***A Place for the Fakes***

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Magjes did you say anything to the seller? I said something to the Tradesy seller--not accusing, just being very factual that the bag had been I.D.ed as fake, reported to Tradesy and posted on tPF. The seller went off on me accusing me of stalking and harassing, asking if I was a seller who was mad because she is hurting my business.... ??? As if the thought that I'm a buyer who hates seeing people get swindled by crooks never even entered her (his) mind. Doesn't it just make you crazy? I honestly don't know why I care, but I DOOOO.:nono:

I also had sent this seller a message to provide a better shots of the rivets and the tag, and a photo of the bottom of the bag . she just ignored me.
 
Unfortunately, Poshmark has a habit of fakes "slipping though" as well.
For example, there's this lovely hunk of vinyl:



https://poshmark.com/listing/Authentic-red-Balenciaga-mini-city-bag-555ca446bab32d78870025cb

I know RightasRain has contacted them in the past & it was a struggle to get the fakes removed.
Unfortunately I think they're all the same. They have to say everything is authentic and they are anti-fake, but if the buyer doesn't know better, they're more than happy to take the commission and turn a blind eye.

What kills me about the screen shot I included above from the Tradesy app is that blazing banner at the top that says AUTHENTICITY GUARANTEED. I had to laugh at the irony in that....
 
Unfortunately, Poshmark has a habit of fakes "slipping though" as well.

For example, there's this lovely hunk of vinyl:







https://poshmark.com/listing/Authentic-red-Balenciaga-mini-city-bag-555ca446bab32d78870025cb



I know RightasRain has contacted them in the past & it was a struggle to get the fakes removed.


Oof. I definitely flagged this bag on poshmark a couple weeks back along with a couple other obvious atrocities. If this beauty is still there, I'm sure all the others are too... ::sigh::.
 
I also had sent this seller a message to provide a better shots of the rivets and the tag, and a photo of the bottom of the bag . she just ignored me.
I only follow the Balenciaga forum, but does anyone know if this rampant selling / finding of fakes is an issue in any of the other forums? LV | Celine | Chanel | Hermes | Chloe?

I got a little OCD on Tradesy with this seller this weekend, LOL. First she posted a fake Magenta. That was the one I messaged her about, and messaged Tradesy at least 3x. Whether it was her or Tradesy, the magenta came down, and a short while later the blue one was posted.

I sent Tradesy a barrage of messages via that little flag in the upper left corner but the bag didn't come down.

Next thing you know the listing for the blue bag has been edited: shoulder strap has been removed from the photos, only one side of the tag shown, etc. I message Tradesy AGAIN. Nothing. This morning I saw that the bag was not only STILL posted, but it had been "cleaned" by Tradesy (when they remove all the background stuff from the photo) and the seller had changed her name from Kia to TIA.

I kind of lost it on Tradesy via the little flag icon. How could they allow this four time offender to keep posting? How can they claim "authenticity guaranteed" if they don't proactively guarantee it? How can they say they have an algorithm that catches fakes? FINALLY, the bag was removed.

The sad thing is, while I was doing all this I got curious and without even looking very far, I came across two other total fakes and a third one that is highly suspicious but doesn't provide enough photos to be sure.

It's like playing whack-a-mole! Every time one gets smacked down, another one pops up!
 
I only follow the Balenciaga forum, but does anyone know if this rampant selling / finding of fakes is an issue in any of the other forums? LV | Celine | Chanel | Hermes | Chloe?

I got a little OCD on Tradesy with this seller this weekend, LOL. First she posted a fake Magenta. That was the one I messaged her about, and messaged Tradesy at least 3x. Whether it was her or Tradesy, the magenta came down, and a short while later the blue one was posted.

I sent Tradesy a barrage of messages via that little flag in the upper left corner but the bag didn't come down.

Next thing you know the listing for the blue bag has been edited: shoulder strap has been removed from the photos, only one side of the tag shown, etc. I message Tradesy AGAIN. Nothing. This morning I saw that the bag was not only STILL posted, but it had been "cleaned" by Tradesy (when they remove all the background stuff from the photo) and the seller had changed her name from Kia to TIA.

I kind of lost it on Tradesy via the little flag icon. How could they allow this four time offender to keep posting? How can they claim "authenticity guaranteed" if they don't proactively guarantee it? How can they say they have an algorithm that catches fakes? FINALLY, the bag was removed.

The sad thing is, while I was doing all this I got curious and without even looking very far, I came across two other total fakes and a third one that is highly suspicious but doesn't provide enough photos to be sure.

It's like playing whack-a-mole! Every time one gets smacked down, another one pops up!

Frustrating, isn't it? And it's a shame we have to 'police' these sites for fakes; we should be getting the salary of the person who is *supposed* to do that!

And Tia/Kia...ugh. What a little scam artist...
 
Frustrating, isn't it? And it's a shame we have to 'police' these sites for fakes; we should be getting the salary of the person who is *supposed* to do that!

And Tia/Kia...ugh. What a little scam artist...

I would take that job in a heartbeat! LOL. And oh... The blue bag is back up! This person is RELENTLESS (and Tradsy is sleeping on the job). This is becoming almost like an episode of Seinfeld with me...
 
I would take that job in a heartbeat! LOL. And oh... The blue bag is back up! This person is RELENTLESS (and Tradsy is sleeping on the job). This is becoming almost like an episode of Seinfeld with me...

OK I sent Tradesy this message:

"It has come to my attention that a seller going by Tia (formerly Kia) is selling blatantly counterfeit bags on your site. I know for a fact that this seller has been reported to you by numerous individuals who are Balenciaga owners and are able to enumerate the various inconsistencies that show these bags to be replicas. Allow me to add the following things (in reference to the blue bag): [REDACTED] These are all features that should be red flags to the people that your site claims to employ to monitor such fake bags as these.
Perhaps you are aware that selling counterfeit bags are illegal? It is distressing to me that a site that claims professionalism and that deals in high-end goods would allow such a thing to continue. While I understand that you can not maintain 100% accuracy when it comes to your various sellers, I also find it curious that you have taken no permanent action against someone whose activities have been brought to your attention numerous times. The fact that this individual is allowed flaunt the rules with no consequence and is still selling/relisting flagged items does not give me confidence that merchandise sold through your site is as genuine as you attest it to be.
I look forward to your response and hope that you will use this message as a means to prove your commitment to selling legal merchandise."

We'll see what they have to say...
 
OK I sent Tradesy this message:

"It has come to my attention that a seller going by Tia (formerly Kia) is selling blatantly counterfeit bags on your site. I know for a fact that this seller has been reported to you by numerous individuals who are Balenciaga owners and are able to enumerate the various inconsistencies that show these bags to be replicas. Allow me to add the following things (in reference to the blue bag): [REDACTED] These are all features that should be red flags to the people that your site claims to employ to monitor such fake bags as these.
Perhaps you are aware that selling counterfeit bags are illegal? It is distressing to me that a site that claims professionalism and that deals in high-end goods would allow such a thing to continue. While I understand that you can not maintain 100% accuracy when it comes to your various sellers, I also find it curious that you have taken no permanent action against someone whose activities have been brought to your attention numerous times. The fact that this individual is allowed flaunt the rules with no consequence and is still selling/relisting flagged items does not give me confidence that merchandise sold through your site is as genuine as you attest it to be.
I look forward to your response and hope that you will use this message as a means to prove your commitment to selling legal merchandise."

We'll see what they have to say...
B.R.A.V.O. That is a bada** letter.
 
LOL. Cable issues will put anyone in a fighting mood. And it worked! The bag is down! Nice work!

Thanks! So they got back to me asking for the links to the bags, so I replied:
"Thank you for getting back to me. Currently this seller does not have these bags for sale, as she has a history of removing/editing listings when questions of authenticity arise via contact with other members. Nevertheless, you can see from the listings below the issues I described in my initial message. (Incidentally the purple bag has the same [REDACTED]
https://www.tradesy.com/bags/balenciaga-city-blue-shoulder-bag-bleu-paon-2412352/?tref=
https://www.tradesy.com/bags/balenciaga-shoulder-bag-ultra-violet-purple-2412574/?tref=category
I have learned that the seller has, under the name Kia, listed the same photos and sold facsimiles of these bags in recent months. I am sure that you have the resources to look at this individual's selling history to verify such dealings.
Further, I have included a third https://www.tradesy.com/bags/balenciaga-shoulder-bag-teal-1961670/?tref=similarItem that I can also attest to its counterfeit status.
Clearly, this seller has a pattern of defrauding buyers through your site, and while I am not personally aware of any issues regarding non-Balenciaga bags (not would I consider myself worthy of determining such) the odds are that this seller is also dealing in other designer goods of equally questionable status.
Again, thank you for your reply and I look forward to hearing from you."

(I'm redacting all the reasons I told them that proved the bags fake, since I don't need to give the counterfeiters any helpful hints!)
And now it's time to wait for the cable guy...*sigh*
 
Thanks! So they got back to me asking for the links to the bags, so I replied:
"Thank you for getting back to me. Currently this seller does not have these bags for sale, as she has a history of removing/editing listings when questions of authenticity arise via contact with other members. Nevertheless, you can see from the listings below the issues I described in my initial message. (Incidentally the purple bag has the same [REDACTED]
https://www.tradesy.com/bags/balenciaga-city-blue-shoulder-bag-bleu-paon-2412352/?tref=
https://www.tradesy.com/bags/balenciaga-shoulder-bag-ultra-violet-purple-2412574/?tref=category
I have learned that the seller has, under the name Kia, listed the same photos and sold facsimiles of these bags in recent months. I am sure that you have the resources to look at this individual's selling history to verify such dealings.
Further, I have included a third https://www.tradesy.com/bags/balenciaga-shoulder-bag-teal-1961670/?tref=similarItem that I can also attest to its counterfeit status.
Clearly, this seller has a pattern of defrauding buyers through your site, and while I am not personally aware of any issues regarding non-Balenciaga bags (not would I consider myself worthy of determining such) the odds are that this seller is also dealing in other designer goods of equally questionable status.
Again, thank you for your reply and I look forward to hearing from you."

(I'm redacting all the reasons I told them that proved the bags fake, since I don't need to give the counterfeiters any helpful hints!)
And now it's time to wait for the cable guy...*sigh*
It is literally unbelievable to me that they are asking your for links to the bags. That is such BS. I have spoken to tradesy CSRs personally who have told me NOTHING is ever deleted from their site, and for a company as high tech as they are to even allude to such is practically insulting. I sent them SO MANY "flag" warnings about this seller that either that feature is there for show and completely ignored internally, or they are unwisely assuming that the buyer community does not share information. Their repeated questioning of concerned buyers comes off as a stall tactic. Law suits are not my thing, but it seems to me that this could warrant a class action suit... in my short time on Tradesy I've seen enough counterfeits sold (several of which they were alerted to by me) that their claim of "Authenticity Guaranteed" is misleading if not fraudulent, and the fact that they actively ignore rightfully concerned buyers to favor knowingly ill-gotten commissions puts them right there in cahoots with the counterfeiters themselves. You know if this is happening with Balenciaga, it must also be happening RAMPANTLY with LV, Chanel and others.
 
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