Girls flea market scammers: these are the reasons for the late payments

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

The start-up Mädchenflohmarkt has taken a lot of criticism in recent months. On rating platforms such as Trustpilot, social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram, and in many other forums, there was not much good to be read about the platform for second-hand fashion. Sellers complained in rows that the payouts for the sold clothes simply do not arrive. Several days some waited, many others weeks and sometimes even months.

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

Mädchenflohmarkt has been struggling for months with the problems

Mädchenflohmarkt should pay out the sellers, according to the website, as soon as the customers have received their product and confirmed that everything is okay with it. Mädchenflohmarkt acts as a kind of trustee so that buyer and seller can settle the trade as securely as possible and collects a commission of ten percent for this.

Already in February Startbase reported on the massive problems of the start-up and also the harsh criticism, which the saleswomen discharged over the start-up. At the time, it was said that they had fallen victim to scammers who had tried to systematically trick the platform. Founders Peter Ambrozy and Maria Spilka wrote about the fraud attempts, "These are systematic and carried out by a group." They add: "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. The promise to users in February, however, was clear: outstanding payments would soon be settled.

Fraudsters make girls' flea market a nuisance

More than two months later, most users have not noticed any improvements. Payments are still arriving with long delays, as many comments in social networks and on rating platforms show. Startbase has therefore conducted further research and has been able to find out the reasons for the renewed delay at Mädchenflohmarkt - and they may well be quite serious.

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

Mädchenflohmarkt says: The problems have been solved

In the meantime, however, Mädchenflohmarkt now claims to have all its problems under control. About a week ago, the start-up informed on request that after successful implementation of new measures, it was now possible to release over 98% of the withheld payouts. Sellers should therefore - if everything goes smoothly this time - receive their money in the coming days. Then also the wave at criticism could flatten. At Mädchenflohmarkt one might be looking forward to this moment.