Shanghai woman buys 2nd-hand designer bag online, finds out it was same one stolen from her home a year ago

A woman in Shanghai bought a limited edition designer bag on a second-hand platform, only to discover it was the same bag that had gone missing from her own home the year before.

According to HK01, the woman, surnamed Li, walked into Hongmei police station in Shanghai's Xuhui district in early April holding the bag she had just received.

She told officers: "This bag I bought online is actually the one that was stolen from me earlier!"

The bag that vanished

In early 2025, Li spent 40,000 Yuan (S$7,588) on a designer bag she had wanted for a long time. She carried it once, then left it in the entryway by her front door.

More than six months later, it struck her that she had not seen the bag in a long time. She searched everywhere at home and could not find it.

Many people had been in and out of her home, including a home organiser and a cleaner. Still, Li never suspected that the bag might have been stolen.

She would occasionally grumble about it to friends, saying the bag had vanished into thin air.

The offhand complaint that cracked the case

One of her friends got curious and searched for the same model online, and a listing came up.

Everything about it matched: the style, the condition and how it looked. It even included a note saying it had been bought in Japan.

Li told HK01: "I did have my suspicions at the time. But I really liked this bag, so buying it back made me feel better."

In late March, she paid just over 20,000 Yuan (S$3,794) for the listing.

When the bag arrived, she became even more convinced it was hers. However, she had no way of proving it as she couldn't find the original receipt.

Some time later, her sister came across a small card. It was the original receipt, with the bag's unique serial number printed on it, and the numbers were an exact match.

Resold five times

The police traced the transaction history on the platform and found the bag had been resold five times, travelling from Shanghai to Guangzhou before ending up back in Shanghai.

Eventually, a familiar name surfaced. It was Zheng, one of Li's close friends.

Four months as housemates

In February 2025, Li was struggling after a breakup. Zheng had just arrived in Shanghai with nowhere to stay, so Li invited Zheng to move in.

Zheng helped her through it, and with Li's support, Zheng found her footing.

Zheng stayed for four months, moving out in June 2025.

Two days later, the bag appeared online.

According to HK01, Zheng had allegedly breached a work contract and was facing more than 100,000 Yuan (S$18,972) in compensation.

Unable to come up with the money, Zheng took the bag on the day he left and sold it for 10,000 Yuan (S$1,897).

"Have a good look around the house"

When Li first realised the bag was missing, Zheng had been among those reassuring her.

Zheng told her: "You're always misplacing things anyway. Have a good look around the house, you'll find it."

Zheng is now facing criminal proceedings brought by Xuhui police on suspicion of theft.