TikTok user @sarzinaeasmin says she’s “feeling like a Karen” after falling victim to what appears to be a bait and switch by a second-hand clothing app she found through the video-sharing platform. She’s sending out a buyer beware warning to other users who might end up receiving inferior goods that were marketed as a bargain.
Sarzina claims that she used the clothes thrifting app Curtsy to buy a pair of jeans. “I thought they were so cute. It said retail price $77 or something then discounted for $33,” she says in the video. “I bought them, they came in today, and they’re f*cking Shein.”
Shein is a Singapore-based Chinese fast fashion company that has become notorious in recent years for several controversies including allegations of IP theft, data and privacy breaches, and unsafe working conditions. According to the BBC, a Public Eye investigation found that workers in the six of company’s Guangzhou sites were working 75-hour weeks.
“I do not shop with Shein,” Sarzina states, “I don’t shop there anymore because I don’t support them.” However, she did look up the jeans on the Shein website and found that their retail price was only $26. According to Sarzina, the pants had been “flipped” by using the site and she had paid seven dollars over what they would have retailed for originally.
“I’m furious, I’m so mad,” she said.
The clip has received more than 268,000 views since going live on June 26.
@sarzinaeasmin #shein #secondhand ♬ original sound – Sarzina
Curtsy began in 2014 as a dress-rental app called Nimble. It currently has a one-and-a-half rating on the review website Trustpilot with commenters calling out the company for poor customer service and untrustworthy sellers. User Avery Jenkins wrote that “… so far, I’ve only had one transaction go smoothly.”
TikToker @k_braswell reported a similar experience with Curtsy in a video. She shows a lingerie romper on the site listed at $35 dollars and then finds the same item. right down to the photos used, retailing on Shein’s website for $8.
She added in the video’s caption, “Can we not resell low-quality fast fashion for four times the price we bought it pls.”
We’ve reached out to Curtsy and @sarzinaeasmin.
Update 10:57am CT, July 8, 2023: Sarzina responded to the Daily Dot saying Curtsy contacted her and offered a refund or a 20% discount. She noted that the discount “still didn’t make the pants lower than what they were selling for.” However, she did move forward with the refund offer. Curtsy has reportedly sent her a shipping label to do so.