After selling a second-hand Telfar purse to a buyer on Depop, a platform similar to eBay, a woman known as Lingy on TikTok said she’s been forced to defend herself online from unwarranted customer criticism.
One specific buyer actually requested a refund for their “irresponsible” spending, stating Lingy’s “no-refund policy” was unfair.
“Please don’t buy things from people and immediately ask for a refund in the future,” Lingy said, “because it’s not courteous.”
A Depop seller accused a customer of ‘weaponizing mental illness’ after they immediately requested a refund on a purse they purchased.
In a recent TikTok video on her platform, Lingy shared the message thread with a recent customer who tried to “weaponize mental illness” to guilt her into providing a refund for a purse they’d purchased.
Referencing Depop’s policy, Lingy shared, “They know it’s against Depop’s rules and I don’t do refunds or returns because it’s second-hand items. This is not Amazon, it’s a real person you’re talking to.”
Despite admitting everything would be “okay” if Lingy turned down their refund request, the buyer immediately started making hurtful accusations, insinuating she ignored her “mental health” concerns, and assumed her “class” to make Depop trend-following exclusionary.
The customer argued they deserved a refund because it was an ‘irresponsible’ purchase.
“I know this is against the rules, I’m not stupid, and it’s okay to say no,” the buyer wrote to Lingy. “I bought the Telfar purse and then realized it was irresponsible. That isn’t your fault, but is it possible you could refund me?”
Four days later, after the item had been shipped, Lingy responded to the message, restating her refund policy and suggesting the buyer not send similar messages like this one in the future.
When she came back to the conversation, it was flooded with additional messages.
Dean Drobot | CanvaPro
“Not courteous,” the buyer responded, “but perhaps mental illness is something that you might perhaps consider when selling things and participating in capitalism in the future … Depop is how I manage to stay up with the trend that your class presents.”
Clearly shocked by customer’s audacity, Lingy told her followers that the buyer “doesn’t have any idea” what class she’s in — she’s simply reselling items to make extra money and support herself like anyone else on the app. “Does she think I’m in the 1%?”
Accused of being ‘uncourteous’ for immediately requesting a refund, the customer criticized the seller for not considering her ‘mental illness.’
Arguing that Lingy overlooked and invalidated her “mental illness” by refusing to give out a refund the customer went so far as to call her greedy. “It’s so funny that I sent you this message 4 days ago and you ignored it for that long…Glad you made your $130 or whatever.”
“Weaponizing their mental illness to get a refund on a Telfar bag is insane,” one commenter argued. “They had every right to respectfully ask, but to blow up afterwards is strange, considering they said it was ‘okay if not.’”
Especially with so many people alleging that Depop falls short in their due diligence supporting sellers, it’s not entirely surprising that Lingy would refuse a refund and attempt to advocate for herself.
“They don’t do the background work,” seller Patricia Rose on TikTok alleged after having her main account mistakenly suspended. “This has never happened to me on another platform.”
Regardless of where you shop, knowing the retailers return policy is a must before making a purchase, and if you’re really unsure, best to err on the side of not buying. No seller should be responsible for a buyer’s lack of impulse control.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories
