18 Jun 2017

PoshShop, the marketplace for pre-owned authentic luxury goods is making it safer to shop for original items online

“It was actually tailored to my late grandfather” this was my response to a colleague commenting on my grey wool suite, one of my all the time favorite pieces of wardrobe during cold winter days, today I could hardly find something as thick, well-tailored and a perfect fit anywhere.

Using pre-owned items as part of our wardrobe is not a totally foreign concept to Egyptians, items are often carried on by family members and occassionally gifted to close friends, special pieces of wardrobe carries stories, authenticity and meaning  beyond its monetary value.

It’s not very different for shoppers for luxury items, often quite expensive and very occassionally used, the market for pre-owned luxury good has been nothing but expanding and with its expansion comes the risk of falling a prey for counterfeited items. Stories of high-value purchases of seemingly original items that turns out to be copies gets plenty of people to hold back from purchasing pre-owned originals.

The risk is realized by Daria Ilina, her over a decade of experience in the luxury fashion industry and the experience of her friends falling a prey to counterfeited items has inspired her to start Posh Shop to be the destination to buy and sell pre-owned authentic luxury goods.

“The black market is so profitable so sellers of fake products, sometimes purchase original receipts of boutiques, dust bags and packaging from people who have original items in order to manufacture the high copy with corresponding serial numbers, model number, color and sell it with boutique invoice. In this case the only chance to spot the fake is to inspect the item itself.” Said Daria

The verification process of these luxury items doesn’t go far from Sherlock Holmes investigations. Unless you follow a pre-defined process of testing several variables, you’d fall victim to fake copies even if you own similar items from the same brand. For this, verification can only be handled by professionals. The shop uses a verification consulting services that requires a quarterly visit and more than two dozen photos taken on a very specific manner – the angle, the lighting, the focus all affects the verification process.

And as she settles down with her Egyptian family, Daria sees the business through the goggles of sustainability.

 

“We are sustainable.  We are doing our small part to be environmentally responsible. Giving opportunity to re-sell what it is already manufactured, extending the lifecycle of luxury goods, we reduce polluting effect from fashion production. Which greatly affects Oceans’ flora and fauna.   Another issue, when people re-sell their unwanted designer items to somebody who will treasure them again they feel good knowing that they are part of the social responsibility program and making the good things not just for cash in return.” Says Daria Ilina, Founder of Post Shop

 

 

The Posh Shop has also created a luxury selling and exchange community, through which members can consistently update their items without the need to purchase each individual item. Daria’s passion for style also allows for member’s personal styling needs to be met with notifications of availability of suitable items.

To learn more about The Posh Shop and what kind of items are currently available visit their website www.poshshop-eg.com and join them on Facebook and Instagram