Almost a Victim of a Scammer

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I was browsing through forum threads at Sulit.com.ph when I stumbled upon a thread about a Sulit member who was scammed by a fellow member who sold her PhP 13,000-worth of perfumes which turned out to be fake. This reminded me of my experience being scammed by someone who was selling fake Victoria's Secret products.

I'm so fond of Victoria Secret's Body Splash and Body Mist cologne, particularly Love Spell. Right now, though, I'm using Pure Seduction Body Mist. I know it's kinda expensive (PhP 600/bottle) but for me, it's worth it since it lasts for months and I really love the scent.

I buy my Victoria Secret's cologne straight from perfume/cologne shops in SM and Ayala. But one of Mai's colleagues was selling them for PhP 500. I know, it's just a hundred peso difference but we tried it. I was really skeptical at first but Mai convinced me that she was convinced that they were genuine Victoria Secret cologne since some of her batchmates also bought from the seller.

So, when I finally got it, I tried it and immediately knew it was fake. I've been using Love Spell for the longest time so I know for sure there's something wrong with the one we bought. I tried to ignore it for a couple of days but I can't really brush it off. So, Mai was finally convinced to ask the seller about it.

The seller, of course, denied that she knew it was a fake. Mai's other batchmates also heard about it and they actually told her that the ones they bought from the seller were also fakes. They didn't bother to tell her off because the seller was nice and they don't want to start anything negative. But, hell, me and Mai won't take that bullshit. We paid her the full amount and the seller should've kept her part of the bargain - a genuine Victoria Secret cologne as she promised.

Well, surprisingly, the seller didn't argue anymore and agreed that we'll just return the product to her and she'll give us back the money we paid. I only used it for a couple of days so it should be fine. Then she said that she'll pay us off after next payday because she already used the money we paid her. Just from that fact, I knew she knew that they were fakes. How stupid of her to sell it to someone who's been buying and using genuine versions of her products?! Argh.

Anyway, after that experience, me and Mai vowed to never buy anything cheap from anyone unless we're a 100% sure that they're real/genuine. Of course, we still love bargains but we'll never sacrifice quality for savings. Just look at Mai's shoes (Caterpillar and Nike) and my slippers (Havaianas High Heel Sun Back Flip Flops) - all genuine, bought from direct sellers/shops at the mall.

I'm not really used to buying expensive stuff, except for my cologne. The Havaianas slippers (pictured is the exact style I have), well, Mai convinced me to buy them. I don't have any regrets although it cost us PhP 1,000. It's thick and kinda heavy but I got used to it so it's comfortable. Plus, it's durable so I know it's kinda worth it.

Mai, on the other hand, is very used to expensive stuff. I understand the part about her shoes being original and expensive, because I know that's one way to ensure quality. In the past months, though, I was able to convince her to buy shirts from bargain shops. I can see she's fine with those shirts since we only bought what she liked and would look good in. Hehehe.

Anyway, going back to the original topic of this post, please be warned. There are a lot of online bargain shops with scammers who would sell you fake stuff. Before buying anything, make sure that the seller has positive comments or has a good background from his/her previous transactions with other members.

I was just lucky that I knew the difference between the real cologne from the fake one, and that the seller agreed to give us back the money. I'll never buy from people who offer me bargains again without me testing their products first.

Hah! Good thing for the thread starter of the Sulit post that I read got her money back. Can't believe that the scammer even dared to argue with them when they were the ones who did something wrong. Hehehe. Well, they thought that maybe they can get away with it through violence, which was just stupid.

So, lesson learned - Never be fooled by anyone. It's okay to be skeptical because most of the time, your gut will tell you if there's something wrong. (Naks!)


The image used was from olx.com.ph. This post doesn't claim that whoever took that picture was selling fake products.