If you’re a scarf aficionado, you know the Hermès silk scarf is the holy grail of neckwarmers. And if you don’t want to plunk down serious plastic for a new one, there are abundant vintage options available.

But since you don’t want to get burned on a counterfeit, ThePerfectRedBox.com offers a guide to spotting a fake on eBay or in the consignment shop. Among the tips:

Weight The weight of the counterfeits I’ve felt were quite different from an authentic Hermès.  All but one has been much lighter -  most were made of polyester and not silk.  A new 35” x 35” Hermès carrè should weigh in around 63 grams or 2.2. ounces.

When in doubt Weigh it.

Back of carrè Almost every counterfeit I’ve seen had very little detail on the back.  The design on an authentic Hermès carrè can be clearly seen from the back – it is colour saturated.

When in doubt Look closely at the back of the carrè.

Hem Almost all Hermès scarves have hand rolled and hand stitched hems, to the front. There are a few exceptions to this, but generally an authentic scarf will be hand rolled and hand stitched. Many of the counterfeits I’ve seen were very clearly and very pooly machine hemmed/finished.

When in doubt If it looks machine sewn, seek further authentication.

Useful, right? See the whole guide here.

Hey guys — looking to keep warm this winter? You might have to dig deep to avoid looking as fashionable as “a microwavable kebab.” Hilarious men’s fashion writer Alexis Petridis bemoans the state of faux fur for men in the U.K. Guardian:

Once, they were the height of louche sophistication, the kind of thing the Rolling Stones wore while looking elegantly wasted. Perhaps the rock star’s penchant for fur coats hastened their fall from grace: by the late 70s, they had become associated with a rock aristocracy so irritating that people felt impelled to form Sham 69 and spit at each other in protest. The moral argument has an impact, too. You want fake fur to look like the real thing, but too much and you risk Chrissie Hynde chaining herself to you whenever you step outside.

So, there aren’t many about: I ended up with a too-small women’s one, which made me look as louche and sophisticated as a microwavable kebab.

Mr. Petridis can take heart that plenty of vintage fur exists on eBay from the very era he’s trying to channel. No word yet whether Mick Jagger is ready to part with his old coats, though.

Christene at Refinery29.com showed off this fab 1980s braided belt find from eBay this morning, and it got us thinking about our readers. We bet you all are total rock stars at sniffing out the best deals on vintage and preloved clothing.

We’re relative newbies but we’re learning: In July, we scored some like-new vintage Frye Dorian riding boots in a rich cognac color for only $100. If you’re a pro at eBaying, share your stories of your best-ever find in the comments!

It never fails: The end of July hits and with it, the urge to go back-to-school shopping. (Nevermind how long we’ve been out of school.) I went to college in New England and even now that I live in Southern California, I feel undeniably drawn to fall’s big trend: Americana-themed boots.

There’s no better place to look for classic riding boots than Frye. The brand has been making them for 146 years — securing its place as the oldest footwear company in the United States. And that means that plenty of vintage options abound.

Chances are good your local thrift shop has a pair or two lying around, but for ease of shopping by size or style, eBay is your best bet for getting a pair of vintage Fryes at a fraction of the price for new.

Check out these listings (all current as of today!):

• Circa 1960s tall Campus boots in buttery banana yellow, size 5.5, $60 Buy It Now.
• Platform Dorian boots with side-zip in toffee brown, size 6, $69.99 Buy It Now with free shipping.
• Stacked-heel short boots in espresso brown in near-mint condition, size 6, $95 Buy It Now.
• Circa 1970s knee-high western boots in putty grey, size 7, bidding currently at $28.99.
• Mod platform Villager short boots in black, size 8, $30 Buy It Now.
• Seriously broken-in riding boots in rust brown, size 9.5, bidding currently at only $9.99.
• Circa 1970s Dingo cowboy boots in excellent condition, size 10, bidding currently at $23.

Any lover of luxury knows eBay is not the safest place to score a designer name. The risk of paying top dollar for a counterfeit Louis Vuitton is too great.

But what if there were someone you knew you could trust to sell pre-loved luxury goods at a fair price? That’s the ideal, right?

Enter Portero.com. Every brand-name item they sell has been authenticated by their professional appraisers. And not in the scammy “100% guaranteed authentic, but sorry, no refunds!” kind of way — as in, Portero will give you every penny of your money back if you’re unsatisfied for any reason. Even the pre-owned watches they sell come backed by a one-year warranty.

They list leather goods, jewelry, and watches by big-name brands like Chanel, Hermès, Prada, and Cartier. Every item comes with multiple photos and an assessment of its condition, ranging from “pristine” to merely “fair.”

And oh yes — there are deals to be had. The vintage gold-plated Chanel earrings you see here? Only $130, but every bit as glam as what you’ll find new in the store today.

What better way to keep fashion recirculating?

The Independent examined the online flourishing of fake fashion in a recent article, hitting all the key points:

• Online shopping provides total anonymity for sellers of fake goods while preventing customers from inspecting the goods before they pay for them. It’s a win-win situation for unscrupulous vendors.
• Knocked-off designers have found monitoring eBay for fakes costly and inefficient. An estimated 4 million counterfeit goods are listed on the auction site every year, and the courts have tended to side with eBay’s claims that they are not responsible for the sale of illegal fakes.
• Business-to-business websites like iOffer, AliBaba, and Tradekey allow anyone in the world access to the factories in China that illegally manufacture the fakes. It makes starting an online counterfeiting business easier if anyone can buy a shipment of $10 “Coach” purses and resell them for $50.
• Getting into the racket online is so easy that many people hardly realize what they’re doing is illegal or unconscionable. Some sellers may even feel justified given the high retail prices of the real thing. (You can read more about the ethics of fashion counterfeiting in our archives.)

The whole article is worth a read and includes tips on how to spot fake Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Rolex, and Chanel (assuming what you see is what you get — a seller who uses all stock photos doesn’t protect you at all).

Madonna, Jennifer Aniston, Eva Longoria, and other fashionable and famous names have donated their handbags for charity.

The high-end purses (accompanied by handwritten notes from the celebrities) will be auctioned on eBay through June 12. One-hundred percent of the proceeds will benefit GlobalGiving’s Italy Earthquake Relief and Recovery Fund.

In April, a 6.3 magnitude quake hit central Italy near the town of L’Aquila, leaving nearly 300 people dead and 30,000 more homeless. Madonna donated $500,000 in cash soon after the quake, requesting that the money be used in the relief effort in her father’s home region of Abruzzo. Many Italian designers have also raised or donated money for the cause, including Salvatore Ferragamo, Gucci, Versace, Valentino, Brioni, and Giancarlo Giammetti.

Lawyers for eBay can look forward to another bonus: A British court has ruled that eBay is not responsible for the fact that many of the L’Oreal beauty products available for sale on the auction site are counterfeit.

Increasingly frustrated by the number of fake perfumes and cosmetics sold through eBay, L’Oreal took the website to court in Belgium, England, France, Germany, and Spain. Similarly, Tiffany and Louis Vuitton both sued eBay for the same reason in the past year and both also lost.

In a statement, eBay called the British court’s ruling “a victory for consumers and the thousands of entrepreneurs who sell legitimate goods on eBay every day.” L’Oreal’s lawsuits in the other countries are still pending.

You may have had your eye on those gorgeous key pendant necklaces that Tiffany has been promoting lately. Or maybe you’ve noticed the look on celebrities like Taylor Swift and Hayden Panettiere.

But at $6,000+ for the diamond-encrusted Tiffany version, you’re probably hankering for a cheaper way to get the look.

You’re in luck: A quick search on eBay for “skeleton key” yielded nearly 700 results starting at $1. 

For a gothic look, check out this Tibetan silver skull key. If you’re musical, you might be enchanted by this Steinway grand piano key. Like real antiques? This brass key can be yours for less than the cost of a sandwich.

Once you find the perfect pendant, simply thread the bow of the key through a long, sturdy chain. To get the look right, you want it to be extra long (at least 24 inches) so it hits between your sternum and your navel.

Need supplies? Etsy has what you need.

A pair of Northwest Airlines employees were arrested this week after listing designer purses and jewelry on eBay that were stolen from passenger luggage, The Oregonian reports.

The property was allegedly stolen out of checked luggage that passed through Portland International Airport in Oregon, with international flights particularly targeted because people were more likely to pack expensive items for longer trips.

The police say they set up surveillance cameras to follow Jose Trejo Romero, an airline employee for the past 13 years:

In his backpack, they found two Cole Haan handbags (their $299.95 price tags attached), a Gateway laptop computer, power cords and toiletries. They seized three hand warmers and a Sony MP3 player from his locker.

His upstairs bedroom closet looked like a high-scale market, where police recovered: 20 designer handbags; 28 other purses; 15 digital cameras; four video cameras; a Nikon camera with telephoto lens; a complete Wii system; five Nintendos; two PlayStations; two iPods; a GPS system; a portable DVD player; an MP3 player; three portable CD players; six laptop computers; five hard drives; 20 designer watches; 14 other watches; eight new wallets; three PDAs; an iPhone; a complete 1986 mint U.S. coin set; and hundreds of jewelry items.

A word to the wise: Check to see what else a seller has listed before you pull the trigger on a new purse from eBay. If the seller doesn’t specialize in that niche or brand, you may be more likely to end up with a stolen item.