Spot a counterfeit before you resell it

You buy a bundle of twenty pieces, you pay a fair price, and tucked among them is a designer bag or puffer jacket the seller didn't even highlight. A pleasant surprise, on the face of it.

That is exactly where most secondhand sellers take their first real risk. Reselling a counterfeit isn't a beginner's slip that the platform fixes by pulling the listing: it's a criminal offence, and the blame falls on the one who sells, not the one who made it.

What you actually risk

It's worth setting the scene before the method, because it explains why the vigilance is worth the time it takes.

In France, holding, offering for sale and selling counterfeit goods are offences set out in the intellectual property code. Not having known is not enough to keep you safe: once you sell on a regular basis, you are held to a diligence that isn't expected of a private individual clearing out their wardrobe once a year.

In practice, the first level of consequence is commercial. The listing is pulled, the buyer is refunded, and repeated reports lead to the account being restricted and then closed. Rebuilding a shop and a reputation after that costs far more than what one piece earns you.

The second level is legal, and it depends on scale: an isolated piece is not treated the same as a whole stock. Brand owners actively monitor marketplaces and take action.

The practical conclusion is simple: where there is serious doubt, the piece doesn't go up for sale. A thirty-euro margin never makes up for that risk.

The three signals that trigger an inspection

You're not going to spend ten minutes on each item. You spend thirty seconds on each, and you open a full inspection when one of these three signals appears.

Price. It's the most reliable of them all. A bundle of sought-after brands offered well below market has a reason to be at that price. Nobody carelessly gives away an item that resells for three hundred euros.

Provenance. A seller who can't say where they sourced their goods, an account created last week, a shipment from a country that has nothing to do with the story being told: these signals speak at least as loudly as the piece itself.

An inconsistent bundle. Fifteen entry-level basics and two luxury pieces in the same box is a combination that rarely turns up in a genuine wardrobe clear-out.

The checkpoints on the piece

When a signal lights up, the piece goes under inspection. Six points, in this order, three minutes in all.

The stitching. This is where the gap shows fastest. A genuine piece has even, aligned stitches, with no stray thread and no topstitching that wanders. Look at the areas that are hard to copy cleanly: the armhole, the collar, the pocket corners.

The labels. Sloppy typeface, badly spaced letters, spelling mistakes, a label sewn crooked or simply glued on: these are common flaws. Also check for the composition and care label, which is mandatory, and whether what it states matches what you're holding. A piece presented as cashmere whose label says polyester leaves no more questions to ask.

The hardware. Buttons, zips, buckles, rivets. The big houses use heavy fittings, often engraved, that glide without catching. A light zip that jams, with blurry or absent engraving, is a strong clue.

The lining and inside finishing. The inside is what copies take the least care over. A poorly fitted lining that pulls or puckers, an inner seam left raw, an uneven hem.

Codes and references. Many brands add a product code, a serial number or a chip. Its absence isn't proof on its own, especially on older pieces, but a code that matches no known model is.

Smell and feel. It sounds trivial, yet it's what experienced sellers rely on: a strong chemical smell and leather that feels like plastic under the fingers rarely lie.

Compare rather than guess

Nobody knows every brand. The skill isn't knowing everything, it's knowing how to check fast.

Open three or four listings of the same reference from serious sellers and compare the same details on each: typeface and position of the collar label, mention of the country of manufacture, the look of the buttons, the presence of a code. The brands' online archives and catalogues also let you check that a model really existed in that colour and that season.

Five minutes of comparison settle the vast majority of cases. It's also what builds your eye: after a few dozen pieces, you spot the anomaly without thinking. Our article on the skills of a secondhand seller places this check among the other reflexes of the trade.

Protecting yourself at the point of purchase

The best check is the one that avoids ever having the piece in your hands. Four habits are enough.

Buy from traceable sources. An identified supplier, an invoice, a transaction history. The price is higher than in the corner of a resale group, and that's exactly what you're paying for. Our guide on sourcing secondhand clothes lays out the channels and what they're worth.

Ask for targeted photos before buying. Not the bundle laid out on a bed: the collar label, the composition label, the inside of a pocket, the zip. An honest seller sends them within ten minutes. A refusal or a dodge is an answer in itself.

Keep a record of everything. Invoice, screenshot of the listing, message exchanges, photos on arrival. It doesn't prove authenticity, but it proves your diligence and lets you take it up with the supplier.

Steer clear of brands you don't master. A seller who is starting out is far better off not going near luxury. Mid-range brands are copied far less, resell well and expose you infinitely less. The subject ties in with that of choosing your niche.

You've found one in your stock: what to do

Three decisions, in this order, and none of them is to relist it.

Take it out of stock. Don't resell it, even presented as a copy, even with the label removed: offering a counterfeit item stays banned however the listing is worded. Don't give it away either, that only moves the problem along.

Write it off as a loss. In accounting terms, it's goods bought that will generate no sale. It has a cost, and that cost has to show up somewhere, otherwise your real margin is wrong. Our article on working out your margin explains where to record this kind of loss.

Deal with the supplier. Report it, with photos to back it up, and ask for a partial refund. Then, if there are several in the bundle, stop working with that source. A supplier who slips one in will slip in others, and your liability grows with every order placed knowingly.

If your volume grows and these checks have to hold across several hundred pieces, the next step is to tool up the tracking of your stock and your purchases: the DressKare team has documented that transition in its guide on stock management for consignment.

What to take away

Counterfeiting isn't a theoretical risk for luxury sellers only: it arrives through bundles, in the middle of ordinary pieces, and it's the one who resells who answers for it.

Three signals trigger the inspection, price leading the way. Six checkpoints settle it in three minutes, and the two-clue rule decides for you. At the slightest serious doubt, the piece doesn't go up: the margin on one item is never worth a closed account.

Frequently asked questions

Is it serious to resell a counterfeit without knowing?

In France, selling counterfeit goods is a criminal offence, and good faith does not automatically protect the seller: once you resell as a professional, you are expected to be particularly vigilant about where your pieces come from. In practice, you risk having your listings removed and your account closed on the platform, refunding the buyer, and legal action if the brand owner decides to act. The good habit is to check before listing, to keep a record of your purchases, and to walk away from a piece rather than bet on it.

Which signs should raise a red flag first?

Three signals warrant a full inspection. Price first: a bundle offered well below market for sought-after brands is almost always too good to be true. Finish next: uneven stitching, topstitching that wanders, a poorly fitted lining, a zip that catches. Labels last: sloppy typeface, spelling mistakes, an implausible composition, no product code or a missing care label. None of these clues is enough on its own, but two of them on the same piece are reason enough not to resell it.

How do you check a piece when you don't know the brand?

Compare against authenticated examples rather than your gut. Open three or four listings of the same reference from serious sellers and look at the same details on each: position and typeface of the collar label, mention of the country of manufacture, the look of the buttons and the zip, the presence of a code. The brand's online catalogues and archives also help you check that a model really existed in that colour and that season. This comparison takes five minutes and settles most cases.

What should you do with a counterfeit already bought in a bundle?

Do not relist it, even presented as a copy or with the label removed: offering a counterfeit item stays banned however the listing is worded. Take it out of stock, record it as a loss in your bookkeeping, and report the problem to the supplier with photos to back it up. If counterfeits make up a significant share of the bundle, ask for a partial refund and stop working with that source: a supplier who slips one in will slip in others.

Should you have valuable pieces authenticated?

It becomes worthwhile above a certain value, typically when the authentication fee stays low against the sale price and the risk of a dispute. Some platforms offer built-in authentication above a threshold, others don't. For pieces below that threshold, your real protection is your own checking routine and the traceability of your purchases: invoice, screenshot of the supplier's listing, photos on arrival.