most embarrassing moment ever, tried to return a fake

[hejhej]

A friend gave me a moving house present, basil and mandarin candle. It was smoking so I thought no problem its a premium brand they will probably exchange it even without a recipt as they trade off their name and the actual products cost peanuts.

Anyway so they looked at it up and down and said "I'm sorry this isn't one of ours". I looked shocked and pointed at the box and just said yes I'm sure it is look. They asked if I bought it online or from a market and I thought this was a bit insulting.

So I just left very embarrassed. Apparently fake candles is a thing.

Should I tell the friend that bought it? Don't want to seem ungrateful

There was something like this on Fake Britain the other day. Apparently fake candles is a big thing especially Jo Malone ones!

I'd mention it to the friend, tbh we'd probably have a good laugh about it. A friend once tried to return a chanel handbag only to be told it was a fake.

Ooh that would be embarrassing, you have my sympathy!

Not sure about telling friend as I wonder if she bought it cheap from somewhere other than the usual retailer, in which case she probably had a fair idea it was a knock off OR she regifted an item she'd had at home which possibly isn't something she'd want to admit. Best left I think.

Oh dear, very embarrassing. In wouldn't mention it to your friend, she may feel really embarrassed or maybe she bought it knowing it was a fake and would be mortified you found out.

What was the brand. If you keep the wick very short it usually stops the smoking but if it's fake best not to use it, could have all sorts of toxins in it.

I would tell the friend in case they had given anymore away to friends as fake candles are dangerous. You don't know what they are made of and they can be toxic. Chuck yours away too op.

You know your friend, we don't - was she passing it off as a bona fide Jo Malone or whatever, or would she have taken it for granted you were in the know that it was a cheap and cheerful token in lookalike packaging?

My BIL bought DH a seemingly expensive watch for his big birthday. Several months later it stopped so I took it to the local watch place. They very kindly explained it was a fake

I'd not mention it. She could have regifted it to you or bought it on eBay. She might have bought it at a market.

I'm also not sure why you just didn't tell the assistant it was a present. She wasn't insulting you, she was rightly questioning the authenticity.

Chuck out, forget.

I'm also unsure why this was embarrassing...it wouldn't have been if you had simply said it was a present. By just leaving instead of stating it was a present and thanking the assistant for her help, I think you made it into an embarrassing situation

lol people are faking candles now, is anything real anymore

I'd have been embarrassed too Op.

I'm sure it's not the first time, the assistants wouldn't be judging you.

When I'm on night shifts I watch a lot of 'Border Control' type programs. Apparently it's really common to smuggle drugs in candles.

Funny what goes on...

I used to work in one of those places that buy and sell electronics and can remember a couple of fake iPhones coming in.

They look very convincing until you put them next to the real thing and then it's immediately obvious. And the screen is also usually a dead giveaway because they are shit, but again if you haven't got a real one to compare it to you might not notice.

I think it depends entirely on your friend. If she's broke I'd say nothing. If I thought she had knowingly given me crap I'd say something.

"They asked if I bought it online or from a market and I thought this was a bit insulting."

Why insulting? Humiliating, possibly. But not insulting.

Well a bit insulting as I got the impression they thought I was trying to pull a fast one on them to get a genuine one.

Still couldn't believe candles are faked these days

It's only over the last couple of weeks on here due to the sudden frequency of threads about candles that I've learned that they can be luxury items.

For goodness sake, you'd only tell your friend about it if you wanted to morrify her.

Chuck it and forget it

Well these things happen OP. A friend once gave me a John Lewis gift card for my birthday. It was for £25. I spent ages choosing a few bit but when I went to pay, I was informed the balance of the card was zero. I paid for the items myself in the end. What I suspect happened is that she'd received the gift card as a present and not used it. She then passed it on to me not realising that the balance expires after a year or so. I didn't say anything to her - she'd have been mortified.

I wouldn't say anything to your friend either OP. And don't feel embarrassed. You probably should have mentioned it was a present though! Not a big deal in the scheme of things. Forget it OP.

M&S always used to be really good about returning items without a receipt so when I was given some baby clothes that were too small I took them to my local store to exchange for a bigger size. Apparently they were so old the ID number couldn't be found, must have been in the back of the giver's cupboard for years, unused so like new. The woman kept trying to scan the label and asking me questions about when I'd bought it, it was pretty funny in the end.

Whether I'd tell the friend or not depends on the situation. If I thought she'd bought a job lot on ebay to use as Christmas presents I'd tell her so she can chose whether or not to try and return them but if it seemed like a one off maybe not.