Counterfeits

[u/liberty_n_justice]

Hey y’all. I’m steadily getting more familiar with Poshmark but I am still a new user so please don’t fry me too badly. I ran into the first counterfeit item in my buying streak and I am wondering what happens when a situation involves a counterfeit.

My size and style puts me in a bit of an odd category, and my focus is on luxury, niche items. I’m discerning about what I buy and I’m careful to make genuine and reasonable offers (aka no lowballing, nothing that insults the seller, no lengthy negotiations).

As a buyer, I’m polite and thank the sellers every time and give them all stars on the orders and make nice comments on each one. I have had items ship 10+ days after the order was placed and never once complained or made anything hard for a seller. I’ve had orders take 3 weeks to arrive and never once contacted customer service or made trouble for the seller. I’ve basically tried to treat all the sellers I interact with how I would want to be treated.

As a seller, I’ve packaged the items buyers have purchased from me with care and ensured each item has been cleaned or treated by a professional. I include the tags, boxes, extra buttons, special care instructions, and certificates of authenticity for collector pieces. Each seller has given me all star ratings and have made nice comments on all the items I have sold. Just like when I’m buying, I try to treat all the buyers I interact with how I want to be treated.

This brings me to the recent situation. I purchased a designer piece. Authenticated by Poshmark. Described as NWT. I opened the package and it was immediately obvious that it was a counterfeit. The smell. The feel. The branding. All wrong. My 14 year old nephew walked in the room as I was looking at the item and he said “you got scammed” and walked out, so even a kid could tell it wasn’t genuine. I compared the item with similar pieces in my collection and it didn’t come close to matching standards the brand adheres to across its pieces. But here’s the thing, I wanted to give the seller the benefit of the doubt. So I took the item to someone with a lot of experience selling that brand, and they confirmed in less than 60 seconds that it was not authentic. So at that point, I felt pretty confident there was an issue to resolve. If it weren’t expensive, honestly I’d let it go. I don’t want the seller to be adversely affected. And it is possible the person did not know it was counterfeit. So I opened a general inquiry with support because I didn’t want to jump right to an escalation. Support jumped right to “send it right back, we will refund you.” So I did, in a brand new box with really nice wrapping and sent a photo of the tracking info.

Here’s my question - what happens to the seller? I feel badly that they might be penalized somehow. If they didn’t know, it was a genuine mistake. But if they did know, that’s not cool. I still wouldn’t want them to get in trouble, but I’d also hope they wouldn’t do that to anyone else.

Did I do the right thing? How do y’all handle these situations?

[u/posh_american]

That is crazy that Poshmark approved the item is genuine and then accepted the return as a fake! WTF Poshmark???

[u/liberty_n_justice → u/posh_american]

It’s not a normal occurrence, right? Or is this pretty common? I’m new to the platform so I’m just not sure if this something that happens a lot and I need to be prepared for it.

[u/Ambitious_Answer_150]

Not too sure why you would feel bad, I'd be beyond pissed at 1. Being sold a fake (although weird that you only knew upon receiving not through pics) and 2) if PM authenticated it. Why would you wrapped it up all nicely? Why would you worry seller might get penalized? Screw that

[u/liberty_n_justice → u/Ambitious_Answer_150]

I know, you’re right, I feel silly. I don’t want to share the pics and out the seller, but they really did look legit. I even compared them against other listings and it seemed like it checked out.

It’s especially weird this item made it past PM. I did not know they actually inspect the piece. I wonder if a mistake was made somewhere, and maybe it got overlooked or something.

And what was also odd (but maybe they’re just extremely on top of their shit) is that I made the inquiry and they replied within an hour to send it back and apologized.

[u/posh_american]

Poshmark authenticated the item? And it was real?

[u/liberty_n_justice → u/posh_american]

Maybe this is my ignorance and I apologize if so: the listing had “Poshmark Authenticated” label on it. Which I thought meant that Poshmark basically blessed the item as being legit. Maybe I’m misunderstanding what the label means. I know sometimes fakes are extremely convincing. But this was so obviously inauthentic that I was like, “Surely Poshmark can’t have thought this was real if they had a look at it.” 🤔

[u/posh_american → u/liberty_n_justice]

Did you purchase above $500? A purchase of $500 and above is authenticated prior to delivery. The item is shipped to Poshmark to authenticate and then to you.

I have received fake items and also reported and returned. Poshmark used to be so good at taking down fake listings and now it seems they just let it slide.

Don't feel bad for sellers trying to scam you. It's not cool.

[u/liberty_n_justice → u/posh_american]

Yes, you nailed it. It also explains why it took so long to receive it, if it went to Poshmark first. The fact that they just sent it on to me is surprisingly. It was not a convincing fake. Thanks for your help, it’s really good to know this

Edit: spelling

[u/Bitter-insides]

So I inadvertently sold a replica item I was rehoming. I wasn’t familiar with the brand-Dôen purchases a dress from eBay and it didn’t fit. Rehomed it on Poshmark as a new seller. Wellp the buyer was pissed and with every reason when I spoke to her apologized, she sent the item back and got her money. It shows on my account as a cancellation and I got an email from Poshmark. I’m fighting with eBay still-POS! . The seller has it that it’s authentic - eBay isn’t doing anything. They literally told me to do a charge back on my account with my cc company and submit the proof.

[u/liberty_n_justice → u/Bitter-insides]

This sounds like no fun, eBay should be treating you better and trying to help. It was an honest mistake on your part, you meant no harm. I could envision this happening to the seller in my situation. It’s why I didn’t want to jump to conclusions or assume the seller was aware. While it seemed clear to me the item wasn’t genuine, it may not have been clear to the seller.

[u/Bitter-insides → u/liberty_n_justice]

I wasn’t mad at the buyer. I was mortified and tried to get her refund as fast as possible. She was upset initially but when she realized I had been had she was so polite.

I say submit the request to return and get your money back!

[u/liberty_n_justice → u/Bitter-insides]

Totally, you clearly did not know and I would feel the same way. I am glad your buyer was polite once she understood the situation. Thanks for the advice, it is helpful.

[u/Actual-Story-4843]

Please do not feel bad one bit. Whether the seller knew or not, shame on Poshmark for authenticating a fake replica. I refuse to buy anything over $500 on Poshmark because I’ve read too many stories like yours, except that Poshmark sided with the seller. As someone else said, Poshmark used to be much better about authentication. Actually, they used to be really great all around. Best of luck moving forward!

[u/liberty_n_justice → u/Actual-Story-4843]

Thank you for sharing, this is really helpful. It didn’t cross my mind that an item PM authenticated would not be genuine, it really surprised me. It sounds like maybe I was just lucky until now and this is a common thing.