Here’s how to avoid getting scammed
No thanks to Covid, many people are buying online for their sartorial obsessions.
But while online shopping is safe, it is also dangerous. Shoppers are shocked to find out that US retailers have been selling counterfeit stock—recently a photo of a fake LV bag at the discount retailer has been circulating. You order online, have your bag shipped to the Philippines, and then find out you got a fake.
As a lover of beautiful bags, I am forever on the lookout for good deals, and recent reports of retailers selling fakes have got many buyers, specially from abroad, worried.
Legit retailers, especially resellers, will never knowingly sell fakes—they don’t set out to scam you—but many items fall through the cracks, especially when the counterfeit is very well made and staff are not trained enough to check.
How can this happen?
First, scammers use the classic bait-and-switch. Somebody buys a legit LV bag from a retailer. A few days later they return the bag and ask for a refund. The bag they return, however, is a counterfeit. Because not everybody on the staff is trained to check for fakes, the store now is reselling that counterfeit item.
There are also big wholesalers or retailers who may be knowingly or unknowingly selling fakes on their sites, as they are supplied by vendors. Fake items have been known to pop up in some of our most trusted luxury websites.
Legit retailers, especially resellers, will never knowingly sell fakes—they don’t set out to scam you—but many items fall through the cracks, especially when the counterfeit is very well made and staff are not trained enough to check.
How can you, a shopper from a thousand miles away, protect yourself?
- Make sure your website has a return policy. And that means getting from luxury retailers that are reliable and well known and so established that they can afford to cut their losses.
- Make sure your website or your store has an authentication policy, especially if you are buying second hand.
- Use a credit card and/or Paypal—not cash. Credit cards and Paypal allow you to get your money back.
- Get your bag re-authenticated when it arrives. Entrupy verification, Authenticate First verification, all done online—are fast and reliable.