In the world of the pre-owned luxury sale market, many customers find themselves at some point to be a victim of a scam; these customers purchase a luxury bag from an online seller who claims their products are 100% authentic. However, once the customer receives the bag, they end up finding out that it was, in fact, a fake. 

We've heard many heartbreaking stories from our clients over the years where they've lost thousands of dollars to online scammers. To help protect our clients, we've created this list of the top 7 red flags to look out for when shopping from designer consignment stores to avoid being sold a counterfeit bag. 

1. The seller has a no prices listed, with minimal product descriptions 

Honest sellers always practice transparency and provide potential customers will all details related to the product, condition, and price. In contract, counterfeit sellers tend to have little to no description accompanying their product photos, and usually always ask customers to privately message or email them for further details and prices. 

2. Public comments are deleted or the commenting feature is disabled 

Many luxury bag lovers/collectors and authentic consignment stores have the ability to detect fake handbags due to their expertise/experience. Sometimes, they leave comments on counterfeit seller's posts to help inform potential buyers that the product is fake. This prompt's many scammers to delete the comments, or disable their commenting feature entirely to avoid being exposed. 

3. Product is always 'brand new' or in 'like-new' condition 

Online sellers who scam buyers with counterfeit bags always list their products as being 'brand new' or in 'like new' condition. This is because they are not able to sell an item that was pre-owned as it would require them to send close-up shots of the product at various angles, which can help verify to the buyer that the bag is a fake. 

4. The seller only has one or two photos of each designer bag they're selling

Some scammers often only have one or two oddly cropped/taken photos of the bag they're selling; these photos are often stolen from other consignments/online platforms, and are cropped/edited to take out any watermarks, edit out the surrounding environment, or someone else's hands.

5. Most of the bags listed for sale are rare/trending bags that are difficult to find at all other consignment stores 

Sellers who have a shop that always features 'rare' finds, or bags that are highly trending and hard to come across to purchase are often selling counterfeits. These sellers intentionally feature these unicorn bags to target buyers who will rush the purchase process and overlook key details due to their excitement to buy the bag immediately. Authentic consignment stores don't have access to these products, as they're not available to the resale market yet. 

6. Constant change of the seller's profile photo and company name or username 

Counterfeit sellers often get exposed by previous customers who were victims of a scam, or authentic consignment stores who are trying to protect consumers from unknowingly being sold counterfeit products. As a result, these scammers frequently need to change their 'company' name/, logo, and/or profile photos/usernames on social media in order to continue operating. If a consignment store or seller you follow frequently re-brands their business, it's a major red flag. 

7. Lack of professionalism and respect 

Selling counterfeit handbags is a crime, and is unethical, especially when the seller advertises them as 'authentic' handbags; this is why it is no surprise that many scammers lack a sense of professionalism and respect, especially when potential buyers ask questions related to the authenticity. They often respond in a slanderous way, and begin personally attacking the buyer. An authentic, consignment/seller would never react this way, and would maintain a level of professionalism and respect at all times. 

Luxe Du Jour's mission is to provide a safe, secure and easy shopping experience for pre-loved luxury

As a long-term authentic consignment store, we want to ensure we help protect our customers from scams and fraud. We hope these red flags will hep you  determine if a potential seller is authentic and trustworthy, Our mission is always to provide a safe, secure and easy shopping experience for pre-loved luxury regardless of whether you are purchasing from us or somewhere else. 

To check out our current pre-loved inventory, click here, or to sell with us, complete and submit a quote today.