Having an issue with a seller....

[Amber_moon]

Im not naming names unless I need to, but need some advice from you more seasoned members....

I bought a costume here for pretty cheap around $200. The seller, offered to ship it via a service that would take 5 days to arrive... however through some fluke, it took a total of 10 days to get to me.

Throughout the waiting for the package I emailed the seller and go no response, however I did get several PM's from her. The PM's always took forever, and honestly, the communication was... poor.

Then finally when the package did arrive I found it to be not at ALL as described. The seller assured me of the size before the sale, telling me that it was a DD size bra, however, when I measured it... it was only a B/C cup!!! It didn't come anywhere near to fitting me.

On top of that, beads were hanging, rhinestones were dangling by threads, and there were AWFUL brown stains splattered all over the bottom of the skirt. It looked like she just balled it up and sent it to me without a care.

The biggest issue of all is that when I pm'ed her back about the costume, she accused me of lying,and will not refund my money.

I really tried to be nice about it (but firm). Its been 2 days and she hasnt returned one of my PM's or emails... Im getting worried.

Im new here, and really just wanted to get what was supposed to be my first "real" costume... and its turning into a nightmare....

Any suggestions?

[Lauren_]

Hoo, that sounds rough. I hate to take sides in Bhuzzer disputes, but I'll give you my general what-I'd-do-if-I-felt-this-way advice.

I think I'd take photos of the damage and record any other details, and file a dispute with paypal. I might also threaten to openly name the individual on Bhuz, but remember that she'll want to post her side of the story here, too.

[Amber_moon]

I did take photos.... and I called paypal to see what could be done.... The problem is that I cant file a chargeback because she hasn't claimed the money.

I sent her the photos via email two days ago and got no response. I even sent her two PM's telling her that an email was in her inbox.... and nothing.

I dont want to start a fight or some big blow up by naming this person. Especially if it just a fluke and everything turns out ok. I dont want to permanently damage her reputation here or anywhere else.... but Ive never ever had anything like this happen before... and online buying makes me really nervous.

I went against my better judgement by buying the item in the first place and now... *sigh*

I dont know what to do honestly. Thanks for the reply I appreciate it.

[bintbeled]

What a shame. I hope something can be worked out.

I had a problem with a "full D cup" costume not being nearly big enough, but just kicked myself for not asking for cup measurements and sold it to a student. But that costume was lovely and undamaged. Your situation sounds so frustrating...

[Amber_moon]

Originally Posted by bintbeled

What a shame. I hope something can be worked out.

I had a problem with a "full D cup" costume not being nearly big enough, but just kicked myself for not asking for cup measurements and sold it to a student. But that costume was lovely and undamaged. Your situation sounds so frustrating...

Yeah this one I wont even be able to re-sell because it is in such poor condition that *I* would feel embarrassed asking for what I paid for it.

I should have asked for measurements but I didn't, mainly because I trusted her when she insisted that she was in fact a DD cup AND she had to pad the bra to get it to fit her. (which led me to believe that the bra was BIGGER than a DD) This bra is BARELY a C cup.

[ssipes]

I found the transaction you are talking about. Two observations:

First, the seller doesn't have many posts. This is now a huge red flag for me. I got burned recently by a new bhuzzer, so now I am only going to trade with established bhuzzers.

She fits in the costume and her girls look like Ds at least to me. But not all "D" sized breasts are the same size. Maybe she has a small underbust measurement. Cup size isn't constant but relative to underbust. If she wears a 32DD that might be the same as say a 36C.

The loose beads and stones and stained skirt are another matter though. She should have described the condition.

If she hasn't claimed the paypal money, can't you cancel the transaction?

[Amber_moon]

Originally Posted by ssipes

I found the transaction you are talking about. Two observations:

First, the seller doesn't have many posts. This is now a huge red flag for me. I got burned recently by a new bhuzzer, so now I am only going to trade with established bhuzzers.

She fits in the costume and her girls look like Ds at least to me. But not all "D" sized breasts are the same size. Maybe she has a small underbust measurement. Cup size isn't constant but relative to underbust. If she wears a 32DD that might be the same as say a 36C.

The loose beads and stones and stained skirt are another matter though. She should have described the condition.

If she hasn't claimed the paypal money, can't you cancel the transaction?

As for the sizing, Thats so true... I didn't think of that.

As for the second thing... yes I feel the missing beads and the brown stains should have been at least mentioned.

I mean I understand trying to make something sound nice to market it... but there is something called a "lie by omission"... and that bugs me.


I just looked in my paypal history about two mins ago... and no its not letting me cancel... Ill try calling them tomorrow and seeing what I can do.

[monsoondancer]

One thing you can do if you ever feel comfortable enough buying here off BHUZ again is to send a pm to the seller asking about any flaws or signs of wear-most people I find will answer honestly and even send a close up photo. It could have been why the costume was sold fairly cheap too, but some indication of the condition of the costume should have been given. I am sorry for your experience here on BHUZ :( I agree with ssipes-have a look at their history on this forum. I have been on here now for almost 3 months and have bought a few pretty things and have had positive experiences. You are also able to tell if someone has read your messages or not-something unforseen may have happened that the seller has not seen your emails. Aside from it all, I hope it works out and that you have luck finding another costume. Try posting on the ISO (in search of) forum. Might have luck there :)

[lizajuk]

I see that the seller is from over here..that right!
As to shipping time..take what the PO says with a pinch of whatever. 10days across the Atlantic does happen although 5 days is normal by Royal Air Mail.
But I wonder if any of the Uk dancers recognise her. I don't ,she's not from oop our way?
It really is not fair to warn a buyer when there is something wrong with an item ( which is likely when it's second hand) but I can guarantee nothing I have ever swapped or bought from Bhuz has been brown unless it was meant to be! That's not fair at all!

[phillyraqs]

I'm so sorry to hear about such a negative bhuz swap meet experience for you. I don't have any more advice to add, but I do want to mention that you shouldn't give up on the swap board.

As mentioned, think about purchasing from established bhuzzers. We either know each other, or know how to get a hold of each other. I have been purchasing items from the swap board for a few years and have purchased at least 6 costumes through the board and have had a great experience every time.

Good luck!

[Adishakti]

Awww, that sucks. I'm sorry your first experience was a bad one. Don't be afraid to buy in the future. I've gotten most of my costumes on these boards, and as a whole, I think the Bhuz community is a trust-worthy one.

[Amber_moon]

Eh. I think its going to be just fine... Paypal informed me this morning on some of the options I had and Im going to try and work something out with them.

Im just going to chalk this one up to a learning experience though, next time Im going to make sure I ask for and receive detailed measurements, insist on seeing detailed photos, and only buy from somebody with at least a few stars under their name.

Thanks everyone for all the kind words and help!

[kharis_UK]

Originally Posted by Amber_moon

Im not naming names unless I need to, but need some advice from you more seasoned members....

I bought a costume here for pretty cheap around $200. The seller, offered to ship it via a service that would take 5 days to arrive... however through some fluke, it took a total of 10 days to get to me.

Throughout the waiting for the package I emailed the seller and go no response, however I did get several PM's from her. The PM's always took forever, and honestly, the communication was... poor.

Then finally when the package did arrive I found it to be not at ALL as described. The seller assured me of the size before the sale, telling me that it was a DD size bra, however, when I measured it... it was only a B/C cup!!! It didn't come anywhere near to fitting me.

On top of that, beads were hanging, rhinestones were dangling by threads, and there were AWFUL brown stains splattered all over the bottom of the skirt. It looked like she just balled it up and sent it to me without a care.

The biggest issue of all is that when I pm'ed her back about the costume, she accused me of lying,and will not refund my money.

I really tried to be nice about it (but firm). Its been 2 days and she hasnt returned one of my PM's or emails... Im getting worried.

Im new here, and really just wanted to get what was supposed to be my first "real" costume... and its turning into a nightmare....

Any suggestions?

Caveat Emptor!

Very true when buying on line.

[Amber_moon]

Originally Posted by kharis_UK

Caveat Emptor!

Very true when buying on line.

So Im finding out. :(

[ravenadesigns]

don't feel you cannot ever sellthis and get at least some money back. I have been buying up "damaged" costumes to "refurbish" them. I know there are other ladies, besides me, that may be interested in a costume like this at a discounted rate. Getting something is better than nothing.

Just a thought :-)

[Amber_moon]

UPDATE:

I still have not received my money back from the seller as of Tuesday May 13th. I filed a paypal dispute and still haven't heard anything back yet. I would suggest that you use extreme caution when purchasing items from the user Ella-el-nar.

I think Im just going to be out $200 :(

Just in case anybody wants to see the photos of the costume that I received:

Most of the beads were dangling from the costume like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...egeminii/3.jpg

Stains:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...egeminii/4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...egeminii/5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...egeminii/7.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...inii/stain.jpg

Cup Size difference:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...egeminii/9.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...geminii/11.jpg

This one you can see the band is considerably longer in the costume bra (which means the cups should be larger if it indeed was a DD) but since the band was longer AND the cups are smaller... it ends up only being between a B or C cup.

Anyway, that has been my experience. I hope it reminds everybody to use caution when buying here.

[ssipes]

Amber moon, I don't think you are totally out the $200. The loose beading can be fixed with a little careful hand sewing. The stains can probably be spot cleaned with cold water and towels (and what do they look like from the outside of the fabric? Your photos of the stains looked to be on the inside.)

If you take care of these issues you should be able to resell and recoup most if not all of your $200.

I know you are angry at the seller, but try to focus on a solution.

[kina]

Originally Posted by ssipes

Amber moon, I don't think you are totally out the $200. The loose beading can be fixed with a little careful hand sewing. The stains can probably be spot cleaned with cold water and towels (and what do they look like from the outside of the fabric? Your photos of the stains looked to be on the inside.)

If you take care of these issues you should be able to resell and recoup most if not all of your $200.

I know you are angry at the seller, but try to focus on a solution.

But still, good for you for discussing your issues with this seller, it's helpful when evaluating whether one should by to assess just how truthful a seller is in their listings.

[Amber_moon]

Originally Posted by ssipes

Amber moon, I don't think you are totally out the $200. The loose beading can be fixed with a little careful hand sewing. The stains can probably be spot cleaned with cold water and towels (and what do they look like from the outside of the fabric? Your photos of the stains looked to be on the inside.)

If you take care of these issues you should be able to resell and recoup most if not all of your $200.

I know you are angry at the seller, but try to focus on a solution.

They are visible from the outside. I can try and spot clean them. As a matter of fact I might just resell it the way it is and just make sure I mention all the damage.

As for the sewing, Im not sure I know how to do it, and I dont want to ruin it more than it already is, so I might just sell it to someone who wants to try and fix it.

Ill do that.

Thanks :)