Last week, I talked shared my haul of Kate Spade New York brand items I ordered from Amazon. In that order, I purchased a card holder. It is cute and is exactly what kind of card holder I was looking for, but there was something I knew I would risk when buying it: It would be a lesser quality than what I may got off the Kate Spade website. I was fine taking that risk, but it made me wonder if someone less familiar with the brand and quality of it would think of buying things off Amazon, believing they are getting a great deal, and are let down because of the quality of the item is not what they believed it would be. Inspired by this, I decided to talk about what my purchasing process before buying anything from a high street brand off Amazon.

Know the Price Range of the Item Directly from the Designer

I cannot stress how much research is needed in order to know if you are getting a great deal, or are throwing your money away. Since high street designer items, such as Kate Spade New York and Ted Baker, are not always supplied by Amazon or the company itself, knowing what the list price is from the designer is important. Base the price you are willing to pay off what the list price from the designer and browse Amazon based off the price the designer set.

Learn the Sale and Resale Price of the Item

If the item was released over six months ago, you can possibly find it either on sale on the designer’s website and in store, at stores that sell the designer’s products, and on second hand websites such as Ebay. Although it’s easy to order from Amazon, and this post is about buying from Amazon, you may not get the best price on Amazon. Since the list price on Amazon can change, it can be lower than a sale price from the brand and second hand on Ebay one day and then be much higher the next day. So, to avoid overpaying, always do research on the sale price and second hand price.

Look at the Rating of the Seller

If you are purchasing an item from a seller that is not Amazon, look at the rating of the seller. See how many stars the seller has as well as how long the seller has sold on Amazon. If the seller has a star rating or sold for a shorter time period than you feel comfortable buying from, then read the reviews to see what others have to say about the seller and their products. Never buy from a seller you do not feel comfortable with, especially after reading reviews.

Always Buy from Sellers with Products that are Part of Fulfillment by Amazon

Finally, always buy from sellers with products that are part of fulfillment by Amazon. The reason why this is so important is, not only will you be able to ship your purchase as part of an Amazon order and quality for free shipping, you can also return and report forgeries much easier. Although this is not a full proof way of saving yourself from a forgery, it does make it easier to return, get your money back, and report the listing to Amazon.

That’s all for now! Thank you for reading!