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– There are incredible prices to think about for such an object, but I see it partly as a hobby, but also as an investment project, Mia Hærum tells TV 2.
TV 2 meets the 22-year-old math and economics student in her Oslo apartment. Here she passionately displays her hobby: designer bags.
– This is the most coveted bag of both, a Hermes Birkin. I paid 110,000 crowns for the finished customs clearance.
WANTED: Hard to get Hermes Birkin bag. Photo: Simen Askjer / TV 2
– And then I have two pieces of them, laughs Hærum – before he puts his finger to his mouth and says – silence.
Real goods are principle
Hærum says she was in her late teens when interest in the big designer brands emerged. Since then, she has saved up for several years to make the dream of owning some of the most sought-after bags in the world come true.
She emphasizes that it is not just a hobby, but also an investment.
The biggest fashion houses like Hermes and Chanel and simple Louis Vuitton products increase in value every year. Instead of investing in stocks, I have a little fun on the go, Hærum smiles.
Is everything you have here real?
– Yes it is. I have receipts, I have certificates and I know where it was purchased, says Hærum.
– I know very well that the “replica industry” can support dishonest and horrible acts, such as terrorism. On top of that, buying genuine products where it is guaranteed that the workers who have produced the goods are not underpaid is not child labor. So I think it’s very important to think about that.
So how good are you at recognizing counterfeit products?
– Obviously not as good as I thought, says Hærum.
A glass”
When Chanel’s dream bag appeared for sale at Finn.no last year, it struck out.
– I think it looked fantastic. This type of bag was one he had wanted for many years, says Hærum, who says he met the seller in central Oslo to complete the exchange.
– When you stand in the spot and can’t see if it’s fake, then …
– You’re a little excited then, very happy, when you feel like you’ve gotten a hit. So I tipped him on the spot, says Hærum.
– How much?
– 23,500. It is a price that indicates that it must be genuine, says Hærum.
Can you tell the difference? See the fake bag in the photo carousel below.
FALSE: This was sold to Mia as real. Photo: Simen Askjer / TV 2
FALSE: This was sold to Mia as real. Photo: Simen Askjer / TV 2
FALSE: This was sold to Mia as real. Photo: Simen Askjer / TV 2
FALSE: This was sold to Mia as real. Photo: Simen Askjer / TV 2
Fake Chanel bag. Photo: Simen Askjer / TV 2
“Super fakes”
After using the bag for six months, the need to buy something new arose. Mia then put the Chanel bag up for sale. He then received several messages that the bag was a fake.
– I was a little offended, because I had full faith that it was real. I thought, “How can you say something like that?” But then there was more than one who told me this, and then I had to do more research myself.
Mia sent photos of the bag to a London company that specializes in revealing whether luxury items are real or fake.
– They also said it was fake.
– I thought; “Now I have lost a huge sum of money, which I cannot afford to lose,” says Hærum.
A long battle
For nine months, Mia argued with the seller to cancel the purchase. According to Hærum, the seller came up with several conflicting stories about the origin of the bag and whether it was genuine.
DISCLAIMER: Mia Hærum struggled to cancel the purchase. Photo: Simen Askjer / TV 2
Then he fell silent from the seller.
For a long time, he called the seller many times a day. Unanswered.
– I see myself as a firm person. To the salesperson, I’m probably a “tough bastard,” Mia says with a crooked smile.
Before the summer, he finally managed to reach an agreement with the seller, but then everything went quiet.
In the end, he saw no other solution than to contact a lawyer.
Fraud
– In my opinion, Mia has suffered a fraud. You have been presented with a product that should be genuine and that turns out to be a fake, says Trygve M. Gravdahl in Ræder.
ATTORNEY ASSISTANCE: Trygve M. Gravdahl at Ræder. Photo: Simen Askjer / TV 2
It says that the consumer is quite weak if one experiences being cheated.
– So in practice you are in a very difficult situation when you have to chase it and the seller does not want to contribute to this, says Gravdahl.
Mia Hærum will think twice the next time she buys a bag. She thinks it’s sad that you have to suspect that people want to rip you off.
– I’ve learned the hard way. In the future, I’ll be very careful who I decide to trade with, Mia says.
– Is it easy to be fooled?
– Absolutely. If someone wants to scam you, they can. I have full faith in that, and based on experience, I know.
– It shows that there are many fakes and very good fakes on the second-hand market in Norway. Unfortunately, it’s easy to get scammed, says Hærum.
