Tuesday, April 12, 2016

I GOT SCAMMED? ~ Mercari App Review ♥


Hello cuties~! This isn't click bait, I actually got scammed. Let me tell you how. So, basically I read about this app called Mercari on twitter. It's basically a similar app to Depop Market. By that I mean, you can buy other people's things for less than retail. I found out about this app and read that I could buy Brand New makeup for less than retail. I thought it was too good to be true but, I decided to order, anyway. 


The first item I ordered was a Stila Bronzer. This bronzer retails for about $34 (according to my sister) and as you can see, I bought it for $14, shipped. The item was advertised as new by the seller. When it arrived, I could tell it was either slightly used, or swatched. Though, it appeared used. I sadly do not have photos of this because I got a new phone and lost all of my photos. But, I decided to disinfect it and give the seller a poor rating instead of reporting it because it wasn't THAT big of a deal to be considering the price. Also, as a note in the photos it did not appear used. Though, the photos are low-res. So, that was my first experience with shopping with Mercari. 


I decided to give Mercari another shot, the deals were  too good to pass up. This time I was more careful and examined the photos, had my friend look at the photos, and checked the seller ratings. All of the ratings were positive and my friends gave me positive reassurance so, I went ahead and ordered what I thought was the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette. 



I purchased this item which was advertised as authentic by the seller. When I got it, it didn't smell as strong as I heard it did. (This palette is meant to be chocolate scented.) The palette still smelt sweet to me so, I figured maybe this palette was a year old which is why I got it for so cheap. It was being sold for $34 plus shipping. I wasn't under the impression that the product was a fake. I actually didn't even know Too Faced fakes existed. The differences are very subtle which is why I didn't notice.

  

I went to Sephora yesterday and I saw the Too Faced Chocolate Bar in person. The shades seemed a lot more pigmented and shimmery in person. So, when I got home I examined my pallete. I swatched one of the shades that I remember being shimmery and mine weren't as pigmented. This lead me to do research on how to tell a Real Too Faced Palette vs. a Fake Palette. There are very subtle differences. The palette itself is a little bit lighter tone of brown and the "Chocolate Bar" text on the bottom corner is a more true gold. My palette is dark and the gold appears to be sort of washed out. 


What really threw me off was the fake (bottom) has an authentication code. I compared it to my Too Faced Bon Bons Palette (top) and they both have a code so, I figured it couldn't possibly be fake. 


What really convinced me that I had bought a fake is the next thing I noticed. My Bons Bons palette has an authentication code on the back near the bottom corner.


I compared my Bon Bons palette to the fake Chocolate Bar and as you can see, there is no code on the back. At this point in my examination I realized that I did in fact purchase a fake, The differences are so subtle that being someone who has never owned this product or had seen it in person until yesterday, couldn't recognize. Once I confirmed that the product I had purchased was indeed a fake, at first I felt a little sad for not realizing. But, the differences are so subtle that had I not done researh, I wouldn't have known.


In conclusion, based on my experience, I will not be purchasing from the Mercari app again. I am not going to discredit the app entirely since, it's made up of various sellers who may or may not be reliable, I wouldn't know. But, I would say that when buying makeup or anything second-hand online, be careful! Do research, read reviews, and if it seems too good to be true, in this case it probably is.


I apologize for the poor quality photos. Once I made this realization I really wanted to get this blog post up as soon as possible. So, I just snapped them quickly with my phone.

As always, much love and thanks so much for reading! ♥


Was this post helpful? Let me know in the comments.

[pixel src.]

20 comments:

  1. Hey :),
    About the chocolate bar pallete, you might not have a fake one after all!
    I bought mine at sephora over a year ago & just checked it since the way you described yours sounds like mine, & it doesn't have a code either. It might just be old packaging, I saw it says (c) 2014 & so does mine; also the original chocolate bar palletes didn't have the shade names inside & I know newer ones do. They also re-formulated so maybe thats why shades were a bit different at the store. So, I think you don't have to worry about it being fake, best wishes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello! Thank you for letting me know although I do believe mine is still a fake because it's not chocolate scented :c and the fakes aren't scented

      Delete
    2. Could it be maybe because of the life span it already may have? Hmm, honestly mine doesn't smell like chocolate to me either, it smells like very sweet mazapán! But if it's not scented at all then yeah it's probably a fake or very old :/

      Delete
    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  2. Also I think that your palette doesn't have the shades labeled like the real one does

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The one sold at Sephora is authentic and doesn't have the shades labeled, either! The big tell for me is it isn't chocolate scented and the shows are less pigmented.

      Delete
  3. hmm I just grabbed my chocolate pallete and your eyeshadows dont seem to have the same colour or shimmer in them :( I'm sorry you got caught out D= I guess the only way we can be sure is buying straight from the counter.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for posting this so if I ever wanted to use this app I could be aware. Love ya cutie ♡

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for posting this so if I ever wanted to use this app I could be aware. Love ya cutie ♡

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have never heard of that app, but thanks for posting about it. So sorry that you got scammed.
    http://emilymaiko.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. They want your checking account information, they say you have to ship item to the buyer before you get paid!! They say once the buyer receives the item you will be paid in 7 to 10 days!! Who would do this??? The most outrageous SCAM I have seen. Don't be fooled into trusting this site. Who is running this site?? Trump??

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have been buying and selling on Mercari for over 2 years now with almost 500 ratings. All excellent. It was great in the beginning and you could really make a lot of money and I did. It was mostly moms and older women who were trying to make extra money selling things around the house or as a side job but now it is being overun by teenagers and people who just want to scam. I have never been scammed and I have never had a buyer tying to scam me out of my product. It is kind of hard because before the seller can get paid you have to rate them which means that you basically have 3 days to inspect your item and and if it is fake request to send it back and be refunded.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have been buying and selling on Mercari for over 2 years now with almost 500 ratings. All excellent. It was great in the beginning and you could really make a lot of money and I did. It was mostly moms and older women who were trying to make extra money selling things around the house or as a side job but now it is being overun by teenagers and people who just want to scam. I have never been scammed and I have never had a buyer tying to scam me out of my product. It is kind of hard because before the seller can get paid you have to rate them which means that you basically have 3 days to inspect your item and and if it is fake request to send it back and be refunded.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love Mercari but yes there are way too many people selling game makeup there. But if not only Mercari though is also ebay poshmark etc. Ppl buy these fake make up from china for $5 and reselling it other places. So i am very skeptical of buying make up anywhere but the official retail stores. I do use Mercari to purchase other items though

    ReplyDelete
  11. Mercari is huge joke I have been selling and buying on there for years and I just got scammed for 2nd time a girl bought my authentic LV bag and wanted to return it no big deal I expect returns she sent me back some piece of shit bag that was not mine and mercari refund her so now she has my bag and her money I told mercari how is all this fair?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Mercari is a SCAM BE AWARE
    I bought a Nikon camera the we never receive seller closed account as soon as we made the purchase contact Mercari and they respond was the we made the purchase out of platforms. That is a BIG LIE we bought the i
    Item using Mercari phone application and a debit card. Be AWARE THIS WEBSITE IS A SCAM.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I have been on Mercari since the app started. It is absolutely impossible for a seller to close their account while a transaction is in play- they can only close officially after item is delivered and rated. Plus- if they closed the account according to you- and you did not get it or rate the transaction then Mercari would not pay them. So- why and how could the seller benefit? Non of what you said makes any sense. Mercari- Plus if you made the transaction on Mercari then they would know it. There would be a record. Sounds like you are the one trying to scam. I guess you should know the system before writing what you said. You think the seller immediately got paid and closed their account. That is not at all how Mercari works. NO ONE GETS PAID UNTIL THE ITEM IS DELIVERED AND RATED.

    ReplyDelete