Caveat Emptor
Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 9:52 am
Just a warning really about online shopping because of an experience I have just had.
I bought a gold locket from an online auction site and paid £40 for it which is slightly cheaper than buying it from a jewellery shop. Anyway, it arrived yesterday and the chain was gossamer-thin and knotted and impossible to unknot without breaking. The heart was also of a poor standard compared with the one my husband bought for me years ago; che a p-feel ing (edit: no idea why those words were asterisked out!!)and lighter than I would expect.
The seller had for reasons of, I assumed, auction site charges, charged me 99 pence for the necklace but £39 for postage. But once I realised I wanted a refund I started to panic that I would only get 99 pence back. Argh. I couldn't believe how stupid I had been.
To cut a rather long story short, the seller instantly agreed to a full refund and told me to not bother sending the item back but to keep it. I then received a further message saying that, upon reflection, he had decided to remove the other identical items he was selling on the same site.
Now I have been extremely lucky. I have a full refund and he seems to have been reasonable. His actions do suggest to me that he knows that the necklaces are of a poor standard though, I think. He didn't quibble, he removed the other items and didn't send me his address so I can return the item. Highly suspicious?
I guess there are lots of sharks out there; especially on the build up to Christmas.
I bought a gold locket from an online auction site and paid £40 for it which is slightly cheaper than buying it from a jewellery shop. Anyway, it arrived yesterday and the chain was gossamer-thin and knotted and impossible to unknot without breaking. The heart was also of a poor standard compared with the one my husband bought for me years ago; che a p-feel ing (edit: no idea why those words were asterisked out!!)and lighter than I would expect.
The seller had for reasons of, I assumed, auction site charges, charged me 99 pence for the necklace but £39 for postage. But once I realised I wanted a refund I started to panic that I would only get 99 pence back. Argh. I couldn't believe how stupid I had been.
To cut a rather long story short, the seller instantly agreed to a full refund and told me to not bother sending the item back but to keep it. I then received a further message saying that, upon reflection, he had decided to remove the other identical items he was selling on the same site.
Now I have been extremely lucky. I have a full refund and he seems to have been reasonable. His actions do suggest to me that he knows that the necklaces are of a poor standard though, I think. He didn't quibble, he removed the other items and didn't send me his address so I can return the item. Highly suspicious?
I guess there are lots of sharks out there; especially on the build up to Christmas.