> Being able to detect forgeries requires some pretty intense domain expertise, and that tends to come with a lot of experience and schooling Does it really re

> Being able to detect forgeries requires some pretty intense domain expertise, and that tends to come with a lot of experience and schooling Does it really require that? Perhaps for some items expensive enough to have expert forgeries (like with artwork where sometimes you need to test the composition of the paint itself or x-ray the canvas) but I doubt that’s the case for the typical knock-off item where all you need are pictures. Here’s how I would go about this if I, as someone who knows absolutely nothing about any of this, wanted to setup this kind of business. First, I would search for images of popular items which have known knock-offs produced. Let’s say the Nike sneakers or the Louis Vuitton bag mentioned. I would gather as many pictures of the known, proven knock-offs as I could. Then I would find official images published by Nike and Louis Vuitton. Put the images side-by-side and it’s simply a matter of going through that children’s exercise where you spot as many differences between the two pictures as you can. Then given all the differences I spotted, I would start writing up guides documenting all of what my rudimentary exercise discovered. Publish the guides to gain credibility and then participate in various forums where those products are discussed. Pump the free guides and get established as an authority, even though all I’ve done is use my eyes to spot differences. Then, just as they wrote up, start offering to check people’s stuff for free. When it hits a certain volume, offer priority service, etc. Same playbook for that. When you get an item you’ve never reviewed before — say, a Rolex watch — ask the customer to submit photos that exactly match ones that Rolex publishes (actually, you should always ask for matching photos to make the work 100% trivial). Rinse and repeat: spot the differences. You may not find 100% of the differences but you can get close enough to authoritatively state if it’s a knock-off or not. If you hit a wall where you’re not sure if the Rolex is real or not, there are two options. If Rolex is amenable to this, send the images to Rolex and ask them if there are obvious signs of a fake. Then you’re just playing the middleman and if Rolex needs more photos to authenticate, relay that back to the customer. If they’re not, I’m sure it’s not too difficult to locate someone who you know has a Rolex. Or maybe partner with a jeweler and cut them in. Hey, now it’s not just you anymore and you can claim you have a team of people performing authentications behind the scenes. Customers don’t need to know that your team is really just you and a buddy who can spot differences between pictures, plus occasional ad-how strangers, and maybe even the official companies themselves from time to time. I’d be somewhat surprised if they didn’t do exactly what I described.