Fraudsters at girls' flea markets: these are the reasons for the late payments

Many sellers on the platform have been complaining for months that payments are delayed or not received at all. The company promised improvement, but this has been a long time coming. The reasons for this are complex.

The start-up Mädchenflohmarkt has come in for a lot of criticism in recent months. On review platforms such as Trustpilot, social media channels such as Facebook or Instagram and in many other forums, there was not much good to read about the platform for second-hand fashion. Sellers complained in rows that the payments for the clothes they sold simply didn't arrive. Some waited several days, many others weeks and sometimes even months.

The result was a series of comments that no start-up would wish for. "I've been waiting a long time for my sales proceeds of €500. No point asking," writes one user, awarding one out of five possible stars. Another writes: "Unbelievably lousy business practices!" And a third: "I will never sell anything on Mädchenflohmarkt again as the money is not paid out."

Mädchenflohmarkt has been struggling with the problems for months

According to the Mädchenflohmarkt website, sellers should be paid out as soon as customers have received their product and confirmed that everything is in order. Mädchenflohmarkt acts as a kind of trustee so that buyers and sellers can complete the transaction as securely as possible and collects a commission of ten percent.

Back in February, Startbase reported on the start-up's massive problems and the harsh criticism that the sellers unloaded on the start-up. At the time, it was said that they had fallen victim to fraudsters who had tried to systematically trick the platform. The founders Peter Ambrozy and Maria Spilka wrote about the fraud attempts: "These are systematic and carried out by a group". They added: "We have already reported this to the police." As a result, all payments would have to be checked individually, which would have led to delays. However, the promise to users in February was clear: outstanding payments would soon be settled.

Fraudsters give girls' flea market a hard time

More than two months later, most users have seen no sign of the improvements. Payments are still arriving late in droves, as many comments on social networks and review platforms show. Startbase has therefore investigated once again and found out the reasons for the renewed delays at Mädchenflohmarkt - and they may be quite something.

According to co-founder Ambrozy, there was not just one scam used by fraudsters to trick the platform, but several. Among other things, fraudsters had tried to buy clothes with stolen credit cards, but also to launder money through items sold. Shady fraudsters also exploited the start-up's referral program to cash in. All of this apparently happened not just sporadically, but on a large scale, so that Ambrozy even suspects organized gang crime behind the attacks on his start-up.

Mädchenflohmarkt says: The problems have been solved

However, Mädchenflohmarkt now claims to have all the problems under control. Around a week ago, the start-up announced on request that, following the successful implementation of new measures, over 98% of the withheld payouts have now been released. If everything goes smoothly this time, sellers should receive their money in the coming days. Then the wave of criticism could also subside. At Mädchenflohmarkt, we are probably eagerly awaiting this moment.