Whether you just recently purchased a handbag or you would love to purchase One soon, we at Handagholic advise that you use a designer handbag authentication service to authenticate your bag and be sure that you own the real thing. We’ll be taking a close look at some of the top designer bag authentication derived, listing the brands they specialize in and the cost of authentication.
If you want to be sure your handbag is authentic, then you must find an authentication service. If you have nagging concerns about your bag, we recommend you get the opinion of more than one authentication service just to be sure.
Places where you can get your handbag authenticated
Several companies around the globe are out and ready to help designer bag lovers fight the fake and replica market. There are several ways of doing this including email evaluation which involves sending high-resolution images to be evaluated by an expert, then there’s the in-store and in-person evaluation which requires you to take the bag in yourself. Currently, you can find various authentication companies and services of varying levels ready to offer the peace that comes with knowing that your designer bag is authentic.
What’s the cost of authentication?
The cost for designer bag authentication varies for different reasons. Sometimes, it varies because you prefer email confirmation to a full written report, or because the service itself provides full reports that contain all the necessary details and possibly double authentication (that is verification from two authenticators). You will need a full report if you happen to be embroiled in an eBay or PayPal dispute regarding the authenticity of a product. If this is the reason you need authentication, be sure to contact eBay/PayPal and the authentication service to confirm the sort of document you may need. This will help you ensure you only use a service that can provide everything you need.
In the table below, you’d see a comparison of several designer handbag authentication services. We have also provided a guide to the different services compared, their offers, and pricing. We mean this table to serve only as a guide and every bit of information included here was collated from the authenticator’s website.
Comparing Designer Handbag Authentication Services
The table below holds a comparison of some of the top authentication services for designer handbags around the globe. Some of these services offer authentication of other luxury items too, be sure to visit their official websites for more details.
| Business | Cost of Online Authentications | Cost of In-Person Authentications | Brand Names |
| Authenticate First (US) | Online Authentication – $15+
Written Statement – $35 |
They offer in-person authentication in their San Diego store. Customers are to pay all shipping costs to an address in the US. | All |
| Pro Authenticators (USA) | Email Authentication – $20
Verbal Authentication – $10 Written Authentication for Claims / Disputes – $70 |
None | Louis Vuitton |
| Handbagclinic (UK) | Email Evaluation – £19.95
(Chanel / Celine / Dior £34.95) (Hermes £59.95) Full Authentication Report – £49.95 (Chanel / Celine / Dior £54.95) (Hermes £99.95) |
Available – In their UK stores | All |
| Authenticate 4 U (UK) | Email Evaluation – £5 / $7.50 / €7.00
Chanel 15th Million and above – £10 / $15 / €14 Hermes – £25 / $30 |
In-person authentication is available. Customers bear the cost of all tracked and insured postage costs to UK addresses. | All |
| Etinceler Authentications | Email Authentication – $7.00
Written Statement – $75-100 |
No | Chanel (15 series and older only) |
| Timpanys (UK)
*Uses Entrupy Technology |
Unknown | £30 -£70 for Hermes
Customers bear postage costs and also pay the stated fee |
Gucci, Chanel, Bottega Veneta, Hermes, Burberry
Celine, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, Chloe, Coach Dior, Fendi, Goyard, Prada Saint Laurent |
| Realauthentication.com (US) | Basic Email Authentication – $30 (+$10 for Hermes)
Authentication Certificate – $40 ($50 for Hermes) |
Unknown | All |
| Royal Bag Spa (AUS) | No | The Cost is unknown.
They accept in-store at the Melbourne store |
Louis Vuitton |
Can we trust Purse Authenticators?
Generally speaking, most designer bag authentication services can be trusted. Employees of these services are hired on the back of years of experience with designer goods including access to networks and databases of these handbags they can easily refer to for comparison. Nevertheless, there is a tiny margin for error. This occurs often with high-resolution images; sometimes, based on the skillset of the authenticator, or in some rare cases, you may have an undecided or incorrect ruling.
If you are not satisfied with an authenticator’s ruling, we recommend you work closely with them to discover why they made the judgment. Alternatively, you can seek the opinion of another authenticator. That said, the authenticators discussed above are mostly reliable especially when you need to satisfy your concerns regarding a bag or need authentication documents to sell your bag online. You must always note that no authentication service will be right at all times.