I have put off creating this blacklist, as I feel that shopping should be a pleasant experience. However, the amount of deadbuyers is increasing and that is extremely frustrating for a blogshop owner who needs to know whether she can release the item to the next person. Also, facing irresponsible sellers/buyers/traders is also extremely frustrating, especially since online selling is all about trust and ethics.

Therefore, here is my blacklist of Very Rotten Mushrooms; of scammers (death to them!), irresponsible people and those who confirmed but backed out or just went missing!

I don't understand why it is so difficult to inform, even if you decide to backout. Such annoying and irresponsible behaviour will not be tolerated.

Other blogshop owners, please be wary of these people!


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SUPER IRRESPONSIBLE TRADER ALERT!

Ada One
Email: adaontheb@hotmail.com
Blog Address: http://jk-ilubshopping.livejournal.com/
Address: Blk 540 Hougang Ave 8 (Unit number censored)


June 2010: I swapped my brand new Bonitochico Nude Eyelet frock with her for her Dadigirl Paris Hilton-inspired Wrap Dress. She took pretty long to reply through email, but that was alright with me, as we hadn't confirmed anything yet. Mailing was done pretty efficiently and I received the item soon.

However, when I received the item, I noticed that the item was VERY DIRTY. Please see collage below for the stains. Click to enlarge.

Please refer to Pics 1 to 5, as Pic 6 is a repeat of Pic 1 (Picasa automatically reuses the first pic if the number of pics I use for the collage is odd numbered).

I had no idea what those stains were. Pretty dodgy I must say. They were all over the front and back part of the skirt. I didn't dare to wash them either, in case it was ink stain and it smudged.

Thus I first emailed her to check if she had received my item, as I knew that if I immediately told her about the stains, she could always deny that she had received my package (like the case of Celestia - see post below). She said she did, so I told her about the stains, and attached the pics.


My email here on June 29, 2010:

okie that's good that you received it safely.

btw babe, i wanted to tell you, the dress you sent me is stained leh. it has a lot of marks - my mum says it looks like oil marks??? i'm not sure what it is. i took it out of the plastic and it's already like that. both the front and back have the stains. it's super a lot man!

and i can confirm that when i opened the package my hands were clean and anyway, judging by the amount of stains, it's not possible that the dress was stained by me.

i attached a collage of the photos of the stained dress. btw, the 1st and 6th pic are the same. lol. coz picasa automatically reuses the 1st pic if i only have 5 pics in a collage.

did you know about the stains? i really can't accept the dress with so many stains! i was thinking if it's 1 or 2 spots maybe still okay, coz i do like the dress, but it's all over the front n back of the dress, and i dont even know what those stains are :(

one way to deal with this is i can send the dress back to you, and you can return my nude eyelet dress...
if not i send back your dress, and you can pay me for the nude eyelet dress instead..

sigh. damn sad la.

lmk okay...



I had to send her 3 emails before she finally replied.


This is her email on 3 July 2010:

hi babe,

i am here.. saw your several emails. No, am not avoiding you . I just havent got time to check my mails at all this week.

Its strange to find the spots or stain coz its brand new in bag. I havent even try it before coz i didnt like the colour when i rec it.
If this is the case , how much do u want to charge me for the nude dress? Coz its already in my laundry bag.

Did you try to see if the stains is removable by water? Since i dont like it at all, do you think u can accept it at cheaper price and get it washed?
Coz its useless for me if you mail it bag and waste the postage cost. Since you do like the dress..
Or can u try to get it washed, if the stain is removable, u can have it at a good price. If it doesnt go away, u give me the nude dress at good price?
How does that sound? LMK"



Sounds totally reasonable right? I was so relieved that she finally replied me, as I was so afraid I had met another scammer. I didn't dare to throw the dress into the washing machine, for fear that the dodgy stains might spread onto my other clothes. So that meant I had to hand wash. But I was so busy I didn't have time. So I just tried to wash a small spot with water, but there was a watermark. My mum told me I'd have to wash the whole dress, but I hadn't had time (and my mum is too busy to help me hand wash my clothes, meaning I actually had to FIND TIME to hand wash that item). So I just emailed this girl to ask her what's the "good price" she promised to offer me, as I didn't wanna drag the matter anymore, and most likely I would be able to get the stains removed.

Now, I did contemplate emailing her to tell her to forget about the "good price" she had promised to give me. But the more she didn't reply me, the more I felt like something fishy was up. I mean, when I enter into any transaction, I expect honesty from the other seller. If her item is dirty, she should STATE IT CLEARLY on her website, which she didn't. I even have a screenshot of her description. And her taking so long to reply mails seriously didn't help my impression of her. Honestly, I felt CHEATED. I mean, if I knew her item was dirty - whether the stains were washable or not - in the first place I would not have swapped my BRAND NEW Bonitochico Nude Eyelet Frock with her. I could have gotten cold hard cash for that instead.

So anyway, here's a screenshot of just how many emails I sent her, and my final email to her. Click to enlarge.


Copied my email sent to her on 25 July 2010, 1.21 am:


Hey Ada,

I think it's really irresponsible of you to go missing like that. It's not the few dollars that I'm bothered about, it's that I feel very cheated by your actions. In fact, I even wanted to email you and tell you to forget about the top-up, but you didn't even reply my latest emails. With online selling/trading, it's all about ETHICS. I'm really very disappointed by how things have turned out, especially since you seemed like a nice and responsible seller through emails.

To begin with, as a seller, you should check your item for any defects, and be honest about it and STATE IT on your website. Before sending, you should at least check your item before sending out. And if there's anything wrong, I think it's basic courtesy to refund or at least REPLY. I've been really patient, thinking maybe you didn't check your email. But even if you're busy, I think you can't have been THAT busy till you can ignore my email for 2 weeks. There's really no excuse for that.

I'm really very disappointed by your actions - you didn't even have the courtesy to send me a reply after I've sent you numerous emails, and all very politely too and not wanting to think the worst of you. But you leave me with absolutely no choice now. I will be warning other people about your irresponsible behaviour.

If you can live with your conscience doing business by cheating people/ going missing after sending out a dirty item, not replying mails etc, then good luck with that man. You can keep the few dollars for yourself if it makes you exponentially happier.


As you can see, she hasn't replied after 2 weeks and I doubt she is going to reply me ever again.

I am just very disappointed in her. She appeared nice and responsible, so I didn't even think that she sent out the item KNOWING there were stains. Naively, I thought that perhaps she didn't realize it. And her offer to give me a good price was a nice move on her part. I would have been okay had she just replied me and told me perhaps she felt it was pointless to send me a few bucks, but perhaps the next time I bought from her she'd give me discounts. Something like that, you know. That's service, and basic courtesy. But now that she has failed to reply my emails, it just makes me think that she had the intention to cheat; knowing there were stains, not mentioning them, and yet still sending out the item.

Whatever it is, I have already given up hope long ago, and so I just want to warn you all if you want to swap with this girl who goes under the alias of "Ada One". Be wary of her okay! I don't wish for anyone else to have such an unpleasant experience as I did.


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SCAMMER ALERT!

Lim Qianwen Celestia
Email: celestia90@hotmail.com, xiiaoqian@yahoo.com.sg
Blog Address: http://l-ovenotes.blogspot.com, http://trashcan-garagetruck.blogspot.com, http://instocksblog.blogspot.com/ (all deleted already)
Handphone: +65 82079***
Address: Blk 118 Teck Whye Lane #03-*** S'680118



[You can change your blog and email addresses, even change your handphone number, but what's the probability of always shifting house? I've replaced her unit number with the asterisks, but babes, please be wary if a buyer/swapper requests you send an item to that address listed above. If you are unsure, you can email me to confirm the unit number. I don't wish for anyone else to get scammed!]


I swapped stuff with her in July 2009 (after her constant pleas), but she did not send out all the items. Even the items I received were pretty dodgy. The most expensive item worth $18 (Shills BB Cream), she said she “forgot to include it in”. She said she would send it out again (and even claimed to throw in a free gift) but I never received the package. I even called up the Return Letter Unit in case it was sent there, and they said there was no package there that I described. Worst of all, I sent out her items (Midnight Stardust dress and white bead necklace) and she claimed she never received it, which is utter rubbish as ALL my customers have received their items. She even claimed she emailed Singpost but they could not find the package I sent her - obviously, 'cause she has received it already!

I tried to think the best of her, as throughout my correspondence with her through email, she appeared very nice and easygoing, even offering to throw in free items. But after a few days, I had a feeling she was a scammer, because I have received requests from various emails/blog addresses regarding this one same item (Midnight Stardust dress) but after clicking on that link a few days later, the blog would be deleted. And it all seemed to point back to her using different emails/blog addresses.

Just google celestia90@hotmail.com to see other accounts of her scams.

My only regret is not double checking her background before agreeing to swap things with her. I'm not even hung up over the $18 worth of items that she cheated me of, but I feel very angered by the fact that scammers like her are going around deceiving honest people, and misusing blogshop owners' trust!

So girls, please be wary of her!


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DEADBUYERS/ MIA PEOPLE

1) icy.hedgehog@yahoo.com
June 2009: Said she could not do ATM transfer and thus confirmed to meet up, but just went missing and never replied me even after I sent multiple emails.


2) [Name and email removed. Case closed as of 15 Sept 2010]
Oct 2008: Said she was highly interested in the items, confirmed to meet up but never replied me on a day/timing she wanted to meet. After I emailed her again, she said she was cash-strapped, so I left it as that, didn't wanna pursue her.

Feb 2009: She emailed and SMSed me about some items again. After confirming she wanted to meet up for the items, she said she'd SMS to let me know when she could meet up. Again, she went MIA. No news at all. A leopard never changes its spots.


3) [Name and email removed as she has apologized (7 April 2010)]
July 2008: Said she wanted the Rainbow Bead Necklace, but she could not do ATM transfer, only could meet up. Another buyer wanted my last instock for the necklace (that I reserved for this girl), so I double checked with her if she was confirmed about the item and she said, "Yup i wantttttt, i won't back out ! don't worry :DD".

When we finally confirmed on a day/timing to meet up, I actually walked to Bugis MRT in the pouring rain, and waited for her there. Bear in mind, I was working in Bugis, and that was during my break, and thus I had to forgo my dinner to meet her. However, when I reached, I called her and she said, "HUH?! I thought I SMSed to say I cannot meet you?" Utter nonsense. I checked my inbox and there was no such SMS. I was supremely pissed off as she had wasted my time and lied to me. I even had to walk back again to my workplace in the pouring rain. She then said she would transfer the money to me but as I expected, she never did.



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Somehow it seems like those shoppers who cannot do ATM transfers/Ibanking cause the most problems. Therefore, I will give priority to customers who can make immediate payment through ATM transfer/ibank, rather than only through meet ups.