caoism.com

I purchased this hair clip at BeforeTheIDos.com, and they won’t let me return it due to “sanitary” reasons though I never opened or used the clip. (If they’re worried about cleanliness then they should allow returns of unopened items.)

I wrote the following note to them and also posted it as a review on their site. The review went up immediately, but it has since been deleted. Note below that they said they’ve never received any complaints. It’s because they delete them! That’s what really makes me mad. When I complained that they removed my review, they said it was because my review had nothing to do with the product – I was only complaining about their lame return policy. That’s not true, as this is the review that I left:

I am disappointed in your shop as the hairpiece didn't look nearly as nice as it did in the photo on your site. It looks like it should cost $3, not $40. Even though I am not going to be able to return it, there's no way I'm wearing something so cheap-looking and poorly-produced on my wedding day. I found a gorgeous rose at Michael's for $10 that I made into a hairpiece, and I'll wear that instead. I'll be sure to warn other brides that your products are not as depicted on your site.

Their response: We are so sorry you are not satisfied with the hair piece you purchased.  This is actually one of our best sellers for the 2010 season!  And we have not received any complaints to date on it.  We do receive our products images/photos from our manufacturers.  We will be sure to inform our manufacturer that you felt the image did not properly depict the product. Please kindly understand, we do not falsely promote any product on our site.  Our company attorney watches over our site carefully to be sure we are following all legal policies and practices. Naturally though, it is difficult to purchase certain products without seeing them first in person - without being able to touch/feel them.  

(There is a whole series of exchanges after this but I won’t waste your time sharing all of it.)

Here’s the photo they have on their site. The flower I received is frayed on the edges and squished. If you zoom into their photo, it kind of shows fraying, but not to the extent that it actually looks. I applaud them for their fabulously deceptive photography. They’re now claiming that the fabric of this flower is supposed to look natural and not “clean cut” -- since when were dahlias ragged looking?

Kudos to you, BeforeTheIDos.com. You suck.

Click to expand the photo so you can see how ragged the flower is.