The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday in the noon hour.
Almost everyone purchases items online now, and sometimes, the description/photo of the item is a lot nicer than the actual item that came in the mail.
QUESTION: Have you ever purchased anything online that wasn’t what you expected when it arrived in the mail?
Talk about it….
Seldom buy online. But only part of the order came. Company would refund in full if I sent the part back at my expense. Or it would give a partial refund for the missing part. I took the refund but kept the part I got in case I could gift it to someone who would use it. It may end up in a donation box.
One time I ordered what was advertised as 100% Egyptian cotton towels on eBay and what I got was 70% Egyptian cotton and 30% regular cotton. I returned them and received a 100% refund.
Another time I was cheated on an item I bought on eBay. After I received the item, it wasn’t what I expected and returned it to the seller. Evidently the seller flew the coop, and eBay didn’t have any information on them. Other people were also burnt by this seller by taking their money. eBay had to eat it and refund my money.
eBay is honest and stand by their satisfaction guarantee. Anything that cannot be resolved between the seller and buyer, eBay will step in and make it right.
A license plate frame. The post showed the crappy version (plastic, lame screws) with a big red X over it, and a nice frame (stainless steel, nice screws0. They sent the crappy version.
I ordered my significant other online. When they arrived, they looked nothing like the pic.
My problem with online shopping is everytime you look something up the suckers send ads to every other sight you read. Forget looking up anything personal. Really tells you how much information they have on you.
Bought a backpack on Amazon. Sent wrong color, return it (easy and free), sent another one, wrong color again, return again, bought another different Amazon seller, received the exact same item I got the first time (tag had same tear on it), so 3rd item still wrong. Return again, but for refund.. Buy from eBay, no problems, perfect. Thisbhas happened several times with many different items. Now I almost never shop at Amazon and always default to ebay.
Within the past year, I ordered a phone on Amazon. The phone I received had 128GB of storage instead of 256GD that I’d ordered. They gave me an instant refund, so I ordered one from a different vendor. The phone the second vendor sent was also only 128GB. I sent that phone back within a day, but for some reason, they didn’t want to refund me. It went on for weeks, even after I sent them proof that they had received it. Eventually, Amazon intervened and gave me my refund. But by then, I’d already bought a phone from Best Buy.
Amazon and eBay are both plagued with counterfeits. From high-end optics and electronics to home lighting and items as mundane as circuit breakers. There’s a video on YouTube about the fake circuit breakers and how they can easily result in your home burning down. Any electronics/electrical supplied by a home contractor must be double-checked for authenticity by the homeowner, if possible.
Here’s the video.
Inside a fake un-trippable circuit breaker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TJEzdqtXlQ
I like buying online from merchants that offers returns to a physical store nearby. Don’t have to wait for refund or can do exchanges right there. Frequently order from Costco, Bestbuy, Gap, HomeDepot, Staples, and others for this reason.
Nordstrom Rack!! I recently purchased a coat and within 10 days the price dropped significantly. They refused to credit me the difference and there answer was to purchase another coat at the new price, and return the original. Terrible customer service. Beware!
My most recent online purchase, a black ink cartridge from Canon. All the cartridges were out of ink, but I thought I’d save money by just replacing the black one right now, since that is about all I use anymore. It turned out that when I replaced the black ink cartridge, the printer told me it wouldn’t operate with the other empty ink cartridges. “We can’t do that, Gittyup.” For some reason, the other cartridges are “out of stock” now at Canon. Staples and Best Buy didn’t have them, either. So, I just wasted $40 dollars. But, the shipping was free! Hope the black one doesn’t dry up while I’m waiting for the others to return to stock.
Just before that, I spent a small fortune on a Mohair doll’s wig, small 10-inch diameter head, to replace the one on my doll from childhood. Insects or rodents, or something, had chewed up her hair during a time when it was not in my possession.
It looked perfect in the photo, size was right, looked a little like the style she originally had. The color wasn’t perfect, but I got it anyway. I had searched and searched, and they all didn’t look natural for a doll manufactured in the1940s who was very sweet-faced snd innocent looking. Some of the wigs looked like the doll might be stripping on the side. But, the one I ordered looked like it would be okay.
Anyway, it arrived, and it was shorter, darker, and frizzier than the photo. They had also included, free of charge, an acrylic baby doll wig that was way too big for my doll, but I could see why they felt guilty taking my money. So, I got the wig I ordered on her head, and started to comb out some of the frizz, and it looks a little better. It’s better than the totally chewed up one she was wearing when I got her back. Still, it was way too expensive for what it is. Got an email from them recently saying they are going out of business.
Invest in a laser printer and you will never go back to inkjet. I bought a Samsung about eight years ago, and it’s been trouble free. Depending on how much you use it, the toner cartridge can last for several years, and they don’t use ink so they will never dry out..
Thanks, Dawg. I’ll keep that in mind. Any particular brand of laser printer you would recommend?
Aunt Barbara, I only rarely buy online. So, it surprised me that these two ended up back-to-back.
Gittyup, HP, Canon, Brother, and Samsung all make good printers. I bought the cheapest Samsung and it never gives me any trouble. Laser printers can get expensive if you want color, but for black printing they can’t be beat.
I order all the time on Amazon (prime member). Never any problems. I ordered on item from an add on Instagram for once but never received it. Fortunately for me, my bank gave me a credit for the purchase.
Awhile back, instead of going to a junk yard to hunt down a motor/antenna for our 1992 Jeep Laredo, we found place online, that handled items,…all Jeep related. Well, it said it was for our jeep model, but it wasn’t. We were able to get full refund, then send the Jeep place a photo of the one we needed, and it turns out, we were out of luck. So, still with out a radio, but the cassette player still works,…LOL!
I ordered a blinker control module twice from the same company and they didn’t work properly. I got my money back. The third time I ordered from a different company and that one worked.
I have bought items from Amazon, mostly books, but a few other items. When we had to wear masks and no one had them I ordered 3 from Amazon in different colors, unfortunately they were so thick and tight I have never worn them. I often order from Macy’s.com because some items are not available in stores or the store I work in, mostly toys for my grandchildren or kitchen items, never had any problems, if it is for my daughter I have them ship items directly to her. When I wanted some new towels I went to Macy’s.com and looked up the color I wanted, but when I saw the color in the store it looked different. When I was furloughed from Macy’s I bought one Coach handbag and 2 pairs of sandals from Macy’s.com no problem with any of them and color just fine. The one pair of sandals was Ecco and I already had a pair like it just in different color, so not much of a gamble. I also bought a pair of Ecco shoes directly from Ecco, they make the most comfortable shoes. All in all my on line shopping experience has been positive. Normally I would not buy shoes without trying them on, as for clothes I prefer to buy directly from the store so I can see the color and feel the material.
That’s fine when you can find what you need! I got tired of driving to five different stores and risking my health during quarantine trying to find particular items. I can order on Amazon tonight and have it delivered to my door next day!
Anything you find on Facebook or other social sites stay away from. It is always major cheap crap that doesn’t fit the description, missing parts if it’s something that needs assembly, flimsy won’t hold up to a washing fabric and all these things are applicable IF the thing actually arrives. Several friends have done thru this.
I order a paint by numbers kit early last April. It finally arrived mid August. Yeah avoid anything you find on a social site
Funny question. It was actually from an ad on this page. I was leery but the site passed all of my security checks. The photos of the clothes were exactly what I had been wanting but unable to find. When the items FINALLY arrived, they were so ridiculous – ugly and cheap – that I laughed at myself for being duped. The package had come from Kazakhstan or somewhere similar that was unexpected. I don’t really recall. I emailed the company not expecting a response but I did receive a rather prompt and politely worded reply. The company explained that it would probably cost more to ship the package back than the refund would be but they were willing to give me a 10% refund and don’t bother sending anything back. Another surprise, I did actually receive the 10% refund (they were right about the return shipping cost), I threw the clothes in the blue bin, and learned my lesson.