Luxury dream or scam? $1,680 ‘super fake’ handbag leaves buyer disappointed

A Hong Kong woman has accused an online seller of misleading customers after she paid HK$1,680 for what was marketed as a high-quality “super fake” Dior handbag, only to receive a poorly made counterfeit and be ignored when she sought a refund.

The woman, identified only as Tracy, told Sing Tao Probe, a sister publication of The Standard, that she placed the order after customer service repeatedly assured her the bag came with a seven-day money-back guarantee if she was not satisfied.

The bag, priced at about 5 percent of the authentic product, was promoted on Facebook as a near-identical replica. Tracy said the item she received had rough stitching, plastic-like material, and visible flaws in the metal hardware.

“It wasn’t even worth HK$168, let alone HK$1,680,” she said.

According to Tracy, the seller initially delayed her refund request, citing logistics disruptions, before eventually ceasing all communication.

An undercover inquiry found that the seller claimed the bags were shipped from Shenzhen and that many Hong Kong customers had purchased them. The seller also reportedly continued to promise a seven-day return policy when approached by a reporter posing as a customer, but stopped responding when questioned about refund disputes.

Solicitor Tso Hei-sing told the outlet that buying counterfeit goods is not illegal in Hong Kong, but selling them may breach the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, which carries a maximum penalty of a HK$500,000 fine and five years’ imprisonment upon conviction.

He added that pursuing compensation could be difficult, as the seller appeared to be based in mainland China, raising issues related to cross-border consumer protection.