Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Tips on not being scammed when buying from ioffer.com

Hi everyone, I know a lot of people have been asking me about finding a great replica bag from ioffer.com or any other sellers. Here are some of my tips that I used when shopping for great reps. This will help some shopper pick a great seller and not be ripped off. I know this can be confusing, but if you follow my tips it might help you out on saving money and getting a great rep.

1. I type in the bag I want and I sort the listed of bags from Lowest to highest price. Do not go for sellers that is the cheapest online. Cheap doesn't mean good or expensive doesn't mean good either. RESEARCH is the way to go. From that list, I skip all the bags that have pictures of authentic bags or stolen pictures from other website. Pictures could be deceiving, so skip all the listings that have fake pictures or you think the pictures are off. If they have watermark, that is good. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR MORE PICTURES FROM THE SELLER OR ASK QUESTIONS. If the seller avoid that question you should avoid buying from them.


2. Skip all the sellers that have less than 99% approval ratings and sold less than 100 bags in their profile. 



3. Once you narrow all the sellers that has less than 99% approval rating, look at how many of bags they sold. Pick the seller that sold the most bags in their profile. Don't just pick any sellers with just 99% approval ratings. That can be deceiving. Always read the negative feedback from the buyers. It is usually listed on the last page of the seller's feedback page. Ioffer usually put it in the last page, because it puts sellers in a negative light. Reading the negative reviews give you an idea of how sellers handle the situation when there is a problem. Were the seller able to fix the problem or they ignore it? When did it happen? Did a lot of negative feedback start popping out recently, if it did, that is telling me that the seller is dealing with problems in their own life or manufacturing problems in the factory. You should avoid it. Click on a few of the negative review and read the exchange of communication between buyer and seller. See if the seller was good at communicating and did s/he ignore the buyer's questions? If they ignore the buyers questions, mostly likely they will ignore the buyer when there's a problem in the future. Reading the conversation also give you an idea that sometimes the buyer is being unreasonable and refused to work with the seller.

4. It is also a good idea to contact any pass buyers of the bag and ask them personally how they like the bag. They might ignore you, but there is a chance they will answer you back. Questions like, How is the stitching, color and shape of the bag? Do you recommend this seller? etc. 


5. I forgot to mention, on Ioffer there is no way no how a seller would offer you an authentic LV bag for under $300 dollars or even less than that. I have been seeing a lot of sellers saying their bag is authentic and they are willing to sell it to you on such a low price. Do not be scrammed. Stay away from sellers saying their bags are authentic. 

6. Do not use paypal to pay for anything on Ioffer.com Trust me on this. If you have a paypal account and use it to buy reps online and the bags are not what is expected. You could file a complaint and there is a chance that you may or may not get your money back. I often read buyers would buy a bag and the bag was horrible. The buyer would contact the seller and the seller would either ignore them or never refund the money. Even if you file a complaint with paypal, paypal would not refund the money even if paypal ruled in your favor. This is because the seller do not have ENOUGH funds in their account, so you end up losing money. If you are going to make a purchase on ioffer, please use your credit cards, especially Amex or any other major credit card companies that has hassle free returns, that way you could file a charge back with your credit card company. Please be smart. I have been reading some horror stories, so protect yourself.   

20 comments:

  1. Daily said...

    Hi Craftress,

    info was helpful for me ... i never used ioffer before i might look at it this weekend.

    have a good day

    nu

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  2. Hi Nu and welcome to my blog. I just add something to my blog which is "DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR MORE PICTURES FROM THE SELLER OR ASK QUESTIONS. If the seller avoid that question you should avoid buying from them." Hope you read it in time.

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  3. Jacqueline said...

    Craftress,

    I just wanted to say how happy I am to have discovered your blog! I'm kind of a newbie to the world of reps - after extensive lurking on tFS boards and other sites and research, I've only made my 1st purchase from Joy in August and have since been mulling over a Chanel re-issue from wither Catty or one of the highly rec'd sellers on iOffer. I've been somewhat skeptical of iOffer even with people's rec's but your tips here have made me feel a lot better about a potential purchase as they've re-iterated kind of all the criteria and questions/concerns I've had. So thank you!

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  4. Miasma said...

    Thanks for the great post! Out of curiosity, have you ever purchased shoes through ioffer? I've tried to in the past and got scammed terribly and have been too afraid to try it out again since it seems like at least 60% of sellers on ioffer are really out there just to steal your money and because I just don't understand the sizing (I understand its european sizing but when it comes to that kind of sizing, I could be anywhere between a size 40 to a size 44).

    Also, I didn't think you were being mean by not sharing sellers. Rep sites are constantly being hounded by others so I just thought you didn't share because you were afraid you would get in trouble, so for the most part I just shared the sites I know so you wouldn't feel liable to or would get in trouble if you did (especially since I'm not that familiar with buying reps and wouldn't care if I got in trouble for sharing). But I'm happy your sharing anyways because even I can't seem to find the elusive Jacky (who just changed his website...again) and because you could be putting yourself at risk. Thanks :)

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  5. Hi Jacqueline and welcome to my blog. I am glad I could help you. Please come back for more updated post.

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  6. Hi Miasma, I never buy shoes from ioffer.com because I am not a shoe snob. Personally, the styles of shoes from high end to low end are so similar I don't even buy a rep. I just buy from nine west, aldo or chinese laundry. I usually buy from 6pm.com, which have great prices.

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  7. Miasma said...

    Aww darnit I was hoping you did. Thanks for the tip on 6pm though. I just checked out that website and its AMAZING.

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  8. craftress - i am exactly the same on shoes - love ninewest and aldo!!! i wish i could find a good version of CL pumps (suede blue). do you have suggestions? please please can you share the old jacky site or the catty site or B&S please - must go shopping, and i have been waiting for your reveal for ages! lol

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  9. "craftress - i am exactly the same on shoes - love ninewest and aldo!!! i wish i could find a good version of CL pumps (suede blue). do you have suggestions? please please can you share the old jacky site or the catty site or B&S please - must go shopping, and i have been waiting for your reveal for ages! lol!"

    Hi, I found some nice blue suede shoes from 6pm.com (Steven Madden and Dolce or Be&D). Just do a search for blue suede pumps.
    Zappo has some for under 100 dollars if you do a search. This one looks pretty nice. http://www.zappos.com/luichiny-cindy-lou-blue-suede

    I don't know why you want jacky's old website. It doesn't work. Just be a little patient. I will have this new site in due time.

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  10. can any one share the Agent for www.widebag.com ( you have to use http://translate.google.com from korean to english) pls

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  11. koreans make great replicas too... in Melbourne there are lots of Korean living here ... there are a couple of Korean owned small boutiques in Chadstone and Westfield Doncaster selling very limited Mulberry and Chloe designs without the tag name for fear of police raids. Surprisingly not many shoppers are even aware of the replica in these shops. The leather is very soft and lovely for just a little more than online prices.

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  12. craftress- thank you those cindy lou are a great pump! do you have catty please so i can see if she has some shoes? thanks in advance

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  13. I bought from Catty and it was a miss. The red paint across the handles were uneven tone of orange and red...to make it worst, one of the strap is thicker than the other! :(

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  14. "I bought from Catty and it was a miss. The red paint across the handles were uneven tone of orange and red...to make it worst, one of the strap is thicker than the other! :( "

    Hi and sorry about your bad purchase from catty. did you e-mail and tell catty. Usually she will try to work it out with you.

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  15. Hello craftress,

    I am an authentic bag collector mainly balenciaga and chanel (with the odd exception of others). I studied fashion history and worked as a fashion stylist in my twenties until I just fell out of love with it. I pretty much know my way around bags and always rejected the notion of replicas.
    Two years ago I started a family and , as I am from Greece, have been hit very hard by the credit crunch.The amount I spent on bags in the past is obscene to me now and I wonder how I was such a fool for such a long time.Especially since I know exactly how much authentic bags are really worth: believe me a tiny, tiny fraction of their retail price.
    I am a first time rep buyer and did immense research before buying my grey maxi chanel.I knew what I was looking for and, reading your post above, I believe your directions are precisely what you should do when looking for a rep online.Very, very useful stuff. If only I had read it two months ago.Oh well..
    I look forward to your posts, since your blog is really interesting and helpful.
    Keep up the good work I'm all for your independent action (I knew about Sofia Nolan straight away when I read her posts. such transparent b.s. lots and lots of people have ended up with awful reps from her..)
    If you would like I could post a review for my maxi chanel (I don't know if you're interested you seem to have mostly LVs) I can honestly say I'm really happy with it-bear in mind I've compared it to my authnetic one.
    I got it from a top-rated seller on ioffer and it came in 10 days, no fuss, 24-hour customer service. Just great.

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  16. "Hello craftress,

    I am an authentic bag collector mainly balenciaga and chanel (with the odd exception of others). I studied fashion history and worked as a fashion stylist in my twenties until I just fell out of love with it. I pretty much know my way around bags and always rejected the notion of replicas.
    Two years ago I started a family and , as I am from Greece, have been hit very hard by the credit crunch.The amount I spent on bags in the past is obscene to me now and I wonder how I was such a fool for such a long time.Especially since I know exactly how much authentic bags are really worth: believe me a tiny, tiny fraction of their retail price.
    I am a first time rep buyer and did immense research before buying my grey maxi chanel.I knew what I was looking for and, reading your post above, I believe your directions are precisely what you should do when looking for a rep online.Very, very useful stuff. If only I had read it two months ago.Oh well..
    I look forward to your posts, since your blog is really interesting and helpful.
    Keep up the good work I'm all for your independent action (I knew about Sofia Nolan straight away when I read her posts. such transparent b.s. lots and lots of people have ended up with awful reps from her..)
    If you would like I could post a review for my maxi chanel (I don't know if you're interested you seem to have mostly LVs) I can honestly say I'm really happy with it-bear in mind I've compared it to my authnetic one.
    I got it from a top-rated seller on ioffer and it came in 10 days, no fuss, 24-hour customer service. Just great. "

    Hi and welcome to my blog. I am glad you had such great success. I would love to have a review of your Chanel bag. I'll share it with everyone online. I am not a big fan of Chanel, but other people are and they would be very appreciated if you would share with us your purchase. Thank you.

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  17. how do you use a credit card as payment on ioffer? whenever i shop there credit card payment is not an option, only paypal or money porder.

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  18. Hi Twink, When you go checkout there is a login where you could login to your paypal account. Do not login, just click '' don't have a paypal account'' and it will take you to page where you use your credit card to pay for things. Even thought it says paypal, you are using your credit card to pay thru paypal, which is much safer. You are not paying it from your bank account. I hope you understand what I am saying.

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  19. i have been using paypal for so long i didn't realize could do that. thanks

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  20. Can you please email me how I can get in contact with these top sellers. I would greatly appreciate it. This blog is very informative. Have been toying with the idea of buying a eplica for a while but have been scared off by alot of the negative reviews. Thanks :) My email is deeluv65@aol.com

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