I Got Scammed

I can't believe I'm even writing this. But I made a impulse buy on the last day of last year, and I absolutely got scammed. Here are the details:

As you know, I love beautiful things, and I particularly like when beautiful things intersect with practical and comfortable items. So when I was scrolling through Facebook and saw an advertisement for a BEAUTIFUL collection of embroidered sweaters and similar items for sale on "Artssus", I found myself in the rabbit hole of searching the site for something I might be interested in purchasing. Now, I have never purchased anything from Facebook or any other "social media" platform before. I obviously see ads all the time, but haven't really even been tempted. I really try to be mindful about my purchases and really do make an effort to buy secondhand first. BUT... everyone slips up sometimes.

I ended up purchasing two items: a colorful embroidered knit sweater and the matching colorful embroidered wide leg pants. The sweater from the description and pictures appeared to be a medium weight oatmeal-colored fine knit pullover sweater, covered in small embroidered flowers/stems in a variety of bright colored, but primarily in fushia. It has a thick oatmeal colored crew neck. The pants appeared to have an elastic waistband, with flowy wide legs and two large side pocket. Again, embroidered in this floral pattern. I felt like this would be a statement outfit that is just as cute as it is cozy.

I ended up receiving two items two months later. Neither were embroidered and they didn't even match. Both appeared to be screen printed, albeit with colored patterns and different fabrics. They look incredibly cheap and not the cozy, comfortable lounge set I was expecting. I didn't even bother pulling them out of the protective plastic. They're ugly. I immediately looked back at the website about the return policy. That's when I noticed glaring issues on the site-- typos, no reviews, same pictures as other websites. Within a couple hours of receiving the package, I was writing to the 'return inquiry email.' I still haven't heard back and it's been a couple weeks now as outside the return window. Seventy dollars down the drain...

Obviously getting scammed is no fun, but I do think that I am partially to blame. As consumers we should be more aware and mindful of our spending, including which companies we are supporting. This was obviously a China dropshipper and without a single mention of the practices of the shop, it's probably not that ethical of a store. This isn't the type of clothing store I'd want to support, even when I'm sucked in by beautiful items when in the mood to buy. Shame on Artssus, but also shame on me.

Have you ever been scammed by a clothing company or other online retailer? It seems common nowadays.