There is so much of a 'black market' for designer goods these days and just one of the many brands that seem to have been hit by a surge of fakes is Ugg - one of the most desirable brands of boot in the world. 

Online auction sites seem to be the worst possible places to buy designer goods with there being no real way of assuring whether or not the goods you are receiving are genuine, but there are a few things that you can keep your eyes peeled for if you're in the market for a new pair of winter boots. Fakes are getting increasingly more realistic but there are still major differences you can use to help you tell the difference. 

Take a peek at how to spot fake Ugg boots: 

1 - Check for Ugg security measures

As of autumn 2010, Ugg Australia has been forced to increase their security features in a bid to fight back against the war on counterfeit goods. Just one of these is a holographic sun which either appears on the foil strip on a label behind the materials, on a sewn-in size tag on the left boot or on the left boot's sole. 

When you move the foil holographic sun, it changes from black to white. If your boots do not have this, its either a pair of fake Ugg boots or you have a pre-2010 pair of boots. 

Very recently, Ugg Australia added even further security features to their designs, sewing a label with a QR code into the left shoe. When you scan the QR code with your phone, it takes you to an Ugg website page which verifies the authenticity of the boots. 

2 - Check "made in" labels

If your Ugg boots say that they are made in either New Zealand or Australia, they're fakes. Ugg boots are actually made in China by one corporation - Deckers Outdoor Corporation. 

3 - Check the fur 

If your Ugg boots have fur, give it a good firm yet gentle rub. If the fur comes out, it's probably a fake. The fur used in Ugg boots is of very good, high quality and doesn't easily come away from the boot. 

You should also look at the colour of the fur - Ugg boots have a creamy / off-white fur and it's very soft to touch. With fake Ugg boots, the fur can be any colour and to touch, it feels more plastic and synthetically made. 

4 - Check the quality all over

Not just checking the quality of the fur, check the quality of the whole package. Look at the Ugg labels on the exterior of the boot. Are the stitches shoddy and not in a straight line? Your boots are probably a fake. With genuine Ugg boots, the stitches are in a perfectly straight line and all labels are straightly sewn on and with straight lines. 

It is hard work trying to work out whether something is fake just by looking online, but by asking more questions or requesting more photographs, you can start to get a better idea of whether or not the Ugg boots you are looking at are fake or not. For example, Ugg boots only come with an Ugg bag if you buy them from a store in Australia. They will never be shipped with an Ugg bag. If there's an Australian flag anywhere on the packaging too, your boots are a copy. Ugg never uses the Australian flag anywhere on their boots or branding. The soles of the genuine also feature the star-design from the hologram security tag whereas fakes have an old zig-zag style pattern. The soles of fakes are also not as flexible as the soles of genuine boots. 

Armed with the right information, you too could be smart enough to avoid the traps of fake designer products such as fake Ugg boots. What's the point in spending all that money if you're not going to get the real deal?