28-05-2025
Shein shoppers issue stark warning about ‘basket scam' that's helping them rake in more money at the last minute
SHEIN shoppers are issuing a stark warning about a 'basket scam' that they claim is helping the fast fashion brand rake in more money at the last minute.
Now, people are taking to social media to check in with each other to see if they have also experienced the same issue.
Madi, known as ' madibaby111 ' on TikTok, is one of the shoppers raising awareness after noticing the issue and wondering if it was happening to anyone else.
She explained that when she adds items to her basket - for example, a dress which said it was £6 - and then clicks on the the tick boxes in the basket, the dress could then go from £6 to £9.
Madi explained: 'Let's say my total, I had £16 worth of stuff and I add something for £6 and it goes to £26.'
She added: 'And it does it with literally near enough everything in my basket and I don't understand why it's doing it.'
Madi is now concerned whether it has done this to her in the past, but she may not have noticed as she has wondered how her basket has added up to £80 when she's only had six items in the basket.
She claimed that there has been another time where a dress was marked down from £15 to £6, but once she added it to her total, the price went back up again.
Madi described the situation as 'Shein hacking you' and said it's a 'scam really'.
Her video, which was shared on 13 May, has gained 252.4k views, with 737 people rushing to the comments section to share their thoughts.
One wrote: 'This happened to me too" but claims to have found a workaround:
'I managed to get it cheap by googling Shein voucher codes. My order was £109 down to £77.'
A second added that there are times of day when prices seem to go down not up: 'Yes, and if you order between 12am-3am the prices drop like crazy.
"My basket was £220 and I bought it for £107 at 2am the other day.'
A third commented: 'Yes! It was pi**ing me off, so I just left my basket.'
Whilst a fourth warned: 'Also, when refunding, be careful.
'If you do a big order and refund most of it, the discount allowance you received will be removed, and you will end up paying full price for the items you keep. So bad! Sneaky!
'I questioned it and was told it's their policy.'
Whilst another added: 'Yeah, prices go higher - getting greedy and sly, if you ask me.'
Shein have been approached for comment.
What is Shein and is it legit?
Shein is an online-only fast-fashion retailer, based out of China, that has become a number one shopping destination for many around the world.
The company was valued at $66billion in 2023, dwarfing that of popular high street brands Zara and H&M.
The fashion retailer was founded in late 2008, by entrepreneur and marketing specialist Xu Yangtian, also known as Chris Xu.
Shein is a legitimate selling website and is not a phishing scam.
But you may receive a disappointing order or run into shipping issues if you order from the site, according to reviews.
There have been swathes of quality complaints, which makes sense when looking at the price tag.
