Tuesday T.

Cettire PROs:

- Vast Selection of Upscale Fashion

- Authentic Designer Garments

- Easy Purchases

- Super-Fast Shipping via DHL

- Double-Boxed and Securely packaged

Cettire CONs:

- No Phone Support for Customer Service (unless you're in Australia)

- Email Support Takes 2 Days+

- Cettire does not accept PayPal as a payment option

- Cettire Return Policy is 14 Days (Return request must be immediate and item must be shipped/delivered successfully to them all within 14 days), even though sending a message results in a pop-up saying "Currently we are receiving a high volume of inquiries and will require more time than usual to respond - sorry for the inconvenience".

- Return Request on website pop-up says "...could not manage return - please contact customer service"...

- Returns Are Complicated and Time-Consuming due to the difficulty of contacting support

- Cettire Charges for Returns (25 USD, 22,6 EUR + return shipping cost, any/all duties, taxes, or fees)

I am unimpressed with Cettire's customer support, as sending emails and waiting 2 days for a response is not optimal. I typically avoid online retailers who do not provide real-time online chat or phone support but I took a chance on Cettire.

I purchased Marsell boots that are authentic, new with tags, double-boxed, and beautiful but run extremely large (maybe 2 sizes bigger than a womens size 8).

The order was placed on 18 December, and delivered on the 22nd. I tried to send emails re a return request RMA since Christmas but received error pop-ups when trying to initiate the return on the Cettire site.

I was contacted by support and told to provide images (showing that the boots are in pristine/unworn condition) and they may consider accepting a return.

Waiting for their response currently...

UPDATE:

The issue was resolved via Visa cardholder services (not Cettire). Cettire was willing to accept a return (once they received the images of the boots showing they were in pristine condition) but for STORE CREDIT. 😩

I opened a dispute with my credit card and as soon as the tracking details noted that the boots were successfully returned-to-sender, they returned the funds to my method-of-payment.

I love Wild Planet tuna (ethically sourced, line-caught, whole tuna fillets -no bits- and not salty). When I saw the ad for Natural Catch tuna, I (wrongly) thought that it would be comparable to Wild Planet so I purchased a pack of 12.

This tuna is tough and salty!

It is submerged in very murky salt water (therefore the tuna is extremely salty). The tuna itself is very tough and hard to chew.

Natural Catch does NOT have free shipping (the customer pays $9 via USPS) and if requesting a return (as I am), the customer is expected to pay for the return shipping. With tuna this bad, I'm not happy about any shipping costs.

When I sent the return request to Natural Catch, I mentioned that I thought it would be like the amazing Wild Planet tuna (but was NOT). I was told (unnamed customer support person) that the 2 companies use the same cannery and that Natural Catch should be superior to Wild Planet!

NO. It isn't.

I've spoken to Wild Planet about this and was told that although the cannery may be the same, the processing is NOT. Wild Planet tuna is cooked once with no additives and Natural Catch is processed differently. Natural Catch tuna is twice-cooked (per NC support) and will not have a no-salt version out for a while.

It's too bad that the Natural Catch website doesn't offer to sell 1 can of tuna (for consumers to try), which Wild Planet does, by the way. Because Natural Catch only sells tuna in 6 or 12 packs. And when customers open a can and taste the salty + tough tuna, they are stuck (as I am) with having to return-ship the remainder.

I'm not thrilled to shop on any e-commerce website that does not provide phone support (or at least real-time online chat). Poshmark has a "contact us" via email and the user can expect to wait approximately 2 days for a response.

There are a few Poshmark sellers claiming that replica Hermes, Louis Vuitton, and Dior bags are authentic but are NOT. I purchased a LV bag that was noted as being "authentic", and in great condition. The images used in the Poshmark listing made the bag appear to be in amazing condition. Turns out, the images were swiped from the luxury bag reseller, Fashionphile, and the bag in their images was in excellent condition...the bag from Poshmark was in poor to average condition (well worn, scratched, w deep red staining all over the interior), and I seriously question the authenticity of the bag itself.

So, time was spent taking pics of the bag, uploading, being asked by PM to take MORE pics of the bag, uploading, waiting for a response... and finally getting the OK to return the bag to the seller. Buyers are forced to PROVE why a bag is in bad condition or inauthentic and who has time for all that?! Not sure when the refund will be processed.

Sellers shouldn't be allowed to misrepresent luxury bags and they definitely shouldn't be allowed to use other websites' images of authentic, excellent-condition bags (and pass off their own sketchy bag as the excellent-condition bag).

But this type of thing can't (probably won't ever be) monitored as it should be when customer support at Poshmark is not as hands-on as users would like. It appears that Poshmark takes the word of the seller that a bag is in good condition or "authentic" and that translates into buyers getting duped (and having to jump through hoops to get the authorization to return the bag).

I've purchased a few newborn baby clothes on Poshmark and overall had good experiences but buying luxury handbags is a whole different story! I see Sitejabber has an alert banner, noting that Poshmark has a more than typical amount of negative reviews and may be considered to be a SCAM. I wouldn't go that far. Poshmark is eBay-esque without the customer service Live and learn!

There have been ads for Bed, Bath, & Beyond Going-Out-of-Business sales on YouTube for a few weeks. Those ads are not cheap and BB&B is actually going out of biz so I presumed that checking out the site would be OK.

All items pictured (and described) did not correspond to the dirt-cheap sale price.

Example: 100% cotton 1500 TC sheet sets for $10, stainless steel air-fryers for $8, shopping trolley $9, etc etc.

Against my better judgment, I attempted to make a purchase of 2 sheet sets, a canvas laundry trolley, and 2 grocery trolleys - total: $41 (when the actual total for those items would have been well over $500).

The transaction did not go through and I received a call within moments from US Bank/Visa Fraud Detection Department - warning me about this company, letting me know that my account was on hold due to the suspicious nature of Aptatall. The Fraud department also noted that any attempted purchases from this company would be blocked by my credit card issuer!

I was forced to cancel my card (and now I have to wait for 10 days until I receive the new card). This company has all of my personal information and I'm really pissed!

(at myself, but MORE at this fraudulent Aptatall.com).

These ads are NOT Bed, Bath, & Beyond! This is an extremely suspicious seller called APTATALL based in China that has nothing to do with BB&B.

I have done some digging and have found a few review sites, stating that Aptatall is DANGEROUS and HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS.

User's recommendation: Do Not Buy ANYTHING from APTATALL.com.

I searched for a "JoyBed" (all-natural mattress comprised of wool + cotton) online. The website joybeds.com exists but this becomes confusing as the company is actually us-mattress.com (garden variety mattress store).

I spoke to various salespeople via online chat + phone and explicitly asked several times if the JoyBed had the same firm support as a memory foam mattress and all (without exception) said "YES!"

My complaint with all memory foam mattresses is that while extremely comfortable and supportive, the heat that memory foam produces is intolerable.

I wanted a cooler alternative to memory foam and since the sales team assured me that the JoyBed would fit the bill, I ordered online.

The mattress-in-a-box was delivered. I feel duped. This mattress is so lumpy, so uncomfortable, so awful... I just can't believe it.

You can feel every one of the springs/coils - it's as if a thin sheet was attached to the top of 200 soda cans.

If you have ever had the misfortune of trying to sleep on one of those cheap, fold-out sofa beds (that are 3 inches thick, lumpy with poking coils, and covered with flimsy fabric), you'll get the idea.

Although the website itself says once the mattress-in-a-box has had the plastic removed, one can sleep on it immediately the salespeople said one should allow 24+ hours for the mattress to expand.

The order confirmation email says Please Note: The coils can push together when compressed for shipping. If necessary, firmly shake the corners and the coils will settle back into place and the mattress will regain full length. It can also take several months for the padding to completely expand to its full height. SEVERAL MONTHS?!

(IMO) There is just no way that (future) months will yield enough expansion to disguise the uncomfortable coils of the JoyBed mattress! The salesman said that they have the JoyBed mattresses in the showroom and no one can tell that they even have coils when sitting or lying down on them. I don't see how that can be possible, however.

The lumpy, protruding coils can be felt by lightly running your hand against the side of the JoyBed mattress, even more so by sitting or lying down on one.

They claim to have an unconditional 120-day guarantee but this isn't true. They want a $139 restocking fee if/when a JoyBed is returned.,

JoyBed mattresses are not supportive. Protruding coils jabbing into my back - I can literally feel each coil. Certainly not "firm" - just lumpy.

My advice is to NOT buy from us-mattress.com and that goes double for buying a JoyBed from us-mattress.com

Image Beauty Review

PRO:
Discontinued Items I Can't Find Elsewhere

I've shopped at Image Beauty online a few times because I have had difficulty sourcing particular products (long discontinued nail products that pretty much cannot be obtained unless 3rd-party retailers happen to have "new/old-stock" at their disposal). For that reason, I think they are great! Prices are the same as I've seen at any Target, CVS, Walmart, other Beauty Supply retailers, Salons, etc. They offer frequent 15%-off store-wide coupons.

PRO:
Easy Online Order and Swift Ship

I've received my orders within a week, packaged securely, with a detailed packing list. The order confirmation is sent immediately, which includes the tracking number and detailed delivery updates. Some online retailers don't bother to add a packing slip and appropriate padding/bubble wrap to secure items (and some don't even provide tracking) but Image Beauty pays attention to these important details.

PRO:
PayPal Purchase Option Available

Always pay with PayPal or Amazon Pay, people - either will fight the battle for you should there be an issue. I haven't had any real issues with Image Beauty but you never know.

PRO:
Easy CONTACT US

It's always a good sign when an online retailer has several ways to contact them for order and product support, returns, etc. US-based toll-free number, email, and physical address listed.

CON:
No Super-Wide Selection and/or Availability

Not ALL items I want are available. The only downfall is that Image Beauty doesn't carry everything on my list. There isn't a massive, super-wide selection (they may carry some items, but not in all colors/styles/sizes) and only a few of certain items (nail polish, some hair colors, etc.). Love their salon-brand hair products! If it's a hard-to-find item or higher-end salon hair product you are after, Image Beauty may work well for you.

I recommend!

We've been ordering from Amazon Fresh since the pandemic hit. Amazon Fresh groceries have never been the caliber of local grocery stores but doorstep delivery was worth it, pretty much.

I've just discovered that since November 2022, Amazon Fresh has been charging me a tip that was never authorized.

Prior to November '22, the system never charged me a tip - I know that because we have placed over 100 orders since 2020 and a tip was never added by the Amazon system until November '22.

We always give a cash tip directly to the driver/delivery person and never (not once) have we authorized a tip when placing a grocery order on the website.

I never received any Amazon notification email, announcing that they would start auto-generating a tip for Fresh orders, and this was never told to me by any Fresh or Retail agent.

They are auto-generating tips based on a percentage of the grocery order, which the customer knows nothing about. The sudden site change was never noted to customers.

Additionally, as of February 2023, the previously "free" Amazon Fresh grocery delivery (for orders of $35 and up) has been changed to $150 and up (otherwise a delivery fee is charged). This, along with the forced tip situation translates into dropping Amazon Fresh. It really isn't worth it.

Originally, grocery orders from Amazon Fresh were thoughtfully packaged (using freezer bags + wrap for frozen and chilled items) but they are cutting corners in every way now, as they no longer use freezer packaging (many items are thawed and unsafe to consume).

Call center agents are located overseas vs. in the US. Prices are higher. Hidden charges. Forced tips. And new delivery charges - I'm DONE with Amazon Fresh! (And Amazon retail is getting a little old too).