Vinted and eBay have removed listings for goods suspected of being looted after shops were ransacked in several French cities, while stepping up monitoring of resale activity. The listings included Sephora cosmetics, Dior perfume, Pokémon cards and a trophy belonging to French esports club Team Vitality. The episode has put renewed focus on how online marketplaces identify and handle potentially stolen goods.
Cosmetics Listed Well Below Retail Prices
Screenshots circulating on social media showed sellers offering cosmetics in bulk at prices far below normal retail levels. One Vinted listing offered six Sephora lip glosses for €15, while another listed six cleansing creams for €12. Sephora’s French private-label lip glosses sell for about €13 each, putting the retail value of six at roughly €78.
Other listings included a Dior perfume priced at €250 and large quantities of cosmetics still in their original packaging. Their appearance after stores were looted, combined with the quantities and pricing, raised questions about whether they were connected to stolen inventory. The listings and online screenshots alone, however, do not establish the origin of every item.
Pokémon Cards and Team Vitality Trophy Appear Online
A fire at Le Coin des Barons, a trading-card shop in Lille in northern France, left hundreds of cards scattered in the street. Some Pokémon cards reportedly stolen from the store later appeared on Vinted, with several still carrying their original price tags.
A trophy said to belong to Team Vitality was also listed on eBay for €1,250. The listing showed a silver StarLadder Counter-Strike trophy in front of a graffiti-covered wall and was titled “Rare stolen Vitality CS2 trophy.” Team Vitality confirmed that its Paris premises were ransacked on Saturday. Trophies and computer equipment were stolen, while the display windows were smashed.
Platforms Say They Are Working With Authorities
Vinted said it acted immediately to identify and remove listings linked to the unrest. A company spokesperson said the platform strictly prohibits the sale or solicitation of stolen goods and applies a zero-tolerance policy to such activity. Vinted also said it had increased monitoring, that offending accounts could be permanently banned, and that it was working with law-enforcement agencies and French authorities to identify suspicious sellers.
eBay likewise said its rules prohibit the sale of stolen goods. The company uses technology to identify suspicious activity and works with police when criminal conduct is suspected. If law enforcement confirms that an item is stolen, eBay said it will remove the listing immediately and take action against the seller’s account.
Retailers Continue to Assess Losses
Weekend demonstrations and violent clashes affected Paris, Marseille, Lyon and other French cities. French authorities said as of Sunday that more than 2,400 people had been arrested and nearly 1,000 police officers injured. Carrefour said 50 of its stores had been damaged, including 20 that were looted. Sephora closed its French stores on Saturday evening and kept them closed on Sunday.
For the marketplaces, the response involves removing listings, managing seller accounts and sharing leads with police. Vinted and eBay have so far detailed their monitoring and cooperation measures, but which specific items have been officially confirmed as stolen remains subject to the ongoing investigations.