, while some legitimate goods are made in China, you should beware of any website or retailer that claims to get their clothing -directly- from a manufacturer in China...these items will either be stolen or fake.
 
The term "OEM" is a huge red flag. OEM stands for "Original Equipment Manufacturer", and many a counterfeiter will claim their denim comes "direct from an OEM factory" to make it sound official. These are most certainly fakes. An instance of an -actual- OEM item would be an Apple software package. Some are intended for sale in retail stores and therefore come in a nice, colorful box. Others are packaged to be sold with a computer purchase and come in a plain brown or white box. Knock-off sellers will use the term "OEM factory" item to explain why their product may look slightly different than what you're used to, whether it's the item itself or the packaging it comes in. The problem is, OEM applies to products like computer software or auto parts...not designer clothing.
 
Any site or seller that says "99% authentic", "mirror-image quality" or "AAA quality" in their product descriptions is announcing their products as inauthentic. Unless you're -looking- for a knock-off (and why would you be doing that?), these are terms to avoid.