Poshmark is an ever-growing online marketplace that has been attracting more and more users with its high-end fashion choices, affordable prices, and easy accessibility. The features of the platform have made it an ideal place for sellers to make profit and for buyers to have access to more sustainable new and second-hand luxury fashion.
As with any online marketplace, questioning the safety and legitimacy of the platform comes with the territory. Whether you are a seller, buyer, or both, it is necessary to arm yourself with the knowledge we will teach you in this article. By the end of it, you should be able to tell what Poshmark scams may look like, how to avoid it and if not possible, what to do about it after it’s done.
Before preparing you with our tips, it is important to note that scammers exist in all online marketplaces despite the measures placed against them. Poshmark, for example, has pretty strict guidelines on fraudulent behaviour.
Posh Protect states:
‘We will give you a full refund if your item never ships or does not match the listing description.’
It is worth reading more about it, as it specifies what issues are covered by their policy.
However, completely getting rid of scammers is impossible, as they can easily continue making new accounts if their old ones are shut down. In this case, it is not Poshmark’s legitimacy you should be questioning. Instead, keep reading to learn our must-know tips on staying safe!
Don’t get tempted by off-site payments!
As stated in Posh Protect, transactions that are not completed on the platform are not covered. This means that Poshmark won’t be responsible for giving a full refund to a seller or buyer that has been scammed through an off-site payment.
Poshmark uses one of the best payment processors, making it a much safer platform than other marketplaces such as Facebook. It also follows government regulations and never shares your payment details with any vendors, making it the safest payment method to avoid scams and privacy leaks.
So, why would someone be tempted to move the transaction off-site when Poshmark offers all these benefits?
If you have been a user on Poshmark for a while, you could easily answer this question!
Poshmark charges a number of fees for both sellers and buyers. For example, for any item sold that costs more than $15, there is a 20% commission fee… And this is just one of the many fees that are charged!
It is no surprise then that a Poshmark seller would highly consider moving a transaction outside the platform. Not only would they increase their profit by avoiding those dreadful fees, but they could also receive a more rewarding price than the one set in their shop.
Be careful! This is a trick as old as time!
Receiving requests to pay through vendors such as Paypal, CashApp, Venmo etc is usually a guaranteed Poshmark scam that leads to both the loss of money and personal information.
Requests to pay with cashier’s checks is a common scammer technique, where the fraudulent check will be rejected when the off-site vendors try to process the payment. However, this may not be instant, as it would be if the payment happened through Poshmark, leading to sellers shipping their product without actually making profit from it.
Similarly, buyers that use an off-line vendor may be met with dishonest sellers who won’t actually ship them the item they were promised to receive.
By using off-site payments you are risking being suspended from Poshmark if they find out that you have not been using their platform for all transactions, as it directly goes against their terms and conditions.
All in all, the risks are too high… but the good news is you can work around the Poshmark fees!
How to deal with Poshmark fees
While a more rewarding offer may be tempting for your bank account, there is better ways to deal with those pesky fees:
The first step is to read our guide on Poshmark fees. There, we have broken down the costs you are charged and explained them. Most importantly, we have offered several tips on how to deal with them and ensure a better profit!
The second step is to consider crosslisting your inventory to other marketplaces. If you are a full-time seller, it is not viable to sell on a single marketplace anymore. If your items sell quicker on platforms with lower fees, you will end up making more profit as a whole! You will also increase the chances of your items being seen on multiple marketplaces. All this while still being able to keep your inventory on Poshmark.
Doing this manually is time-consuming and even kind of boring. But we are not asking you to do it alone.
Try the top crosslisting app for FREE here and avoid long hours of manual work.
Always keep your conversations on Poshmark!
The same rule of thumb when it comes to practising on-site payments applies to communication.
Poshmark doesn’t have a chat function, so all communications happen through comments on the items.
Scammers will often try to convince you to communicate through a different platform.
There, they will try to find out more information about you which can increase the risk of them hacking into your account and/or holding your personal and financial information.
The only information a seller needs is the shipping address, which is already provided by Poshmark when an order has been placed. Information such as e-mail address, payment details, phone number etc are not required and are clear signs of a scam.
Poshmark can’t help you if you have been affected through an off-site platform, so it is important to always keep to the Poshmark comments.
Regularly cashing out your balance is an additional security measure you should also take. Some do it weekly, some monthly and some when they hit a certain goal. In this way, if you become the victim of a security breach, you won’t lose a large sum of your profits!
Watch out for fake items!
Poshmark scammers that sell counterfeit items are in severe violation with the platform’s terms and conditions that strictly prohibit this.
However, this risk doesn’t discourage some individuals from continuing their fraudulent behavior. In fact, counterfeit item sales are one of the most common scams on online marketplaces.
To do your part, if you believe a seller has fake items on their shop, flag and report them immediately.
How to identify a scammer:
- Double-check the seller’s history and opt for shops with positive reviews and feedback
Confirming account legitimacy by checking the seller’s activity is important. How long have they been selling for? New shops tend to be more high-risk due to the lack of buyer feedback.
Another tell-sign of a typical Poshmark scammer is the addition of large quantities of designer products all at once.
- Message them on Poshmark
Communication on the platform is a good way to verify the seller’s legitimacy and active status. If they aren’t a spam bot and are still active sellers on the platform they should respond relatively quickly. Nobody wants to deal with an inactive account when you could be browsing elsewhere!
- Consider the pricing
Poshmark scammers typically sell designer clothes for very low prices. If it’s too good to be true, you should probably avoid it!
- Look at the label and its condition
Examining the quality of an item is something that you should always do regardless of the suspicion of a scam in order to increase your chances of being satisfied with your purchase. Read through the product details to check that this is what you want and ensure the label doesn’t look strange. For example, it is common to see uneven stitching or detail missing in counterfeit products.
As a seller, you should take clear pictures of all labels, tags, and certificate of authenticity if available. This will encourage a relationship of trust with your buyers and deter any possible scammers.
- Ensure picture quality
Item photos should be clear, with all labels and brand logos showing clearly in the picture. As a buyer you can also message the seller for better quality pictures that allow you to inspect the product better.
- Ask questions about the item of interest
Don’t be scared to ask questions.
A good idea is to ask for a photo of the cleaning instructions label. Compare this to the one offered by the authentic brand. If they don’t match, you have just uncovered a scammer! A legitimate seller will be able to answer those types of enquiries correctly.
- Use services that quality checks the authenticity of branded items
Posh Authenticate is a great service for sellers and buyers alike. It is a premium service for items worth over $500, plus free shipping when Poshmark has a promotion on the service! Once an order has been placed, the item gets shipped to Poshmark’s Headquarters for an authenticity inspection. If approved, it goes to the buyer.
While this is a great service for buyers who can effectively avoid counterfeit items, sellers can also benefit greatly from this service. The authentication process can act as proof of the seller’s quality items and offer credibility to the shop.
Alternatively, for some extra money you can subscribe to other authentication services that will give you the peace of mind you deserve when it comes to luxury brands. This might be a better option when purchasing items that are well below $500.
Evidence is your friend when it comes to Return/Refund scams!
The importance of reading Posh Protect was emphasised before, but to make this a complete guide we have included some of the valid and invalid reasons for a refund from Poshmark.
The valid reasons include:
- Receiving the wrong or missing items
- Receiving an item that was not as described
- Receiving an item that had undisclosed damage
The invalid reasons include:
- The item doesn’t fit the buyer
- The item arrived late
- The buyer changed their mind and no longer want the item
While these terms are straightforward, the topic of ‘undisclosed damage’ has been an issue for both buyers and sellers. This is because it is difficult to prove when the damage happened and who is at fault.
What to do as a Poshmark seller:
Many sellers have experienced this one customer that bought an item in perfect condition, yet claimed it was damaged or missing. This commonly happens with bundles, where the scammer will claim one or more items are missing.
As shown in the Posh Protect guidelines, this reason is eligible for a refund. This is problematic as the whole bundle will get refunded to the buyer if the seller does not win the claim.
As a seller you need to make sure that you always take clear pictures of the items before you ship them, and use this as evidence when Poshmark contacts you about any claims made against you. In addition, always disclose all faults with the items you are selling in the product information.
Another common Poshmark scam that sellers encounter is the return of used items. It is not uncommon to hear of people buying clothes, wearing them for an event and then returning them back with the claim that they are damaged.
To avoid this, it is a good practice to add an attachment to all inventory. This has to be broken for the clothing to be worn. Make sure this is included in the pictures of the items, so you have photographic proof of it. If it’s not intact, the buyer won’t be able to send it back for the return.
Poshmark gives the buyers 3 days to make a claim, therefore ensuring that shipping arrives on Monday will decrease the chances of the customers wearing the clothes to a planned event, as most tend to be in the weekend. Of course, this is not a complete guarantee, but it is a good alternative if you don’t have an attachments for your products.
What to do as Poshmark buyer:
Photographic evidence is your friend! If something is truly wrong with your purchase, make sure to take a picture and contact Poshmark customer support to make a claim.
Another good practice is to use Paypal as a payment option through Poshmark, as it offers 180 days of buyer protection. This is particularly useful for customers who have bought luxury items and need time to have them authenticated. Disputing the purchase will be much easier this way, compared to Poshmark’s 3-day window.
Soo…is Poshmark safe?
Yes! Poshmark is a legitimate online marketplace with strict guidelines on fraudulent behaviour and counterfeit items.
Unfortunately, scammers are everywhere and the only thing that can keep them at bay is knowledge on how to identify and prevent them.
But don’t worry! This article has armed you with all the knowledge you need to stay safe on Poshmark.