CHANEL has made it a top priority to stop the sale of counterfeit products.

CHANEL continuously monitors the Internet and auction websites and takes action where appropriate including but not limited to filing civil lawsuits and lodging criminal complaints against counterfeiters.

To those of you out there who may be considering the purchase of counterfeit items, we urge you to recognize that by purchasing a counterfeit product you are supporting criminal activity and ask therefore that you refuse to purchase counterfeit goods.

To the counterfeiters, bear in mind that we are watching and we are taking action.

WHY SHOULD I CARE THAT I AM BUYING A COUNTERFEIT ITEM? NO ONE IS BEING HURT!

• Counterfeiters sell poor quality products. You may think you are getting a good deal but more often than not the product quickly will break, rip, fade or just fall apart. • Counterfeiters often engage in other unlawful conduct, such as identity theft and failing to deliver goods that were paid for. • Counterfeiters may be part of organized crime networks or terrorist groups, with profits often used to support their activities. • Counterfeiters do not pay taxes, leading to millions of dollars in lost revenues that would otherwise go to cities and states from the sale of legitimate goods.

HOW DO I KNOW IF THE PRODUCT IS COUNTERFEIT?

If the deal is too good to be true you are probably being sold a counterfeit.

If you buy a "CHANEL" product through an unauthorized dealer, you could be purchasing a counterfeit. CHANEL distributes its products only through authorized outlets. Most authorized outlets are listed at www.chanel.com.

If a product bearing the CHANEL mark or CC monogram is advertised as being of "AAA quality" or as a "replica", the product is fake and is illegal. The fact that there may be postings for such items on the Internet does not make them legal.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Why are counterfeiters allowed to sell their products over the Internet if it is against the law? A: Like many criminals, counterfeiters routinely ignore the law. While Internet service providers and hosts claim to prohibit counterfeiting, they generally do not pre-screen postings. Q: Why do auction sites allow the posting of counterfeits? A: While auction sites may state that counterfeit items cannot be offered for sale, generally no auction site will guarantee the authenticity of the products sold and counterfeit goods are often available. Most auction sites make money based on the listing or sale of goods including counterfeit goods.



Due to the explosion of postings for counterfeit goods on auction sites, companies like CHANEL cannot always monitor them for counterfeits and cannot and do not guarantee the authenticity of the products sold. CHANEL and companies like CHANEL have repeatedly requested that auction sites take direct responsibility for monitoring their sites and for ensuring that unlawful merchandise is not offered for sale but counterfeits continue to be available on line. Q: Can I trust that websites listed by search engines are not selling counterfeits? A: No. Search engines generally do not pre-screen websites that are linked to their search engines. Q: I just bought a CHANEL handbag from a website and I think it may be counterfeit. Can CHANEL help me? A: As much as CHANEL would like to help the victims of counterfeiting, CHANEL cannot get back money that was paid to a counterfeiter or repair counterfeit products. Chanel regularly sues counterfeiters. In this way, CHANEL is helping existing and future victims of counterfeiting. However, to avoid problems, the best advice is to purchase CHANEL products only through authorized CHANEL retailers. Q: How can I tell if an item is genuine? A: Unfortunately, CHANEL cannot provide the public with detailed information on how to identify genuine CHANEL products since obviously counterfeiters could use this information to further deceive the public. The only way that you can be certain that you are purchasing a genuine CHANEL product is to purchase it from an authorized CHANEL retailer.