I just lost $150 on a 'handmade' leather wallet that was clearly AI slop

I mean, I saw this ad on social media for a small leather goods shop. The pictures looked amazing, and the description talked about 'artisanal craftsmanship' and 'unique, one-of-a-kind pieces.' I ordered a wallet for $150, thinking I was supporting a real person. When it showed up, it was just a cheap, mass-produced thing you could get for $20. The 'unique' tooling pattern was the same generic swirl you see on a hundred other items. I did a reverse image search and found the exact same product photos on three different sites, all with different shop names. It's so frustrating. They're just using AI to generate fake shop fronts and product descriptions to trick people. Has anyone else gotten burned by these fake 'craft' stores popping up everywhere?

3 comments

3 Comments

ray_coleman412mo ago

Fake 'craft' stores" got me too, same cheap wallet.

kevin_schmidt972mo ago

Wait they sold you the exact same wallet? That's wild.

ericp672mo ago

Maybe it's not the same wallet, @kevin_schmidt97. Could be a popular design lots of makers use. The leather and stitching on mine feels solid, not cheap at all. Sometimes a simple style just gets copied because it works well.