Thank you all so much for your comments and feedback! I really needed to get that off my chest. So Paypal ruled in my favour because the merchant did not respond to the claim within 10 days. However, she did not have sufficient funds in her account, so I was refunded $2.26 of the $38 I paid in total ($30 for the necklace and $8 for international shipping). I'm not sure what to do next. It's gotten to a point where I am sick of sending emails and leaving random comments. It's her responsibility to get back to me - not mine.
So I've decided to reveal the merchant on my blog as a public service to all of the crafty gals/guys out there. I'm sure people have had fine experiences with her, but mine was not.
The merchant I have been dealing with is Jessica (Jessee) Maloney of Art School Dropout.
Here's the necklace I was to receive, but never did. BTW, she's upped the prices of her necklaces to $40, so beware.
So apart from this negative blight, my weekend was great even though the weather was crappy. On Saturday Pinn and I went to the Hobby Show in Odaiba (photos to come) and on Sunday Darin and I went to America....well actually we just made a trip out to Costco but the size and price of the pizza slices and the free soda refills led us to believe we were really in the US!! Photos to come!
This sounds so frustrating! I hope it all works out. It sounds so shady to me when she says on her blog, "its to the point that i dont think i could walk the few blocks to the post office." Like she knows you know she really needs to just walk a few blocks to the post office to send you the necklace!
Posted by: anjali | May 16, 2006 at 06:17 PM
Oh wow, I had such a feeling it was her! I really like her stuff and I'm always about to buy one of those necklaces but bail at the last second. What a bummer that this happened :(
Posted by: Jenna | May 16, 2006 at 08:55 PM
I'm so sorry this happened - it's so frustrating because you have no way to do anything about it now. I hope you get all your money back!
Posted by: Carrie | May 17, 2006 at 01:42 AM
I know you prob felt so bad posting those entries, but really, she's giving herself and other merchants like her a bad name. Good to let people know.
Posted by: swirl | May 17, 2006 at 03:56 AM
Did you pay with a credit card perchance? If you did, your next step is to contact the credit card company and get the refund from them. You might also consider filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau in her locality--pretty toothless, but at least something will be down on paper to serve as a warning flag to someone else down the line.
I also vaguely recall that someone in a similar situation actually filed a complaint with the local police--that would probably get a refund out of her!
In any case, it's good to know who this deadbeat is so we can all steer well clear of her.
Posted by: AbsintheGirl | May 17, 2006 at 04:39 AM
Kat gets catty! Yeah! This makes for better reading for those non-crafty folks in the audience! Now I think I'll go leave some spam on her blog!
Posted by: mattymcg | May 17, 2006 at 09:16 AM
Kat, thanks for sharing this. You know, I was actually about to buy one of her necklaces.....Now I'm glad I haven't done so!
Such a shame about your necklace!
Who knows, maybe some "deus ex machina" will make her send you the necklace plus an extra somthing to make up for the trouble. Now that would be great, would't it? ...sigh
Posted by: Myriam | May 17, 2006 at 04:16 PM
Kat, Sorry to hear that you had to deal with all that crap and that you didn't get all your money back. :( If you set up your PayPal via credit card, maybe you can contest the charge with the credit card company...you definitely have lots evidence to show.
Posted by: anne | May 17, 2006 at 04:58 PM
It's a public service, really, to let people know. As someone who does all her buisness online, my point of view is that if you are going to retail here, then you need to get your shit together enough to ship overseas, and do it in a timely fashion. Even if it means figuring ou the little customs form, and frankly, it ain't rocket surgery.
Posted by: Julia | May 18, 2006 at 06:32 AM
I'm glad you outed her as a warning to others; clearly, you have no other choice. I think that you had given her every opportunity to act like a seller with ethics, but she passed each one up. Still, I wish you could get reimbursed for ALL the amount you paid AND get rewarded for damages for all the time you wasted attempting to contact her.
On another note, have you attempted contacting her webhost? They won't reimburse your money but some webhosts keep on record complaints about non-ethical sellers they host.
Posted by: Becky | May 19, 2006 at 05:23 AM
i'm so sorry that this happened to you. i just read about it on glitter and had to come by to lend my support. i think you're doing the right thing to get her name out to warn others about her sketchy business practices. shameful!!
Posted by: krissy | May 23, 2006 at 08:47 AM
Bummer. I hope she gets the message? Just wondering if you have had a chance to check out etsy.com http://www.etsy.com/shop_public.php I have a site..the stuff is very cool..lots of jewlery, indie crafts.
Posted by: jenny macc | May 24, 2006 at 06:16 AM
oof! that's so not a good experience! i don't wanna talk it up too much (cuz you never know who's listening in) but as a small merchant who does almost all her business online, i have a straight policy that if someone doesn't receive their item, they automatically get a full refund. i used to sell vintage stuff on ebay and it would happen every now and then--sometimes i'd get suspicious (who knows what really happened) but i would give them the benefit of the doubt that they didn't receive it and i think it's just good karma to believe people. the amount of money to refund just isn't worth losing a potentially great customer or get bad feedback about! For US orders i always use delivery confirmation (no one has lost a package since i started using it!) and i know people can't track international orders, but still! i'm sorry to hear about your bad experience and it's REALLY not good that she didn't respond. what a headache and you really have been such a great support to DIY handmakers out there :)
Yep, you have every right to "out" after all this! arrrrhhhhh!
Posted by: stephanie s | May 25, 2006 at 01:16 PM
I am in a similar situation with this vendor. I ordered a necklace for a friend's birthday in late april and it has still not arrived. I have sent two emails and have received no reply. I paid by money order so I guess I'm pretty much out of luck. If anyone has any suggestions on dealing with this I would love to hear them. Sounds like she's quite the crafty artist...scam artist that is!
Posted by: amy | May 26, 2006 at 06:48 AM
Aw, that's too bad. Her necklaces are so nice too. If you're still itching for a pretty flowery necklace, might I recommend Snapcrafty (www.snapcrafty.com)? I've ordered from her before and was very happy with the service and the goods.
Posted by: Maitreya | May 29, 2006 at 04:01 AM
Hi, I think I made a comment on your Flickr ASD necklace photo. Thank you for this info on her. I was thinking about purchasing one of her creations, but decided not to after reading about your experience with her. I'm sure a lot of people have had good service provided by her, but I don't want to take my chances. Paypal sucks ass (pardon my frech). They mostly all the time side with the merchant. It's ridiculous. And 2 dollars?! What BS. Good luck to you, my dear.
Posted by: Marice | June 05, 2006 at 12:53 PM
I just responded to your post on glitter after searching for other complaints. I have been dealing with her for 4 months, and after hearing what you and Stephanie (above) have had to say, I have taken action. I have so far written to my local businesses that buy from her to see if they have been ripped off by her as well. I wrote to her asking for a refund. If I don't hear back within a week, I'm writing to the better business bureau.
Posted by: Marci | May 23, 2008 at 09:08 AM