Vinted seller requesting return of counterfeit item. AIBU?

[lanadelcake]

I ordered a 'brand new with tags' designer item for my daughter on Vinted. It's not a high value item worth hundreds. It's my daughter's birthday today, and the item was intended as a gift. On inspection of the item, which arrived today, it's very obviously a fake. I've done a fair bit of research and also have a genuine one at home as a point of comparison.
I submitted photos to Vinted, as well as written evidence on why it's a counterfeit. In addition to the existing red flags, the seller is now selling more of these identical items on her account!
Sure, Vinted only have my word for it. But I'm a 5 star member with hundreds of great reviews. I'm hardly going to lie for the sake of 40 quid. And in my whole time of using Vinted, I've maybe returned one thing before, as it didn't match the description. So it's not like I make a habit of this.
The seller has requested a return. So I now have the inconvenience of repackaging the item (it comes with a few 'bits') and sending it back, waiting for my refund, etc. And obviously I'll have to replace the item too.
AIBU to think that the seller, having been caught out, should simply suck it up and not put me to the hassle? WIBU to take it further with Vinted?
I thought counterfeits were supposed to be destroyed rather than change hands And I doubt she'd be able to resell it now anyway.

The general principle of vinted is that its buyer beware - the same as at a car boot sale

I know it's only a typo but vinted were a bit lean to hold your mom to ransom!

Just tell the seller you're not happy with posting this fake back. Tell the seller you're going to send the counterfeit item to the manufacturer that it is a copy of, along with her details.

@lanadelcake

Escalate it to vinted to investigate.

Fakes are not allowed to be sold on vinted - or anywhere it is against the law, you are also not meant to return counterfeit items.

Look up counterfeit items in the help centre on vinted and it will tell you the steps to take.

If vinted decide it is a fake you will get your money back without having to return, you may have to destroy the item and provide photos to vinted if they request them to show you have destroyed it.

You only get a short time to do this.

I've been stung by this too, a shirt advertised as new with tags was absolutely filthy, stinking and stained. It also wasn't the same size as the shirt listed. I had to return at my own expense, which wasn't worth it considering the price of the item. I would end up spending more on postage than the item.

I'm not sure what the answer is though, as eBay is too far weighted the other way and sellers end up losing out to scamming buyers.

Did you wonder why it was so cheap if you believed it to be genuine?

It's not at her own expense, the seller is paying for the refund.

If she’s paying for it, I’d stop moaning - it’s not that much hassle. I bought a fake bag on Depop and pretty much straight away realised it wasn’t genuine. It was partly my fault because it was cheaper than the bag normally would be but still over a hundred pounds so if I just wanted a generic bag id have bought a second hand one for twenty quid. I reported and the seller paid the postage. I had no issue with that - I didn’t want to keep it and it was her property. Next time I’m a bit cautious about too good to be true prices.

Where did I say it was so cheap? It was a tenner less than the real deal. Often I find on Vinted, especially with the younger sellers, that they change their mind about things they've bought and miss return deadlines. I genuinely thought this was the case here, as her reviews are so good.

Right. I misunderstood. I thought people went on Vinted for a bargain. £10 reduction isn't very much on an expensive item that you don't see before you buy.

I've just gone through her reviews with a fine toothed comb. On the surface, it looks like she has hundreds of purely 5 star reviews. Unfortunately it doesn't sort them into 1 star, 5 star, etc.
Dig a bit deeper, and there are a few 1 stars. These reviews speak of fake Olaplex and Clarins products.

Why on earth would you buy from Vinted for only a tenner less when you could have got a guaranteed genuine item??

I just assumed people bought from there for a bargain and there's a kind of don't ask don't tell kind of set up with regards to fakes.

It was really daft, I know.

P&P was also cheaper with Vinted, than through any other retailers of this product. Ironically I had steered clear of Amazon as there was talk of fakes!

Oh well, lesson learned. It's a shame about your daughter's birthday, so I hope you still have a nice day.

That's how vinted works. You don't want the item, you return it and wait for a refund. Did you honestly expect to keep the item and receive a refund??

Vinted don’t care, I reported a seller for selling fake Charlotte Tilbury make up and they replied saying they felt the seller wasn’t doing anything wrong! Absolutely ridiculous!

@KateDelRick

Many thanks and she really did have a great birthday, despite her old maw's dodgy purchase decision

I expected to get shot of it! I don't want her using it anyway, since the plastic straw is so rough.

😂

When buying designer items off Vinted you can pay a little extra to have them authenticated, I did that when I bought a designer belt for my son, gives you peace of mind knowing you have the real deal.

It’s a fake Stanley then

This happened to me with some football boots off eBay years ago. They were really awful fakes and completely different to the ones pictured. I complained and supplied photos but EBay just made me return them.
I didn't want to keep them but I thought by law they should have been destroyed. Sending them back just keeps them in circulation.

Vinted make me so cross with things like this. They banned me 'for selling counterfeit items' when I uploaded a genuine (albeit old) designer item on there. I know it's genuine because I bought it in person from the designers shop.
Repeated asks for clarification or what I could do differently next time were met with crap AI generated replies telling me the same advice (which I followed but still got banned) and informing me that selling counterfeit goods was illegal.

Meanwhile it seems that people are making a tidy profit doing exactly that.

If you find yourself in hat situation again, apply for a charge back with your bank.

I've had it twice now with Vinted, ie the item isn't as described, the seller will accept a return for refund but I have to pay to return it.
Vinted say speak to the seller who, despite admitting the mistakes are their own, state it's my issue.

Both times I applied for a charge back with my bank. I supplied photos of the advert, the item, my chats with the seller & Vinted. Both times I got my money back & donated the items to charity.

Once Vinted told me I should inform my bank the charge back is incorrect. I ignored them. Be warned they have been known to close Vinted accounts for this.

The buyers protection fee is just a money making scam.

I stick to eBay now.