Is a high-end Seattle store called "Matthew's Haberdashery" moving to Charlotte, North Carolina and selling Seattle-made men's clothes at a discount in a moving sale? No, that's not true: the store never existed, and the website and Facebook page appeared just 39 days before the moving sale was underway. Lead Stories easily found the exact photos from the Matthew's website online at discount online markets like ebay and Light in the Box.
The fake history of the store appeared on a web page and a November 23, 2025 Facebook post (web page archived here) under the title "Leaving Seattle wasn't the plan." It opened:
But between rising rent, growing crime, and a retail climate that's turned its back on small makers like me... I had no choice. I'm relocating to Raleigh, North Carolina -- where I can keep doing things the right way.
Here's what the Facebook post looked like at the time this was discovered:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of homepage at www.matthew-haberdashery.com)
The Matthew's Haberdashery website, promising Seattle-made clothes in an upscale shop, does not provide a Seattle phone number or street address:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of homepage at www.matthew-haberdashery.com)
The Facebook page was just created in October, 2025 and according to the page transparency information, is not managed from Seattle. It is managed from Denmark or The Netherlands:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of report at facebook.com/profile.php?id=61582455452325&sk=about_profile_transparency.)
39-Day-Old Web Address
Though the website is styled to look like an established shop, the domain name had only been registered since October 16, 2025, according to the registry of web domains (archived here):
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of homepage at www.matthew-haberdashery.com.)
No Business License In Seattle:
Lead Stories searched the City of Seattle Business License/Tax Certificate database, (archived here) finding no "Matthew's Haberdashery."
Google Maps Shows No Such Store:
Lead Stories searched Google for an address for the store. No such listing was found, though the search did include a malwaretips.com scam report:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of search results at Google.com)
Merchandise Photos Match Cheap Online Goods
Using reverse image search, Lead Stories found the exact same photos from the Matthew's merchandise pages were likely taken from the pages of Ebay retailers and the "Light in the Box" online store, which specializes in low-cost clothing:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshots www.matthew-haberdashery.com, https://www.lightinthebox.com/en/p/men-s-shirt and ebay.com, arranged in a graphic for comparison.)
