Ladies are fashion conscious. We all know that! Ladies equate fashion with money? Now, that's a misconception which is why many of us hesitate in spending hard earned dollars for one designer handbag. We tend to visit the local kiosks, take a trip to New York's Chinatown or try looking at home parties to grab a designer handbag for less.

The fact however is that designer handbags do not come cheap! Even the used ones sold at e bay will cost you couple of hundreds of dollars. So if you are getting a brand new Channel or a Coach for $50, then step back! You are buying a fake one! No body wants a replica handbag. So if you are serious about fashion and are a concerned citizen here are some of the reasons why you should not buy a fake designer handbag:

Fake handbags have shoddy handwork, bad leather and bad accessories. The zippers stop working after a while and it becomes quite apparent that you have a fake handbag after some time.

The sellers of counterfeit handbags do not pay taxes. Their business is shady, ours is not. There is no point spending 50 dollars for a fake handbag and not even getting a receipt for the same to file your taxes.

The money from such counterfeit businesses is said to support terrorist activities. We do not want to be a party to that!

Fake handbags are used to smuggle drugs and import jewels hidden from the customs and immigrations. Supporting such businesses is indirectly supporting illegal activities.

So as you can see, as both a user and a moral citizen there are a number of reasons why you should not buy a replica designer handbag.

Now the next important question is how would know whether the handbag that you are buying is original or not?

Original designer handbags are sold in authentic retail shops which are listed in the manufacturer's website. Thus Coach for example gives the list of all its retail outlets from where you can buy an authentic Coach handbag.

The fake handbags will have bad craftsmanship, poor quality material and bad finish. Although the makers are becoming more and more conscious fake bags still look fake.

Always read the fine print. Look for words like "Our Version of XYZ", "Inspired by XYZ". Such products are always fake.

Look for the made in country label. The designer handbags are made in the country where the design house is based. A "Made in China" tag will not be there in an authentic Louis Vuitton handbag!

So beware ladies! It is good that you want to save money. But do not end up spending on fake products in order to save money. There is a famous British saying "Penny wise, pound foolish". It's better to spend some pounds or dollars to get an original piece rather than spending some pence or cents for a fake product that wears off within days!