by Last year, I bought a pair of designer leather shoes from Vestiaire Collective. They ran Vestiairechecked authenticity and when they arrived they seemed fine. However, as I wore them over the next few months, it became clear that they were not of the quality of a true pair of that designer’s shoes: first the body of the shoe came from the sole on one shoe, then on the other. I’ve worn them in the rain and the glue seems to have practically dissolved. Now the shoes are unwearable.
Vestiaire’s terms say that you must contact them within 48 hours of receiving the item if you have any doubts about the item’s authenticity – and that seems like a very narrow window. I contacted Vestiaire to see if they could help me, but never got a response. Given that their reputation is built on selling genuine designer goods, I’m surprised. Is there anything I can do?
– Nadia from Victoria
Kat says: The rise in second-hand markets is an excellent antidote for quality goods in a fast fashion, and I think it’s a great step towards extending the life of pre-loved clothes. It doesn’t come without its downsides, however – some argue that it can encourage a “throwaway” culture as consumers buy and sell unworn or barely worn clothing in a seemingly guilty process. Buyers and sellers may be susceptible to fraudulent practices, particularly in international markets where intermediaries such as Vestiaire Collective facilitate sales between private individuals.
In your case, I think there are two aspects to what happened to you: one, the shoes cannot be authentic and two, the shoes failed the pub test when it comes to a buyer’s reasonable expectations of what should shoes do.
As for returning an item “not as described”, the Vestiaire website says you can make a report within 72 hours of delivery for private sellers, and 14 days for professional sellers. Even though these time periods are gone for you, it doesn’t necessarily affect your situation.
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Crucially, a business cannot create rules that undermine Australian consumer law. Vestiaire has headquarters in Paris, London and New York, but the ACCC says that “where an online business is based overseas and provides goods or services directly to consumers in Australia, the business must comply with Australian Consumer Law continue.” In this case, if the item you bought is really not genuine, the company has behaved in a misleading way – whether they intended it or not.
Misleading conduct, according to the ACCC, is when information provided by a business to a consumer “creates a false impression in relation to goods and services”.
If you haven’t already, you’ll be able to do an authenticity check with Vestiaire, which doesn’t seem to have a time frame on the help page.
If this does not work and you believe the shoes are illegitimate, take your case, and put it in writing to Vestiaire through their customer care function. What would the authentic shoes do? What is missing from the shoes that makes you think they are illegitimate? Take and include photos in your letter, and remind the business that Australian Consumer Law applies in this situation.
In addition, under Australian consumer law, there are consumer guarantees which mean that when you buy something, you have the right to expect that the product or service will work in a certain way. This includes that the product must be of “acceptable quality”, which means that it should be safe, durable and free from defects and that it does everything that similar products are commonly used for.
When it comes to shoes, designer or not, a reasonable person would expect a pair, with normal wear (if you did extreme sports in them, it might be different), to last more than a few months . And unless the company selling the product has specifically said so, it is reasonable to expect that a pair of shoes would not fall apart in the rain. So the consumer guarantees are definitely working in your favor too, and you should include this in your letter.
Under Australian consumer law, you have the right to a repair, refund or replacement. As the shoes are second-hand it is unlikely that Vestiaire will be able to get you a replacement, but you should request a refund. The worst case scenario is that Vestiaire disputes the authenticity of the shoes – in which case, you are still entitled to a repair, at no cost to you.
You definitely have a case. The hard part will be getting international business to cooperate. You should also take advantage of social media: it is often more effective to send messages to the business through private messages and public forums than through the official contact channels they provide on their website.
If you have no luck with Vestiaire, the next step (no pun intended) is to complain to the ACCC or Consumer Affairs Victoria.
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In a statement, a spokesperson for Vestiaire Collective said they had not received any communication from the reader about the shoes but have since been in direct contact with her. The spokesperson said that “lower value” items are not normally subject to an authenticity check, but customers can raise questions about the authenticity of an item at any time after purchase.
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Kat George is a board member of Australian consumer advocacy group Choice. Her Guardian column is written in her capacity as a policy expert and does not reflect the views of Rogha
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