Beware of the Knock-Off Sites

Tweet

When I originally reviewed this TopHatter I focused on one product. I was also still a little naive. I bought 4 items from TopHatter - one, a shirt, which I like and am happy with. Two items I asked to "return" and got immediate refunds and told to keep the items. And the 4th looks a little cheap and since it is an external hard drive I'm a little afraid to attach it to my computer. It looks exactly like the ones for sale at Staples so it might be okay. What I have since learned is this site is a knock-off site. They want to get rid of the product so if that means refunding you the money then they are okay with it. That doesn't mean that all the products are bad. I wouldn't purchase anymore electronics from them. I don't need any jewelry though I have bid on what appear to be nice pieces but there is a limit as to how much I will spend so I didn't win any auctions there. Honestly, I think the only things that are of real interest to me is the clothing.... and I really don't need anymore. Last night I was perusing through YouTube and found a gal who does a lot of purchases and reviews from a site called Wish. It is not an auction site. The prices are low, some items even listed as free, but it is again an knock-off site. Some items listed as free, when she went to purchase she found that only a certain colour and size were actually free. The products themselves, though, were under $5. Of course you still have to pay shipping. She also found that when she purchased the size/colour that was free, when she went to check-out she was actually charged for the item - a couple of dollars. This gal does a lot of online shopping reviews. It appears to me there are a lot of knock-off sites. I don't think this should be legal honestly. You see ads for sites like Rose Gal on Facebook and if you check the reviews, items never arrive or take forever to arrive and sizes are too small. That is because they are made in China where sizing is smaller (and are being shipped from China). If you're going to order clothes, order big. My very first experience ordering a knock-off was on ebay. I wanted to buy an iPod for my daughter. The picture looked like an iPod but was a knock-off style of an mp3 player. I claimed false advertising and got my money back. I guess this is where shopping online is just too risky in most cases. The sites are reputable, even advertising on television. Isn't eBay reputable? It's funny how it seems to be legal when there was a time when people got arrested or fined for selling knock-offs in public. Remember those Gucci purses? My kids have no problem ordering from these kinds of sites, but they are ordering things like cell phone cases or t-shirts, stuff that isn't really a big deal to cut corners with purchasing. However, there was the prom dress fiasco wherein the seller was friendly, asked me for photos, told me how to send the product back for a refund. I never got a refund. There are reviews on YouTube on prom dress purchases online. Check out YouTube before you buy big ticket items like that.