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!

If you've got a really good fake, it will have a serial number. You'd then have to go to an authenticator to find out if it's a valid code.

On the other hand, if you've got a Faux St Laurent bag of very good quality at less than YSL price, then enjoy it and don't ask questions!

That’s not the point is it… I’m sure OP paid a substantial amount of money for a second hand designer bag. It’s not something you just let go when the bag is probably worth a tenner on a market stall.

Seriously - people are being really weird about this. It has nothing to do with being bloody shallow- if I buy something that's advertised as a certain designer and it cost a designer price, it's not "shallow" to want a refund. You have been lied to by the seller FFS.

You also have a legal right to a refund if you've been sold a fake/counterfeit so the law backs this principle up.

Owning fakes is not illegal if it's purely for your own use. Selling fakes and saying they are the real thing IS illegal.

If these PPs aren't just being arsey for the sake of it (on MN? Surely not!!) they might be kind of people who look at Monet paintings and say their kid can paint something just as good!

Fair enough, they may genuinely prefer their own child's artwork to a dead Frenchman's. But there's a real difference between a 'nice picture' and a signed masterpiece. That difference is worth £ millions, even if some can't see why.

All designer bags are limited editions. That, alongside the quality and design details, is why they keep their value. They aren't just a 'nice bag', any more than a Monet's just a picture. If you don't get it, that's fine. Put prints on your walls and use an Asda handbag.

Just return the bag and draw a line under it. You will always have that niggling doubt in your head! Just save up for a genuine bag no matter how long it takes because when you do eventually get one from a legit store you will be on cloud nine knowing it's the real thing and all your hard work saving has got you to your dream bag! You cannot beat that feeling of elation and achievement!

Of course it matters if she’s paid a fortune for it!

I am wondering if that poster would pay £££ for a diamond ring from a jewellers only to find out later its actually cubic zirconia and really from Claire's accessories whether they'd say to themselves "oh well, I mustn't be shallow! I'll just keep it and say nothing" 😂

Selling them is illegal full stop, whether you sell them as real or saying they are fake.

Definitely fake.

DD collects Coach bags and purses, but would only ever buy them in Selfridges, Harrods or Bicester Village.

Return it and learn the lesson.

It’s very silly indeed to buy designer items for this obscene amount of money (over a grand 😱) on eBay.

You are very lucky that it looks like you might get your money back. This had scam written all over it. Who buys a designer bag and uses it once and puts it on eBay. Nobody.

Years ago I was invited on a story about fakes for ebay. I saw just one out of quite a few hangers worth of fake goods that had been seized by the powers that be. It was astonishing, it really was. A few things struck me, one was how many different branded items in this hanger which was just the tip of the iceberg and actually that the things copied were not what I'd expect. Obviously designer products like this bag were copied like mad, but then other things like batteries, glue, medicines, razors, even things like bubblebath that only cost a couple of quid in the shops anyway. I suppose people sold enough of them to make it worth copying?

I have not bought anything electrical, beauty or anything I need to be safe to use from a marketplace since. I'd rather buy the original.

I think it looks genuine, it’s too good to be fake eg the branding on the zip and buttons. But if you’re unsure send it back which you’ve done as you will always be wondering.

and yes people do sell designer for a fraction of new cost on Vinted etc. I’ve sold some unwanted Stella Mcartney, Issey Miyake clothes and only got 10% of the new cost.

it does matter as OP"s probably overpaid if it's fake. Sorry op I have no knowledge if it's real or fake but if you're unsure I'd send it back. You probably won't ever feel the same about it if you don't.

I think if I cared as much as OP seems to, I'd have just walked into a bricks and mortar shop and paid the full price...

It’s fake.

Font spacing inconsistency.

Take it to a shoe repair store like Timpson’s and ask them about the quality of the leather. They can tell you if the leather and stitching consistency is worth what you paid. If not, return it Monday for quality inconsistence. Leave all the authenticity out of it. They didn’t promise you authenticity. They promised you a fake of high enough quality that it couldn’t immediately be clocked. Do not buy designer except straight from authorized retailers.

You can have a “fake” of anything made in China within 24 hours. This person runs a business, yes, but it’s not a business selling what you thought they’re selling. Gold metallic debossed stamping costs extra on these bags. If you love the LOOK of it, buy direct from a vetted Chinese factory and ask them to customize with YOUR logo, not YSL. Choose a Swedish word, have it metallic debossed, tell everyone it’s a hot new very exclusive brand. (wtf Mumsnet I need the laughing emoticon here lolz).

Loads of people own fake designer watches!

My husband wore a fake Rolex for years - it lasted surprisingly well considering it was bought at a market in Portugal.

Yes, report including to Trading Standards. Illegal selling and misrepresentation.

My 1998 one is still doing a good turn.
Got my first LV bag - the accessories pochette one - at the same time - £90!
The prices now even if I could afford it, it’s all too much. And there are so many fakes.
I have sold a few bits to resale sites - good ones - so that’s where I’d go if I was buying.
I’ve used 1st Dibs which was great.

Aaaaa, don't. Please don't. In the attic I have binsacks full of coats from Next, Zara, M&S, Country casuals, Viyella, H&M, Debenhams, John Lewis, Jigsaw, Jaeger, Austin Reed.... All because deepdown I am such a cheapskate and can't part with a sizeable sum at any given moment, I just squander money bit by bit. Aaaaaa

https://legitgrails.com/blogs/saint-laurent/real-vs-fake-ysl-loulou-medium-bag-legit-check?srsltid=AfmBOor_Ol5iF6g6QmGKdqSRQfzOUq7tk4PGfPKKDVZPd1OM3Ff1mxO0

https://legitapp.com/blog/how-to-tell-if-your-ysl-loulou-bag-is-real-or-not-expert-authentication-tips

I had a proper clear out when I turned 50. It felt great but the things you find….
Let’s just say every variety of boot cut jeans. Diamanté. Lace trim. Cut-outs. Grim. 🤣

Maybe she is, and frankly so what. If she finds joy in it, let her.

She's hardly going to get arrested for it walking down the road is she. 🤣🤣

There used to be a stall in East Street Market that sold loads of YSL & Gucci bags. Some of them were genuine leather. They had really nasty Michael Kors purses that looked very plasticky. Apparently, the trick in passing fakes is to claim that they look slightly different because they are earlier models.

Anyone travelling to France (I'm French) should leave their fake shit at home. In some place police will confiscate and destroy.

Another reason to avoid designer tat. Instead find a leather artist and commission a bespoke bag. I had a lovely bag that was inspired by the Birkin in lovely soft cognac coloured Moroccan leather, but sadly it got stolen at a wine bar.