Australian shoppers have pointed out a “scam” that appears to be widespread in markets across the country. If you peruse the aisles of your local community weekend market, you’re likely to come across stalls selling handmade jewellery, clothing and other household items.
However, a TikTok user who goes by the name lilosmumma revealed that some of these products may not be as “handmade” as they claim: During a recent visit to Manly Market, her friend spotted a lovely necklace and said she wanted to buy it.
“I quickly pulled her away and said, ‘No kidding, I got that exact necklace from AliExpress last week and I think it was $3.50 including shipping,'” she recalled in the video.
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“and [the market seller was] They tried to sell it for $45 and advertised it as 18-karat gold and waterproof, which it really isn’t.”
She said she understands businesses have to get products from somewhere, but the price increases on some items are “outrageous.”
Lirossuma believes this is a “horrible scam” as many shoppers cannot tell the difference between truly handmade items and those purchased from fast-fashion outlets like AliExpress.
A Manly Market spokesman said: Yahoo Finance The department plans to carry out an investigation to “ensure that no vendor is claiming that something is handmade when it is not.”
“We vet all exhibitors through an approval process and where possible continue to monitor any subsequent additions or changes,” the spokesperson said.
The market is now full of “junk”
This trend doesn’t seem to be unique to Manly.
“Same thing happened at Glebe Market! Found the ring on Alibaba for a fifth of the price,” one person wrote in the comments section.
“This market is so sad with all the junk, where are the vintage and handmade items?” asked another.
A third added: “Even in Melbourne and Victoria markets, 70 percent are AliExpress. I went to my local ‘makers market’ and half was AliExpress.”
How do you know if a product is handmade or fast fashion?
Fast fashion refers to retailers such as AliExpress, Shein, and Temu selling goods at extremely low prices. Many of the items sold are exact replicas of expensive brands or mass-produced items such as rings and necklaces.
Lirosmuma acknowledged that it was difficult to verify exactly where products came from in local markets, but he believes that if a stall has a “no photography” sign, it’s “clear evidence” that the item came from an online site like AliExpress.
The e-commerce site’s app lets you upload a photo of virtually anything and searches its database to see if there’s a match. If an exact match appears, it’s either a fake of the original product or the item on its marketplace came from AliExpress.
A Sydney jewellery maker said it was frustrating to compete with other stores trying to sell cheap goods at exorbitant prices.
“I used to sell at markets but I was embarrassed to see so many stalls selling ‘handmade’ jewellery and people being scammed. Thankfully, my pieces have always sold really well because people can tell my work is different and that I make it by hand in Sydney,” she said.
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