Back in December, I purchased a pre-owned Dior Samourai from a seller on Instagram who also has a physical shop in Massachusetts. She specializes in pre-owned luxury and designer resale and had a lot of beautiful things, most of which seem to be featured on her IG page. Before purchasing, I did a Google search and came up with newspaper articles about her business and her partnership with another reseller, her community activities, and of course, her website, which sells recycled items. So she seemed to be legit. She described the bag as in "very good conditions, very clean inside and outside." From the limited photos there were, the bag looked good, but in hindsight, I should have asked for more photos. There were some issues at the outset with shipping paperwork and methods, and some claims she made which left me feeling like she wasn't being truthful with me. I told her to cancel the sale and give me a refund. She did not and said she would figure things out. I opened a Paypal claim, and decided to keep it open until she canceled the sale or shipped the item.
When the package arrived, I filmed the unboxing, and the bag was CLEARLY not in the "very good conditions" that she described. It was heavily used, it was misshapen and warped in some places, there was dirt, scratches and discoloration on the leather. I don't know if she put filters or photoshopped the photos on her IG page, but the condition of this bag was misrepresented and not acceptable to me. I sent her a message expressing my disappointment, telling her the condition of the bag was not acceptable and I would be sending it back for a refund in accordance with the refund terms on her website. She promptly blocked me, without any reply or discussion. I escalated my Paypal claim, took photos of the bag, and then filmed the boxing up of it/sealing the box to ship back to her. I sent it Priority Registered post, which requires a signature (I'm in Europe) and photographed the processing at the post office for shipping. I sent all of these photos I took, the photos of the bag as it was advertised on her IG page, the postal receipts, testimonial of the events and screenshots of our exchanges and even the blank page on IG when she blocked me. When the item was delivered, I provided the delivery confirmation to them as well. I'm not sure that PP even has human beings working on these dispute resolutions, because they requested multiple times for me to get an assessment from a third-party on the condition of the bag, and each time I responded that the item was no longer in my possession as it had already been shipped back. I also asked why my assessment wasn't acceptable to them when I as the customer am the one who decides if an item is acceptable to me or not. I did endeavor to try with one authenticator using the photos, but they said they didn't provide those services. Anyway, Paypal denied my claim, which to me was outrageous, in light of all the evidence I provided. Since there was NO transparency from their side, I have NO idea what she was telling them and how or why her claims were more compelling than mine. So much for buyer protection. I filed an appeal, and that was denied. I got the impression at some point, when they kept asking me for proof of delivery, that perhaps the seller was claiming she never got the package. When I chatted an agent and sent them the delivery confirmation, he made the note that is in the attached screenshot with comments from the seller. Nice!
I opened a chargeback with my bank, and also filed claims against Paypal with the Federal Trade Commission, Better Business Bureau, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and California Attorney General's office. I also wrote to several Congressional legislators to ask if they could intervene. At some point, Paypal reopened the case and said they will investigate further, so these efforts had some impact. I also filed a claim against the seller with the FTC, BBB and the Massachusetts Attorney General's office consumer complaints, which asked for more documentation.
My bank came back to me the other day with the seller's objections, in which she stated a number of lies, first claiming this item's market price was $6500, but it was on markdown and final sale and no returns are accepted and that the stated refund policy on her website is not applicable to the items she sells in her physical store. There was NO mention made or any indication anywhere that this had been priced higher and was on markdown or final sale and that no refund was possible. There was nothing written in her listing nor on her Instagram page, nor on the receipt, nor on the website, nor in any exchanges I had with her. Normally sellers will clearly state No Returns, All Sales Final, etc. There was none of that here. I would never have purchased anything from her if there was a clearly stated policy or any indication that all sales were final. Furthermore, on her IG page, she has links to her website her shop's physical address. Thus, her physical shop, her IG page and website are all inextricably linked.
She also claimed NO reseller or secondhand shop on the planet allows refunds. Not true. There are several that do, and I cited at least three examples in my response to the bank, and shared screenshots of their policies. I also provided links to sites that have sold this same bag and none of them were selling for $6500. When this bag came out in 2007, it wasn't even that much. It's true, I have seen a couple of these bags selling for higher prices, but they were both listed as vintage collectibles and in pristine condition, not heavily used like the one she sold me.
But one of the most egregious statements she made to my credit provider was that she's more than happy to offer an exchange, store credit or to consign the item. She wrote "Please return the item to me if the buyer agrees to consign or get store credit." Errrr.....the delivery confirmation states otherwise: that the item was delivered to her several weeks ago. This is another outright lie from her side. But just for good measure, I have asked both the USPS and my country's postal service now to look into this matter further and find out who signed for it, because with Registered post, there is always a signature required. So this is apparently what she keeps claiming; that she never received the item. The item was shipped to her shop. She had my email address. She could easily have contacted me and said she never received anything and even offered the options to exchange, credit or consign. My bank asked what my position is on that and I told them not acceptable and that the only acceptable resolution is a full refund. I will not do another lick of business with this unscrupulous liar.
I submitted a rebuttal to my bank, but am now unsure if they will refund me. How much more proof do I need that I returned her item to her? The next step would be to file a police report and a small claims court action. I paid a lot of money for this item $1600+ exchange fees. I've also left negative feedback for her at Trustpilot, Sitejabber and Yelp. I'm out of ideas and don't know what else to do. Thanks for reading.
When the package arrived, I filmed the unboxing, and the bag was CLEARLY not in the "very good conditions" that she described. It was heavily used, it was misshapen and warped in some places, there was dirt, scratches and discoloration on the leather. I don't know if she put filters or photoshopped the photos on her IG page, but the condition of this bag was misrepresented and not acceptable to me. I sent her a message expressing my disappointment, telling her the condition of the bag was not acceptable and I would be sending it back for a refund in accordance with the refund terms on her website. She promptly blocked me, without any reply or discussion. I escalated my Paypal claim, took photos of the bag, and then filmed the boxing up of it/sealing the box to ship back to her. I sent it Priority Registered post, which requires a signature (I'm in Europe) and photographed the processing at the post office for shipping. I sent all of these photos I took, the photos of the bag as it was advertised on her IG page, the postal receipts, testimonial of the events and screenshots of our exchanges and even the blank page on IG when she blocked me. When the item was delivered, I provided the delivery confirmation to them as well. I'm not sure that PP even has human beings working on these dispute resolutions, because they requested multiple times for me to get an assessment from a third-party on the condition of the bag, and each time I responded that the item was no longer in my possession as it had already been shipped back. I also asked why my assessment wasn't acceptable to them when I as the customer am the one who decides if an item is acceptable to me or not. I did endeavor to try with one authenticator using the photos, but they said they didn't provide those services. Anyway, Paypal denied my claim, which to me was outrageous, in light of all the evidence I provided. Since there was NO transparency from their side, I have NO idea what she was telling them and how or why her claims were more compelling than mine. So much for buyer protection. I filed an appeal, and that was denied. I got the impression at some point, when they kept asking me for proof of delivery, that perhaps the seller was claiming she never got the package. When I chatted an agent and sent them the delivery confirmation, he made the note that is in the attached screenshot with comments from the seller. Nice!
I opened a chargeback with my bank, and also filed claims against Paypal with the Federal Trade Commission, Better Business Bureau, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and California Attorney General's office. I also wrote to several Congressional legislators to ask if they could intervene. At some point, Paypal reopened the case and said they will investigate further, so these efforts had some impact. I also filed a claim against the seller with the FTC, BBB and the Massachusetts Attorney General's office consumer complaints, which asked for more documentation.
My bank came back to me the other day with the seller's objections, in which she stated a number of lies, first claiming this item's market price was $6500, but it was on markdown and final sale and no returns are accepted and that the stated refund policy on her website is not applicable to the items she sells in her physical store. There was NO mention made or any indication anywhere that this had been priced higher and was on markdown or final sale and that no refund was possible. There was nothing written in her listing nor on her Instagram page, nor on the receipt, nor on the website, nor in any exchanges I had with her. Normally sellers will clearly state No Returns, All Sales Final, etc. There was none of that here. I would never have purchased anything from her if there was a clearly stated policy or any indication that all sales were final. Furthermore, on her IG page, she has links to her website her shop's physical address. Thus, her physical shop, her IG page and website are all inextricably linked.
She also claimed NO reseller or secondhand shop on the planet allows refunds. Not true. There are several that do, and I cited at least three examples in my response to the bank, and shared screenshots of their policies. I also provided links to sites that have sold this same bag and none of them were selling for $6500. When this bag came out in 2007, it wasn't even that much. It's true, I have seen a couple of these bags selling for higher prices, but they were both listed as vintage collectibles and in pristine condition, not heavily used like the one she sold me.
But one of the most egregious statements she made to my credit provider was that she's more than happy to offer an exchange, store credit or to consign the item. She wrote "Please return the item to me if the buyer agrees to consign or get store credit." Errrr.....the delivery confirmation states otherwise: that the item was delivered to her several weeks ago. This is another outright lie from her side. But just for good measure, I have asked both the USPS and my country's postal service now to look into this matter further and find out who signed for it, because with Registered post, there is always a signature required. So this is apparently what she keeps claiming; that she never received the item. The item was shipped to her shop. She had my email address. She could easily have contacted me and said she never received anything and even offered the options to exchange, credit or consign. My bank asked what my position is on that and I told them not acceptable and that the only acceptable resolution is a full refund. I will not do another lick of business with this unscrupulous liar.
I submitted a rebuttal to my bank, but am now unsure if they will refund me. How much more proof do I need that I returned her item to her? The next step would be to file a police report and a small claims court action. I paid a lot of money for this item $1600+ exchange fees. I've also left negative feedback for her at Trustpilot, Sitejabber and Yelp. I'm out of ideas and don't know what else to do. Thanks for reading.
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I was just on the phone with my bank to make sure they got my latest submission/rebuttal. They said they will send my rebuttal to her, and try to win the chargeback. I asked what that meant as I had NO idea that the vendor/seller has to consent to the refund. I thought the whole point of a chargeback was the bank clawing back the money. Of course, she's not going to consent, because she's made every single excuse imaginable NOT to refund my money. So I said I guess it's time to file a report with the police. 
Despite the seller's submission, the bank maintained that all the evidence I presented was solid and adequately rebutted/disproved her claims. So not only has she lost the funds she tried to steal from me, but her bank will charge fees and leave a strike against her account. 💪
