ONLINE SHOPPING HORROR
A New Jersey mom’s stylish side hustle turned into a nightmare that left her fearing for her life
SHE’S got seller’s remorse.
Nicole Lehman started shilling her clothes on Poshmark four years ago. On the popular app — an online secondhand retail store, which lets some 2 million fashionable users hawk their wares for cash — she sold vintage designer duds to her 71,000 followers.
But the Union City, NJ, mom’s side hustle turned into a nightmare in November, when a buyer returned a $120 Versace coat in “disgusting” condition.
The leather-and-corduroy-patchwork jacket was badly ripped. A button was missing. And the inner lining and right pocket appeared to be doused in semen.
“My heart was pounding, and I was looking at it in disbelief,” says Lehman, 37. “It’s stiff and a bit crusty, the way a lone sock you’d find under a young man’s bed would be.”
At first, she thought the substance was something harmless.
“I noticed the fabric was stuck together, so I’m like pulling it apart, and my first thought was, ‘She’s pranking me with super glue,’ ” says Lehman, who’s an official Posh Ambassador, a title awarded to exemplary sellers who receive high marks on criteria like ratings, shares and shipment time. “But then my husband came over and was like, ‘Wait a minute. Don’t touch that. It looks like something else.’ ”
Shaken and disturbed, Lehman immediately reported the creepy discovery to the police and to Poshmark on Nov. 7.
“All I got from [Poshmark] were automated responses and a $60 credit,” says Lehman of her exchanges with the service, which were obtained by The Post. “I’m like, ‘Are you hearing me? Are you reading what’s happening? . . . Someone needs to look at this.’ But that didn’t happen.”
“We take issues such as this extremely seriously, and sincerely apologize for the negative experience this seller had on Poshmark,” LyAnn Chhay, senior vice president of community at Poshmark, said in a statement to The Post. “We constantly strive to protect our community of buyers and sellers, and this experience clearly fell short of our efforts to monitor the quality of items on Poshmark and mediate suitable resolutions.”
A rattled Lehman even purchased a semen test kit from Amazon to confirm her suspicions.
“The kit is supposed to turn purple [if there’s semen], and it turned a shade of purple,” she says.
Though the buyer’s name was never shared with Lehman — their Poshmark account is simply called @poshbargains, has 86,000 followers and is also a Posh Ambassador — she received a threatening message from a Facebook account appearing to belong to someone named Lori Tatum on Nov. 11.
“Careful what you accuse people of, sweetheart. Your wishes can clearly come true!” the cryptic missive reads, along with a photo of a person’s middle finger and what appears to be her coat’s missing Versace button.
The sender’s Facebook bio is equally jarring.
“I work as a bus driver. I drive the karma bus. There is a stop near you and we will be there shortly,” it reads.
“When I read that I started shaking,” says Lehman. “I couldn’t sleep. I was waking up in the middle of the night with thoughts of ‘somebody’s in the house.’ I was terrified for my life.”
Tatum did not return requests for comment via Facebook, but @poshbargains tells The Post via e-mail that the claims are unfounded.
“There has not been any semen loose in my house since my divorce 5 yrs ago,” they wrote. The buyer also denies causing any other damage and says the coat was already compromised and had an “old horrid smell” when it was received. They also deny sending any threatening messages to Lehman.
Lehman immediately reported the Facebook exchange to the police and Poshmark. In an e-mail, Poshmark representatives told Lehman that they would not take action since the messages were sent outside their app.
“Although screenshots were provided of text messages, we are unable to take action on communication that occurs off our platform,” the e-mail reads.
Lehman, who has a 4-year-old daughter, is still reeling.
“I’m really surprised at how much residue is left in my daily life from this,” she says. “I can’t open my door without taking a moment to look around and see if there’s a weapon I can use to protect me.”
Although Lehman’s case is extreme, many other Poshmark users are similarly disillusioned. Scores have publicly complained about being duped out of hundreds of dollars by other users and recounted their unsatisfactory customerservice experiences.
In its eight years, the platform has racked up nearly 2,000 one-star reviews on consumerreview sites such as Trust-pilot and Sitejabber — and many of them point to customer-help issues. The brand’s Instagram is also littered with desperate pleas to reply to users’ e-mails.
“Poshmark never got [back] to me until I started commenting and messaging their social media,” says one buyer, who asked to remain anonymous. The buyer had allegedly never received her $80 purchase and wanted a refund. Poshmark accused the buyer of lying because she’d made similar complaints previously, she claims.
Others have taken to Twitter to decry the company’s lack of feedback.
“We were scammed on a $220 sale on Poshmark, were [ sic] the buyer switched out & return a different item,” seller VintageGucci tweeted in September, along with photos of the real Gucci loafers they shipped and the fake ones they received as a return. “We’re shocked on how badly your team handled the case given the proof. Please, tell us the company’s values do not stand for this or buyer fraud.”
Not everyone agrees. Some say the brand — which is worth an estimated $1.25 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported — is reliable compared with other social-commerce marketplaces.
“They handle ‘noships’ quick and efficiently and refund the buyer effortlessly,” says Los Angeles seller Jordan Ladd, 28.
But Lehman’s done with the app. After four years, she’s closed her Posh shop for good.
“This has put such a sour taste in my mouth,” she says. “They have this mantra, ‘It’s all about the people.’ But it’s not.”