Hunting for Handbags, Finding the Fakes

Jan. 15, 2007— -- A diamond may be a girl's best friend, but a handbag is her constant companion. And a designer handbag represents all that is exclusive, sexy, and stylish. They cover the pages of fashion magazines and the faces of billboards, and rest delicately on the arms of celebrities and everyday women striving to capture that elusive "in" look.

But this status symbol doesn't come at a cheap price. Designer handbags carry price tags ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars. And those prohibative prices have an increasing number of women flocking to department stores, boutiques, and increasingly, online shopping Web sites, in search of the perfect accessory at a discounted price.

A simple Google search of the words "designer handbags" returns more than 2 million results. The internet is the fashionista on a budget's playground -- but when shoppers turn to the internet to get an authentic handbag at a bargain price, are they really getting what they pay for?

Watch the story on "20/20: Promises, Promises" Friday at 10 p.m. ET

"20/20" couldn't resist making a few purchases to see what kind of bargain we could get through the web. At one site, we found a monogrammed Louis Vuitton and a classic Chanel, each for less than half of their retail price, but still pricey at around $600 dollars a piece.

At another site, we found a Fendi Spybag for $1,099, and at a third, a Balenciaga for $549. The handbags arrived as promised, even in a protective dust bag, but something just didn't seem right.

ABC News enlisted Cameron Silver and Christos Garkinos, two men who authenticate handbags for their vintage stores Decades I and Decades II, to take a look at the discount purchases. In about as much time as it took Google to produce Web site results, Cameron and Christos had some results of their own.

Right off the bat, Christos had a few things to say about the so-called classic Chanel. "It's really cheap looking…the diamond stitching does not line up," he said.