Note: This guide covers ONLY 2006-2007 tokidoki for LeSportsac bags. This guide does not include tokidoki for Hello Kitty bags, European tokidoki bags, or 2008-2010 tokidoki bags because there are no fakes of these items on eBay (yet?).

List of signs that a seller is probably selling fake tokidoki for LeSportsac items:

1. If the bag does not have the “qee” toy(spring 2006-summer 2007) or tokidoki Adios keychain(fall 2007 onwards) attached to it on a keyring with a chain, proceed with caution. All tokidoki bags (including wallets and acessories) come with a qee/tokidoki keychain – except for Braccialettos. Those who make fake tokidoki bags are not good at reproducing realistic versions of the tokidoki qee, so some fake bags don’t include one or try to hide it in their auction photos. Also note: a real NWT (new with tags) tokidoki bag will usually come with the qee wrapped in a clear plastic wrapper with black writing printed on it – but fake bags never include this printed plastic wrapper. If the bag is new, but the qee isn’t wrapped in plastic, proceed with caution. Sometimes the wrapper does come off by accident on real bags, but just keep this warning in mind.

2. The bag has a first season tokidoki print with a qee from the later seasons attached, or the attached qee looks fake. The first season tokidoki print bags came with either a blue Meomi cat qee or a pink Dalek qee with a “5″ on its chest attached. First season tokidoki print bags did NOT come with the white qees with the flower face, except for the tokidoki Black bags. (To make things a bit more confusing, the 2007 re-release of the first season or “original print” bags did come with white tokidoki qees.) Check out a comparison of a real qee versus a fake qee.

Real First Season Meomi Qee:

Real First Season Dalek Qee:

Real tokdioki Qee – Comes with Spring 2006 “tokidoki black” print and bags from the Summer 2006 through the Summer 2007 collection:

Real tokdioki Adios keychain – Comes with bags from the Fall 2007 and Winter 2007 collections, and with Foresta, Paradiso, and L’Amore re-release bags:

Fake tokidoki qee:

Another fake tokidoki qee:

Another fake tokidoki qee:

And still another fake tokidoki qee – any bag that comes with this tokidoki qee, which is missing the red star on the front of its left arm, is FAKE:

3. The bag does not have the decorative chain on it that all tokidoki bags (including wallets and acessories) come with.

Examples of fake tokidoki bags that are missing the decorative chain and have a little skinny fake chain in its place:

4. The zippers on the outside of the bag are made of plastic and/or are not multi-colored. On real Tokidoki bags, all of the zippers on the outside of the bag are made of metal, and are multi-colored (rainbow colors in a random pattern)*. Also on real Tokidoki bags, the inside zippers are plastic in a color that matches the inside lining, with a generic standard zipper pull that matches the hardware color. Some fake Tokidoki bags have a zipper pull on the inside that says Lesportsac on it – real Tokidoki bags never do!

*Note: One exception to this rule is the Scuola backpack style bag – SOME seasons of the Scuola do not have rainbow zippers. Original print (first season tokidoki print) Scuolas have white zippers, second season Playground Scuolas have tan zippers, second season Playground Cammo Black Scuolas have black zippers, and second season Playground Cammo Olive Scuolas have olive zippers. Third season Scuolas and onwards have rainbow zippers.

Example of a fake Tokidoki bag that does not have rainbow zippers:

5. If the bag/wallet/accessory does not have round zipper pulls with tokidoki characters engraved on the front of them, or other hardware in the same color with tokidoki characters engraved on them, it is fake. Note that the color of the hardware on real bags changes depending on which season and print the bag is. First season bags had green hardware (plus blue hardware rings attached to the strap), and subsequent seasons have silver or gold hardware. The color of the decorative chain on the bag always matches the hardware color as well.

UPDATE: To make things a little more confusing, a batch of “second generation” original print (first season tokidoki print) bags were released a year after the first season bags were originally produced. The second generation original print bags were an exclusive to the Seattle LeSportsac outlet store. The second generation bags have silver hardware and chains instead of green and blue, and they come with regular tokidoki qees instead of Meomi or Dalek. The second generation bags were produced in the following styles: Stellina, Bambino, Bambinone, Canguro, and Luna. They were also produced in 3 styles that were NOT available in the original run of the first season tokidoki print: Portatelefono, Bocce, and Gioco. When in doubt IDing an original print tokidoki bag, see #25 on this list.

Example of a fake tokidoki bag that does not have the correct color hardware – note that the hardware is all silver when it should be green & blue (it is also the wrong shape, the zippers are too short, and it is missing the qee and decorative chain):

Example of another fake tokidoki bag that does not have the correct color hardware – once again the hardware is all silver when it should be green & blue (it also has the wrong qee attached, and is missing the decorative chain):

Example of another fake tokidoki bag that does not have the correct color hardware – once again the hardware is all silver when it should be green & blue (the qee is also missing the red star on its left arm, and the decorative ball chain is too skinny):

Example of a fake tokidoki bag that does not have the correct engraving on the zipper pull – it should be a picture of a tokidoki character, not the word LeSportsac (the keyring that the qee is attached to is also a giveaway that this bag is fake):

Example of a fake tokidoki bag that has the wrong color and wrong size chain (Pirata bags should have gold chains that are a thicker weight than is pictured below):

6. The bag’s strap does not have the name LeSportsac repeating on it. Real bags have the LeSportsac logo repeating across the length of the strap, and the logo imprinted into the strap. Some fake bags have this too, but the font will look wrong and too small, so examine the straps closely!

7. Something about the pattern or the colors on the bag look off to you (trust your instincts).

Example of a fake tokidoki bag where the colors are off (it is also the wrong shape – this supposedly a Buon Viaggio but isn’t even close, the hardware is wrong, and the qee is fake):

Example of another fake tokidoki bag where the colors are off (it is also missing the decorative chain and has fake tags and a fake qee):

8. The auction does not specify the bag’s name and style number – sellers with real items will be able to provide you with this information, so that you can look the style up on my Tokidoki Bag Archive to make sure that the style really exists and looks like it is supposed to. If you have never seen a tokidoki bag in the style you see on ebay and can’t match it to any of the styles on my Tokidoki Bag Archive or the LeSportac website, it is fake! Fake bags are also sometimes sold as a “set” of two bags, even though no tokidoki bags are officially sold as sets. Fake tokidoki bags also sometimes come in bag styles that were never available in some prints.

Fake bag “set” example:

Another fake bag “set” example:

Example of a fake tokidoki bag where the bag style was never made in the print shown – there is no such thing as a Playground Cammo Olive Zucca (the size of the print on this bag is also WAY too large and the color is off, it comes with a fake qee on a skinny chain, is missing the decorative gold chain… I could go on and about how super-fake this bag is):

Example of a fake tokidoki bag where the bag style was never made in ANY print – there is no such thing as a tokidoki weekender (this bag is also missing the qee & ball chain, doesn’t have rainbow zippers or the correct hardware on the zipper pull, doesn’t have the right color trim for the Spiaggia print, etc.):

9. The bag is listed as new but does not have LeSportsac tags attached.

10. The seller is located in Thailand, which is where most of the fake tokidoki bags seem to be coming from. A seller location in Thailand is not a guarantee that the bag is fake, but should be a sign to proceed with extra caution.

11. The price is too good to be true. You are not going to find a real tokidoki bag for a BIN of $30 on eBay. EVER.

12. The bag has an inside tag that says “Carefully Made in the USA.” Real tokidoki bags are made in China!

Example of a fake inside tag:

13. If the tags attached don’t match what the bag looks like, it’s fake!

Example of outer tags that don’t match the bag – the tag says “Leopard Print Showcase, ” but is attached to a (fake!) Cammo Olive dolce style bag:

14. For Cammo Olive print bags, if the trim is dark olive with lighter green LeSportsac logos across it, it is fake. On real Cammo Olive bags, the trim is the opposite – light olive trim with dark olive LeSportsac logos.

Trim on a fake Cammo Olive bag:

Trim on a real Cammo Olive bag:

15. For Playground print bags, if the trim is brown with tan LeSportsac logos across it, it is fake. On real Playground print bags, the trim is the opposite – light tan trim with dark tan LeSportsac logos.

16. The bag says Flower’ Spring on it instead of tokidoki for LeSportsac where the logo should be in the bag design, AND it has a white tokidoki qee that is missing the red star that should be on its left arm (check the photo of the real white tokidoki qee above in item #2!) . Fakes have also been spotted that say Prosport instead of tokidoki for LeSportsac where the logo should be in the bag design. Note that sellers may try to hide the Flower’ Spring words and fake qees on their fake bags – if it is hard to see what is going on in an auction photos, ask for better/more close-up photos. Also beware if a bag looks like it has been folded over oddly in places to hide it’s fakeness giveaways.

Examples of some fake bags that say “Flower’ Spring” and have qees that are missing the red star on their left arms (these bags are also missing the decorative chains, and have fake skinny little chains instead):

17. Check the seller’s other items before bidding. If they have other bags for sale that you recognize as fake, then you can be 99.9% sure that all of their tokidoki bags are fake. A seller with real items would not damage their credibility by mixing in fakes.

18. If the seller has zero feedback (especially if they also have an account that was created within in the past 30 days), you should proceed with extreme caution before bidding. Chances are that the seller keeps changing their ebay user ID to hide negative feedback they received from others who bought fakes from them previously.

19. The seller’s auctions include “tokidoki” in quotes in the title line of the auction as a subtle clue that they are selling knock-offs.

20. There are new fakes coming out of Australia. Be careful if the seller only accepts Direct Debit (Westpac), as they do not offer the buyer the same level of protection that Paypal offers buyers. Exercise a similar level of caution with any seller who doesn’t take Paypal – Paypal offers the most buyer protection in case of fraud.

21. If the bag has the wrong print inside, it is fake. Check my Tokidoki Bag Archive for which colors/prints should be inside which bags.

Example of a fake tokidoki bag with the wrong print inside – the inside of an Arancia (orange) bag should be Foresta:

22. If the bag is a Campeggio and the front pockets end above the bottom seam of the bag, it is fake. Real Campeggio front pockets end at the bottom of the bag, not an inch or two above it.

Example of a fake tokidoki Campeggio bag with the wrong size front pockets (this bag also has a fake qee on a fake chain, is missing the decorative chain, and is showing an example of a fake Foresta print where the colors are way off):

23. The bag is badly misshapen and/or the size of the print is way too large on the bag.

Example of a fake tokidoki bag side-by-side with a real tokidoki bag to show how the bag shape and the location of the zipper on the fake bag are wrong, and the size of the print is not to proper scale on the fake:

24. The inside “tokidoki for LeSportsac” black tag is not sewn in with metallic thread. Fake bags have inside tags sewn in with plain black thread, but the tags on real bags are sewn in with metallic thread.

25. And finally, if still in doubt – ask to see a photo of the underside of one of the zipper heads on a rainbow zipper on the bag – if the bag is real, it will have the brand name “riri” + M6 stamped into the underside of each rainbow zipper head.  Bags that have zipper heads with the riri m6 stamp are definitely real.

UPDATE on Jan. 23, 2008: Fakes are getting more realistic! Please be sure to read this new tutorial on how to spot a convincing fake tokidoki bag.

• LIST OF EBAY USERS WHO SELL FAKE TOKIDOKI BAGS
• LIST OF EBAY USERS WHO SELL REAL TOKIDOKI BAGS

Please also take note that currently, ALL tokidoki bags on ioffer.com are fake.

If you have anything to add to this guide, leave a comment or e-mail tokidokiblog@gmail.com.