Greg's Corner

Luxury platforms encounter same old scams

By Greg Collier

If you’ve never heard of Poshmark, it’s an online marketplace that deals in designer clothes and items. It’s similar to eBay since Poshmark’s users can both buy and sell designer goods. There’s nothing inherently wrong with Poshmark, but with any online marketplace, Poshmark is not immune to scammers.

A victim of a Poshmark scam recently went viral on TikTok for her video detailing how she was scammed. She had found a Chanel purse on Poshmark and bid $400 for it. Typically, Chanel purses like the one she found go for ten times that amount. The victim states that should have been a red flag, but often people will sell items like this at a steep discount just to clean out their closets.

Her bid was accepted, and she waited for her purse to arrive in the mail. She gets a notification from the post office stating her purse had been delivered, but the purse did not arrive. She notifies Poshmark who allegedly told her that their records say the purse was delivered, so she would need to contact the United States Postal Service, which she did. USPS showed her a scan of the package. The package did not have her address but an address nearby. What was received at the incorrect address was just an empty envelope. The scammers had changed the address to something nearby to show the package was delivered by the post office. They were probably hoping that the victim would think that their package was stolen from their mailbox.

This is not too dissimilar to a PayPal scam we’ve posted about in the past. In the PayPal scam, phony vendors will promise a popular product at a steep discount. Victims will receive some cheap product that they didn’t order. When victims have tried to argue with PayPal, in some instances, they’re told the package has been delivered to they can’t refund the payment.

On platforms like Poshmark, consumers also have to be wary of designer counterfeits as well. These counterfeits have been known to fund organized crime or sweatshops that use child labor.

If the seller is used to dealing with luxury items, they should have the receipt from the original purchase. Ask to see it. While it’s not a perfect way to prevent being ripped off, it does go a long way.