Buyer Fraud with Chanel. I'm scared

sunflower5

sunflower5

Member
Dec 18, 2009
86
0
#1
I posted this originally on the Chanel thread before realizing this one existed. Apologies for the double post:

I recently decided to let go one of my brand new Chanel jumbo flaps and decided to go the eBay route. After this experience, I will never EVER sell on eBay again. Not to bash the company, but there are too many dishonest people out there just waiting to take advantage of a high priced item.

Here’s my story:

I sold a bag about 2 week ago. The transaction went smoothly. I packaged up the item and mailed it overnight, fully insured with signature confirmation. Couple days later, I had not heard back so I sent a follow up email thanking her for her business. I received an email two days ago from the buyer, in which she states that the bag she received is fake and not authentic. She asked for the receipt, and I promptly sent her my receipt from Neiman Marcus. She suspected the bag was fake because the hologram was a sticker instead of a sewn on piece. She said she owns hundreds of Chanels and never seen a sticker hologram. I advised her that Chanel has used the sticker with gold speckles for many years and if she has any issues with the item, to get it authenticated. I also offered my phone number to help explain in person.

Yesterday, I receive another email from her saying that the receipt was faked. She also claimed that the bag was made in France instead of Italy, and Chanel has recently only made items from Italy. Furthermore, she mentioned that the hologram sticker should be on a piece of leather (which I assume is the way GSTs or PSTs are) rather than on the interior lining itself. I kindly explained that bags are not all the same, and a Chanel boutique can easily verify that their bags are produced in France and Italy. I asked her to give me a call and/or take it to any authenticator such as My Poupette or the ladies here.

I am so scared that this buyer is fraudulent. What do you guys think? Do you think she’s a genuine person who is concerned with the item or fraud?

If I were her, I would have immediately called the Seller and continued to correspond with them until everything is sorted. She sends only 1 email per day and refuses to speak to me over the phone. This is a piece that is 5k, and I have read that ebay and PayPal tend to stand behind its buyers. I clearly noted this item is final sale and have no intention of giving her a refund unless she can prove it is not authentic. However, I want to get this nightmare over with and just accept a return. BUT, I am also scared that should I choose to accept a refund, she will send me a completely fake item. As a devoted fan of designer handbags, particularly Chanel, I am so sad about this right now.

I just wanted to see if anybody had any great feedback or advice regarding this. Is there anything PayPal will do? What legal actions can I take? Thanks for hearing me out!

P.S. she has not filed a claim or asked for a refund. I'm not sure if there are any loopholes for dragging this out? If I knew I was in possession of a fake, I would have called and opened a claim immediately.
 
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#2
You can tell her to send it back and hope she does not send a box of rocks.

You can refer her to the AT Chanel Section here.

Do you have an authenticity letter from an authorized authenticator?

Once she files, your PP account witll be put on hold.
 
#3
noshoepolish said:
You can tell her to send it back and hope she does not send a box of rocks.

You can refer her to the AT Chanel Section here.

Do you have an authenticity letter from an authorized authenticator?

Once she files, your PP account witll be put on hold.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your advice. I asked her to get a letter of authenticity if she wasn't sure and referred her to tPF and My Poupette. I know my bag is 100% real as it was purchased at NM personally. Unless, NM is selling fake bags, which I doubt is the case....but anything can happen.

I could ask her to send it back, but I'm so scared she'll not send the correct item back as you mentioned. I don't know what I could do if that were to happen.
 
#4
Since there are several concerns your buyer has with the bag & has pointed them

out to you, I think you might be better off asking her to send this bag back..

Your buyer is not cooperating with you & she feels that she doesn't have

an authentic bag.. she also sounds like she is not going to go to a NM to

authenticate it either... you have her contact info can you try to call her?

And by any chance did you ship the bag with a security tag??

The concerns that she has pointed out should still be there if she sends the bag back

so I don't think she will not return your bag because she has pointed them out to you

already... If you do decide to take it back, the right buyer will come along..

Keep us posted & sorry you have to deal with this
 
#5
hotshot said:
Since there are several concerns your buyer has with the bag & has pointed them

out to you, I think you might be better off asking her to send this bag back..

Your buyer is not cooperating with you & she feels that she doesn't have

an authentic bag.. she also sounds like she is not going to go to a NM to

authenticate it either... you have her contact info can you try to call her?

And by any chance did you ship the bag with a security tag??

The concerns that she has pointed out should still be there if she sends the bag back

so I don't think she will not return your bag because she has pointed them out to you

already... If you do decide to take it back, the right buyer will come along..

Keep us posted & sorry you have to deal with this
Click to expand...

Thanks for your advice, I did try to call her and even left a voicemail but didn't hear back. I didn't add a security tag bag because it was a final sale item and didn't think I needed to. shoot!
 
#6
Sounds like she's reading some of the misinformed Chanel "guides" on the Internet.

Honestly idk what I'd do, obviously she is a liar if she is saying she has 100s of Chanel's and none have a hologram sticker, but a sewn on one? Even the old ones were stickers. Maybe she has 100s of fakes.
 
#7
The other potential problem is, if your buyer should file a chargeback with her

credit card company and claims the bag is a fake, there have been other

posts where the cc tells the buyer to destroy the item since it is deemed

a fake and the buyer gets the money back & keeps the bag...so with an item

this expensive, I think I would ask the buyer to send it back to you asap

with insurance, sign & deliv conf & online tracking..

I know that this is not nice & final sale means final sale, but ebay does usually

side with the buyer especially if the word fake is mentioned...
 
#8
hotshot said:
The other potential problem is, if your buyer should file a chargeback with her

credit card company and claims the bag is a fake, there have been other

posts where the cc tells the buyer to destroy the item since it is deemed

a fake and the buyer gets the money back & keeps the bag...so with an item

this expensive, I think I would ask the buyer to send it back to you asap

with insurance, sign & deliv conf & online tracking..

I know that this is not nice & final sale means final sale, but ebay does usually

side with the buyer especially if the word fake is mentioned...
Click to expand...

i agree, what a scary thought! i did call paypal and they said they would require proof from a third party in the case she files anything. i am in the process of helping her understand why this is not a fake, but if she's fixed on it, i might as well have her send it back.
 
#9
SophiaLee said:
Sounds like she's reading some of the misinformed Chanel "guides" on the Internet.

Honestly idk what I'd do, obviously she is a liar if she is saying she has 100s of Chanel's and none have a hologram sticker, but a sewn on one? Even the old ones were stickers. Maybe she has 100s of fakes.
Click to expand...

i agree - i told her the older ones were still stickers granted they do leave "sewn on" like marks when they are ripped. yeah so shocked when she said she has 100s
 
#12
#13
So sorry to hear you are going through this..

Reading what you said about the buyer's responses, I don't believe that she is genuinely having doubts in regards to authenticity.. plus she is taking her time which is not making sense when one believes having been sent a counterfeit bag.

I would suspect that this buyer is taking her time because she wants to to use bag before returning it..

Or she is having buyer's remorse, making up excuses to lead you into offering to return, since she knows she will have some trouble coming up with proof that the bag is not authentic.

I tend to think that if this person intends to do bait and switch and send back something else, she doesn't need to stretch the time and would have immediately opened a claim.. if this happens by any chance you CAN fight that through PayPal. It is not true that buyer always wins, especially this type of fraud and the amount involved, they won't take the case lightly.

Perhaps it is a good idea to hang on a little bit more to see what the buyer's response is, in regards to getting the bag authenticated. It may help with your decision. I do hope she responds soon.

Would you mind sharing the buyer's eBay id so other members can avoid trouble with this person? If you would rather share via pm, just let me know..

Good luck :hugs:
 
#14
*want it all* said:
LOL! Good call. :ghi5: Hey, you didn't ask if it was a red Chanel! ;)​



OP, I'm so sorry you're going through this situation. I advise you to read through this thread. The seller jumped through hoops to prove her CLs were, in fact, authentic, yet in the end, she still lost the claim and had to accept a return. :wtf:​


Click to expand...


That's the problem... the buyer knows she is in the driver's seat

& has the upper hand... this is a very expensive item... personally

would not want to test the water with a buyer like this.. and certainly

would not want her using the bag... my feeling is get your bag back &

re-list & have the opportunity to sell it to someone who knows its

authentic & really wants it..
 
#15
sunflower5 said:
I posted this originally on the Chanel thread before realizing this one existed. Apologies for the double post:

I recently decided to let go one of my brand new Chanel jumbo flaps and decided to go the eBay route. After this experience, I will never EVER sell on eBay again. Not to bash the company, but there are too many dishonest people out there just waiting to take advantage of a high priced item.

Here’s my story:

I sold a bag about 2 week ago. The transaction went smoothly. I packaged up the item and mailed it overnight, fully insured with signature confirmation. Couple days later, I had not heard back so I sent a follow up email thanking her for her business. I received an email two days ago from the buyer, in which she states that the bag she received is fake and not authentic. She asked for the receipt, and I promptly sent her my receipt from Neiman Marcus. She suspected the bag was fake because the hologram was a sticker instead of a sewn on piece. She said she owns hundreds of Chanels and never seen a sticker hologram. I advised her that Chanel has used the sticker with gold speckles for many years and if she has any issues with the item, to get it authenticated. I also offered my phone number to help explain in person.

Yesterday, I receive another email from her saying that the receipt was faked. She also claimed that the bag was made in France instead of Italy, and Chanel has recently only made items from Italy. Furthermore, she mentioned that the hologram sticker should be on a piece of leather (which I assume is the way GSTs or PSTs are) rather than on the interior lining itself. I kindly explained that bags are not all the same, and a Chanel boutique can easily verify that their bags are produced in France and Italy. I asked her to give me a call and/or take it to any authenticator such as My Poupette or the ladies here.

I am so scared that this buyer is fraudulent. What do you guys think? Do you think she’s a genuine person who is concerned with the item or fraud?

If I were her, I would have immediately called the Seller and continued to correspond with them until everything is sorted. She sends only 1 email per day and refuses to speak to me over the phone. This is a piece that is 5k, and I have read that ebay and PayPal tend to stand behind its buyers. I clearly noted this item is final sale and have no intention of giving her a refund unless she can prove it is not authentic. However, I want to get this nightmare over with and just accept a return. BUT, I am also scared that should I choose to accept a refund, she will send me a completely fake item. As a devoted fan of designer handbags, particularly Chanel, I am so sad about this right now.

I just wanted to see if anybody had any great feedback or advice regarding this. Is there anything PayPal will do? What legal actions can I take? Thanks for hearing me out!

P.S. she has not filed a claim or asked for a refund. I'm not sure if there are any loopholes for dragging this out? If I knew I was in possession of a fake, I would have called and opened a claim immediately.
Click to expand...

If it is any consolation all the behaviours she is exhibiting are those of a buyer who has suddenly gotten cold feet over the purchase - aka Buyers Remorse. Or she may want extra reassurance that the item is authentic. I would guess these things before I would guess scammer.

Tread gently. Let her initiate the communication and answer her questions politely. Encourage her to have it authenticated here. Maybe she will go away. If she does file a claim, it might be easier to accept the return than fight it. There have been some nightmares where buyers have been told to destroy "fakes" that weren't. And credit card chargebacks are not fun either. Good luck.
 
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