After being flooded with TikToks about DHgate, I knew I had to test it. Since the US tariff war intensified with China, there was an explosion of videos from manufacturers there about how luxury goods are made.

DHgate

Last year, there was an exposé on how it costs $57 to make a $2800 Dior bag, and since then, I knew there had to be some truth behind the TikToks. I was already being served videos on my FYP from people using “the yellow app” to buy luxury goods. And it was from women around the world.

For context, DHgate is an app where wholesalers list “luxury” items for sale directly to the public, cutting off the middle man, i.e., the luxury brand itself. But just like any other online marketplace with third-party sellers, you need to know who to buy from.

There will be legit sellers and there will be scammers with varying levels of quality. It helps to read reviews with images from buyers if you are serious about a purchase, as well as their store ratings to an extent, which can be fraudulent hence reviews with photos. I read a comment online where someone claimed a rep from the brand authenticated a bag she got off DHgate, but take it with a pinch of salt.

There was a time not so long ago when TikTok was removing videos that mentioned DHgate so people started referring it to “the yellow app”. However, I’ve now seen that they are no longer blocking the search results. I also saw that DHgate joined TikTok, not sure how authentic it is, but subsequently, there are now so many impersonation accounts.

The seller I chose to buy a leather bag from.

Anyway, fast forward to April, I decided to buy a bag to compare to the one that I had purchased at the Gucci store. My curious mind had to know how it all works so I decided to investigate.

Recharged has also published review from our first Shein shop by myself and Temu from Recharged contributor MJ Khan.

DHGate: TL;DR

  • Purchased leather bag on 13 April for R400
  • Paid R400 for shipping, so R800 total
  • Order shipped on 14 April with tracking number
  • Tracked till it reached the Post Office on 14 May
  • Paid R80 import duties (cash only)
  • Total Cost: R880 for a leather bag
  • Full video on the item on TikTok

How To buy from DHgate:

STEP 1: Download the app from the Play Store or App Store; or visit DHgate.com directly.

STEP 2: Browse for items that you may want to buy. This is where it gets tricky. You cannot search for “Gucci”, “Louis Vuitton”, “Loewe”, etc as you won’t get results. When you do come across a listing, the images obscure the logos, for copyright reasons. You need to rely on other people sharing where they bought from or scout yourself from your search results with pictures (image upload). Pay attention to the description, some will say leather, and some will say PU leather. The bag I bought is leather.

Use my affiliate link for a discount to buy this bag.

STEP 3: Before you add to cart, make sure that listing ships to South Africa, and pay attention to cost. Sometimes shipping is more than the item, you want to avoid those. Some won’t ship to SA but you will easily find another that does. A tip here is to choose a seller that ships from China, and not the US. Once you’re satisfied, add it to your cart and check out. I chose a bag that cost R400, but it was on sale at the time, and it cost R400 to ship.

STEP 4: The seller will message you to confirm that your address is correct. Only if there is a mistake you can change it, but otherwise you don’t have to do anything. You can reply to the message to acknowledge it. I won’t lie, I was amused when I got the messages with “hello friend”. I had never received a message from a seller on an e-commerce platform before.

STEP 5: You will get your tracking number a day or so after purchasing. This email will also show you how to track the item via 17Track. The item I purchased was sent with China Post via the South African Post Office. I loaded the tracking app on my phone and relied on push notifications about its whereabouts. All the reviews prior to ordering said it takes one month.

STEP 6: I collected it at the Post Office on 14 May, and it incurred an R80 import duties fee. My notification from the date it was shipped was 14 April, and as per the reviews, a month later, it was ready for pick up on 14 May. I used the tracking number to check the status. Once it got to SA, I used the Post Office international tracking as well to confirm it was here. While the Post Office did not notify me it was ready, the 17Track app said “At Office. First Notification to recipient”. It also has time stamps.

In total, I paid R880 for the bag, purely for research purposes, to compare to my bag. As I mentioned, you have to scout who to buy from, the more you pay, the more “authentic” it is, if you haven’t found the real deal seller or product. I saw bags listed for R8000! If you read reviews that someone got scammed, that’s one seller. It doesn’t mean everyone is a scammer. Hence why reviews are important, as well as videos on TikTok.

I’ve posted a video about the bag and comparisons, you can watch it here. I don’t know what I plan to do with the bag as I will not be using it.

@nafisaakaborDh Gate purchase from South Africa to compare to my authentic Gucci Marmont.♬ original sound – Nafisa | Tech Things