Every now and then… I come across something shopping, that captures my imagination… and usually I end up buying it. Most of the time these purchases work out. But a lot of the time they don’t. Case in point is a pair of athletic shoes. As I was surfing Ebay… looking for some Christmas bargains… I saw a pair of snow leopard shoes. The design was awesome and I could visualize myself wearing them. But because I was online… I couldn’t try them on, to see if they fit. But I was so enamored with them, I thought I’d take a chance. So I pressed the BUY button. It was an outlandish chunk of change... but I was sure they’d be worth it. I never had seen anything like them and I was tickled to get something so unique. However, a few days later, as I wandered into the shoe department at Walmart looking for socks… there were the snow leopard athletic shoes... in all their glory. At least 50 pairs were on display, in various sizes. And… they were substantially cheaper. I felt like a complete fool. I knew I couldn’t return the ones I bought online, so I had been sucker punched. But it was what it was. When the shoes arrived at the end of the week… via UPS… I was less than enthusiastic about opening the package. But reluctantly I did. The shoes really did look COOL up close and personal, so I decided I’d try them on, even if they weren’t fancy like I originally thought. However, adding insult to injury, I couldn’t get my feet into them because the tongues had been sewn shut. It was part of the design. At this point... I was really upset I had been taken by a seller who was a conman… who was sitting somewhere, with my money in his pocket, laughing. I started to cry. My husband asked what was the matter and I told him. He suggested since I couldn’t return the shoes, perhaps I could modify them. Since the tongues were making it impossible to put my foot inside, maybe I could take a pair of scissors and carefully snip along the sides of the tongues, opening them up just enough for my feet to slide into them. I didn’t want to destroy the integrity of the athletic shoes, but figured I was past the point of no return. Pardon the pun. The shoes were either going to be useful to me or they weren’t. So taking the utmost care, I did what my husband suggested and voila it worked… I could wear the shoes. I laced them up and now have them at my disposal. In life, you live and learn... and this was definitely a teaching moment. Have you ever had a similar situation arise from buying items online??
13 comments:
I sell on eBay and scammy sellers irk me! Just because the seller says they don’t take returns doesn’t mean you can’t get refunded. If the item in any way was not as described for example they didn’t tell you that the tongues were sewn shut you can file for item not as described. That will usually prompt the seller to open a return. Hope that helps.
What a disappointing experience! Yep, I had a similar experience. When Covid first reared its ugly head, there were no digital thermometers to be found. I turned to e-Bay, and sure enough there was one 'new in box' remaining. Without considering the absurd price (fear makes one do stupid things) I hit "BUY." Wish I'd taken a picture of the shoddy packaging, crumpled cheap cardboard, and the plastic temporal thermometer itself -- which only read in Celsius. Yep, the 'instruction' paper was written in Chinese.
I reported him to eBay, to no avail. His profile was even taken down. :(
I have never bought much online until the last six weeks or so. So far, the only problem is an unresponsive Excalibur dehydrator. Amazon is still working to get things straightened out. I am glad you got it all straightened out so you can enjoy those fabulous shoes.
I don't like shopping online for just that reason. You don't know what you'll get or if they fit. I lesrned my lesson and only buy in the stores now where I can see what 'I'm getting and how it fits. No more online shopping for me.
Ibuy a good bit on line. Thanks goodness I have been disappointed only time or two and (again thank goodness) the amount lost was small. Yep I would be yelling if other wise. I cannot remember it, but I did send something back to Amazon and did get my CC refund.
Glad you were resourseful enough to use the shoes. That is COOL!
From down here in a cool Florida,
Sherry & jack
Nothing quite like this. But I can really understand being taken by the look of those shoes. I may take a look at Target for something similar. Glad they fit with alteration.
Thanks for all your stories. i guess the old adage BUYER BEWARE applies.
Once when shopping( I was younger and thinner). I bought a black pair of jeans on my way to work. Well when they rang up 40 dollars , I thought the jeans on that rack were 24 on sale. I went ahead and took them . When I got home from work to try them on...I thought if they need any altering I will return them and not pay that 40 dollars. Oh my gosh , They fit like they were made just for me. Those jeans lasted me 10 years, I figured that was 4 dollars a year and the best buy ever. LOL. I am so glad you got to wear those cute shoes. Blessings, xoxo, Susie
I've had several very bad shopping experiences online, so I can sympathize with what you've gone through. Despite the initial fervent temptation, perhaps it's best to wait awhile instead of buying something immediately.
Despite all the anguish, I'm glad that at least you're able to wear the new shoes.
Oh Yes, Taryterre, sometimes online items work out, and sometimes they don't. I just bought some underwear and was hoping to get all cotton ones, but to my surprise they were polyester. Not what I wanted, so had to call and see what I could do about getting some underwear in cotton blend. Your snow leopard shoes are cool, and so glad you got them to work for you just by snipping the tongues a bit. Too bad you didn't discover them at Walmart first. Sometimes Walmart has the coolest things, including holiday stuff. Yes, we live and learn, don't we? I've had to order things on-line during this time, but don't like it at all. : )
~Sheri
It is maddening to read about people being scammed on ebay because it gives honest sellers a bad name. You had every right to be disappointed and angry with that seller as I would have been too. It seems to me that ebay tends to side with the buyer, so you may have been able to file a complaint and get a refund, less return shipping perhaps. Glad your husband’s suggestion at least made the shoes wearable. Yes, I have bought online and have had to return items which were not quite as described and Amazon has made good every time with a refund or replacement.
This is why I like Amazon: They let you return an item for ANY reason, or even NO reason. I've done it many times.
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