**Buying from Fashionphile** shopping experiences/questions

[caannie]

I have been buying and selling with Fashionphile since 2015. I have bought several items from them and sold over $15,000 in merchandise to them over the years. I have never had a problem with anything I have sold to them until yesterday. I sent in 2 Gucci bags to sell. I received an email from them saying that one of the bags a Gucci Babouska clutch they are saying is not authentic. In a follow up email I received from their authentication department they said that they noted inconsistencies with the hardware used, as well as incorrect font style, and designer id. Therefore they are saying the bag is not authentic. I called customer service since I have never had this happen before. They informed me that I now have a selling ban on my account because of this.

I purchased the bag from a reputable seller on Etsy. She has all 5 star reviews and sells only Gucci items. She had a certificate of authenticity from an online authenticator. Fashionphile charged me $75 and is now banning me from ever selling again. I would never willing sell something that was not authentic. I am so upset that this has happened. I have sold them over $15,000 in authentic merchandise over the last several years. Some really nice pieces. I then have this one issue where I legitimately believed the bag to be authentic and they are banning me. I asked them to look at my account history and all that i have bought and sold to them in the past and to reconsider the ban. I have not heard anything back from them yet on this. Now though I'm not sure I really want to sell to them again after this.

I went back to seller who says she only sells authentic items and that authenticator service confirmed the bag to be authentic. She will not do any refund/return for me. I contacted the authenticating company and they stand by that the bag is authentic.

I am at a loss of what to do. I cannot get a refund from the seller. My only other option is to go to Paypal to dispute the charge to get my money back. I am wondering if I should use another authentication service and also have it authenticated here on the PF as well. I looked online and some people have had similar experiences where they know the bag is real, they even purchased it directly from the actual store and Fashionphile still said it was not authentic and charged them the $75.

The authentication Department at Fashionphile responded to one of my emails asking for the payment receipt for the bag. They said they would consider refunding the $75 if I could show I purchased from a reputable seller. I sent over my online payment receipt, as well as the pictures from the listing, and the certificate of authenticity.

I am so upset that this has happened. I want to get my money back if the bag is not real but is there a chance that Fashionphile is wrong and my bag is indeed authentic?

Can anyone offer me some advice on what to do? I am waiting for Fashionphile to send me the bag back. I just got the return email confirmation with the tracking number. I paid them the $75. I don't know if they will refund me it or not and they have not answered me on the ban. I understand as a company their position with fake items (if they are fake) but this is the only time I have ever had in issue in 7 years and over $15k in merchandise sold.

I am at a loss as to what to do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

There's a specific email address you should write to if you want your ban reversed. I haven't been able to find it, but you can call customer service and ask them what email you should write to. As this is the first time you've sent something that they determined was not authentic you should be able to get reinstated. You may also be able to get your $75 back, if they can be convinced to call it "inconsistencies with brand compliance" rather than not authentic. Make sure and put in your email your long time sales and customer history. I know you're probably having second thoughts about doing business with them, and I totally understand that.

 

[lara0112]

very sorry to say that I have found myself in a similar situation - my total sales is quite a high number and most of that was invested back into them (insane, when you think about it). However, I understand where they are coming from: any potential for a fake can harm their reputation. I would have hoped that the ratio authentic vs questionable (from their end) (132 to 1) is indicative enough of my account, but it is their business in the end. It limits my engagement to their refresh program if I want to 'sell' to them - which is fine.

You could also try Yoogis or mygemma - they gave me roughly equal quotes on items , mygemma slightly better than Yoogis. I also bought from them, so they offer the same 10% as FP on store credit and have also the refresh program in place.

 

[lara0112]

just to add: I had an item submitted for a quote (to them) which I registered too late for the refresh program (1 year had passed) - a lot of back and forth but in the end they accepted that item, but I don't think they reinstated my account in general. probably just as well.

 

[Baglvr22]

There's a specific email address you should write to if you want your ban reversed. I haven't been able to find it, but you can call customer service and ask them what email you should write to. As this is the first time you've sent something that they determined was not authentic you should be able to get reinstated. You may also be able to get your $75 back, if they can be convinced to call it "inconsistencies with brand compliance" rather than not authentic. Make sure and put in your email your long time sales and customer history. I know you're probably having second thoughts about doing business with them, and I totally understand that.

Customer service gave me the authentication email address where she said to explain my situation and request that they review my account history and reverse the ban. I did put in the email my history with them as not just a buyer but a seller. I was told to wait 1-2 days when I checked this morning with customer service. I have a specific person assigned to me. I am concerned though because I just talked to someone who tried to sell a bag recently they bought directly from the boutique to FP and they would not buy as they said it was not authentic and the same reason was given as mine. She did not get a ban but said she has a six figure consignment history with them so that might be why. I am just completely frustrated with this.

 

[Baglvr22]

very sorry to say that I have found myself in a similar situation - my total sales is quite a high number and most of that was invested back into them (insane, when you think about it). However, I understand where they are coming from: any potential for a fake can harm their reputation. I would have hoped that the ratio authentic vs questionable (from their end) (132 to 1) is indicative enough of my account, but it is their business in the end. It limits my engagement to their refresh program if I want to 'sell' to them - which is fine.

You could also try Yoogis or mygemma - they gave me roughly equal quotes on items , mygemma slightly better than Yoogis. I also bought from them, so they offer the same 10% as FP on store credit and have also the refresh program in place.

I just talked to someone else who had the same thing happen and the same reason given. She bought her bag directly from the boutique. How is that even possible! It was bought from the store and FP stills says it is not authentic. My ratio is not that high it is around 75. But still 75 sales no issues and one problem on their end. I would think that 132 sales would warrant them to remove the ban. So you can no longer sell to them? What happened with the bag you tried to sell them? Were you able to sell if somewhere else? What is the refresh program? Is that to sell back items you already purchased from them? After this I don't know if want to give them my items/business anymore. I will just try the sites you suggested or sell them on my own. I just very upset and frustrated at this.

 

[uniquestopshop]

Not good. I recently had a horrible e

Not good. I recently had a horrible experience with them.

I am with you, the customer service department is completely unhelpful, they have been having alot of technical difficulties and they are extremely vague to helping a customer out. Been a client for many years and my daughters also , we are completely disappointed in Fashionphile’s lack of customer service and disrespect. Never dealing with this awful company again, horrific experience.

 

[lara0112]

I just talked to someone else who had the same thing happen and the same reason given. She bought her bag directly from the boutique. How is that even possible! It was bought from the store and FP stills says it is not authentic. My ratio is not that high it is around 75. But still 75 sales no issues and one problem on their end. I would think that 132 sales would warrant them to remove the ban. So you can no longer sell to them? What happened with the bag you tried to sell them? Were you able to sell if somewhere else? What is the refresh program? Is that to sell back items you already purchased from them? After this I don't know if want to give them my items/business anymore. I will just try the sites you suggested or sell them on my own. I just very upset and frustrated at this.

The bag they wouldn't give me quote on (afterwards when I realised I had a ban on my account) i decided to keep.
The bag they suggested inconsistencies with, I claimed with pp and the reseller refunded me.

Refresh is indeed the buy-back program they offer.

I have since gone to Yoogis and MyGemma (two different resellers). Not sure I care enough to dispute their ban - it is their right to ban me and it is my right to take my business elsewhere. I used to love their services so much, but over the past 6 to 9 months I wasn't too impressed. They lost items worth more than 3k for a long time period (4 weeks) and their customer service only recommened that I request the post office/ delivery company to reimburse me (which is ridiculous, since their team signed for the items...no carrier would reimburse). They were quite relaxed unless I finally raised a complaint - and then they found the items miraculously. This put me off a lot - so moving on is probably a good idea anyways.

 

[uniquestopshop]

Just wanted to share a recent experience submitting a bag for a quote as a caution to others who may be submitting an item for a quote without the "full set":

I submitted my brand new MyABC Lady Dior that I purchased back in 2020 and haven't used. When I was taking the photos and creating the listing, I couldn't find the strap. So, I wrote in the description that the bag was brand new, but only comes with the dustbag, box and authenticity card. (The strap was obviously not in any of the photos, though I did not explicitly say "does not come with strap").

I received the quote and had sat on it for a few weeks until I found the strap hanging in my closet (now I remember why... I didn't want it to wrinkle so I hung it up). So I called them and asked for an updated quote now that it will include the strap, and they told me the quote was for the bag with the strap included, and that if I sent in the bag without the strap, they would adjust the quote accordingly.

I'm glad I didn't accept the quote a couple weeks ago and send it in without the strap. So, I'd caution anyone who is selling an item without all the pieces included to be very explicit about what is/is not going to be shipped, and would suggest calling customer service before shipping to confirm your quote is for the items you'll actually be shipping.

On another note, the customer service specialist said that they don't take dustbags and boxes into consideration when creating quotes. That doesn't seem right to me, but figured I would share as that is what I was told.

ETA - I'm a big FP fan, and have sold and purchased there several times. This was the most disappointing experience I've had with them but overall I think they are a very reputable company to work with.

I understand exactly were your coming from, it used to be my favorite company of all time, and now their customer service is just plain awful.

 

[uniquestopshop]

The bag they wouldn't give me quote on (afterwards when I realised I had a ban on my account) i decided to keep.
The bag they suggested inconsistencies with, I claimed with pp and the reseller refunded me.

Refresh is indeed the buy-back program they offer.

I have since gone to Yoogis and MyGemma (two different resellers). Not sure I care enough to dispute their ban - it is their right to ban me and it is my right to take my business elsewhere. I used to love their services so much, but over the past 6 to 9 months I wasn't too impressed. They lost items worth more than 3k for a long time period (4 weeks) and their customer service only recommened that I request the post office/ delivery company to reimburse me (which is ridiculous, since their team signed for the items...no carrier would reimburse). They were quite relaxed unless I finally raised a complaint - and then they found the items miraculously. This put me off a lot - so moving on is probably a good idea anyways.

I was just writing about this, their service is horrible now .

 

[caannie]

The bag they wouldn't give me quote on (afterwards when I realised I had a ban on my account) i decided to keep.
The bag they suggested inconsistencies with, I claimed with pp and the reseller refunded me.

Refresh is indeed the buy-back program they offer.

I have since gone to Yoogis and MyGemma (two different resellers). Not sure I care enough to dispute their ban - it is their right to ban me and it is my right to take my business elsewhere. I used to love their services so much, but over the past 6 to 9 months I wasn't too impressed. They lost items worth more than 3k for a long time period (4 weeks) and their customer service only recommened that I request the post office/ delivery company to reimburse me (which is ridiculous, since their team signed for the items...no carrier would reimburse). They were quite relaxed unless I finally raised a complaint - and then they found the items miraculously. This put me off a lot - so moving on is probably a good idea anyways.

I'm curious. The bags that they lost for 4 weeks, were they sent to the Carlsbad, CA location or to Moonachie, NJ? I'm just wondering if they're having trouble in both locations or in New Jersey specifically. I had an item that was lost once. There were three items in the box yet only two of them seem to get checked in and the other just disappeared and they wanted to file a claim with UPS. Finally they paid me for the item that disappeared and months later it turned up on their site for sale. I always assumed it just got misplaced when they were checking items in. At that time it was at the California location.

 

[lara0112]

I'm curious. The bags that they lost for 4 weeks, were they sent to the Carlsbad, CA location or to Moonachie, NJ? I'm just wondering if they're having trouble in both locations or in New Jersey specifically. I had an item that was lost once. There were three items in the box yet only two of them seem to get checked in and the other just disappeared and they wanted to file a claim with UPS. Finally they paid me for the item that disappeared and months later it turned up on their site for sale. I always assumed it just got misplaced when they were checking items in. At that time it was at the California location.

It was at the NJ site - and they lost three bags in that parcel. I guess they would have paid eventually but I was pushing hard to get compensated - and then suddenly the package showed up.

 

[ccbaggirl89]

I have been buying and selling with Fashionphile since 2015. I have bought several items from them and sold over $15,000 in merchandise to them over the years. I have never had a problem with anything I have sold to them until yesterday. I sent in 2 Gucci bags to sell. I received an email from them saying that one of the bags a Gucci Babouska clutch they are saying is not authentic. In a follow up email I received from their authentication department they said that they noted inconsistencies with the hardware used, as well as incorrect font style, and designer id. Therefore they are saying the bag is not authentic. I called customer service since I have never had this happen before. They informed me that I now have a selling ban on my account because of this.

I purchased the bag from a reputable seller on Etsy. She has all 5 star reviews and sells only Gucci items. She had a certificate of authenticity from an online authenticator. Fashionphile charged me $75 and is now banning me from ever selling again. I would never willing sell something that was not authentic. I am so upset that this has happened. I have sold them over $15,000 in authentic merchandise over the last several years. Some really nice pieces. I then have this one issue where I legitimately believed the bag to be authentic and they are banning me. I asked them to look at my account history and all that i have bought and sold to them in the past and to reconsider the ban. I have not heard anything back from them yet on this. Now though I'm not sure I really want to sell to them again after this.

I went back to seller who says she only sells authentic items and that authenticator service confirmed the bag to be authentic. She will not do any refund/return for me. I contacted the authenticating company and they stand by that the bag is authentic.

I am at a loss of what to do. I cannot get a refund from the seller. My only other option is to go to Paypal to dispute the charge to get my money back. I am wondering if I should use another authentication service and also have it authenticated here on the PF as well. I looked online and some people have had similar experiences where they know the bag is real, they even purchased it directly from the actual store and Fashionphile still said it was not authentic and charged them the $75.

The authentication Department at Fashionphile responded to one of my emails asking for the payment receipt for the bag. They said they would consider refunding the $75 if I could show I purchased from a reputable seller. I sent over my online payment receipt, as well as the pictures from the listing, and the certificate of authenticity.

I am so upset that this has happened. I want to get my money back if the bag is not real but is there a chance that Fashionphile is wrong and my bag is indeed authentic?

Can anyone offer me some advice on what to do? I am waiting for Fashionphile to send me the bag back. I just got the return email confirmation with the tracking number. I paid them the $75. I don't know if they will refund me it or not and they have not answered me on the ban. I understand as a company their position with fake items (if they are fake) but this is the only time I have ever had in issue in 7 years and over $15k in merchandise sold.

I am at a loss as to what to do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I'm sorry this happened to you and hope they resolve it to your satisfaction. I'm sure even if your account ban is reversed it would remain flagged in some way, that's just how companies operate. I think FP has to be super careful when there is any doubt since their entire reputation is built on 100% authenticity. The item may be authentic and it may not, but I know these online authenticator companies look at photos only and not the actual bag, and if you visit the other forums they all have really bad reviews overall. Fashionphile had your item in hand so I'd be more inclined to trust them. Is it even remotely possible that the person you bought it from got a certificate of authenticity by showing photos of a real item and then dispatched a replica or altered item with the certificate? Just imho I would trust FP over an Etsy seller and probably look for a way to dispute the charge. I hope it works out

 

[Baglvr22]

The bag they wouldn't give me quote on (afterwards when I realised I had a ban on my account) i decided to keep.
The bag they suggested inconsistencies with, I claimed with pp and the reseller refunded me.

Refresh is indeed the buy-back program they offer.

I have since gone to Yoogis and MyGemma (two different resellers). Not sure I care enough to dispute their ban - it is their right to ban me and it is my right to take my business elsewhere. I used to love their services so much, but over the past 6 to 9 months I wasn't too impressed. They lost items worth more than 3k for a long time period (4 weeks) and their customer service only recommened that I request the post office/ delivery company to reimburse me (which is ridiculous, since their team signed for the items...no carrier would reimburse). They were quite relaxed unless I finally raised a complaint - and then they found the items miraculously. This put me off a lot - so moving on is probably a good idea anyways.

I heard back from FP. They are refunding me the $75 and removing the ban on a one time basis since my bag that I tried to sell was bought in good faith. I think I am going to try to find a professional company to authenticate it for my peace of mind and see what they say and then probably open up a case with paypal to get my money back. I received a good point that FP physically had the bag in their hands while I think the authentication service the seller used was just based on pics. This still has me upset and I will probably think hard before selling to them again.

Sorry you dealt with all that. What would they have done if you had just contacted the post office and they not found the items? Could they have listed them and never have paid you? That's really concerning.

 

[Baglvr22]

I'm sorry this happened to you and hope they resolve it to your satisfaction. I'm sure even if your account ban is reversed it would remain flagged in some way, that's just how companies operate. I think FP has to be super careful when there is any doubt since their entire reputation is built on 100% authenticity. The item may be authentic and it may not, but I know these online authenticator companies look at photos only and not the actual bag, and if you visit the other forums they all have really bad reviews overall. Fashionphile had your item in hand so I'd be more inclined to trust them. Is it even remotely possible that the person you bought it from got a certificate of authenticity by showing photos of a real item and then dispatched a replica or altered item with the certificate? Just imho I would trust FP over an Etsy seller and probably look for a way to dispute the charge. I hope it works out

Thanks so much. I heard back from them and they are waiving the $75 fee and removing my ban since the bag I tried to sell was bought in good faith and I could prove purchase. I totally understand they have to super careful as a company and respect that 100%. I just was upset since I have been a good buying and selling customer for years. I thought they could have handled it differently. It make me feel like a criminal. You make a really good point about FP physically holding and being in possession of the bag versus just looking online at pics. Anything is possible I never put anything past people nowadays. They could have swapped it or the authentication company is wrong and its not authentic. I think I am going to wait for my bag to come back and then open up a disupte with paypal and ask for my money back. I might for peace of mind try to find an authentication company to inspect it. Any ideas on any company I could use? I would want one that is a trading business and authenticates a service.

 

[daisyjo]

I have recently sold two Hermes bags to Fashionphile and I have been watching their website so I could see how much they were asking for them. I check multiple times a day and haven't seen them listed. One was over a month ago. Do they sell to people without ever putting them up on their website?