Doesn't the photo above look like a screenshot of a shipped item from a real vendor? Turns out, it's fake! I was getting tons of ads on Instagram for Velanico's products for curly hair. Apparently, everyone with curls should be sleeping in a bonnet and using satin ponytail holders. After seeing the videos several times, I couldn't resist buying some for myself and a few as gifts. The credit card payment went through. The email confirmation came. The shipping notice appeared, and then I waited. And I waited. After seeing this same shipping screen for a week, I emailed the company and got a lovely reply saying they'd look into it and get back to me, so I waited. After another week, I wrote again and again got a kind reply. They had me confirm my shipping address. They offered to resend my products. I accepted. Nothing happened.
At this point, I checked the tracking number, which didn't lead anywhere. I Googled the company, which led to mixed results. I decided that I'd been scammed. Not expecting to get anything out of it, I asked for a refund, which they gave me -- MINUS THE SHIPPING COST OF $5.00.
"So that's the scam," I thought. "They get five dollars of 'shipping' costs from every dumb shopper with curly hair."
At this point, I was glad to get anything back. Five dollars and my sense of myself as a savvy shopper weren't too high a price to pay for this valuable lesson. I need to remind myself that the algorithms that make my Instagram ads so appealing to me are made by both legitimate businesses and evil agents. I need to check into companies' bona fides before I give them my credit card information. Or, maybe I should turn every month into NoSpendtember and opt out of consumerism altogether. At this point, honestly, what do I need to buy?
When I wrote this post, I thought that was the end of the story, but two months after I got my refund (minus the fiver), the shipped items arrived. And they really are great. So do I learn my lesson or not? I don't know; you tell me. Please share any scam-related or smart-shopping stories you'd like in the comments.