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Kickmate.in EXPOSED – Real or Fake Store? Investigation

By Thomas Orsolya7 min read

Kickmate.in prices stylish clothes, home gadgets and gifts at a fraction of their usual cost, the kind of deal that stops your thumb mid-scroll.

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On screen, the photos look fantastic. In the mail, it’s often a different story, and asking for your money back can take far more effort than ordering did.

Kickmate.in scam

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Overview

A dropshipping storefront, not a brand

Kickmate.in isn’t a manufacturer. It lists items from low-cost suppliers and has them shipped from warehouses in China, the same model thousands of similar shops use.

The store never lays a hand on the goods. It sets prices, runs ads and collects payments, leaving a supplier you’ll never hear from to pack and post your order.

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Kickmate.in is one of a set. Its scam network keeps near-identical stores running on shared templates, product photos and return policies, and simply reopens them under new names.

Very low quality, far from what the ads show

Nothing about the items matches the ads. They’re very low quality, and the pictures are usually borrowed from other sellers or brands, so they show a product you’ll never get.

Sending it back can cost more than you paid

The refund promise can sound comforting, but here’s what the fine print means for you:

  • Returns head abroad. You’ll usually have to ship items back to China and cover the postage yourself.
  • The math doesn’t work. Send a $25 item abroad and the postage alone can top what the item cost.
  • Partial refunds replace full ones. Request a return and you’ll usually get an offer of 15% to 30% back if you keep the item, not your full money back.
  • Email only, and slow. That’s usually the support setup, and you can wait days for each response.

Kickmate.in is a high-risk store, plain and simple. Do not buy from it, since you’ll likely pay well beyond the item’s worth and can’t practically send it back.

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What We Found on Kickmate.in

A few details about Kickmate.in stand out:

  • Kickmate.in was registered on October 14, 2026, only 2 days ago.
  • The owner of Kickmate.in is hidden behind a privacy service at GoDaddy, so there is no accountable company behind it.
  • The MalwareTips URL scanner gives Kickmate.in a Safety Score of 38/100, rated High Risk (full report).

What Happens When You Order from Kickmate.in

The same pattern repeats in most orders. Know it up front, and you can avoid losing the money and weeks to back-and-forth emails.

Step 1: You see an ad with an unbelievably low price

The story usually opens on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok. A short video or neat photo puts the product on display at a steep discount, often with a “limited time” tag.

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The marketing material is often borrowed: the same product video appears in ads for dozens of other shops, all buying from the same suppliers.

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Step 2: A storefront dressed up to look established

Nothing about Kickmate.in looks thrown together. Categories, star ratings and a friendly About Us page suggest an established shop, when often it’s simply a template with a supplier list attached.

The personal touch is usually borrowed too. That About Us story of a small family business or a passionate founder shows up, in the same words, on many unrelated shops.

Step 3: The package is slow to show up

Days can pass with tracking stuck on the same update. Your parcel is coming from China, and the promised 5 to 7 days can stretch into three or four weeks.

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Rather than one delivery, some orders come as a few small packages, each tracked on its own. One that never arrives can leave you struggling to prove what’s missing.

Step 4: The product falls short of the pictures

Eventually the package comes. Inside is an item that’s smaller, thinner or simpler than advertised, much like ones you could find elsewhere for pocket change.

The biggest share of complaints is about clothes. You get cheap-feeling fabric, stitching that pulls loose, and sizes cut to a chart that doesn’t match the site’s.

Step 5: Sending it back isn’t worth the postage

A refund request starts with a demand for photos. Next comes an instruction to send the item to China, and the postage by itself can eat up the refund.

Keeping the item for 15% to 30% back is the usual offer. It’s presented as fair, but you’re still paying most of the price for something you didn’t want.

Many buyers decide it isn’t worth the fight anymore, and that reaction is exactly what the policy is designed around.

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Red Flags at Kickmate.in

On the surface, Kickmate.in looks like a great deal. These signs tell a different story, and each one can be checked in a minute before you pay.

Prices too low for what’s pictured

Finding a leather bag at $29 or a smartwatch at $19 doesn’t mean you got lucky. It means the version shipped to you is much cheaper than the one pictured.

The crossed-out “original” price makes the deal look even sweeter. That higher number is rarely real. It’s there so an ordinary price passes for a discount.

Photos that aren’t exclusive to this store

Run a reverse image search and you’ll often see the same pictures on other stores, on marketplaces or on a brand’s own website.

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A photo from a brand’s website won’t bring you that brand’s product. A photo from a marketplace often means the same item sells there for less.

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Nothing you can verify about the company

You’ll rarely find a registered business name, tax number or local address on these stores. That leaves you guessing who’s responsible when an order goes sideways.

Customer service with no phone or chat

The help page usually lists an email address or a contact form, but no phone number or live chat. Problems that need speed can end up dragging on for weeks.

Slow replies have a second cost: they eat into your time to open a dispute with your bank or PayPal. Keep an eye on the deadlines while you wait.

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Artificial urgency and fake scarcity

Real stock doesn’t reset itself or sit at “only 2 left” on every single product. These timers and badges do, because their job is to push you into buying fast.

Leave and come back later. A “limited” sale that’s still running on your return was never limited at all.

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Surprise extras at checkout

Your basket can already include shipping protection, priority handling or a second item, ticked without you choosing them. Check each line of the total before paying.

Real cover and quicker shipping are rarely what you get from these add-ons. You get a larger bill, on an order whose value may already sit far below its price.

A different company name appears at checkout

Stop when checkout jumps to a page with another name entirely. It isn’t the store anymore, and your card details would go to a company you’ve never heard of.

Inside a scam network of lookalike online stores

You’ll find the same About Us story, policies and product photos on dozens of other shops. Close one, and another pops up under a fresh name selling that catalog.

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How to Check an Online Store Before You Buy

A few minutes of checking can tell you whether an online shop is worth your money. Start with these questions before you pay:

  • Who is selling to you? Look for a company name, a registration or tax number and an address. A shop that names nobody is hard to hold to a promise.
  • Where do returns go? Find the return address in the refund policy. If it’s overseas or missing, assume a return will cost more than it’s worth.
  • How old is the website? Paste the address into the MalwareTips Website Scanner. It shows the domain’s age and any known warning signs in seconds.
  • Are the photos original? Run a reverse image search on a product photo. If the same picture appears on many sites, the item is a generic product.
  • What do buyers say elsewhere? Search the store on Trustpilot and in search results, not just the reviews on the shop itself.
  • Is the ad real footage? Many shop ads now use AI-generated videos and photos. If the product only ever appears in slick renders, expect something plainer.
  • Does the price make sense? Compare it with the same item on a major marketplace. A huge markdown on an unknown shop is a reason to slow down.
  • Can you reach a person? A phone number or live chat is a good sign. An email address alone means problems will take a long time to solve.

If several answers come back wrong, close the tab. There’s almost always a seller with a clearer return policy and a company you can actually look up.

For extra protection while you browse, Malwarebytes Browser Guard warns you about many known scam and phishing sites before they load.

Where to Buy Instead

Liked a product on Kickmate.in? Try one of these safer options instead:

  • Run a search on a major marketplace. It often lists the same thing much cheaper, and buyer protection and real reviews come with it.
  • Choose a seller with a local return address. Cheap postage turns a return policy into one you’ll really use.
  • Look past the ad to buyer photos. Real customers photograph what actually arrives, not what the ad promised.
  • See where it ships from. Marketplaces list the seller’s location, so take a look. Stock from a local warehouse arrives faster, and sending it back is actually doable.
  • Stick to safer payment. Paying by credit card or PayPal means you can open a dispute if you have to.

You might spend a little extra. That buys you the product you actually ordered and a seller that keeps its refund promises.

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What to Do If You Already Ordered from Kickmate.in

Ordering from a shop like this doesn’t mean the money is gone. Acting early gives you the best chance of fixing the order or getting a refund.

  1. Save everything. Keep the order confirmation, the tracking number, every email from the store and screenshots of the product page as it looked when you bought.
  2. Photograph what arrives. Take clear photos of the item, the label and the packaging, especially anything that doesn’t match the listing.
  3. Ask the store in writing. Email support, describe the problem plainly and say what you want: a full refund or a replacement. Give them a short deadline.
  4. Don’t pay for an overseas return yet. If the store asks you to ship the item to China, check with your card issuer or PayPal first.
  5. Don’t accept a token refund. Offers of 15% to 30% back to keep the item are common. If the item isn’t as described, a dispute may get you more.
  6. Open a dispute if the store stalls. Use “item not received” or “not as described” with your card issuer or PayPal, and attach your evidence.
  7. Watch the deadlines. Card disputes often allow around 120 days, and PayPal generally accepts claims within 180 days of payment. Don’t let weeks of unanswered emails use them up.
  8. Ignore “customs fee” texts. Fake delivery messages asking you to pay a fee or update your address often follow online orders. Don’t pay or click.
  9. Leave an honest review. A short review on an independent site, with photos, helps the next shopper decide.
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If you paid by bank transfer, contact your bank right away and ask whether the payment can be recalled. The sooner you call, the better the odds.

If the store won’t cooperate, file a complaint at econsumer.gov, which handles cross-border shopping complaints, or at ReportFraud.ftc.gov in the US.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Kickmate.in a scam?

Kickmate.in is part of a scam network and is a high-risk store. Orders may ship, but expect very low-quality items and returns that cost too much. Do not buy.

Where does Kickmate.in ship from?

Most items come directly from suppliers based in China. Delivery can take several weeks because of that, and the tracking often updates at a crawl.

Why does the product look so different from the photos?

The images usually come from other sellers or brands, not from the item in your order. That item is a cheaper version, made so the price can stay low.

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Can I return an item to Kickmate.in?

Expect to pay for shipping to China yourself, since that’s usually the only option. On low-cost items, the return postage can exceed the refund you’d receive.

Before the item goes anywhere, ask your card issuer or PayPal if a “not as described” dispute would cover you instead of a return.

My order never arrived or isn’t as described. What now?

Write to the store first. Should it refuse or keep stalling, your card issuer or PayPal is the next stop: open a dispute and include item photos plus listing screenshots.

Are the reviews on Kickmate.in real?

Handle them with caution. Any shop can load its own pages with glowing ratings without much trouble. Buyer photos and comments on independent sites are worth far more.

The Bottom Line

Kickmate.in’s very low-quality items look nothing like the ads. It’s a high-risk store in a scam network of lookalike shops, and returns there rarely make sense.

Do not buy from Kickmate.in. If you still want that item, shopping for it on a marketplace with buyer protection is the safer route.

Already ordered? Keep your order email, product screenshots and photos of what arrives. That’s the evidence a card or PayPal dispute needs if the store won’t fix it.

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Written by

Thomas Orsolya

Thomas is an expert at uncovering scams and providing in-depth reporting on cyber threats and online fraud. As an editor, he is dedicated to keeping readers informed on the latest developments in cybersecurity and tech.

44,647 articlesWriting since 2023
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