Stay Away From The Scam!!!

[Anonymous]

This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart when it comes to fashion: the annoying way in which so many women and teens are getting scammed by dresses from disreputable websites that send them something that looks like it fell out of the back of a fabric truck. So let's start from the beginning, shall we...

1. Scamming 101

Scammers know it doesn't take much to get your money. You want a gorgeous dress you saw on Pinterest/Tik Tok/Instagram/in a movie that one time, and so you've already been primed. They are betting that you won't dig too deep as long as you see a picture of your dream dress AND a price that is absolutely unbelievable (because it is!!!!!). They also know people read reviews, and if every review is like "this dress was the greatest thing since sliced bread," well, the next thing you know, it's 3 months later, and what arrives is a pile of trash that no seamstress can save.

2. Photos Are Sus...

When you go to say, Target's websites, and you're looking around, you can see most of the lighting looks the same, the models all seem to come from the same batch, the styling is similar, etc. So why is it, you go to some random website where every single image looks like it came from a different catalog, heads are chopped off the models, there is blurring in the photos (from them pasting over the REAL designers watermark), some images look clear, some look like they came off someone's Facebook...I mean, if you aren't getting suspicious at this point, you should be. And yes, there is a difference in an honest website saying "we make dresses that are similar to the ones pictured, but also here is a picture of our work alongside the real thing," and a website straight up posting only stolen images and saying this is what we're selling and what you're going to get.

3. All the Reviews are SUPER Positive!

I studied statistics for a bit in uni, and one of the first things you learn is given say a sample size of 50, even with a great product, you will always have say 70% positive, 20% in the middle, and 10% saying there was an issue or they didn't like something. There is no way even a sample size of 20 people, all agreed and posted the same exact review, aka, "this dress is great. Great fit. Prompt service." Even if we were to randomly ask a group of people about a product, no 10 people would literally say the same exact thing without prompting. Beware!

4. No Customer Images in Reviews

If you don't see a single image of the product in the reviews on site or WORSE, the site does not even allow image reviews, run! Would you buy a house without seeing it first? Why buy a dress without seeing it first?

5. No return policy

If you are going to spend money on something, make sure there is some recourse to get a refund if the item is not what you ordered. Note that custom made gowns are never likely to offer refunds because the dress cannot be easily resold, but there should be something in writing AND contact information associated with even custom gowns in case the designer messes up your measurements. It should be clearly written out that if there is an issue with what you factually wrote down and said you wanted and what you got, that they will offer partial refund or fix the issue.

6. Beware of Return Shipping

Your scam dress that cost you $27.99 might cost you $35 to ship it back overseas to whatever scam site location you bought it from. These scammers are counting on this. If it will cost you more to return the dress on your dime then what you paid for it, they are betting you'll just give up and accept defeat because what is the purpose. READ that return policy and make sure that the SELLER pays for return shipping if there is an issue.

7. No you can't get expensive allover beading for $50

(This is me shaking you) Please please please know that you will never be able to get a designer to make you a dress for under 100s or 1000s of dollars for an allover hand beaded, sequin, feather, heavily embroidered, luxury fabric dress. It takes them ages to do that type of detailed work and the cost of those luxury fabrics is $50+ per roll, so do the math. Why is it that you can suddenly buy this dress brand new for $30. If you see sequins, you're going to get glitter, if you see luxury fabric, you will get cheap poly or satin, if you see beading, you're going to get cheap beads that aren't lined up correctly or covering the entire dress, and on and on.

8. Seller Has An Attitude or Doesn't Reply

Before you buy a dress is the happy time. You and the seller should be getting along because THEY want your business and you're money. It should be a HUGE red flag to you if you are just asking some basic questions about dress design or what can be done with alterations and they are literally giving you attitude. Who is the client here? Now imagine that dress is crap, and you need to figure out a refund. You think that attitude now is going to carry over to when you demand your rightful money back. Also if you ask basic questions and get no reply, run. Nobody is answering the phone because there isn't one.

9. It's Not In English

If the vast majority of the site you are viewing has descriptions written in confusing broken English, beware. If you are posting something up and saying this is your website, you should be able to have wording and spelling checked before you post up. It should be worrying if everything is spelled incorrectly or they post really weirdly long odd descriptions like Purple paisley long bubble sleeve drop waist fabric swirl color prom date happy dress for joy. No real designer of a gown is listing their dresses like that.

10. You feel like its a scam

If you are feeling uneasy or unsure about whether or not you will get what you paid for, back out. Better safe than sorry. It is best to spend a good amount of time doing some research on a site or company to see if they are legit. If you are just buying on impulse because you saw a pic you like that's probably stolen, you are going to be way more upset when you wait all that long time to get it and it's trash and you can't get a refund and now you have to rush to try and find another dress.

[Leapfrog00]

The other day I called customer service about my cell phone not charging correctly and the lady was from India and said she could send me a replacement phone for free but the shipping would cost me $20.

You have to watch even with real companies. Don't give credit card or bank information over the phone, even if the company is legit. Just because they work for a legit company, that doesn't mean they won't steal your information. A cell phone should NEVER cost any more than $5 to ship, unless there's an overnight charge.

FaceBook is full of scammers. If someone messages you on Facebook and their grammar is awful or their sentences look a little off, like "May I know who I'm speaking with?" That sentence would be grammatically correct but who talks like that, lol. I swear 90% of the scams I've came across were from India!

[exitseven]

I never buy clothes on line. Sometimes I will buy something from LL Bean because I have bought so much stuff from there that I know how it will fit and besides I can always take it back if it does not fit. They have a good return policy.

Otherwise I go to a brick and mortar store and pick out what I want, try it on an walk out with it. It might be a little more expensive but there is no headaches afterwards.

[myTake Owner]

The in person bit just can't be replicated even with all the technology of "see how it will fit you" on some computer AI model with your measurements thing online. You know what feels good and looks good in person. By the way, according to my GAG stats, I have interacted the most with you this year. Thanks for all the good conversation and comments over the year.

[exitseven]

Thank you , whoever you are. Happy New Year.

[exitseven]

Thanks for the MHO😎

[midnightmoon05]

Thank you for sharing.
I hope, really really hope…most stop being slave to buying junk. Then getting into debt. 😔

I don’t get why people buy online…ever…regardless of the prices.

if we just buy what we need…budget to get a few quality pieces and get it in person…like go to the store. Feel the materials even try it…call me picky…but it has worked for me. I have no problem saving good money to buy a few quality classic pieces.
I see some families with tons of clothes that are often left on the floor. Treat them like trash… and broke. 🤦‍♀️ what to do?

[myTake Owner]

Thank you for your insight. I often promote thrifting. Some people just feel like it's beneath them or so dirty or whatever, but I've made a lot of converts once you show them the ropes. I still think online shopping has it's place. I bought a wedding skirt from an online seller overseas because the cost of such things stateside was so intensely expensive for the few hours I was going to wear it. There is quality out there if you look, and she definitely was worth every cent I spent, but I did a week of research and conversation with the seller to make sure she and her company were legit before I ever parted with a single coin. But for everything else, everyday wear, cocktail stuff, suits, I agree with you with wanting to see and feel it in person, and try it on. Even custom pieces can not fit if you're buying online only.

[purplepoppy]

Another tip is to look at their address on Google maps street view. If it's just a house in a street rather than a proper business it's probably a scam.

In the UK I'd always be wary about buying from London and Birmingham as they seem to have a high number of dodgy sellers.

[myTake Owner]

I love that you do that deep dive. I don't understand how people can just see some random pop up ad and go to some random website and hand over their credit card based on some dodgy pics. You save yourself such a huge waste of money, time, and headache if you just spend a few minutes confirming through any of these methods or your own, that someone/company is legit or not.

[MsBell2018]

The thing is, you get what you pay for. don't be upset when you see a luxurious item, it's everything you could ever hope for & dream of, it's selling for hundreds or thousands of dollars in every store & then you find it online for $10! Ontop of that, it's got to be shipped from out of the country & the shipping costs more than the item you're buying. These aren't red flags? There's a saying "If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
If people would stop trying to get something for nothing, they wouldn't be disappointed in what they get. Anything of quality costs & labor isn't free. I sew & have done clothing alterations. You wouldn't believe the people that want a garment practically remade because they got it on sale & it's either 6 sizes too big or too small & they expect miracles. Then they have the audacity to complain about what a miracle costs-but loves what's been done. Like a tailor/seamstress services, skills & time is free or owed to them just for gracing you with their business & presence. I had a client that wanted me to hem a pair of scrubs. They had the vent in the side so the bottom would splay out over her shoes. Ok. I told her it would be $5. She was shocked at how cheap because (A**** E@@@@@) quoted her 3x that. I do the work the same day & called to say they were done. Shocked, she came back over. I had her try them on to make sure & she said they were perfect & she had 10 more pair for me. Great! She goes to leave with scrubs in hand & I said it was $5. She was stunned & had a look of insult. She said she wasn't going to pay me $5 for hemming the scrub, that was "an outrageously ridiculous price for what was done." I took the pants from her & said she may have them when she paid me. She stormed out & drove away. 20 minutes later there's a knock on my door. It's her & she's brought the police! We each explained our sides & the officers told her to pay the $5 because that was extremely cheap. She paid it. 3 weeks later she called me & had the nerve to ask if I'd do the 10 pair of scrubs! She said the other place wanted 3x what I charged her, but would give her a bulk rate of $12.50/pair. I declined her generous offer to allow me to serve her again.
😁

[PBandJ_Nerd]

I usually like buying clothes in person for this reason. I've never ordered anything that wasn't what was shown, but most of these dresses are like Wish quality. If I ever got something like that cheaply made, I'd just throw it in the trash if I couldn't get money back. Money wasted? Sure. But at least you can then warn people to not buy from there if they ever see it.

[Sirenboobzilla]

Always remember that you get what you pay for. If an item looks like it would cost $200 and you see it somewhere for $50 AND marketed as new, you're likely getting screwed. I understand that thi is are expensive. We all have bills to pay and our hard earned money needs to go as far as it can. But we need to think realistically; a bargain for you is easily a nice profit for them.

[HawkPerception]

I've bought a lot from Wish and AliExpress and my mom is an avid Temu buyer. We've never been scammed once. I even bought roller blades from Wish and they were high quality for the price of $60CAN I got them for. I just do my due diligence with light research on the buyer and reviews.

I feel bad for AliExpress, Wish, Temu, and Shein for all the hate they get from people because most people don't do their due diligence. A lot of their stuff is legit.

[TheGuyWhoKnowsStuff]

Those dresses were never going to look good on the women who bought them anyway.

[pickles77]

Most of it is probably drop shipped from china without the merchant ever seeing the product

[myTake Owner]

They basically set up crappy websites, have some people toss together some clothes, and then disappear to another location or website in a few weeks/months. Foreign governments rarely prosecute. You have to literally file a police report state side to "maybe" get action and people don't or won't, and not just that, a lot of police reports from several people so it can actually get police/governments attention, otherwise, they don't really care if you got scammed out of like 30 dollars. "They can't make the news" with a minor case like that.

[pickles77]

Yeah it’s tricky when going international

[Staximus]

That's what happens when you buy a bunch of generic no name bullshit from China

[Christoff92]

Basically they're selling cheap imitation

[myTake Owner]

Yep, and they keep finding victim after victim because people just want fast fashion.

[LiamJHayden]

Scammers abound, don't they?