Paid 78,500 Yen for Designer Jeans and Got a Gummy Instead — Here’s What to Do

“The Case of Buying 80,000 Yen Denim on Mercari, but Receiving Fruit Gummies Instead”

A shocking post on X has gone viral.

The listing on Mercari featured images of black denim from Dior Homme, priced at 78,500 yen, but what actually arrived was the well-known long-selling product “Fruit Gummies.”

The post, shared on April 13 with two photos, recorded 16 million impressions in a single day. Many may have seen it.

The poster also shared the actual exchange with the seller, revealing that they had a feeling something was off right after the purchase.

They asked the seller, “There was a listing with the same images a few hours ago; is this the actual product?”

Noticing that the same images had been listed a few hours earlier, the seller responded by stating they were preparing for shipment, without addressing the question.

When the poster insisted, “Please reply to my question,” the seller apologized, saying, “I had the same item as my brother, which is why the image looks like this.”

However, when the poster pointed out that the images were likely copied and the background edited, the seller responded defiantly:

“Due to our circumstances, we’ll cancel the transaction.”

But in a surprising turn of events, the seller did not cancel the deal and instead sent the “Fruit Gummies” instead of the denim.

 

The poster reported the incident to the Mercari support team and shared the exchange on X. A response came quickly. The day after the post, around noon, they shared the following:

“I received a cancellation request from the seller and was successfully refunded! Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word! However, because the transaction was canceled, no negative rating was given to the seller. It would be greatly appreciated if you could report this to help prevent more victims.”

The seller’s account is now displayed as “Currently under review by support,” and it is likely to be banned.

“The seller’s account had 99 ratings, all with the highest 5-star ranking. They also had nearly 250 followers. It seems like a paid account suddenly turned into a ‘scam account.’ There have been past cases where accounts were sold to scam groups” (IT magazine writer).

Mercari issued a warning about the buying and selling of accounts in 2022. There have been cases where login information was leaked to third parties, leading to unintentional involvement in criminal activities or fraud.

“I believe the reason the refund was successful was because the entire process was posted and spread on X. Mercari is a listed company, and poor handling would affect its reputation. When something like this becomes a hot topic, the company is under public scrutiny. In fact, they responded immediately by issuing a refund and suspending the account, which is the most effective way to handle the situation” (previous IT magazine writer).

In the reply section of the post, one user wrote: “I got scammed too. I bought grape-flavored fruit gummies for 20,000 yen.” They explained that they bought a 23,500 yen Pokémon card from the same seller on Mercari, only to receive fruit gummies. The transaction messages revealed the seller’s defensive response:

“If you continue to make threatening or abusive remarks, I will sue for defamation through my lawyer’s parents, so please calm down and wait.”

While the situation was resolved this time, there are likely others who were not refunded and had to suffer in silence. What should someone do if they encounter a similar issue? Lawyer Kenta Mori from Mori Shimi Law Office provided the following advice:

“If you receive an entirely different item than what you purchased, it is highly likely to be considered fraud. First, try to communicate directly with the seller. If that doesn’t resolve the issue, report the facts to the platform (in this case, Mercari) and inquire whether you can use their compensation system. You may also consider reporting the incident to the police and filing a criminal complaint.”

Although it may seem easy to trace the fraud, the selling and buying of accounts has become more sophisticated, making it difficult to identify immediately. If you fall victim to such a scam, it is important not to give up and take assertive action.