'I paid £400 for a Prada bag on Vinted - only to find it was fake'

A woman who bought what she thought was a genuine Prada handbag second-hand on Vinted for £400 later discovered it was a fake.

Dani Bekyarova-Delev, of Stockport, Greater Manchester, said she was confident the designer item, bought in 2024, was genuine because she had used the platform's authentication service.

She said she was left "angry and shocked" when she took it to a Prada store to be told it was counterfeit.

Vinted - which has refunded Bekyarova-Delev since the BBC contacted it - said experts looked at the items and that while "original documents may be reviewed, they do not automatically guarantee successful verification".

Last year, the BBC reported bargain hunters were being warned that criminals could be selling fake versions of designer clothes, handbags, shoes for prices that suggest they are real on a number of online shopping platforms.

Depop, eBay as well as Vinted have previously said they would suspend or ban users if they are caught selling counterfeit goods.

A bag of a similar style to the one Bekyarova-Delev bought retails for about £1,500 on the official Prada website.

Bekyarova-Delev told BBC North West Tonight when she first received the handbag she had no concerns, especially after paying £10 for its authentication service.

"I was absolutely 100% sure that it will be fine and because of buyers protection... it looks absolutely normal, nothing to worry [about].

"I was completely sure that it's absolutely authentic."

As per the platform's rules, she accepted the order, saying everything was OK with the item, and releasing the payment to the seller.

But she said when she visited the Prada store at the Trafford Centre, she was unable to find the same handbag among its range.

She said the woman behind the counter did not recognise it, and that after that she "wasn't sure if the bag was real or not".

Bekyarova-Delev said she then paid for an independent authentication, which found the bag to be fake.

But because she had accepted the bag, she was unable to get a refund, despite showing Vinted that it had verified it as genuine.

"It was shocking to realise it was fake and it was too late to do anything about it.

"I wasn't aware that things like this happened," she said.

Vinted told the BBC it offered an optional verification service for selected designer items, during which specialist teams inspect their authenticity offline.

"Decisions, including whether an item is potentially counterfeit, are made by trained specialists based on objective criteria and specific brand or product characteristics, such as stitching, logos and materials used in the design.

"Original documents may be reviewed, but they do not automatically guarantee successful verification."

It added all purchases including those with item verification, are subject to its buyer protection policy.

Vinted added: "If the buyer still doubts the item's authenticity after our experts have checked it, they can raise an issue within two days of receiving the item."

Customers who buy goods from what are known as "pro-sellers" have 14 days to raise an issue.

Figures from Citizen's Advice in 2025 showed a 30% rise in complaints about counterfeit goods being sold online over the previous year.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.