While on vacation in DC and Maryland during the past week, I was amazed to find a street vendor with a pushcart full of fake Dooney, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada and perhaps some other designer labels. The vendor was set up on the inner harbor of the waterfront in Baltimore, a huge tourist-y area. There were police officers in the area yet when I mentioned this guy selling counterfeit handbags and wallets, they seemed more concerned about putting the brakes on bootleg CDs. (Although all counterfeits are wrong and should be stopped, it seems to me that they are stealing more -- or at least bigger -- money on purses. Yet the officer I spoke to asked how they would know they were fakes.....yeah, right, authentic bags that retail for $300 to $2000 selling for $10 to $85! And there's a question about authenticity? )

I took some pictures that I've posted. These bags have fake tags, fake plaques, copied fabrics, leathers, etc. I can speak for Dooney only, though, when I say that the style and the gaudy DB plaque are not like anything you'll see on an authentic Dooney.

If potential bidders/buyers see any of these styles on ebay, DO NOT PURCHASE them!!

If the following link doesn't work, I will post links to the individual pictures.
http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x120/2l...e%20MD%20fakes/

And here are some ebay listings with the same fake bags. I've posted the pix also in case the listings disappear.
http://cgi.ebay.com/dooney-and-burke-signa...1QQcmdZViewItem
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http://cgi.ebay.com/Leather-Prada-Multi-Co...1QQcmdZViewItem
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http://cgi.ebay.com/Dolce-Gabbana-Yellow-l...1QQcmdZViewItem
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It amazes me that they are able to sell these fakes on the streets and nothing happens to them!

At first I thought you had taken pictures of the vendor's bags and then saw the eBay links.

Those bags are beyond hideous!

I did!! I took pictures of the street vendor then found some of the same bags listed on ebay and I posted them.

Well... at least these guys probably aren't registered businesses. What about stores at the mall that have "Prada" bags behind glass cases for only $100? I was amazed... I'm walking through a shopping mall in this larger city about 45 minutes from where I live. I'm going towards Von Maur to have a look at their sale racks (hehe... they always have good bags on sale) and I see this odd little store right down from them. It was called Shuz... Anyway, there were a ton of shoes displayed on the walls and then there was a lady with BRIGHT red lipstick sitting behind a counter/case that had these "Prada" bags. Ugh! I seriously hope some innocent, unsuspecting person doesn't buy on of those.

Lppney,

Did you post the seller's ID so we keep an eye on them?
You know they will think they found a good thing and will keep on selling them.

Oh wait... I just looked at the pictures you took. That business looks like it may be a registered on since they accept Visa/MC. I thought you were talking about those people who just lay their stuff out along the sidewalk and only accept cash... those are the people who are slipping under the radar since they aren't paying any kind of taxes. Oh wow... that means the cart that you photographed is selling their merchandise as a legitimate business. Shouldn't someone be checking up on these people? I mean... you would think you would have to jump through more hoops to become an actual business. Wouldn't they have to disclose the "type" of merchandise they are going to be selling? Hmm... perhaps its easier in other states than it is around here. Or simply no one cares that a business that has a taxing id is selling illegal items. That's really sick, you know that? And I thought the little "shoe store" at the mall was bad. They say they sell shoes but then they just have a few fake bags on the side. Carts like this are being overly obvious about what they are doing... I can't believe the police refused to do anything about it.

The sadder and more frustrating part is that there were several police officers who were patrolling the area on bicycles. I approached them and informed them that this vendor was in violation of federal trademark laws and that every item was counterfeit.

They told me that their job is to patrol the area to ensure the safety of the tourists but there are detectives in the department who investigate pirated CDs. (I never even discussed CDs!!) I'm sure nothing was done once I walked away and I assume that they never mentioned it to the detective bureau in their department.

I will be sending an email to their department because the more I think about this, the more frustrated I get. I will also include a link to this forum! I hope I receive a response. I also hope that the lack of reaction I received is because they didn't realize how serious an infraction this is.

Part of protecting safety of tourists is not limited to physical safety. Shame on the police department for not doing anything about this. There is absolutely no excuse to condone the actions of these street scammers...oops street vendors.

We were in Atlantic City this weekend and took a walk on the Boardwalk. My husband was looking for an item for a friend of his and we walked into a jewelry store. I don't think I've ever seen so many fake bags in my life. All brands, Fendi, Coach LV, etc., and the ugliest of the ugly quality you've ever seen. He had a whole back wall full of them. It was unbelievable.

How the heck do they get away with it??!?!!?!?