1. Small pictures

Sellers of fakes usually display a single picture and make it a collage of smaller views, especially if they are already using an auction listing helper like Auctiva where additional photos are free to upload. Their purpose is to make details and defects less obvious to you. An honest seller will usually display close-ups that can be enlarged. Some sellers may be new to ebay and take strange pictures with funny angles, but will never split a single picture up to show you minuscule views of the product!

2. Country of origin

Sellers of fakes obtain their wares largely from mainland China. Original Kipling bags are manufactured in China under strict quality control procedures, but consignments are sent to distributors outside mainland China. Sellers of fakes usually state item location as "United States", "UK", or "Japan", countries that frown heavily on counterfeits, BUT if you'd read the fine print in the auction text, you might notice the words "shipped from China" or "... Thailand". Do not purchase from these sellers as their goods are very likely to be fakes. You can easily obtain fake Kipling flat messenger bags from various street-side shops in China for as low as US$1.00. So don't be foolish to pay anything above that for a fake Kipling on ebay.

3. Always read seller's feedback

Even if seller has high feedback score, it doesn't necessarily mean his products are genuine. If seller has sold counterfeit bags of other brands like Anya Hindmarch and Coach, he will certainly be selling fake Kiplings, so don't buy from him. Read the positive feedback too, as sometimes they are cleverly disguised as bad feedback. Customers sometimes do this in fear of retaliation if the seller has not left them feedback yet.
To quickly jump to seller's negative feedback, visit this website and key in the ebay ID: http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs

4. Auction title

Some sellers of fakes have identical auction titles naming the style for visibly different products, so the item will show up when a potential customer performs a search for a particular style keyword. Be diligent and have a look at the seller's offering. If you spot such a thing, the seller will be selling fakes! A common example is the "Kipling Fairfax bag". There is only one style in Fairfax although it can come in a variety of colours and fabric patterns.

5. Ridiculously high shipping costs

Even if shipped from China to the edge of the earth, it will not cost 30 GBP for the slowest airmail mode for a small lightweight package. It usually does not cost more than US$10. The seller is simply hoping to squeeze more money out of you.

6. Seller offers money-back guarantee

Most sellers on ebay are not official Kipling retailers, but managed to get their original items at low prices. If you're not happy with your item, too bad. Such sellers do not normally offer replacements nor accept returns for your money back. However, sellers of fakes normally do because they are probably afraid of being caught. Penalties for peddling counterfeits can be harsh in some countries. If seller is a licensed Kipling retailer, this will be mentioned in his auction or About Me page for sure.

7. Characteristics of plush monkeys

All Kipling bags come with dangling keychains usually in the form of plush furry monkeys that have names. The exception is small cosmetic pouches and wallets - they do not come with keyring charms. Tell-tale signs lie in the monkey's name tag position, face, and physique. Commonly sighted fake China-made Kipling monkeys have their name tag sewn to their body. The originals have them sewn on the underside of the monkey's left arm. Confusion arises when Thailand-made fake monkeys are sold. These fakes have their tags sewn in the exact position as originals. In the following photos I will use Thai-made fakes to compare with original Kipling bags, because they're a little trickier to differentiate.

                                                                        When monkey faces you, the               Name appears below logo.
                                                                       Kipling logo or web address will

9. Rubber logo patch

Most Kipling bags come with the classic logo patch. Original bags have patches very close to the fabric colour while fakes have them quite different and it is usually obvious to the untrained eye. Fake Kipling bags usually have uncentered logos.
                                                                                       FAKE                                         ORIGINAL                                   
                                                                    Colours are off, ends of stitches        Continuous stitching, no knots nor
                                                                      are visible, often overlapping.          overlapping. Knots are hidden
                                                                                                                           beneath the rubber logo patches.

10. Fakes have ugly stitching

Fakes have uneven stitching as the manufacturing process does not involve quality control at all. In most cases the bags are not completely symmetrical with half somewhat lopsided. It's cheaper to mass produce more items in the shortest possible time. As such, fraying seams, loose knots, visible overlaps are common sight. Often there will even be tears and stress spots in the fabric where stitches end.

11. Special edition pins

Some Kipling collections come with special badges or pins in the form of stars from a variety of materials like wood or plastic, and with different surface finishes like gilt or hologram. Fake Kipling bags have them too, and the general shape of the stars are quite different. Fake Kipling stars have pointy tips while genuine Kipling stars have blunt and rounded tips for safety.

12. "New with tag" but...

... but no product details given, like model/style and collection? Usually details are available on the tag, and seller should be able to tell you these things. They are words and not coded. When in doubt, always ask. Fake bags with tags do not have product details printed, or have number/letter codes. They're just generic hang tags and where the details should appear, they're usually left blank.

1. Fakes are heavy

Genuine Kipling fabric is 420d specially blended nylon unique to the brand as its signature fabric. This means there will be no other company that can produce it as cheaply as Kipling does, so will normally substitute it for inferior grade nylon blends. Such blends at 420d are normally heavier, and less water-repellent. Usually the weight is easy to notice as fake bags are like 3-4 times as heavy.

2. Zips have metallic ends

Have a look at the zipper teeth. At the end of the row there should be larger plastic stoppers. Fake Kipling bag zippers have them in metal.