How to Spot Designer Scams on Poshmark

Granted, not everyone actually wants to buy a replica item. There are some folks who rather have authentic designer accessories especially when it comes to certain brands. And Poshmark can be a great platform for buying authentic designer accessories secondhand. However, when you're looking for an authentic designer accessory on Poshmark, one needs to be careful. Poshmark actually has a lot of scams on their platform. They have way more designer replicas than eBay!

Here are 6 ways to spot designer replica items from scammers on Poshmark...

1. Price is too low.
2. Item looks like it was photographed in a high end store.
3. Handbag has scrunched up white foam around a section of the straps or handles.
4. The seller has multiple listings of the same designer item in their store.
5. Authenticity card looks off.
6. The photo of the handbag is rotated at a 45-degree angle.

All photos below are from real Poshmark listings!

1. Price is too low.

Even a Chanel quilted chevron bag this small is over $3.5K. So if you see a listing for 10% of the original retail cost, the seller literally has nothing to lose... because they paid no where near $3.5K for this bag. This seller likely paid $100 or less for this bag. They're trying to make a quick profit.

2. Item looks like it was photographed in a high end store.

Overseas factories will often photograph their accessories in resale boutiques or just take a photo of the real item in an actual designer boutique. They will use those photos to sell their counterfeit accessories. Some Poshers will use the same photos as the factory's in their their own listings. The photo above is an excellent example. Unless the seller has a luxury consignment shop with a storefront, the photo they're using is likely from the replica factory.

3. Handbag has scrunched up white foam around a section of the straps or handles.

While some luxury houses do present their handbags in protective packaging, it's usually done elegantly. However, counterfeit handbags are often photographed right out of the box. The photographers do not completely remove the protective foam over the straps and handles before taking the photo. Instead, they push the foam aside so as to make sure that the handles and straps are shown as much as possible in the photo. When you see photos like this, it's probably a replica handbag. Here are a few more examples below...

4. The seller has multiple listings of the same designer item in their store.

If you're unsure about the authenticity of an item, just dig a little further. Got to the seller's Poshmark store and you may be surprised by what you find. If the seller has multiple listings of the same item and at the same price, they're likely selling replicas.

Granted, there are some sellers who can acquire multiple pieces of the same item for resale. But these items usually each have different degrees of blemishes and or wear because the items will be gently used. And in this case, the seller will adjust the price according to the level of wear and tear, resulting in slightly different prices per item.

But in the example above, the seller happens to have two brand new Louis Vuitton "LV" logo belts, both selling for the same price. The same goes for their two pairs of LV mirrored aviator sunglasses. Poshmark sellers really make very little effort to hide the fact that they're selling counterfeit goods.

5. Authenticity card looks off.

If the authenticity card of the bag looks off, the seller has probably listed a counterfeit item. In the example above, the Poshmark seller has listed an exotic leather Hermes Birkin bag (bag shown below). However, they included a very fake-looking, plastic “authenticity card” as proof that the bag is real. However, I’m fairly certain that Hermes does not even have authenticity cards, much less ones that are garishly printed like this one. 

The bag is gorgeous and they probably paid over $700 over this high end replica, however, the “authenticity card” was a dead giveaway!

Below is another example of a photo with an obviously fake “authenticity card”.

6. The photo of the handbag is rotated at nearly a 45-degree angle.

I’m not sure how or why this became the signature for replica handbags but you will oftentimes find that the photo was rotated at a 45-degree angle. If you see a product listing with a photo like this, it’s probably a counterfeit. Here are a few more examples...

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If you're currently in the market for an authentic designer from a secondhand website like Poshmark and you think you might be looking at a replica, reach out to us in the comments below and we'll give you our input.