Auction site OohILove recently came under fire when Louis Vuitton's North American President and CEO Daniel Lalonde told Styleite that the Louis Vuitton items on the site "must be fakes." Yes, it's hard to believe you can get Vuitton bag or a pair of Louboutins for $5, but here's what we found out:
1. Louis Vuitton sales associates confirmed the products are authentic. Rolla Weed won a Louis Vuitton ring for 36 cents. It didn't fit, but since her purchase came with a gift receipt, she exchanged the ring at an actual Louis Vuitton boutique for another LV product. "I just took my box, ring, and the receipt, and the sales associate knew it was real, and let me exchange the ring." See Weed's new keychain above at left, and an image from Louis Vuitton to the right.
2. OohILove gets products from the boutiques. (And they can afford to.) The site never claimed to source the products at the bargain prices they sell for; on OohILove, shoppers have to pay for bids, which means the site gets paid even if you don't win. A rep from OohILove confirms the company buys all of their items from designer boutiques, department stores, or stores that are authorized resellers.
If 200 women each buy one 50 bid package for $50, the company makes $10,000 (that's nine Louis Vuitton Alma bags).
Above, photos of the Alma Louis Vuitton bag provided by OohILove (left) to pictures courtesy of Louis Vuitton (right).
3. Products arrive in original packaging. (Not a black plastic bag.) Megan Kamil won a Louis Vuitton wallet (above left) for $3.76. She's purchased LV products before, and said she could tell the wallet was authentic when she compared it to other items she's bought. "It came with an authenticity card, and original boxing. The legitimacy of the product was never a question for me," Kamil said. Compare Kamil's wallet, above at left, to a picture from Louis Vuitton's site on the right.
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