Is that online store you're about to shop at a scam?

   

   Have you ever come across a company online that has an eye catching web site and beautiful products but you think twice before ordering anything because it’s a company you’ve never heard of? You’re mainly worried that the company may not be legit right? A lot of times I’ve found myself window shopping online and come across a boutique with fabulous clothes and before I can even hit “add to cart” I close out the page and shop at a more familiar site.

   I’m very careful with where I spend my hard earned money. And the one time I wasn’t I lost out. Long story short, I came across an online store of a fashion blogger. The clothes were fabulously boho chic. What made me throw caution to the wind was one of her models used to model for my clothing line. I ordered a skirt with a matching top and faux leather skinny pants.

   When it arrived I looked at the skirt and top and immediately thought it was not worth the price I paid for it but hung them in my closet with not another thought. When I got to the pants right away I knew before taking them out of the box they were NOT going to fit. Her size chart said a size 10 would be an XL. So that’s the size I ordered. The pants were so small my daughter who is 13 and a size 1 could fit them perfectly. I got them for myself and was not looking forward to giving them away.

   The return policy states I can make a return within 30 days but there’s a catch… I can either get store credit or a refund but there will be a restocking fee taken out of my refund. So not only would I be out the shipping fees but a restocking fee too?!?! Her size chart was WAAAAY off so I saw no reason to pay all of these fees.

   I emailed customer service and after a week of no response I contacted her on Twitter. After another week of no response I called customer service, there was no answer so I left a message and still weeks later have not gotten call back.

   Finally I did what I should have done in the first place and went to her Facebook page where I saw comment after comment from customers that were unhappy due to items that they returned due to size issues and never received their refunds (some after 2 months of trying to contact her with no response). Others were upset because they placed orders for items for vacations and special occasions only to never receive any of their order while others only received partial orders while paying for several items. It is obvious I’m out the money on pants I cannot fit and even if I returned them I would never see my refund.

   Learn from my mistake and do your research before ordering anything online. Not all people are as shady as this chick and there are trust worthy people out there. Just be careful because no one likes to waste money not in the name of fashion or otherwise.