Do I need to worry about fakes when buying used leather jackets?

[mippo]

If I'm looking to buy a used leather jacket for brands like Freewheelers, Real McCoy's, Himel Bros, Field Leathers, etc. do I need to be wary of people selling low quality knockoffs? Are fakes of these brands common? What are things I should be looking for if I want to avoid fakes?

 

[Marc mndt]

Fakes do excist but they're rare. I think it's too expensive to make a convincingly looking fake freewheelers or RMC. They can't use cheap leather because it'll show.

On the other hand, there are tons of fake Belstaff trailmaster jackets so why wouldn't they make fake Freewheelers jackets. Maybe because it's too much of a niche market.

 

[ton312]

Fakes do excist but they're rare. I think it's too expensive to make a convincingly looking fake freewheelers or RMC. They can't use cheap leather because it'll show.

On the other hand, there are tons of fake Belstaff trailmaster jackets so why wouldn't they make fake Freewheelers jackets. Maybe because it's too much of a niche market.

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All from the same seller. LOL!

 

[Bfd70]

Recognize that blanket! Didn’t know they were fakes.

 

[Blackadder]

Fakes do excist but they're rare. I think it's too expensive to make a convincingly looking fake freewheelers or RMC. They can't use cheap leather because it'll show.

On the other hand, there are tons of fake Belstaff trailmaster jackets so why wouldn't they make fake Freewheelers jackets. Maybe because it's too much of a niche market.

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Sugar Cane did reproduce some jackets with the Californian labels.

 

[Marc mndt]

Sugar Cane did reproduce some jackets with the Californian labels.

I can be wrong of course but this level of sloppiness doesn't look Sugar Cane to me.

 

[cbez]

Agreed too much work and not enough margin. You have to go 90% there to make a fake.

 

[handymike]

As long as it isn’t a Chinese knock-off brand or some other cheap repro you should be fine. Most issues are with re-sellers mis-representing what they have

 

[Blackadder]

It is not too niche of a market AFAIK. I know for a fact that they have fake Real McCoy's deck vest on Taobao and some fake RM Buco tees. I am not talking about copies/knock-offs by Bronson and Bob Dong etc but fake as in with RM labels and tags down to the Ts. I am not sure I have seen any massed produced fake RM leather jackets. There are the fake Belstaff and fake Schott. There seems to be some European made Bucos leather jackets some years ago using some look-a-like labels. I probably won't call those using defunct companies' trademark as fake. But then some resellers do try to pass them off as genuine original Bucos.

 

[Marc mndt]

This seller is still active on eBay, now under a different name. Selling a mix of real and fake stuff.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3647772333...qkltxehtou&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[Hide'n'seek]

Fakes do excist but they're rare. I think it's too expensive to make a convincingly looking fake freewheelers or RMC. They can't use cheap leather because it'll show.

On the other hand, there are tons of fake Belstaff trailmaster jackets so why wouldn't they make fake Freewheelers jackets. Maybe because it's too much of a niche market.

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I can confirm that the Aero isn't legit. We stopped using that label long before we launched Aeromarine. Single layer raw edge side adjusters wrong as is the stepped top stitch on bottom hem.

 

[AeroFan_07]

If I'm looking to buy a used leather jacket for brands like Freewheelers, Real McCoy's, Himel Bros, Field Leathers, etc. do I need to be wary of people selling low quality knockoffs? Are fakes of these brands common? What are things I should be looking for if I want to avoid fakes?

So as has been shown here, fakes are a real thing, and not always a good deal by any stretch.

What draws you to these brands anyway?

What jackets do you currently own? Or what is your leather jacket experience?

 

[mippo]

So as has been shown here, fakes are a real thing, and not always a good deal by any stretch.

What draws you to these brands anyway?

What jackets do you currently own? Or what is your leather jacket experience?

I think their jacket designs look really cool. I own a Schott and a Himel. I have very little leather jacket experience.