This guide is help you spot the newer generation of fake "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" bags
The tips in my first guide are still relevant
You can CLICK HERE TO SEE MY FIRST GUIDE

IMPORTANT

I have inserted this bit in all my guides as it is very important. I have noticed that a some of the fake bag sellers are making their auctions and or their feedback private. If you see this, be VERY wary.

Also some of them are not using Paypal, this takes away a LOT of your protection if you do end up with a fake (see my guide on how to recover your money if you end up with a fake bag)

A lot more sellers are using photos of genuine bags, get them to send pictures of the actual bag you are bidding on or the information supplied in these guides will not be able to be put into use until you recieve the bag. This is especially applicable to sellers that are selling multiple fake bags and use the same picture for all their auctions.

Description of the bag

The bag is made from canvas and all variations are the same colour, a creamy beige colour. The handles are rope handles attached to the bag through chrome rings.

Inside the bag, the bottom has a rigid base which is attached to one side and can be folded up to make the bag lie flat when folded.

On the inside of the bag in between the rings for the handles, it has the words "Anya Hindmarch" and "London" on one side and on the other, "we are what we do"

On the front of the bag it has the Anya Hindmarch bow embroidered on in between the rings for the handles

Also on the front are the words "I'm Not A Plastic Bag". This is actually another material stitched on the bag, not printed and is therefore slightly raised.

With that information we are now set to spot the fakes

First of all lets have a look at the outside of the bag.

The actual colour of the bag does not vary, it is a creamy beige colour. There have been white ones on ebay which are fakes.

One of the most obvious things is the colour of the writing on the bag. There are five colours available:

Brown    Grey    Navy/Blue    Green    Lavender 

Some of the fakes that have appeared on ebay have been these colours, however, they have been bright colours as opposed the more subtle colour of the genuine bags. There have also been other colours, which are obviously fake as this bag was not produced in any other colour than those above.

The only exception to the colours being subtle is the Lavender one. This bag is a rarity as there was only ever 200 made worldwide for the Lavender Trust for breast cancer funding. If you see one of the originals on ebay, expect to see it sell for a very high price. On a lavender bag, you should see a tag such as this one which is sewn on the outside of the bag. The genuine bags have the word "supporting" over the word "lavender". It is placed with the letter "s" over the "v" and the "g" over the "e". Some of the fake bags that have this tag can be spotted by the fact that the word "supporting", is too long and does not line up correctly.

The lettering on all bags contains several clues as to whether it is a fake or not, some of these are:

The lettering is seperate material stitched onto the bag. Some of the fake bags have this printed or embroidered on.

On the genuine bags, the letter "i" in the word "Plastic" has a seperate and distinct dot above it. On some of the fake bags, they are joined together and in some cases the dot is joined to the side of the "t" next to it. However, the dot can be quite close and sometimes look as though it is attached to the "i"

                   Genuine                                               Fake

The letter "a" in the word "Plastic" on the genuine bags has a flatish top to it, some of the fake bags have a rounded top on the "a"

                   Genuine                                               Fake

On some of the fake bags that I have seen on ebay, this lettering looks tatty and frayed whereas on the genuine bags this is not the case.

Other tell tale things to look out for are:

The Anya Hindmarch bow at the top of the bag  is embroidered on the genuine bags and is quite small. On some of the fake bags it is either printed on or is larger.

The rings that the handle goes through on the genuine bags are chrome, on some of the fake bags they are brass

The actual material of the bag is made from canvas as is quite strong, it does not feel flimsy in any way. Some of the fakes do.

We will need to go to part two to see some of the tell tale signs inside the bag.

One more thing I would ask of you before we go to part two is please, if you have found this useful, click on the   "YES"   button just below here to the right as that will indicate to me if i am giving the right information for you or not. Thank you.

If you have already bought a fake bag, CLICK HERE to see how you may be able to get your money back

CLICK HERE TO GO TO PART TWO OF THIS GUIDE