Know what's real.

We buy 40 to 60 bags a month over the counter, and the ones that keep me up are the Birkin 30s and 25s. A guy walked in with a Togo Birkin, box, receipt, the whole story. VERIDIA came back inconclusive and flagged the hardware screws, so I paid a fraction as a consignment hold instead of cash out. Two days later the brand confirmed it was a superfake. That's a five-figure hole I didn't step in.

Chargebacks were bleeding us. A buyer receives a Birkin, six weeks later opens a dispute claiming it's fake, and we're the ones eating it. We now attach the certificate to every bag over a couple thousand, and the two disputes since were both closed in our favour because the verifiable COA settled it.

Half my desk lately is sneakers and watches from younger sellers, and the Jordan 1 market is a minefield. Ran a pair of Chicago 1s that looked textbook and it caught the stitch pitch being off on the swoosh. Where it pays for itself is resale, I keep the certificate with the item and buyers stop haggling me down on trust. Sold a Rolex Datejust in under a week.

I used to mail pieces to an appraiser across Tokyo and they'd sit in transit the better part of a week. Now I shoot them on my phone, get a first read in five minutes, and only the ones that split the decision go to a human. I'm finally turning around about forty vintage pieces a month, box or no box.

Most of what comes through my door is 80s and 90s Chanel with no box, no card. I sent in a chevron-quilted flap I'd been arguing with myself about for a week. The AI wouldn't call it and pushed it to a human, who confirmed a rewired chain and a replaced turnlock. Not a full fake, but not honest either, exactly the case where a machine guessing would have burned me.

I placed a pair of Dior B23s and the client's assistant, who vets everything, asked for provenance. I dropped the VERIDIA link and the conversation just ended. No back-and-forth, no me swearing on my reputation for the fifth time that week.