Gilt Groupe Responds to Fake Bag Rumors

Online sample sale site Gilt Groupe has redefined "high noon" for most people in the style set with the site's insanely covetable flash sales -- offering everything from Alexander Wang handbags to Zac Posen gowns for serious discounts, all kicking off at (you guessed it) noon. However, during our morning Gilt browsing, we were shocked to come across a firestorm of comments sparked off by one "Zun39," who'd written, "The COLE HAAN handbag I ordered ISN'T REAL COLE HAAN. I will keep it BUT SHAME ON YOU." 

After last fall's "scarf-gate," in which Gilt was accused of inflating its sale items' original values, we had to wonder if this was the next scandal to rock the e-commerce giant. A quick e-mail to Gilt elicited a pretty definitive response. Gabriela Meriles, Gilt's communications director, explained, "We have already contacted the customer who wrote the initial complaint and are waiting to hear back as to why she believes she has a fake.  As we do not work with third parties and deal with all the designers directly we certainly stand behind the product’s authenticity."

Gilt's CEO, Susan Lyne, has even gone so far as to join in on the online debate, assuring shoppers "Gilt has never sold fakes and never will sell fakes." We'll go back to spending our hard-earned money on Gilt.com, and will keep our eyes peeled to see if Ms. "Zun39" defends her claim.

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