I am in a FB group with timelesslikeaudrey. Pretty sure this reseller is a woman (she/her).
Resellers getting Chanel items first and selling for premium
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I am in a FB group with timelesslikeaudrey. Pretty sure this reseller is a woman (she/her).
Chanel doesn't care so I don't believe their story that they're "cracking down on resellers." At the end of the day, they want to sell their stock. A company that raises their price twice during a global recession does not care about their clients.
Run by Xelia Lam. I got into it with her in the FB groups before I deleted my FB entirely a few years ago. She was selling things that were SNAD, like not disclosing a bag had been redyed, or taking very "enhanced" pictures of bags. People got them, and had no recourse. She was very tight with the mods, so anyone that went against her was kicked out of the groups.
Gah I wonder where the heck I thought I read it was a man. Maybe I’m confusing it with another reseller... sorry
I refuse to pay any of them for what they are asking for I feel they are gauging me over something i can definitely wait. The sad part is that I wont probably be able to get a classic because of Chanel increasing their prices due to the "personal luxury shoppers" ripping people off.
may be with coco_approved ?
But am happy, recently i see so many people upset and against resellers selling at a premium ,,Chanel needs a push back so they can do something about it !
I had dealings with her - bought a mini rectangular in caviar and upon receiving the bag, there was a huge fault in the leather on the inside of the bag (like a bump in the seam, which i have never seen before in ANY of my chanel bags). offered me a discount and i refused and requested a refund. then there was the issue of sending the bag back to her and adding postage insurance (which was an extra $100AUD). so there was a massive fuss over that, then they took a week to issue my refund, so i exchanged a few words with them about that too.
What annoyed me more than anything was that i fell into the trap of "only one rare unicorn available" so i purchased it immediately, but when i contacted her about the fault, she said she sold another 3 of the exact bag the night before, and i could've just swapped for one of those had I have informed her earlier.
i have since blocked that page and want nothing to do with them.
Yep. We are simpatico. I had a lot of fun on those pages, but then you looked under the hood and it wasn’t so rosy. I am sorry about your experience. I never bought anything from her, but defended a friend who bought a SNAD. Another member scammed me outright, and shockingly X went for me b/c they were buddies. I was out after that. Almost 3 years ago? 4 maybe? I don’t miss it!
I saw this thread and it piqued my curiosity. x IG deleted my account suddenly last week for unknown reasons but I have worked hard for seven years to build my business. I got my start here on TPF actually as I used to help out in the Authenticate This Chanel Thread. I am a legitimate Personal Shopper.
There are some misunderstandings in the world of Personal Shopping VS Resellers and you need to know the difference:
1. Authentic Personal shoppers will charge you a fee such as Retail plus PS fee, instead of one huge markup resellers charge. As a buyer you should understand the retail plus the additional fees. Is the item coming from the Boutique or from inventory, there is a difference. And is it coming from the person you are talking to, or another party? There are limits on what can be purchased legally from Chanel. Currently, you are able to purchase two bags a month.
2. Is there transparency? Do you have the receipt, and do you know the purchaser name? There are people who need to purchase items in other names and the 'fee' you pay might be high because as a reseller they are paying someone else to buy it because they are banned due to abuse of the system or other. Not getting the receipt with a new purchase is a huge red flag.
3. Are you paying tax? It might seem awesome to avoid paying tax but do you realize that is not really legal? If your PS/reseller is having the item sent to a tax free state and shipping to you, you are supposed to pay tax on it. From what my clients tell me, these PS who are not paying tax are charging as if they did.... If no one paid tax, where would that leave us? If that PS is found to be committing fraud, what if you are discovered in the process? One of my clients did not realize she bought without tax from another PS but paid as if she had paid full tax: the PS fee was quite astronomical. When she needed to exchange it due to a flaw, she ended up paying tax again and that cost her a fortune. The original PS told her the $1500 supposed tax was part of 'the fee'. And then she paid another $1500 to get her bag 'exchanged'. I find that appalling.
4. Is the price too good to be true? If your shopper/reseller quotes you retail as the total, don't you wonder how they are making their profit? You really should, as Chanel does not discount items and no one works for free. If you get a receipt with a employee discount rung on it you know its wrong and you need to speak up. Yes, one of the PS mentioned on this forum often has done this and been banned at the stores yet she continues on.... I know there are shoppers now who have 'connections'. Those connections might save you money but I assure you, there are no legal discounts with Chanel or the other brands. I get offered things all the time 'below retail' My response is "no thanks".
5. You are mad because it seems some resellers have access to alot of inventory? I understand that completely. I know for myself, I do not make a habit of hoarding and selling at very high prices. Occasionally, I have a client who buys and sees what others are charging and rightfully so thats what she wants to ask when she decides to sell. Or I might have one piece that I sell, but My business model is to locate per client request and charge a fair price . We are not all equal. There are PS and resellers out there who break the rules. As long as people buy from them, they will be successful. I consider myself a professional and I'm here to help, not take advantage. There is a difference. Yes, some resellers insist on the model to source low and sell at very high prices. Items can be sourced from all over the world, but how do you truly know an item was ethically sourced, and what does that mean to you? To myself it means it was legitimally sourced and I feel good about how I got it. For now, I source all my own items from US, and I know the origin.
As a legitimate Personal Shopper I can't begin to tell you how frustrating it is to know these things are happening. If you want to report people at least be sure of what their practices are and understand their business models before you report the wrong individuals. It is not a easy job, and sourcing Chanel items has gotten to be quite challenging when trying to follow the rules.
There are some misunderstandings in the world of Personal Shopping VS Resellers and you need to know the difference:
1. Authentic Personal shoppers will charge you a fee such as Retail plus PS fee, instead of one huge markup resellers charge. As a buyer you should understand the retail plus the additional fees. Is the item coming from the Boutique or from inventory, there is a difference. And is it coming from the person you are talking to, or another party? There are limits on what can be purchased legally from Chanel. Currently, you are able to purchase two bags a month.
2. Is there transparency? Do you have the receipt, and do you know the purchaser name? There are people who need to purchase items in other names and the 'fee' you pay might be high because as a reseller they are paying someone else to buy it because they are banned due to abuse of the system or other. Not getting the receipt with a new purchase is a huge red flag.
3. Are you paying tax? It might seem awesome to avoid paying tax but do you realize that is not really legal? If your PS/reseller is having the item sent to a tax free state and shipping to you, you are supposed to pay tax on it. From what my clients tell me, these PS who are not paying tax are charging as if they did.... If no one paid tax, where would that leave us? If that PS is found to be committing fraud, what if you are discovered in the process? One of my clients did not realize she bought without tax from another PS but paid as if she had paid full tax: the PS fee was quite astronomical. When she needed to exchange it due to a flaw, she ended up paying tax again and that cost her a fortune. The original PS told her the $1500 supposed tax was part of 'the fee'. And then she paid another $1500 to get her bag 'exchanged'. I find that appalling.
4. Is the price too good to be true? If your shopper/reseller quotes you retail as the total, don't you wonder how they are making their profit? You really should, as Chanel does not discount items and no one works for free. If you get a receipt with a employee discount rung on it you know its wrong and you need to speak up. Yes, one of the PS mentioned on this forum often has done this and been banned at the stores yet she continues on.... I know there are shoppers now who have 'connections'. Those connections might save you money but I assure you, there are no legal discounts with Chanel or the other brands. I get offered things all the time 'below retail' My response is "no thanks".
5. You are mad because it seems some resellers have access to alot of inventory? I understand that completely. I know for myself, I do not make a habit of hoarding and selling at very high prices. Occasionally, I have a client who buys and sees what others are charging and rightfully so thats what she wants to ask when she decides to sell. Or I might have one piece that I sell, but My business model is to locate per client request and charge a fair price . We are not all equal. There are PS and resellers out there who break the rules. As long as people buy from them, they will be successful. I consider myself a professional and I'm here to help, not take advantage. There is a difference. Yes, some resellers insist on the model to source low and sell at very high prices. Items can be sourced from all over the world, but how do you truly know an item was ethically sourced, and what does that mean to you? To myself it means it was legitimally sourced and I feel good about how I got it. For now, I source all my own items from US, and I know the origin.
As a legitimate Personal Shopper I can't begin to tell you how frustrating it is to know these things are happening. If you want to report people at least be sure of what their practices are and understand their business models before you report the wrong individuals. It is not a easy job, and sourcing Chanel items has gotten to be quite challenging when trying to follow the rules.
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It’s actually ran a woman name xexilia lam. She’s pretty known in a bunch of chanel groups on fb.
I can vouch for Gail. I've known her for years, and she is honest, transparent and hardworking. I am not promoting her here, but she IS different from that group of "semi-scammers" out there depleting inventory & hoarding, using unethical practices to offer "discounts" etc. The world of reselling/ locating items/ "holy grail" bags, whatever, used to be pretty fun and exciting. Now it's rife with greed & total disregard for OTHERS out there just trying to find a bag!! It's made the honest ones out there I think guilty by association sometimes. But, maybe the whole PS/ resale world is at a tipping point regardless.
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Thank you....it's all just gotten so out of hand sadly.
I heard she has buyers send money via PayPal to a man named Chau Lam? And he might be her husband?
I've never directly bought from her before so can't confirm, but multiple friends have told me about her questionable business practices. Beware!