One of the questions I'm frequently asked is: are all those below-retail price Anthropologie items around the Internet real or fake? Recently some sellers have had multiples of new releases up for sale at 20, 30 and even 50% off retail. It's hard to resist and curiosity finally got the best of me last week. I saw the Two Paths Trench ($188) listed at $100 on ebay and against my better judgment decided to take the plunge.
It took longer than usual for the package to arrive and at first I was sure I'd been scammed. That's what I get, I thought to myself. My building sends email alerts when my packages are delivered. When I was alerted to an incoming package from China (?!?) I assumed the package had been misdirected. Over the course of the day I realized it was probably my ebay buy. The photo above is what the package looked like. I should note that the seller is listed as dealing out of California.
The package was tightly packed and heavily taped, so much so that I was afraid I was going to cut into the coat while trying to open the damn thing. I cut as carefully as I could. Slowly making my way across the top I was able to release the contents without damaging them (whew!).
Once the package was open I carefully took the coat out and inspected it. I'm no knockoff expert but if this was a knockoff it's the best I've ever seen. I'm quite sure it's the real deal -- I've tried on the trench at one of the NYC Anthros and this matched up. The Idra logo? Right. The little patch with extra buttons? Right. The lining? Right.
My next thought was that maybe this piece had some deformity that caused it to fail quality assurance. After looking it over thoroughly if there is a flaw I sure don't see it. I have no idea how the seller came to be in possession of these items. They could have been rejects from the factory. They could be overstock that Anthropologie's supplier sold off. They could be a really, really, really good knockoff. They could be -- for lack of a better term -- production chain shrinkage.
Here it is on. I love it but I have to admit that I feel really dirty buying this thing. We all know that Anthro, like all retailers, marks up their items to some degree. But when I buy from Anthropologie that money supports the designers, the administrative staff and the production staff that creates these items. When I buy from an unknown source like this I am circumventing Anthropologie and potentially creating losses for the company. The source doesn't have to be ebay and I'm not singling it out, only using it as the example I purchased from. It could be anywhere from a failed quality check to a legitimate overstock sale to a truck to the back rooms of Canal St.
Just to be clear, I use ebay all the time as both a buyer and a seller. We all know how I feel about price gougers (not a fan) but I don't have a problem with resellers or personal sellers. It's hard to make a judgment call on these sellers...I don't even know what to call them. I know what my gut says but without proof it's just a guess.
So I turn to you, community. What do you think of these below-retail items showing up around the interwebs? Have you bought any of these items? Would you buy any of these items?
