Shopping on eBay has become one of the fastest growing markets to buying and selling goods. While it can be a very rewarding adventure, it can also be a disappointing hassle if you do not receive the products you were promised. An auction site the size of eBay, with sellers and buyers in the millions, it is hard to know who you can trust. Unfortunately, not everything you see on eBay is what it claims to be. Selling knockoffs, especially big brand and designer shoes, is a big business in todays economy and whether you’re looking for a past-season style of your favorite Jimmy Choos or a vintage special edition of those Converse hi-tops you covet, eBay can be both a blessing and a curse. Be smart and shop with patience and you’ll be sure to find exactly what you’re looking for and here’s a helpful guide.

Know your size. If you’ve never owned a pair of shoes from the designer you are purchasing than you need to find out your shoe size. Shoes are manufactured in different countries, acoording to a variety of specifications, which means one size does not fit all. Visit a department store that carries designer shoes and try a few on to get your size. Remember to consider European and other foreign size conversions. For example, a size 8 US can be a 38 in Europe.

Check the patent. You can check the patent and manufacturing of every shoe ever created by looking at either the tag on the underside of the tongue, the seal on the inside of either heel, or often times it can be found on the bottom exterior of the sole. This mark will range in information, depending on the brand, but can tell you as little as the size and name to the manufacturing date and origin. Familiarize yourself with the brand so you know what to look for. Designer shoes most often come out of Italy and will have genuine leather tags, while manufactured brands can come from places like China and Portugal.

Check the fine print on a sellers return policy. When buying on eBay, make sure the company you are buying from has a guarantee and a return option. Never buy from companies that don’t have a return policy in place. Read the fine to be sure the S&H isn’t padded in one direction. For warranty information, go directly to the brand or designers website from which the shoe originally came from for warranty information.

Check the shoes authenticity. Most designer shoes come with boxes, tags, authenticity cards, and serial numbers. Replicas and knockoffs can have counterfeit cards and numbers, but you can check the authenticity at any designer store or online with customer service.

Check the box. Some eBay sellers may not even know that the shoes they are selling aren’t authentic. While many shoes are manufactured internationally, if they are authentic, they will be sold directly from a warehouse in the United States. Missoni shoes, for instance, are manufactured in Italy, but wholesalers buy directly from the US warehouse. US Customs certified shoes are shipped from inside the US, so if you receive a shipment from a foreign country, chances are the shoes are knockoffs. Be extra cautious of sellers in Asia.

Check the reviews and opinions on the sellers page. This may be one of the best ways to check customer satisfaction, but don’t believe everything you read. Look closely at all the comments to see if there is a trend in neutral comments or if there is unusual positive feedback because these may be signs of fraudulent comment activity and cannot be trusted.

Study the shoe. Once you receive your shoes, inspect them carefully. Designer shoes are made of quality materials, genuine leather and have impeccable stitching. Knockoffs will often have mismatching colors, be irregularly stitched, have glue marks and have an overall feel of bad craftsmanship.

*If it seems to good to be true, it probably is.
*Fake patents can be created, but they are always easily recognizable with a discerning eye.
*Knockoffs will be significantly smaller than their authentic version, between 1 and 1 1/2 sizes smaller.
*Sellers who sell knockoffs do not normally stock US size 9 or 13, so if they don’t sell these sizes, they’re selling fakes.
*Private listings, inflated shipping costs, stock photos of items rather than actual photos, and short auctions are red flags for counterfeit shoes.

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Portions of this article appeared originally on eHow.com