Counterfeit items are illegal, deceive buyers, and degrade community trust across the platform. We do not permit the listing, sale, or giveaway of counterfeit items on Whatnot. Sellers are responsible for ensuring the authenticity of the items they sell on Whatnot, and they must be prepared to provide proof of authenticity for items sold, given away, or listed.
Counterfeit items include:
- Any item that intentionally deceives a buyer into believing it is an original item, typically by using a brand’s name, logo, or other intellectual property without the brand owner’s consent
- Replicas that imitate an authentic item by using a brand’s name or logo when the item doesn’t originate from that brand, or a manufacturer on their behalf (e.g., branded items described as “fashion” or “inspired by” when they do not originate from the relevant brand)
- Any item with intentionally falsified features (e.g., fake signatures)
- Branded items with the branding hidden or obfuscated to intentionally circumvent detection (e.g., blurring an item’s trademark, covering a brand’s logo with a sticker, intentionally misspelling a brand name)
Note on Upcycle Branded Items: Sellers may only sell or give away upcycled branded items that have been creatively transformed from their original form and function, and that are clearly disclosed as upcycled and not otherwise originating from the brand. As with VIP or “gift with purchase” items and luxury-branded component parts, upcycled branded items must be sold outside the Luxury Bags & Accessories category (see the Luxury Bags & Accessories Policy for more).
What this means for buyers
We take the sale of counterfeits seriously. If you believe you have received a counterfeit item, please report the item in-app under your Purchases tab so we can review and take appropriate action. To ensure we handle counterfeit claims quickly, we require buyers to submit their refund request for an item suspected of being inauthentic within 30 days of receiving their order (regardless of category or item). For more on this, check out our Buyer Protection Policy.
You may be asked to provide additional information, including photos to help us investigate your claim. In some cases, we ask for the item to be returned to our warehouse for further review. If we determine the item is inauthentic, you will receive a full refund for your item. If we find that the item is authentic, we will send it back to you at no cost.
What this means for sellers
To prevent the unintentional sale of counterfeit items, we recommend authenticating the items you sell on Whatnot. We recommend using a third party authenticator like Entrupy, Real Authentication, LegitApp, or other verifiable evidence to confirm authenticity of the items you sell. Whatnot, in its sole discretion, will determine whether authenticity evidence is sufficient to confirm authenticity.
We may request specific evidence of authenticity from sellers for any items being listed, sold or given away, in particular where we’ve identified a higher risk of inauthenticity. While we understand that some items may not be easily authenticated, it is at Whatnot’s sole discretion whether to permit the sale of these items absent evidence of authenticity. For example, sellers should be prepared to provide Whatnot evidence of authenticity when selling upcycled items and luxury branded component parts.
In some cases, we may have items sent to Whatnot’s warehouse. Counterfeit items that are sent to our warehouse will not be returned to the seller. When we determine items to be inauthentic, sellers will be billed back for the total cost of these items to refund buyers, including order value, tax, and shipping. In addition, Whatnot will issue enforcement actions to sellers identified as listing, giving away, or selling counterfeit items. See What Actions We Take for more.
Whatnot will work to provide any information properly requested by law enforcement to prosecute sellers who sell counterfeit items on Whatnot. Selling items that do not comply with our IP policy is also strictly prohibited. If you are a brand or rights owner concerned about copyright or trademark infringement or counterfeit items, please review our IP policy page.