Condition is most of the price here, and the parts that carry the condition are the parts a seller photographs least.
Ask to see
- All four corners, close
- The zip worked, open and shut, on camera
- The inside turned out, including the bottom
- The hardware, for plating loss and tarnish
- The bag standing on its own, unpropped
A seller who does all of that without being asked has sold bags before.
Then ask two questions
"Does it have a smell?" Storage, smoke and damp travel with the bag and are the most common reason a bag goes back.
"Where did it come from, and what came with it?" Not as a challenge — as the question whose answer tells you how much certainty you are buying.
On authentication, plainly
Nobody authenticates a bag over a video call. A seller can show you marks, stamps, codes, a receipt and a history; none of that is an authentication, and a confident "it's genuine" is worth less than a careful "here is everything I have".
Price the certainty you were actually given. If the reason you are bidding is the brand, and the seller cannot say where it came from, that is a reason to bid less.
What protection covers
A bag that arrives with damage that was not described, missing something that was described, or that is not the item shown, is a not-as-described claim — seven days from delivery.
A bag sold as a counterfeit is a different matter entirely: report it.
Questions people ask
Is corner wear repairable?
Sometimes, by a specialist, at a cost. Assume it is not when you decide your number.
Does a replaced strap matter?
To value, yes. To use, often not. Either way it should have been declared.
What if it smells when it arrives?
That is a condition fault that was not described. Raise it within the window. How returns work.