I’m speechless

So a few days ago I posted about a sale gone awry on Ravelry – yarn I’d paid for Sept. 10th and have not received.  The seller was sporadic about getting back to me, though not for lack of internet access.  So I hounded her, went to the mods, filed a claim/dispute on PayPal – basically pulled out all the stops.

She was added to the Naughty Swapper list, and suddenly we all came pouring out of the woodwork.  One person paid almost $200 was told her yarn shipped a couple weeks ago.  When it finally arrived, it turned out it was only mailed a few days ago.  Another person got the same story about “Your yarn was shipped, it should have arrived by now” when in fact it hadn’t been shipped yet.  A third tracked her down for MONTHS before finally getting a refund.  I too got my ‘refund’ today – money sent via PayPal, with $1.20 deducted by PayPal.  (A side note: you can refund all or part of transaction by viewing the details of it and clicking on refund – that prevents PayPal from charging the refundee any fees)

I’m just pissed.  She lied to people, she didn’t respond unless threatened, and she kept updating her blog and shop in the meantime.  What was she going to do with that money if people hadn’t been so persistent in asking her where it was?  Why lie about when you shipped something?  It’s the sort of things politicians do where they say one thing and then the Daily Show goes back to an earlier clip showing them saying the exact opposite.  How can you tell someone “I mailed your yarn a week ago” when the postmark on the envelope they receive will say otherwise?  You could just be honest, give your reason for not shipping it, apologize for the delay, and get it in the mail.

I found her blog years ago, and was inspired by her photography and skilled knitting.  I felt a bit of sympathy for someone else going through grad school.  I was impressed when she opened up her own craft store, as I have myself tried to run my own business.  But such blatant dishonesty and, for other buyers, rudeness negates any of that.