Thursday, December 01, 2005

A little caveat for those who are obsessive internet shoppers [like I am]

Nothing like this has ever happened to me, but I am pretty careful to limit my larger $ purchases to retailers I'm familiar with [or those recommended by friends].

I'm currently out $40 with an online jeweler [an indie who was listed at StyleBakery] because they seem to have gone under between my sending them payment and their shipping the item. Paypal can't pull the $40 back into my account because their account is empty, and may not be able to recover it. Lesson learned. This is also the first time that a bad transaction may not be recoverable. In the past, usually the retailer has made it right eventually or Paypal has come to the rescue in a few rare cases.

[eta: by the way -- I originally ordered something different from them in spring, and THAT never arrived. But back then, the seller responded and refunded the money. So I thought they were cool people and this was just a glitch. Interestingly, both orders made use of a 40% off coupon that they'd e-mailed me. Is that why they never fulfilled the order?]

In addition to reading this amazing story, note the valuable information in the first comment, from some smart guy named Eddy:
"I have a tip: before ever buying anything I always go to google and type "company name+scam".

By doing that, Eddy found tons of complaints about the retailer Mr Hawk dealt with. Thanks for the tip, Eddy!

---

And from Jenn in the comments, we learn about this link:
http://www.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp

Cool. My guess is that you need a US address to file a complaint, though.

posted by amy [Knitty] @ 5:03 PM 9 comments

Comments:
Great tip from Eddy!

It's not just the internet -- it can be any kind of mail-order and even through a reputable company. Several years ago, before anyone ever heard of internet shopping, I ordered personalized calendars through Wireless or Signals -- huge order, many family pictures. The company that they subcontracted to actually do the work "grew too fast" and shut the doors one day in early December -- with many an unfulfilled order. Wireless/Signals actually got a court order or something and retrieved all of their customers' materials, thankfully, or it would have been a heartbreaking lesson. As it was, no one in my family ever got a calendar. ; (
# posted by Blogger Vicki Knitorious : 8:09 PM, December 01, 2005
 
We had a bad experience on ebay last year (paid $250 for an ipod that never appeared). We could not get in contact with the seller and paypal said their account was empty when we contacted them. However, reporting him to the Internet Fraud Complaint Center resulted in legal action against him, and our money mysteriously reappeared and was put back in our paypal account. We were lucky, but one of our friends lost $2000 on ebay. Yikes.
# posted by Blogger Jenn : 9:33 PM, December 01, 2005
 
The silver lining in this story is that Tom used his Amex and was able to cancel the charge. Paypal encourages you to use your bank account which is NOT protected against fraud. While I wouldn't advocate going into credit card debt to buy the Canon 5D, I would reccomenend using a credit card everytime that you use paypal.
# posted by Blogger Discfree.com : 1:23 AM, December 02, 2005
 
You can get US addresses for companies at tje Better Business Bureau web site. If you pay via a credit card, even through pay pal, you may have protections from the credit card company. They will credit your account and work to get the money back themselves.
# posted by Anonymous Jayme : 9:32 AM, December 02, 2005
 
I have had two bad experiences withsome one not shipping goods bought off eBay. The first was a few years ago when I started buying off eBay. I was disconnected. I did get my money back from PayPal.

The second time was earlier this year. This lady never responded to email nor did she respond to the compliant I filed with eBay and PayPal. After 90 days, I did get most of my money back. She finally shipped the items almost 3-1/2 months after I won the items. But she sent the wrong items but I was told by eBay to keep them.

I now always check the negative comments before bidding on something.
# posted by Blogger Mia : 3:07 PM, December 02, 2005
 
I absolutely check the seller's ratings before buying from them on ebay. And a seller who has less than triple-digit ratings had better have 100% approval from those they have sold to, or else I don't buy from them.
# posted by Blogger Mary : 4:39 PM, December 02, 2005
 
Amy,

I hope this has not given you a negative opinion of indie designers/businesses. I, myself, am a jewelry designer and I would never not deliver any item bought. There is a big group of us indie designers out there and most of the ones I know are very honorable. It's really too bad that person you bought from is giving us indie designers a bad name. Especially when we are trying to compete against the mass marketed stuff. Take heart that not everyone is like that.

www.AngelaTong.com
# posted by Blogger Oiyi : 8:54 PM, December 02, 2005
 
angela, i know this was a fluke. this designer has been around several years and sells to major department stores as well. i can't explain why my first order didn't arrive, but the designer promptly refunded my money that time. so i placed a 2nd order and had it shipped to a US address, trackable, hoping that would solve the problem. and then the designer just disappeared. so who can explain that? but clearly that's not the norm and i continue to obsessively browse indie sites for just the right pair of chalcedony earrings. one day, i will find them!
# posted by Blogger amy [Knitty] : 8:22 AM, December 03, 2005
 
I've got a stupid question, and it's nothing to do with your blog, but I can't find anywhere else to ask it. I can't get into the Knitty coffeeshop. I did once, quite a while ago, but now it just tells me that I "have specified an incorrect or inactive username, or an invalid password," and won't even let me try to register under a new name. Hay-lp! (Or tell me who to ask - pretty please.)
# posted by Anonymous Anne : 1:55 PM, December 04, 2005
 
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