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Original poster

Have inadvertently sold a fake item and now buyer is threatening me with police

383 replies

HelpMeSoWorried · 11/09/2012 13:54

Have namechanged as I am so embarassed. And also sorry to post in here, maybe should have posted in legal, but I know there is a lot of traffic here.

I was given a Mulberry bag as a christmas present a couple of years ago and tbh I never liked it much anyway and never used it (apologies to any handbag fans). As far as I knew it was genuine and had all tags with it etc.

I had no idea what it was worth but recently did a bit of research and they are about £700 new I think. So I decided to get rid and put it on gumtree. I was inundated with enquiries and sold it to a lady last week. She was really happy with it and I got £350 for it.

She has texted me today claiming it is fake and saying she wants me to pay her back and she will return the bag if I give her my address. She doesn't know where I live as I met her in town(at her request!) but she has my name, and obviously my number.

I am very upset and shocked as I would never have sold it if I thought it was not real, I would have maybe just given it away or something. Its completely against my principles, I am an honest person :( I am sat here crying now as I am so scared.

I really needed the money, I don't want the bag back and I don't want to return the money as as far as I am concerned I sold it in good faith and she happily chose to buy it. I am not a criminal, or a scam artist, but she is threatening to report me to the police. :(

can anyone help?

OP posts:
ShreddingCarbs · 12/09/2012 09:59

Maybe she's seen this thread!

ShreddingCarbs · 12/09/2012 09:59

Good news that she's backing off, though...

HairyPotter · 12/09/2012 10:00

She knows she has been rumbled! Grin

marquesas · 12/09/2012 10:01

Perhaps she's read this thread and realised that she's been rumbles Grin

EdMcDunnough · 12/09/2012 10:05

Maybe she couldn't get hold of the fake one in time.....either way it looks pretty bad for her.

CassandraApprentice · 12/09/2012 10:10

Perhaps someone wound her up about it being fake and she done some more research and found out it's not?

I can't see why a scammed would back out of someone going along with the met and exchange - unless of course she recognized the OP in this thread.

CassandraApprentice · 12/09/2012 10:11

scammer - Hmm.

EdMcDunnough · 12/09/2012 10:13

Yes, maybe she got the fear as she thought it might be fake, then realised it probably wasn't, or something.

We will never know - she isn't really an open book with the info, this buyer!!

LaurieFairyCake · 12/09/2012 12:16

Well I think we can definitely say your bag was real - no one would keep a fake bag if you had offered to meet/refund.

I'm guessing the fake she was going to swop was too obvious.

ladymuckbeth · 12/09/2012 12:36

Unless the OP realises the bag was fake and is saying the buyer has cancelled to end discussion on the topic? Just a thought.

I really don't understand why so many posters are starting from the assumption that the bag was definitively real, especially when the OP has said very little on the subject.

EdMcDunnough · 12/09/2012 12:42

We're not - we're starting from the assumption that the OP assumed it was ral, because that's what she has told us.

Also if this is a well known scam then that puts the buyer's motives into question.

We have only got what we are told. Assuming the OP was lying would be a bit pointless, as then she would not deserve our help anyway. And that's what we are here for.

EdMcDunnough · 12/09/2012 12:42

real, sorry

ladymuckbeth · 12/09/2012 12:43

No, she has said she assumed it was real despite there being very little to suggest such certainty.

EdMcDunnough · 12/09/2012 12:44

Very little to suggest it was fake, either.

ladymuckbeth · 12/09/2012 12:48

Other than the sheer lunacy of spending £700 on a bag for someone who is completely disinterested in handbags, and who then goes on to shove said bag in the wardrobe never to be used, without any "oh, maybe I should exchange it for nigh on a grand's worth of present you might actually like"... Hmm

WhereYouLeftIt · 12/09/2012 12:57

"I really don't understand why so many posters are starting from the assumption that the bag was definitively real"
My 'assumption' was based on the likelihood that if someone takes 15 minutes to examine a smallish item, whilst the vendor is saying they are under no obligation to buy, then THE BUYER is pretty sure that the bag is real. Not definitive, but highly probable, hence my saying that on balance I felt it was a scam.

ladymuckbeth · 12/09/2012 13:09

If they were a scammer why would they spend so long examining it? Wouldn't it be in their interest to do a fairly quick swap? The fact that she took so long to look at it has resulted in many posters here thinking "well it's her fault then, she thought it was real at the time so her loss".

StatisticallyChallenged · 12/09/2012 13:17

I think a scammer would examine it closely - because they intend to hold on to the bag, either to sell on (so ideally want it to be real) or to maybe use the pictures as someone suggested upthread.

Plus, someone who is knowingly selling a fake (not suggesting OP was) would be less likely to refund, as they wouldn't care. So if the scammer bought a fake they could easily end up without their money or a genuine bag.

Lolwhut · 12/09/2012 13:29

I think both a scammer or a genuine buyer would take a long time to examine the bag. I dont think that tells us anything.

WeAreEternal · 12/09/2012 13:33

I was conned with a similar scam a couple of years ago.

I sold a brand new Iphone, it was an unwanted gift (I already had one).

The buyer claimed that the phone was broken, I offered a refund but when I met him became aggressive when I wanted to look at the phone.
It was clearly not the same phone (it had scuffs and dust in the charger port) and I refused to give him any money.
He threatened me with all sorts including the police, but eventually he went away.

there are so many scammers on gumtree.

Lolwhut · 12/09/2012 13:35

HelpMeSoWorried. That is a great outcome. I think the bag must have been genuine and the buyer must have been genuine. She probably just got cold feet after reading up on fake bags and has now realised the bag was genuine.

Everyone's happy. Smile

That's what I like to think anyway.

EdMcDunnough · 12/09/2012 13:37

Any scammer is going to be highly suspicious of another seller as they will know how horrid and devious people can be, so they will suspect that the seller is trying to pull a fast one.

I can't imagine someone who doesn't know their stuff taking that amount of time to examine a bag. You would be looking for a lot of details to spend 15 minutes on it. and then to question its authenticity after the fact is just bonkers - or doesn't make sense.

goshandspecs · 12/09/2012 13:51

Sounds like she's trying to pull the wool over your eyes. She was happy with it when she bought it and now all this. Quite likely she bought a fake one to try and rip you off. Doubt there is much the police can do as it's your word against hers. Take no notice and block her number. Who hands over £350 in the town for a second hand bag without sellers full details. Yeah, I can really see the police taking that seriously... Not! Did you give her a receipt? TBH, Police have got more important things to do.

TandB · 12/09/2012 13:57

How bizarre. But glad it worked out in the end.

I sold some clothes on Ebay a while ago and one buyer bought two items from the same brand, but bought through different routes - one was bought on ebay and I didn't like it and the other was bought directly from the company.

The buyer sent a message just saying "The dress is fake. I want to return it" and followed it up with "The skirt is fake too." I sent a fairly stroppy message back, pointing out that I actually still had the purchase details for one item as it was bought new online and the ebay one still had the tags on, and the chances of them both somehow being fake was a little remote. She initially claimed to have had both items checked in store but backed down about the skirt as I had proof that it wasn't fake. She clearly just didn't like the dress but I couldn't be bothered getting into a dispute since I only use ebay when I have a clearout and don't want my feedback ruined. I refunded her for the dress and then I did take it to be checked and lo and behold it was genuine.

I had a similar thing with another buyer who bought an expensive baby-related item from me extremely cheaply and then claimed that it wasn't in useable condition - it was almost new and had brand-new spare parts. They wanted money off but I refused and told them to return it for a refund - funnily enough I never heard anything else from them.

I think a lot of people use the fake/poor condition thing to either get something cheaper or just to get a refund when they don't like it.

Bellyjaby · 12/09/2012 14:12

There's stuff all over the ebay forums about things like kungfupanndas experience. If you're selling on these sites you really need to stick to return first then refund or people wander off with designer items for free. People are meant to be better than this, but I think sometimes with the magical barrier of the internet it feels easier to do these things.

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