Laguiole on eBay: buying and selling with confidence

For buyers who want to know, and for sellers who want to prove it

Laguiole knives change hands on eBay every day, new and used, from collectors and from estates. For both sides it is a matter of trust: the buyer sees only photographs, the seller can hardly prove his honesty.

That is exactly the gap an A.I.P.C.L. certificate closes. It is a page online that anyone can open with the number, showing the forge, the date of sale and the registered owner. Whoever links to it in a listing no longer has to make claims.

If you are selling

A knife with a certificate sells differently. You do not write "genuine Laguiole from France" and hope to be believed, you place the link and the buyer sees for himself. You can also include a photograph of your A.I.P.C.L. card in the listing.

After the sale the certificate transfers to the new owner. You approve it, he registers, and both names remain part of the knife's history. The knife loses nothing by it, it gains an entry.

If you are buying

Ask the seller for the A.I.P.C.L. number. If there is one, enter it on this site and see, before you bid, which forge made the knife and when it was sold. If there is none, that is no proof of a fake: most knives simply were never registered. In that case look at the price, at the statement of origin and at the work on the bee and the spring.

Registering a knife afterwards

If you bought a knife on eBay and would like it secured, we will examine it. Photographs and proof of purchase are enough. If it is genuine it receives its number and its page, ready for the next time it is sold.

How it works

You register your knife. Right here on aipcl.com, with no sign-up beforehand: name the forge and upload the photographs - open and closed, the bee, the spine, the blade with the forge mark, and if available the receipt or packaging. Then you pay the examination fee; we create your customer account along the way.

We examine it. We compare your knife with what we know from 30 years of trading with French forges, and when in doubt we ask the forge itself.

You get the result. If your knife is genuine it receives its own number, its page on aipcl.com and the certificate as a PDF. If it is not, we tell you that too.

What it costs

10.00 euros

or 15 CARMOS points from original-laguiole.de - what those are is explained there.

Examining and registering one knife costs 10.00 euros.

If the examination shows that your knife does not come from a French forge, we refund the amount, of course. You pay only for a certificate you actually receive.

You order and pay here on aipcl.com, by PayPal or by bank transfer in advance. With the payment you buy the examination, not the certificate; whether we issue it depends on the result of examining your photographs.

Order the examination (10.00 euros)

Frequently asked questions

How do I check before bidding whether a knife is genuine?

Ask the seller for the A.I.P.C.L. number. If there is one, enter it on this site and you see the forge, the date of sale and the registered owner at once. Without a number you are left with the price, the statement of origin and the work on the bee and the spring.

The seller has no number. Does that make the knife a fake?

No. Most genuine Laguiole knives were never registered; the register has not existed all that long and currently holds a little over 25,000 knives. A missing number is therefore not an accusation, it is simply no help.

Can I transfer the certificate to the buyer?

Yes, and that is exactly what it is made for. The buyer registers free of charge, enters the number in the customer area and you approve the transfer. He then appears as the owner on the certificate page, and your name remains as previous owner in the knife's history.

I bought a knife on eBay. Can I have it registered afterwards?

Yes. Send us photographs and your eBay receipt. If the knife is genuine it receives its number and its own page. The next time you sell, you then have something that speaks for you.

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