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

Image caption,

Dani Bekyarova-Delev said she initially had had no doubts about the authenticity of her handbag

ByIsobel Fry North West

Published11 August 2026

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 had been confident the designer item, bought in 2024, had been genuine because she had used the platform's authentication service.

She said she had been left "angry and shocked" when she had taken it to a Prada store, only to be told it was counterfeit.

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

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Figure caption,

Vinted's authentication service failed to spot Bekyarova-Delev's designer fake

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 suggested they were 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 were caught selling counterfeit goods.

Image caption,

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

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."

In line with 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 had visited the Prada store at the Trafford Centre, she had been unable to find the same handbag among its range.

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

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

But because she had accepted the bag, she had been 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.

Doubts

Vinted told the BBC it offered an optional verification service for selected designer items, during which specialist teams assessed 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, were 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 Citizens Advice in 2025 showed a 30% rise in complaints about counterfeit goods being sold online over the previous year.

Christine Colbert who has long dark blond hair and wears a cerise pink cardigan and top is sitting in a shop with a rail of clothes behind her and a designer beige handbag with multi-coloured straps on a shelf in the background.

Image caption,

Christine Colbert said she had seen "quite a big shift" with people buying bags on marketplaces and asking for them to be authenticated

An expert who authenticates designer goods said she was aware of issues regarding second-hand luxury items sold online.

Christine Colbert, owner of Dress Cheshire, said: "I've seen quite a big shift with people buying items on Vinted and other reputable marketplaces and asking us to authenticate the bags for them.

"We see a fair percentage of bags coming here that were verified by Vinted and our verification service says it's not a genuine bag."

In response, Vinted said: "We fully understand that members want to feel confident when making a purchase.

"Our optional item verification service provides an additional layer of confidence for members shopping for selected designer items on Vinted, and the vast majority have a positive experience."