Buying Louis Vuitton or more specifically buying Authentic Louis Vuitton online does not have to be a minefield, so long as you know what to do to avoid getting ripped off by a poor quality fake or replica.

Now I am not a "cast iron, being doing it all my life" expert on buying Louis Vuitton by any stretch of the imagination, more a semi knowledgeable newbie who is happily learning every day - but still has a LONG way to go!

That can be dangerous because I don’t want to give you false or misleading information so I shall resist the temptation to try and advise you about buying Louis Vuitton myself.

But I can point you toward the best directions for buying Louis Vuitton!

The best suggestion I can make is to link you to a couple of sources of quality, experienced knowledge on how best to qualify your buying Louis Vuitton.

The first site I have already mentioned on this site, namely My Poupette.

This is a site run by a dedicated and highly knowledgeable person who is keen to help those looking for authentic items of the LV range.

She runs an authentication service for $5.00 where she will review up to 5 items that you are considering buying and advise whether or not they are authentic, in her opinion. She can either authenticate auctions prior to your bidding or she can authenticate items which are in your possesion.

Please bear in mind that she does not work for or is connected to Louis Vuitton in any way and her opinion is just that, an opinion. However, there are many addicts on the web today who believe she almost has a better knowledge of some Louis Vuitton items than Vuitton do themselves! Her site is full of general articles as well as hundreds of little titbits of info, a real Aladdin’s cave for an LV lover.

My second suggestion and the one I would recommend you begin with is to read and digest the following web page owned by a lady going under the name of OM*Goddess.

She is a highly experienced trader on eBay with a solid record of dealing in authentic items only. She is also one of the driving forces behind the Authentic Louis Vuitton Addicts forum.

Although her page does not have the same depth as the myPoupette site (mainly because it is hosted on one page as opposed to a whole site which brings in some limitations!!) it is an EXCELLENT first read for anyone hunting authentic Louis Vuitton.

Beginning with why you should avoid replicas and then detailing the process by which you can go about shopping for authentic items it is shoe horned full of information, tips, hints and enough knowledge for you to gain confidence in your searching!

Lastly, as an attempted assist I've created a page on this site which lists certain resellers of LV on Ebay.

The people on this list are nominated because they are either an MPRS (My Poupette Recommended Reseller) or an ALVA Seller Select. Both groups have had to qualify for the title and must maintain a certain level of service and quality to remain on the list. One of the main criteria, naturally, is that they only sell Authentic LV. Any caught selling a fake are removed from the list and their title revoked.

These people have worked hard to get onto these lists and they are some of the most watched and monitored auctions on the net today. LV lovers from across the boards check their auctions daily and, having bought a few pieces from different members myself, I can vouch for their quality, level of service and general knowledge.

Also - there is a way that you can save money on not only your purchases from Eluxury - but over 800 other online stores as well - in some cases upto 25% off!