Buying luxury and premium designer items online is like shopping in the dark. It has truly become a very frightening experience. The internet has made it possible to find excellent deals on items that were previously too expensive and unattainable for the average consumer.

Due to the amazing success of eBay and Mom and Pop shops online, prices for premium and designer goods has dropped drastically. But like anything that sounds too good to be true, the same rule applies when it comes to finding “rock-bottom” deals online. Quite often, there is a very high price to pay for obtaining amazing deals, on otherwise out of reach merchandise.

Often times, the price reflects the quality……..in other words, it’s a FAKE!

EBay – The Worlds Largest Marketplace has had to take considerable steps to try and counter the ever growing fake trade market. In fact, some of the counterfeiters have become so good at creating copies that some of the original manufacturers have a hard time distinguishing fakes from real.

There are a few eBay sellers and “corporate police” that have decided to take this growing trend into their own hands. As of December 2006, eBay began a massive effort on targeting and ridding themselves of sellers that were pushing down the value of these premium brands. Another site, Reddmark.com, which was inspired to counteract this trend, also has taken great lengths to ensure that their customers are able to shop without fear of purchasing illegal merchandise.

While eliminating counterfeit merchandise is probably impossible to do, there are ways to protect yourself from becoming a victim. The first thing is obviously to avoid those “too good to be prices”. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck……it’s a duck. Don’t get sucked into believing that you can get something for nothing, because in the end, you WILL end up with a fake.

Diane Drew has successfully helped 1,000's of people avoid purchasing fakes, and getting ripped off online.

In 2006, she took the reigns of an upstart Luxury Auction site dedicated to making it safe to purchase Authentic Designer Merchandise, Luxury Items, and Premium Electronics online without fearing what you would receive.