You know when you click on facebook and up pops a wonderful thing (dress, hoody, etc) for next to nothing. It looks amazing, sounds great and sounds like there are no strings attached. Or are there?
I often wondered what the catch with this was.
So today two articles about this very topic caught my eye.
First up was Buzzfeed who linked eight of the sites to one Chinese company that made 200 million dollars in sales in 2014 from this. Apparently, the clothing ordered is very different from the clothing received. Using stolen images, paid for fake likes and also fake endorsements, the company made millions last year using this scam. The clothing received is often too small, flimsy material, smells like chemicals and also, well, see for yourself below.
But, it seems your not alone. There is an entire group dedicated to this madness on facebook which you can see here . Also, check out the full article on Buzzfeed too as its worth a look. You can find that here
The writer complains of the same thing. Ripped off photographs, prices that seem too good to be true and have mad typos. Which, to be fair, could happen to anyone. I live in Italy and frequently see typos from Italian into English. Although I accept them as 'tried' rather then dodgy. I do see frequent mistakes in the knock off clothing stores here though. I've posted about them before.
The writer goes one step further to claim that there are horror stories of ripped off credit cards and late deliveries and the usual, incorrect sizing horror. I refer to the photos on that facebook site for reference. Wow. Just wow.
Interestingly, the writer orders one party dress off five separate sites. She then records her findings which you can read in detail here.
She found a variety of the ill fitting, the badly made, cheap fabric and one that was stained. EWWWWWW NO.
I find it strange that this is left unchecked and pretty strange. One thing I did notice was that the adverts that these girls in the stories seem to see is different from what I see. I have noticed in the past that the adverts sometimes mirror my own purchase.
I am guessing this is down to the scary part of the internet that watches people. Case in point, I bought a beautiful (in my opinion!) pair of harem pants in Brighton. I googled the site to find the shop so I could get another pair. They were out of stock. I gave up. I then noticed adverts for really crazy cheap harem pants popping up. Quite a few of those 'cheaper then cheap' adverts seemed to be aimed at my sort of style as well. I don't really wear party dresses so maybe I don't notice the ones that are 'of that style' and just go for the gothy, punky, alternative ones. Maybe that's it. I dunno. I'm still convinced the internet knows where I am at all times.
Maybe thats because I am never off facebook.
I think when it comes to these sites. Mind yourself and mind your images. One such horror story about these sites highlighted how women can have their images stolen to front such sites without their knowledge or consent. This means the site is promising the dress you wore last Wednesday and believes it is enough to 'possibly' crop out your face.
I've said it before about make up and I will say it again about these sites - if the price seems to good to be true then it more then likely is.
So mind this :
1 - Check reviews
2 - Check where the item is coming from
3 - Check for typos in the packaging and outfit
4 - Ask yourself if it feels legit
5 - Check facebook for reviews, groups and try the name in groups for feedback
6 - Get ready to call long distance for customer service
7 - Make sure you safe guard your credit card.
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