This web page details our opinions of and experiences with:
http://www.shopwildthings.com
We shop less and less frequently online. THIS IS WHY.
We needed a simple beaded door-curtain the other day. We didn't feel like driving across town in ludicrous traffic. So we figured we'd do the "easy thing", and shop at "WildThings". What could be more convenient?
We had looked around some other shops before trying WildThings, but the prices for a 36" beaded door ran around $15, and we didn't want to take a chance on ours being of low quality. We needed a "good one".
We ended up in the $40 - $60 range at WildThings and finally decided upon the one featured at this URL:
http://www.shopwildthings.com/dr90stpabacu.html
Looks good, right? And since this was nearly the highest-priced one we could find, we were assured of getting at least "decent" quality, if not downright "good" quality. We weren't worried. We bought it, and sat back to wait. Here's the picture that "WildThings" uses (at least as of this date) to represent this product on their website:
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Doesn't this look great?!So we bought it!
And here's a picture of the item we received:
The crossbar (which holds the strings near the ceiling) is completely covered with spots where the paint has peel and/or chipped off, and this chalky paint rubs off on your hands after only a few seconds of handling:
All of these pics were taken 30 seconds out of the box!
All of these pics were taken 30 seconds out of the box!
All of these pics were taken 30 seconds out of the box!
The paint used is of such inferior quality that just from transiting in the shipping box, it has marked and discolored virtually all of the bamboo dowels. This stuff rubs off onto your hands and clothes -- really makes an impression (albeit a BAD impression) on company or clients who show up in nice clothing :
Bottom line: This product is junk. We might expect to pay $9.95 for this in some import store down on the docks, or more like $4.95 on close-out sale -- assuming, that is, we wanted something of this low quality, which we don't. The actual product looks nothing like the "enhanced" picture on the website. The price is outrageous (for this quality). The paint is a liability because it will MARK CLOTHES. Who knows if the paint is lead-based (it's very dull and sloughs easily, which indicates to us that it might be).
Now all of this is bad enough. We were duped. It happens. You contact the retailer and they refund (they don't have a choice because you can always file a chargeback). You choke down this waste of time, effort and patience, and you move on, next time taking the trouble to go to a brick and mortar store where you can actually inspect the quality in person and decide to buy, or not buy, based on that.
But what really sucks is when the retailer gives you grief. These people know what they're selling. They MUST know it's junk. If they had ever opened one single box of these, imported almost certainly directly from China at a wholesale cost of about a buck and a quarter, they'd KNOW how bad this product is and they'd be EAGER to immediately issue a refund to customers who don't like being duped. But not "WildThings". They prefer, instead, to see just how far they can incite an angry customer. Read on:
Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2009, 7:32 PM
We received this item today.
The quality is far inferior to anything we could have even remotely
imagined. This is an insult to ANYONE's intelligence. This is junk, worth no
more than about $5. We'll give you 48 hours to arrange to have this picked up and returned
to you for a full refund, or we'll file a chargeback which will
provide us with a refund, plus cost you anywhere from $15 to $25
extra. You really should be ashamed of yourselves for shipping out
goods like this. You have 48 hours. Period.
And Wildthing's gracious reply:
We are sorry that you are unhappy with your purchase.
We would be happy to inspect the curtain that you received for damages or defects as well as for workmanship.
As per our return policy, you may ship it back to us at your cost. If we find [underline ours] that this is indeed an inferior product, we will cover the cost of shipping as well as provide a full refund.
We strive to provide both excellent products and customer service. Our thousands of repeat customers are all the testimony we need for assurance that we do not need to be "ashamed of ourselves".
Here is our address for returning the curtain:
Shopwildthings, Inc
2880 Sweetwater Avenue
Lake Havasu City, AZ 86406Please write this number on the outside of the package that you return to us:
RMA61154538Please include a copy of your order inside of the package that you return to us.
For your convenience, here is a link to our return policy: http://www.shopwildthings.com/info.html#returns
Sincerely,
Katie Henderson
At first glance this seems an amiable response. But as we take a closer look at the wording, we realize we're not willing to accept Wildthing's private assessment of whether or not this item is "damaged or defective". If WildThings had ANY reasonable concept of quality they'd never ship out crap like this in the first place. The fact that this level of quality apparently makes up their higher-end merchandise tells us right from the get-go that they can't be trusted to judge good quality from bad, defective from functional, and their determination in this case would be so suspect as to be automatically invalid. We submit that probably every single beaded curtain they send out looks exactly like this, and they MUST know it. The part we truly object to in this exchange is WildThing's notion that they have a choice here. They don't. They WILL refund, regardless of their own arbitrary and almost certainly erroneous whim as to the merchantability of this item.
WildThings is saying they MIGHT refund. But WildThings is also saying they MIGHT NOT.
We're saying, come Hell or High Water, they WILL refund, and their petulant notion that they "might not" (at their whim), frankly pisses us off.
We've sent the item back per their instructions, and we'll await a TOTAL refund (shipping both ways). And if they give us the SLIGHTEST grief we'll simply file a chargeback.
We believe this is yet another case where a retailer imports junk at dirt-low prices from China or any other Third World country, and tries to make a killing on them at grossly inflated, even "dishonest" prices here in the US. We've seen it a thousand times. We're sick of it. We buy less and less online because of it.
Any updates in this case will be appended below. We've severed communications with this outfit, and will merely wait an appropriate time period to see a refund on our card statement. If it isn't forthcoming in a reasonable time, we'll file the chargeback. If we have trouble with the chargeback, we'll hire an attorney near Lake Havasu City and sue them in small claims by proxy.
This is BS, and no one, especially us, has the time or patience for it.
This outfit STILL should be ashamed of itself for shipping out crap like this. We can't imagine that one single customer anywhere in the US would be happy with this at ANY price, let alone nearly fifty bucks with shipping.
NOTE: The return shipping on this was $17.18, which we may or may not recover.
Again, our advice: AVOID THIS COMPANY.
UPDATE 6-12-09:
Our spam filter has begun logging unwanted communications from the "Wild Things" domain. All have been automatically deleted, unopened and unread. We suppose this is some kind of childish retaliation for this page. This kind of conduct only cements and solidifies our resolve to shed this outfit once and for all. We will not hesitate to file a criminal complaint of harassment against these folks if the unwanted communication attempts continue. To Wild Things we say: CEASE AND DESIST. We have nothing more to say to you; you have nothing more to say to us. Your contact is unwanted. In Washington we may now collect from you the sum of up to $500 for EACH instance of unwanted and unsolicited communication REGARDLESS OF SOURCE. You will either refund properly, or you won't. Neither scenario requires any contact or communication outside the courtroom. If you'd like to end up in court defending yourselves civilly and criminally, keep it up.
UPDATE 6-27-09:
Wildthings signed for our return two weeks ago. There has been no hint of a refund so we have filed a chargeback through our credit card company.
Again, our advice: AVOID THIS COMPANY.
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