Help! Have I been scammed

[amraa]

I’ve had the YSL Loulou small handbag on my wish list for a long time! I found a seller online that has 100% positive feedbacks that are verified, I can see the past purchases that customers made and they are for other designer bags. So when I saw they have the Loulou, I sent them an offer, it was accepted and sent out the next day. The person even provided the receipt.

I was happy with the bag, however I was adamant to ensure it’s not a fake bc nothing is stopping someone having a genuine receipt but sending a fake bag with it or even forging a receipt. The bag itself to me looks very real, but I have only compared to what I can see online, the only thing that throws me off about the bag is the designer name inside the bag.

I’ll attach photos and if anyone can tell me what they think or if they have the same real bag, compare it to see it matches. The person seems so genuine, I’ve got til
monday to return the bag. I constantly keep going back and forth!

Because she presumably paid much more because of the label.

So she could have got a bag she liked, non branded, for much cheaper.

I can’t see why you are struggling to much with this concept @WallaceinAnderland !

Even if by some miracle you get confirmation this is authentic, surely the bag is ruined for you because a bit tatty and you can see from this thread that most people will think you’re carrying around a knock off

Agree. If you want genuine go to a genuine retailer and pay the correct price

It is a very interesting point - like in one famous auction house one painting was returned because post sale, some authenticators doubted the authorship because the copy, as they said, was painted better, than the original. The painting was returned just because of that, because it was not by that author. Very strange, but true, that sometimes it is the name that is the point.

I think the hole point of the ops post is ......
She would like to buy a designer bag at a reasonable price ! It's nice to have a treat but if she has paid alot of money which she indicates she has then no id be feeling scammed as well and it would definitely make me.not.like the bag !
Would anyone want to pay 100 pounds for a Tesco bag when U know u can get one for 60 p ect that's how op.feels she has been scammed ! There is nothing wrong in wanting something nice for yourself
And while she could accept a cheap bag why should the seller profit ops hard earned money I hate scammers !!!
Goodluck op I hope u get your money back x

If you have genuinely been scammed then of course it's not. And by 'genuinely scammed' I mean you've bought direct from the brand or via a legitimate, authorised seller but still ended up with a fake, then that's not OK. But if you buy a 'brand' online, you know it's fake so its up to the buyer to decide whether they want to spend £000s.

But you can't buy a real designer bag at a 'reasonable price'. That's life. Designer products are expensive because they're designer. So either buy through a legitimate route and accept you're going to pay designer prices or just buy a cheaper bag. If you buy a brand for less than it retails at normally, it's either fake, faulty or used. It's that simple.

Just a thought. Maybe designer bags are themselves a big scam. A Made in Italy label does not necessarily mean Italian level craftsmanship. Some are made by Chinese migrants in sweatshop type operations sub contracted by YSL, Gucci etc www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20251204-slew-of-top-brands-suspected-in-italy-sweatshop-probe

Has OP even said how much she paid for it?

No

Try smelling it, fake bags have plastic gluey smell, also did it come with the packaging? Dustbags and box can be a big giveaway

Why though? What is a 'genuine' bag? Surely if she likes it and it's decent quality

Thats the thing though- fakes are rarely made well made and thats the point!

You dont find fake designer bags made from buttery soft lambs leather with hand made stitching. They are mass produced and fall apart in a few weeks of use because they're cheap to make

So don't buy fakes then? Of course fakes are lower quality, you get what you pay for. If it's cheaper than it should be, you know it's fake. And if you know it's fake, you know the quality won't be as good. It's not rocket science.

Yes around 2thousand she replied on my post

Yes I completely agree! Which is why I don’t buy them. I am merely suggesting why the bag OP has bought is not likely to be “decent quality” if it is fake.

People are literally saying it doesn’t matter if it’s fake or genuine and that’s the entire point 🤣

No read the response carefully

that is the retail price

Yes, that's what I understood

OP I’m just glad that you can get your money back and your post serves as warning to others too. I’m not sure about buying secondhand designer items online but I think Vestaire is meant to be good. I’m sure someone will come along to verify this.
If you really love the bag then save up for it over the next few months. Go in person to buy it so you can see it and feel it for yourself - you may even change your mind about it.

Thank you! What an interesting article!

Do you know what gets me? In all honesty, I have probably spent enough to buy at least one MaxMara coats since 2002 - buying lots of inferior coats from High Street at £160 a pop, but I never felt I was ready to spend a decent sum on a decent coat like you did. Still can't do it.... Understand it in my head, but can't.

Some people are and will only buy labels, even though the items are actually unattractive and over priced.

Report the seller asap.

You have learned hard lesson.

Four shops in my city were raided by the Police just recently for importing, manufacturing and selling. Millions of pounds of high end designer goods

$his sort of thing is rife on line.

Looks fake, I am sorry. As others said the print looks soft and a bit misaligned. My YSL has this:

Mine is an old bag but 100% genuine.

@amraa does it have the serial number that’s the key.

Yes, all authentic Saint Laurent LouLou bags have serial numbers. These numbers serve as a unique identifier and are debossed or heat-stamped on a small, rectangular leather tag stitched into the bag's interior lining, usually near the zip pocket. 1, 2, 3]

No it's not. It's illegal to sell/import/distribute them. The law intentionally does not criminalise people who've been duped by counterfeit goods.