Two things break my heart in this job, and they are related but not the same.
The first is when I see a comment on one of our own posts or ads, from a woman I have never sold to, warning other women not to trust us. Not because of anything we did, but because she was burned by some other online store before she ever found us, and now every boutique ad looks like a trap. I understand that fear completely. It still stings, because we have spent ten years being the opposite of the thing that hurt her.
The second is when scammers steal our photos and videos to run their own fake stores. Women think they are ordering from us, and weeks later a cheap knockoff shows up from overseas, or nothing shows up at all. Then they come to us heartbroken, certain we let them down, when we never had their order in the first place. I have spent more hours than I can count reporting impostor pages, and I am still chasing a few of them down right now.
I am Whitney, co-owner and Director of Sourcing at Avery Mae Boutique. My husband and I have run this size-inclusive women's boutique for ten years and shipped more than two million orders. Both of those heartbreaks come from the same problem: it has gotten genuinely hard to tell a real online store from a fake one. So I want to hand you what I have learned from the inside, so you never have to feel that fear or get burned again. None of this is complicated, and once you know the signs you will spot them everywhere.
First, why you can trust this advice
It is fair to ask why you should listen to me. So here is how we prove we are real, and it doubles as your checklist for anyone else. We have honest customer reviews spread across platforms we do not control, including Google, Trustpilot, and the app stores. We have been in business since 2016 and were named to the Inc. 5,000 list of fastest-growing privately owned U.S. companies. We are Meta Verified on Facebook, and our Google Business Profile shows our real Freeland, Michigan address alongside hundreds of reviews. We show our real faces on daily live sales, we have a real team you can meet by name, and a real warehouse in Freeland, Michigan. A scam cannot fake most of that, which is exactly why it matters.
The number one rule: never buy straight from the ad
This is the single most important habit, so I am putting it first. An ad is not a store. Before you ever click "shop now," stop and go find the actual business page behind the ad. Look at it like a detective. A real business has years of history, a genuine following, and real people talking in the comments. An impostor page was often created a few weeks ago, has almost no history, and may have comments turned off so no one can warn you. If you cannot find a real, established page behind the ad, that alone is your answer.
Look for verification you cannot fake
Check whether the business is Meta Verified. That blue badge on Facebook or Instagram requires a real, confirmed business behind it. Then search the store on Google and look for an established business profile, with a real address, a phone number, and a history of reviews. A real company is easy to find and consistent everywhere you look. A fake one has no verified badge, no real address, and little trace beyond the ad it paid to put in front of you.
Follow the reviews off their own website
Anyone can post glowing testimonials on their own site. What is much harder to fake is a trail of honest reviews in places the business does not control. Open a new tab and search the business name plus the word "reviews." Look for real customers on Google, Trustpilot, the app stores, and neighborhood apps, and read what they say when the company is not curating it. A legitimate store has years of mixed, human feedback. A fake one has a brand-new profile, a wall of identical five-star blurbs, or nothing at all.
Look for a real, living community
This one is close to my heart. Real businesses have real people around them. We sell nearly every day on live video, with our own team trying on the clothes and answering questions in real time, and we have a private community of women who show up, share photos of themselves in what they bought, and cheer each other on. That kind of active, years-deep community cannot be manufactured overnight. When you are checking out a store, look for signs of a genuine, ongoing relationship with real customers, not just a storefront that appeared last month.
Watch the product and shipping tells
A few things give a knockoff operation away almost every time. Prices that seem too good to be true usually are. Be wary of model photos that look stolen or mismatched, product images that do not quite match the item description, and shipping timelines that quietly stretch into three or four weeks because the item is really coming from overseas. If the deal feels off, trust that instinct. It is usually right.
Read the return policy before you pay, not after
A real business tells you plainly how returns and exchanges work before you buy. Ours is spelled out on our return policy and help center pages, in plain language, because we want you to feel safe ordering. A scam either hides its return policy, makes it impossible to actually use, or has none at all. If you cannot find a clear return policy, keep your card in your wallet.
The real test: how a business handles a problem
Here is the difference that matters most, and it is the one you only see when something goes wrong. A legitimate business makes it right. When a package is damaged in transit, or a supplier sends us a faulty item, we fix it, even when it means we lose money on that sale. We do that because we are not chasing one order, we are hoping to earn your loyalty for the next ten years. A scam has no next order to protect. So when there is a problem, it simply goes quiet and disappears. If you want to know whether a store is real, look at how it treats people on their worst day.
What to do if you think you have been scammed or impersonated
If it has already happened, you are not helpless. A few practical steps:
- Contact your bank or card company. Report the charge and ask about a dispute or chargeback. This is often how people get their money back.
- Report the page or ad. On Facebook and Instagram you can report an ad or page for impersonation or a scam. It takes persistence, but reports do add up.
- Save your evidence. Screenshot the ad, the order confirmation, and any messages, in case you need them for a dispute.
- Go straight to the real business. If an impostor used a real brand's photos, that brand is a victim too, and can often help confirm what is real. We answer these messages all the time.
The bottom line
I will be honest with you: watching a stranger warn other women away from us, because someone else burned her long before she found us, still stings. We have spent ten years being the exact opposite. But I would genuinely rather you take this checklist, shop somewhere else entirely, and stay safe, than get burned once and stop trusting small businesses altogether. There are so many of us doing this the right way. These are simply the tools to tell us apart from the fakes.
If you would like to see what a real one looks like, come shop with us live, read our customer reviews, or download our app and watch us try the clothes on real bodies before you buy. No stolen photos, no vanishing act. Just real women, real clothes, and a team that stands behind every order.
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell if an online clothing store is legit?
Start by leaving the ad and finding the store's real business page and its history. Confirm it is Meta Verified, search its name on Google to see whether it has an established business profile with a real address and a history of reviews, and read those reviews on sites the store does not control. Then find a clear return policy before you buy. A real store has years of history, real reviews, and a plain return policy. A fake one is new, hides its policies, and disappears when there is a problem.
Are cheap clothing ads on Facebook and Instagram scams?
Not all of them, but a low price paired with a brand-new page, no verification, stolen-looking photos, and shipping that takes several weeks from overseas is a common pattern for knockoff sellers. Always check the business behind the ad before ordering rather than buying from the ad itself.
What should I do if I already ordered from a scam store?
Contact your bank or card company to dispute the charge, report the page or ad to the platform for impersonation or fraud, and save screenshots of everything. If the scammer used a real brand's images, reach out to that brand directly, since they are often able to help.
How do I know Avery Mae Boutique is a real business?
We have operated since 2016, shipped more than two million orders, and were named to the Inc. 5000. We are Meta Verified, have an established Google Business Profile with hundreds of reviews, sell live on video nearly every day with our own team, ship from our warehouse in Freeland, Michigan, and publish our customer reviews, return policy, and team right on our site. You can also read our story.
