So it happened that I purchased a fake bag off the Real Real. I’d thought I’d scored a great deal on this genuine designer bag only it turned out to be an absolute dud! I was so disappointed – I mean, sure I knew I hadn’t got it from an authorised dealer, but I had decided to take a chance with the economic benefit being too tempting, you know? In the end, I came away a lot poorer and no richer, so I felt completely conned.
When I opened up the package, I could tell straight away that this was a completely inferior product. To the untrained eye, like me, maybe it could have passed as the real deal, but it was shoddy in the way it was put together, the gluing was all wrong, the stitching was off centre and the material Quite pathetic. What a waste of hard-earned money!
I was so mad, I hadn’t expected any kind of genuine premium product from a rogue seller, but this was really beyond the pale. It was enough to make me sick to my stomach to be conned like that, especially for something that’s supposed to be a luxury item.
At the time I had mixed feelings – disbelief and anger at first, but then my general disposition towards it all changed to plain stupidity for thinking I could get away with this. I mean, even the name – the Real Real – made me question if it was a bit too good to be true. I realise now that I was being naive in thinking the deal was genuine and that I would actually get what I paid for.
The whole experience kind of put me off for a while buying anything online, let alone second-hand. I decided to go back to only buying from authorised dealers – even if it means I have to pay the premium price. That’s just the way I roll – I want to be 100% sure that I’m getting the real deal.
My friends and peers have tried to console me by saying that I should have taken the risk, as there was at least a 50/50 chance of getting what I wanted. But it’s too easy to say this after the fact and so I just needed to accept that I made a stupid mistake.
The moral of the story for me? Don’t buy from anyone you don’t know or trust. Period. I could have avoided this whole fiasco if I had followed that maxim from the start. Sometimes it’s best to play it safe and err on the side of caution.
My wisdom didn’t stop there though. I started to ask around a bit more due diligence to my purchases so I could be sure I’ll never be caught in this situation again. I went back to doing some research into the seller, and tried to look for buyer reviews before handing over my money. I also asked the seller a few questions about the authenticity of the item -where it had come from, where had it been before etc.
What’s more I now buy from official retailers wherever possible. And that has paid off in spades as I now know I can always get the real deal. It’s not always the cheapest option, but peace of mind is priceless.
I suppose I should have seen it coming – I’d been scammed before and should have known better. Instead, I blame naivety and hoping against hope that it was a genuine bargain. But hey, that’s life and we all make mistakes. The lesson? Be sure to do your due diligence before parting with your hard-earned cash!
Not wanting to be trapped by the same misfortune twice, I decided to ban myself from buying anything off the Real Real or any other second-hand websites for a while. Plus, I made sure to take some extra precautions to shield myself from future risky purchases.
These included settling for only reputable retailers, relying on the reviews and opinions of others, and double-checking everything before committing. Thankfully, these measures have paid off and so far I’ve managed to dodge any further upscams.
It’s all about being smarter; than the so called “deal-maker” and understanding that the “steal of a deal” isn’t always too good to be true. After all, being savvy in the art of the deal is a must. There are always amazing deals out there, you just need to know where to look and how to check them out first.
I’m still noodling on what happened to me and am wondering if it wouldn’t have been better to invest in an independent authentication service. You know, one of those services that verify whether or not the item is real or fake. Although that would have required that I spend a bit extra, the added assurance would have been worth it.
Maybe I should have done a bit more investigation before diving in head first. But hindsight is a bloomers game and all that, so it’s no use dwelling on “what ifs” and “could h