What in heaven’s name is wrong with me? I don’t seem to have good judgement at all. I succumb to the siren’s song of ads from unknown retailers that I see on Facebook all the time. But maybe, just maybe, I’ve finally learned my lesson.
Cheap Sandals That Didn’t Fit and Smelled Bad
In August, I saw a pair of comfortable and cute looking sandals in an ad on Facebook. I kept checking the ad and watching till the percent off got down to what I thought was a reasonable price. Then I bought them. When they arrived, I couldn’t believe how cheaply they were made. In fact, they smelled so strongly of chemicals that I couldn’t be in the same room with them. Also, they didn’t fit. After a couple of weeks, I threw them out. Ugh.
Cheap Sparkly Crystal Bracelets
Around the holidays, I saw an ad for a bracelet made from aurora borealis crystals of different shapes. It looked very cute, and you know I am a sucker for anything that sparkles. The ad made it seem like the bracelets were handmade by a woman in upstate New York. I love handcrafted things. Plus it was on sale. At about 2am one night when my resistance was especially low, I succumbed and bought it.
The bracelet arrived about three weeks later, not from upstate New York but from China. Although it is nice and sparkly and I do wear it, it’s a cheap bracelet. In fact, one of the links broke when I tried to take it off, but fortunately I was able to repair it.
Oddly, another bracelet arrived unexpectedly last week from China. I hadn’t ordered another one. I am looking to see if I was charged twice for it. I truly hope, not because I know I will have no recourse.
Cashmere That’s Not Cashmere
After the holidays, I saw an ad on Facebook for 100% Pure Cashmere Sweaters. Cashmere and Merino wool are the only wool yarns I can wear because they don’t irritate my skin. The ad rhapsodized about the Mongolian cashmere, and the styling of the sweater was very attractive.
Two of my beloved cashmere sweaters that I bought years ago at Marshall’s and TJ Maxx have holes and/or stains because I wore them so much. Although I still wear them around the house, I can’t wear them out anyplace, so I’ve been looking to replace them. I bought two new cashmere sweaters recently on sale at Lord & Taylor and from Land’s End. Both were high quality cashmere, and I got them each for about $35.
So I foolishly thought the $30ish price for the cashmere sweater on this unknown website called Janeswear.com was legitimate. In fact, I bought a second cashmere sweater in a funnel neck color block style so that I would qualify for free shipping.
Last Saturday, I received a small package from China in a plastic shipping bag. When I opened it, the off white and sage funnel neck, color block sweater was nicely folded in a cellophane clear bag inside.
The sweater appeared to be well made with traditional styling. Though it looks similar, it is not the same as the sweater I saw on the website. I would not have ordered this style with ribbed cuffs on the sleeves and bottom. Most importantly, this sweater is not cashmere. Although it had a tag attached to the neck, the tag was written in Chinese except for the words “High Quality”. I have no idea what it is made from. It feels like it may be a cotton/poly blend. There are no tags inside the sweater that identifies the fabric or gives washing instructions. I ordered a size medium, but when I tried it on it was snug. I’m not crazy about the way it looks on me, but at least it’s warm. Like the other products above that came from Chinese companies, there is no invoice or receipt and no means of contacting the company to return it.
The pink cashmere sweater that originally caught my eye and that I ordered was not in the bag, and I have no idea where it is.
Today, I decided to go to the Janeswear website, Janeswear.com, to look at the sweaters that I ordered and compare the color block sweater I got with the photo online, and also to see if there is any way for me to return the sweater. I got an error message from Google. The website no longer exists.
Sadly, I didn’t pay with my American Express card. I paid with PayPal because I had some nagging suspicions about the company. Though my suspicions were justified, I don’t have the recourse that I would have had if I had used my Amex card. Silly me. This was a relatively expensive lesson since I bought two sweaters. But as I sit here wearing my snugger than I would like, decidedly faux cashmere sweater from China, I know I will never again order from an unknown retailer that I see advertised on Facebook. And this experience also makes me dislike Facebook even more because I know they don’t care. So it’s not worth complaining to Facebook about the advertiser.
Stealing Intellectual and Creative Property
Oh one more thing, there is another fashion website that always catches my eye on Facebook with really cute sweaters, coats and blouses called Noracora.com. Thank goodness, something has prevented me from ordering from them. And when I was on a Facebook page from a legitimate crafter from Lithuania, NB Gloves and Mittens, who made the lovely hand knitted and embroidered fingerless gloves that Jeff bought for me last winter on Etsy (reviewed here), I noticed that someone had commented on her page that she had seen some photos that were stolen from NB Gloves and Mittens posted on a website that claimed to sell fingerless gloves that looked just like hers for at least 75% less. I was shocked, so I clicked on the link that the woman had posted to warn the crafter about the imposter gloves, and sure enough the website was Noracora.com. Here’s a link to the stolen photos. I guess they just steal photos of items they like from elsewhere, make a cheap knockoff version and advertise them with the original stolen photo. What complete creeps!
In fact, I recently looked at the Noracora.com website and I discovered that they have a page called Intellectual Property Claims with instructions for filing a claim against them for copyright infringement. There appears to be a Chinese address at the bottom of the page.
Final Thoughts
For decades, I have been interested in Chinese culture, Chinese history, Chinese films, Chinese artistry, Chinese ingenuity, and Chinese food, lol. But I am so disheartened that Chinese businesses steal intellectual property from the United States and also from other countries and individuals from around the world.
I will be much more careful in the future. And I am so angry that I will attempt to avoid purchasing Chinese goods including American branded products that are manufactured in China. I hope that you have not fallen prey to unscrupulous retailers on the internet like I have.
Right now I am waiting on an order for a special dog toothbrush and toothpaste for Ruby. I ordered it a month ago and can get no answer on why I have not received it! Just realized what I thought was an American site was being full filled by China.
That’s part of the trouble. The websites look like American businesses, and then it turns out they’re not. Ugh. I hope you get your order soon, Sandy. I discovered this morning that the website for the parent company of Janeswear also has disappeared from the internet. I can’t believe I am losing $65. I truly hope you get what you ordered!
Thank you for the warning, I clicked on the link and went browsing around and saw a lot of nice stuff!
Holly, I agree, they have clothing and accessories that look adorable, but they are not reliable. This morning I tried to go to the parent company of Janeswear to see if I could figure out how to get in touch with the company, but the website for the parent company is gone too. Grrrrrrr!
LOL sorry but I have been there before and called myself every kind of name for ordering from so and so! Today I usually buy from Amazon at least there you can return this strange stuff.
Thanks, Gloria! I’m glad you understand. I have learned my lesson. You’re right about buying on Amazon because it can almost always be returned. I haven’t bought any clothes on Amazon, other than a nightgown that I ended up returning. Because the Amazon website isn’t so attractive, I haven’t really thought about buying fashion. I may have to change my perception on that!
I’ve had issues like this a few times. So sorry to hear about yours. Call PayPAl on the phone because they may be able to refund you when your cc cannot.
Courtney recently posted…Milk Makeup Skincare and Makeup Review
There are so many unscrupulous retailers peddling their mediocre goods online. One just has to be so careful– I think that it makes sense to restrict online shopping to trusted retailers with a good return policy (just in case what you buy doesn’t fit or is poor quality).
Lola Seicento recently posted…TATCHA Winter-Skin Essentials Gift with $100.00 Purchase
I have won prizes from websites and I received a package I won and it was sent from China directly to me. The stuff looked bad (makeup,etc) I just threw it away. If I knew the items were from china I wouldn’t have entered