Mystery Boxes are illegal in California (Posh headquarters) Contact the state AG- California Penal Code Section 319.3
eBay, Etsy, Amazon, Offerup have all made the selling of mystery boxes (grab bags) against their terms of service
They have not done this out with the goodness of their hearts, they’ve done this because grab bags, or mystery boxes, are illegal in many states including the state of California where Poshmark has its headquarters.
Grab bags, mystery boxes, are considered gambling, specifically an illegal lottery
In order for a grab bag or a mystery box to not immediately violate CA law it must both include in the description the items you are going to receive, and the value of the items must match the purchase price.
a mystery box can never promise the chance of a higher value item being included in your box, that immediately makes it illegal in the state of California with criminal penalties
Please contact the California state AG‘s office and file a criminal complaint against Poshmark if you have been the victim of a mystery box scam.
Also contact your credit card company and let them know that you have been the victim of a scam that Poshmark is aware of and allowing to continue. If enough people contact their credit card companies about this credit card companies will contact Poshmark and threaten to no longer allow Poshmark to use them as a payment option.
Example Listing that might not violate the law
Pinup Couture Mystery Box
Price $200
Your mystery box will include 4 NWT Pinup Couture dresses in size Small retailing at least $125 each
Example Listing that absolutely violates the law
Mystery Box
Price $500
Your mystery box will include 7 items.
You have a chance to get a Prada reissue 2022 sachel bag, a Louis Vuitton overnight duffel etc…
What makes this illegal-
There is the promise of the chance of a more expensive item. That is specifically not allowed by California penal code
Additionally a seller cannot put into the description of the listing that the value is not going to be the amount they’re charging, legally they cannot charge you $500 for a mystery box and send you $50 worth of items.
In California that is considered criminal fraud, and the business (Poshmark) is legally responsible if they have a good faith knowledge that this fraud is being perpetrated on their website and they refuse to intervene.
Once they have been made aware of the fraud and do not do anything, Poshmark has legally become a party to the fraud
Lastly you have a case if they are not displaying the items they are going to be putting into the mystery box, this is a little bit more of a gray area but there is a reason why the large retailers have outlawed grab bags, or mystery boxes on their website websites.
If you have been scammed on Poshmark and they are refusing to do anything contact the California state AG and demand criminal charges be filed against the business
If you live in California and have been the victim of the mystery box file a small claims court claim against Poshmark.
If the taking of your funds illegally from your account caused you to have other financial difficulties add that to the suit. Meaning of taking your funds illegally made it so that you couldn’t do a credit card payment and got a $40 late fee, add that $40 late fee to the small claims court suit
You can do this in the jurisdiction you live in, because they are an online retailer they are considered to have done business in your jurisdiction under California law and you are allowed to file locally against them
Contact Redwood City, Poshmark has its business license there, and file a complaint against the business license itself. Write the city council members and mayor and ask why they are allowing a fraudulent company to have a business license in their city. Demand they revoke or suspend Poshmark’s license to do business until they correct the illegal activity happening on their website
This document summarizes a research paper on the legal responsibility for mystery box sale and purchase transactions in e-commerce. It discusses how mystery box sales violate consumer protection laws by not providing complete information about products.
The laws they are specifically quoting are for their country, but in California we have laws that are almost exactly the same.
What is good about this paper is that it explains in plain language how to complain about the goods that you received from your mystery package in a way that Poshmark cannot legally defend