FAKE HERMES BIRKIN– bag scammed!!!

Finally, I get to tell this story that I’ve been itching to tell you all for quite some time.

Last July, one of our own baghags JS, was given money to buy herself a Hermes birkin as a “birthing” present (she has a very cool DH, I’m telling ya). She consulted me on the matter, and I had informed her that a new Hermes birkin at the boutique, if she can get one, would cost her roughly US$8,200. Resale boutiques would put a premium on it and sell it for more (Milan Station in HK sells Hermes birkins at a starting amount of US$10,000. That’s the way it goes.)

Anyway, I can relate with her on this, because like me, she has no patience to wait (heck, we all don’t!). So she scoured the internet to find some reputable reseller, and apparently she had found one. The company name? Haley’s Couture (website addresses are: www.haleyscouture.com ; www.sacexotique.com; www.hermesgalleria.com). The website looks good. And it also says that the owner of the site and the company, Roslynn N. Gaiter Matthew, has just released a book about Hermes birkins called “Handbag of the Fabulous“.

Being on the mailing list of this company, we received a promotional email that advertised a pre-owned mint condition Hermes 35cm birkin in black for only US$6,700. Now, I told her if that birkin was real, it would be a steal. Because I had purchased a black birkin at Hermes Texas recently and had paid well over $8,000 for it (and that didn’t even include shipping fees yet!). Having asked for my opinion about the bag, I told her that the site seemed reputable (after all, the owner did write a book about the bag, so I mean, what are the chances of that company selling a fake, right?).

So, the bag was purchased and shipped to our very own country. When it arrived, I saw the bag and it was to me, clearly a fake Hermes birkin. Could this company have sold us a fake Hermes birkin, while knowing fully well what fakes would look like (author wrote an entire segment about fake Hermes birkins in her book)? I pondered hard over this– and honestly, I was dumbfounded.

I broke the news to JS, who, at this time, was still at the hospital. There is such a thing as post-partum depression *contrary to the oh-so-smart take of Tom Cruise on this matter hehe* (and this is so true because I went through it too), and I cannot even begin to tell you how bad she felt over this incident. Over that very weekend, that Haley’s Couture birkin was brought over to Hong Kong to be authenticated. Here’s a fact. Hermes no longer authenticates birkins or other Hermes bags. It has become a strict store policy. This “birkin” in question was brought to the Hermes boutique at The Peninsula Hotel, Kowloon. When the sales associates saw the bag (the bag was just propped up on the table– and note, it was not even being asked for authentication), service was immediately refused. An outright refusal of service only indicates one thing– the bag must be a fake. After all, if you are the store manager/ owner of a luxury brand and someone comes in carrying a fake of the brand you are selling, you have the right to refuse service because it is an outright insult to be serving someone who would rather buy a fake of your own brand. Heck if it was me, I’d have that bag confiscated and ripped to shards right before the owner’s eyes!

JS’s cousin also took this very same bag to Milan Station in Hong Kong, where she asked how much the bag’s resale value is. After a few minutes, the manager of the store said that they cannot put a price on that bag because it is a very good Hermes copy. In other words, it is a fake– a very good one. One that had likewise almost fooled them.

That sealed it. We then asked several friends to email Haley’s Couture for inquiries about their bags etc. We needed as much info as possible. Then we sleuthed for more information about the owner of Haley’s Couture. And our worst fears are confirmed.

Roslynn Nicole Gaiter Matthew, owner of Haley’s Couture, is a con artist– how so? She has filed chapter 7 bankruptcy charges in the State of Maryland, and has a charged-off signature loan of $17,500 in addition to an unpaid and charged-off account with MBNA America totalling $6,700. Then she conveniently moved from Maryland to Florida– the best place to con people and not get caught.

We were emailing Haley’s Couture day by day, asking for the refund. JS paid a hefty sum of $6,700 for this bag. And all she asked for was her money back. But these Haley’s Couture customer reps said that they cannot refund the money because it was their store policy. We asked. “Even if the bag is proven fake??” To which they replied, “The Hermes representative at our local boutique has authenticated this bag for us before we put it up for sale.”

SHOCKING REVELATION: Now that statement is pure hogwash. Remember what I mentioned about Hermes, no longer authenticating bags? So we call Haley’s Couture’s “local” Hermes boutique– and that would be Palm Beach. Spoke to the managing director of the boutique itself, Miss Nichols. Guess what, she has never even heard of Roslynn Matthew!! And to think this Roslynn Matthew character claims to have bought her first ever Hermes birkin at the Palm Beach store! Then why won’t Miss Nichols know her?

MORE SHOCKING REVELATION: More sleuthing revealed this– company Roslynn Matthew’s Haley’s Couture, Hermes Galleria, Sac Exotique claim that they’ve been in business for “5 years”. If that’s the case, how come they’re operating under the wing of “Early Rise Publications, LLC” (as mentioned on their websites)? Early Rise Publications was registered with the State of Florida on May 16, 2006 (Early Rise published the book of Roslynn Matthew. Early Rise is registered to Michael W. Matthew Jr.— presumably the husband of Roslynn). And what of their “Palm Beach” office address, 350 S.County Rd, Ste 102-134, Palm Beach, FL 33480 ? It is a mail receiving service provided by MAILBOX OF PALM BEACH (www.mailboxofpalmbeach.com) !! Same goes for their so-called Paris office! The address 68 Rue du Faubourg, St. Honore, Paris seems so close to the Hermes flagship store, that you’d think they can’t be selling fakes when the real deal is just a few steps away, right? Well you can all drop your jaws now, because that very address is registered to ROBERTO CAVALLI’s boutique! The only other place in that same address is what’s called a “virtual office” — and anyone can have a virtual office as long as they pay the “leasing company” $250 a month! You end up with a “prestigious” address which you can tell your associates and clients about. But it is NOT a real office (hence the word “virtual”).

But wait, there’s more! So continuous emails were sent to the so-called customer representatives of this company (and at this point, we honestly think that the “reps” are actually either Roslynn or Michael, using other names). Their toll-free number is apparently a call center. So, no one could really get in touch with Roslynn Matthew.

JS has filed a report with the FBI on this matter, and a law enforcement agent from the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office is currently assigned on this case. And even then, JS tells me that the efforts of the police officer to contact this woman proved futile since Roslynn just refuses to return his calls. (Note that the police officer has her “real” number, not the tollfree one)

In all honesty, I also felt responsible for this, because I could’ve done a better job at convincing JS not to push through with the transaction. And yet, I didn’t. Like her, I was blinded into thinking that the company is reputable since the owner has published a book on Hermes birkins, which made me think that she is practically Hermes authority.

Lesson learned here, bag hags. You can’t be safe enough from predators like Roslynn Matthew, who prey on unassuming victims. And do note too that there is absolutely no way we would do a bait and switch for this bag. How easy would it be to find a Hermes black birkin WITH contrasting white stitching? And then what, create all this brouhaha? For what? I quite honestly didn’t even know such a combination existed! *shock* So there is nothing to gain from this revelation. JS herself has said and acknowledged that she might never see the money she paid for this fake birkin ever again. That is just plain sad.

And here are the photos to prove that the HALEY’S COUTURE birkin is NOT an Hermes birkin. We had been able to borrow an Hermes birkin, 35cm all black, from a bag hag who had purchased the bag straight from the Hermes boutique in Toronto 3 years ago.HALEY’S COUTURE birkin is black 35cm, with contrasting White stitching, silver hardware and H year stamped. The scary part is, the bag came in a REAL Hermes box, REAL Hermes dustbag, but also came with a FAKE Hermes raincoat. The Hermes box is also meant for a 30cm birkin– which leads me to think that HALEY’S BOUGHT this Hermes box from another person (who probably had a real Hermes birkin).

Notice the zippers on a real Hermes birkin regardless of the color of the leather whether it be Black togo or Blue jean togo.
Then compare those photos with the zipper on the Haley’s Couture black birkin with white contrast stitching below. How can you say that the Haley’s birkin is real?! There is NO WAY Hermes would replace the zipper base. The real Hermes black birkin is dated 2003, and the real Hermes blue jean birkin is dated 2004 (same year as the Haley’s birkin!).

There are more differences, the more detailed ones being, the way the silver hardware is “finished” on Haley’s Couture. On real Hermes bags, you will NOT even notice any ridges of any sort on the hardware– everything is very smooth and cleanly finished. Haley’s Couture birkin hardware is NOT cleanly made. There are obvious ridges and slight bumps to the hardware. There is even “gum” residue on the flap underside of the Haley’sBirkin– One that is definitely NOT to be found on a real Hermes birkin *scoff, GUM RESIDUE?!* I betcha Roslynn Matthew probably commissioned someone in Florence to make these Hermes copy birkins! They look real enough for first timers NOT to notice the difference. It is appalling!

And again, let me reiterate this, YES, HALEY’S COUTURE SOLD THAT BLACK 35CM “Hermes” BIRKIN with WHITE CONTRAST STITCHING. THEY ACKNOWLEDGED HAVING SOLD THAT ITEM (no dispute was made that the black birkin with white stitching which got delivered to us is not their bag), AND IT IS ON THEIR PROMOTIONAL EMAIL ADVERTISING IT AS WELL. So there is NO way for them now to deny that they ever sold us THAT birkin.

Oh and before I forget to mention, we also found out that HALEY’S COUTURE is also known as WORTH*AVENUE*ONLINE on ebay— and this is something we failed to find out!! (Haley’s vehemently denies the relationship between that ebay ID and their company) Incidentally, worth*avenue*online also sold a FAKE black “hermes” birkin 35cm with white contrast stitch, with G stamp! And both entities are located in Palm Beach, Florida. Not unreasonable for me to speculate, right? And I just shudder to think how many more people got victimized by this seller!

I am posting this as a public service to all bag hags out there. I’m sure some “loyalists” of Haley’s Couture (loyalists being the so-called customer reps of that company) might brand me as having something to gain from all this. I don’t. I was very involved in this incident too. But this is something that we women have to contend with– sometimes we all get to a point of desperation when we really have to have that bag, and we are quick to overlook “sound” criteria for buying bags online– which is why there are millions of online fraud cases. But we need to wake up and learn from this expensive mistake. I’m sure one way or another, you had also been gyped by unscrupulous people. JS has already acknowledged that she will in high likelihood, never recover that amount again. I have been continuing with my efforts in helping her get her refund, but Haley’s Couture has completely stopped replying to her emails. Haley’s Couture owner is even coming out with ANOTHER birkin book this coming December! How lucrative a business this must be for the Matthew couple– scamming people of money by interspersing possibly real Hermes birkins with FAKE ONES like what JS had received!

I dare not say negative things about a company in this manner unless I personally know someone who got maligned, or have encountered such an experience myself because if all the information contained on this post were false, I’d be libeling that company. But every single statement made about Haley’s Couture/ Hermes Galleria/ Sac Exotique on this post, is 100% true. I did not post about this sooner because I was just waiting for the go- signal of the victim for me to publish this very post. And she has given me permission to finally post about this very unfortunate experience.

This is really proof that you should not really just trust thousands of $$ to anyone you don’t know on the internet. More importantly, before you buy anything on the net, do your homework diligently. Sleuth around, get feedback from different people who might have transacted with the seller. And if you yourself are a seller, practice the seller’s creed– no matter what, if an item that you have sold is found counterfeit, and that proven this is the same item you have sent them (which you acknowledge is yours to begin with), you HAVE to send the buyer his/her money back. It is the most ethical thing to do. We need to be consciencious sellers and buyers. This will help us in the end. Business relationships are solidified because there is complete trust between buyer and seller. And I firmly believe in that.

JS, I really hope we can get your money back, and we will keep trying. As for the others who have just read this shocking revelation, if you or anyone you know has purchased a birkin from Haley’s Couture or their affiliate companies (Hermes Galleria, Sac Exotique), I’d love to hear from you and more importantly, I’d actually like to see your birkin in person.

I sincerely hope this helps you, bag hags, understand that there is really a need to be more vigilant about buying expensive items online. I personally don’t discourage buying online, but I say this– just make sure you Know your seller.

P.S. posting this early (3.20pm Aug 7). This cannot wait!!