It’s a problem when you want to buy something widely copied and you decide to take a risk. You can’t afford to buy direct from the manufacturer so elect to purchase, secondhand. Even if you get an authenticity guarantee or go through the checks offered by some secondhand sites like Vestiare or Vinted the chances are if it’s a bargain, too good to be true, it’s going to be fake, especially when it comes to sunglasses I have discovered. And the scale of how many fakes are in circulation is staggering when you start to have to validate and prove your case in order to get a refund.

When I decided I wanted to buy a pair of Vogue Gigi Hadid sunglasses 2018 the retail price was £118, you can pick them up for £100 now from Vogue Eyewear directly or from Sunglasses Hut for less around £80, still a lot for anyone on a budget, who’d prefer to save a little by going recycled, preloved.

When I saw a pair on a secondhand site that looked amazing, good images, great seller with 100% feedback for £40 I thought fantastic. I purchased. I even checked ahead asking the seller if they were authentic, of course they assured me all was fine.

When the glasses arrived it was obvious to me the glasses were fakes however when I asked to return them the seller refused and began a hostile exchange accusing me of calling her a liar, suggesting it would be better I just said I didn’t like them than the classic deflection of insulting her integrity.

This was where my difficulty began, proving my case without the platform being able to see the sunglasses, to be fair they were pretty good copies.

The giveaways things to look out for with these particular sunglasses you can actually buy online for about £15. Here are my 8 pointers how to spot fake sunglasses, Vogue Gigi Hadid 2018 VO4309S

1. Originals have an etched V on the upper corner of each lens, difficult to see and expensive to fake so if it’s missing it’s a dead giveaway.

2. Also on the nose bridge cushions, no tiny V branding, no two giveaway.

3. Serial numbers

The serial numbers on my fakes were absolutely accurate, the giveaway was they were printed not etched. Run your finger along the inside arm, you can feel if you are dealing with the real thing or a copy.

4. Lens shape and size, check the dimensions, if they are too long and thin, that’s a giveaway. It’s the wrong shape, they need to rectangular closer to square not a thinner oblong shape.

5. Also if the case feels cheap, the zip doesn’t run smoothly or the logo text looks off these are things to look out for. 6. The glasses should come with authenticity paper work and

7. A branded duster so if these are missing it’s also a red flag

8. Proof of purchase, ie a receipt but do check this as some people fake these too.

I purchased on Vinted and expected to be able to return the glasses as soon as I reported them not as described. This was not the case. It took a few weeks for the site to find in my favour and force the seller to accept a return, she wasn’t happy about it but eventually I was able to send them back. And I did get a refund in the end but not without providing two sets of images and doing a whole load of research myself.

I knew designer sunglasses were faked but didn’t expect a less well known brand like Vogue, even with a celebrity endorsement to be so widely available blatantly branded for a very low price. I have even found them on scam websites for $39 that offer free shipping worldwide that never even send out the product so buyer beware if you see any site offering free worldwide shipping this is altogether a whole other scam.

My advice when it comes to sunglasses, the only way you can be sure what you are buying is to buy direct from the brand or from a reputable outlet like Sunglasses Hut.

I am saving up for another pair.

I’m including just for reference of what the site URL looks like where if you order nothing is ever arriving, fake or not. If you happen to land on a site like this, usually clicking through on an image check the URL address, if it’s weird like wwwblackfriday with free worldwide shipping simply avoid, you are about to get ripped off.