Woman finds Jacquemus bag at T.J. Maxx for $29.99. Then a New York shopper responds: ‘I found a Loewe puzzle bag in the clearance bin’

By Rachel Thomas May 30th, 2026, 12:00 pm

man shares shopping scams (l) TJ Maxx storefront (r)

An influencer said she found a Jacquemus bag at T.J. Maxx for around $30. Then a fact-checker called cap on her.

Is the Jacquemus bag real?

When Rae purchased the supposed Jacquemus bag, she was excited about it. However, Marc ended up revealing a few points that made it appear the bag was fake.

“Did she really find a Jacquemus bag at T.J. Maxx for $29.99? Absolutely not,” the debunker claimed.

Marc suggested that someone purchased the bag on DHgate, a popular site for dupe luxury goods, and then switched it out in store.

Marc further explained his point, saying, “Some girly went into TJ Maxx days prior and bought an Antik Kraft brand bag for $29.99, went home, picked up her fake Jacquemus bag, put the tags back on, took the receipt used to purchase this bag, and returned the fauxmus bag.”

Commenters also pointed out that the “Jacquemus” symbol on the bag was crooked and did not appear to be authentic.

In a comment to the Mary Sue, Marc stated, “The tag swap tactic is actually less common with authentic luxury because it’s harder to return as they typically put extra security tag measures to prevent swapping out product. Most return frauds are actually preowned used items.”

He added, “When it comes to a discount retail store, by nature they should all be selling authentic goods, but if a price seems too good to be true like this instance, it would be best to get on the Internet and simply start comparing images of genuine versions from a brand or reputable retailer website with what was found in store.”

Does T.J. Maxx have any real Jacquemus products?

While T.J Maxx does appear to sell Jacquemus products, they are not usually sold for $30 like what Rae found.

Antik Kraft products, however, are. Antik Kraft is a vegan leather purse crafter with bohemian-style designs. Purses from the brand are in retail stores such as T.J. Maxx and Nordstrom Rack, as well as online platforms such as Amazon. Purses from the brand can cost anywhere from $54.99 to $130, with T.J. Maxx offering shoppers discounts.

In contrast, Jacquemus purses typically cost between $870 and $4,290. A large Jacquemus Bambino, which the dupe is styled similarly to, costs $1,150.

What did she do with the bag?

In a later video, Rae said she might have to return the product, but she was still undecided. She realized the Jacquemus was most likely fake, as it had a crooked symbol on the front and came with an Antik Kraft tag, just as Marc pointed out.

A commenter on her video explained, “Unfortunately, customers have been switching tags and returning items. They probably had that fake bag and home, bought a bag from TJMax, put that TJ tag on the Jacquemus and returned it to the store. It’s a know[n] issue!”

Previously, The Mary Sue covered a situation where a customer walked into T.J. Maxx, only to find “landfill-core” products available. Multiple commenters on TikToker Alyssa Barber’s (@newlifestyleabb) video claimed the store has deteriorated in quality and become a space for overconsumption, which, alongside the product-switching, poses a real issue for customers.

Multiple viewers on Rae’s video said product switching is a known issue. But they said the $30 Jacquemus dupe was good enough to consider keeping.

“As an owner of these authentic bags, the interior doesn’t look real unfortunately but who cares! For that price,” one viewer said.

Rae replied, adding that the information was “Good to know!”