Making knock off purses in China and importing them to the US is big business. It is also big crime. In a recent big bust, seventeen people were arrested in America for a very complicated operation to bring in these illegal bags by impersonating custom agents. They paid a million dollars just to get set up in position to import the bags. This figure can give you an idea of exactly how profitable this illegal trade can be.

Nine people were detained in a flea market in Connecticut for the same offense. The police confiscated almost five thousand illegal bags.

The people that buy these bags are victims of crime. They think that they are getting a wonderful deal on authentic designer bags, but later on they find out that they have been duped.

The bags they buy are relatively worthless, and they have no way of getting their money back, since the criminals that peddle these fake bags never stay in one place for long.

So how do these fake bags get into the country, when it is illegal, and they are not allowed through customs? Well, one way that was discovered is that the labels are not attached until the bags arrive in America. Officially it is still legal to bring bags in if they just look like designer models, once the label does not implicate the manufacturer. So all that the smugglers have to do is import bags without labels on them, and then add the labels when they have arrived safely in the United States.

Since the authorities are having such a hard time stopping smugglers from bringing the fake bags into the country, our consumers need to learn how to protect themselves from being victimized by this scam. Learn how to tell the difference between a real designer bag and a fake one.

There is usually a big difference in quality since the people who make fake bags are not able to afford the high quality leather and other materials that go into making a designer bag. Look at the material from which the bag is made, and look at the quality of the stitching to verify the quality.

Another good indicator you can use to protect yourself is price. People who sell knock offs usually try to attract customers by setting their prices much lower than what you would have to pay for the real bag in a store. People buy the fake bags because they think that they are getting a great deal on a quality product.

Stop and think, and realize that it is very unlikely that a real designer bag that usually sells for a thousand dollars will be on sale at a flea market for one or two hundred dollars. If the price difference is so great, it's too good to be true, and the bag is probably a fake.