Frances B.

The only time so buy from HauteLook.com is when they have flash sales for a couple jewelry designers I like. So I am buying merchandise I am familiar with. I have had fairly good experiences buying from them, although I really hate the way your shopping cart times out. The thing to know about these flash sales (and this is true for all outlet sites like this) is there are items that are truly on sale styles from previous seasons, or designs that have been discontinued and items that are made for specifically for outlet stores and flash sales. I have not bought fake goods from hauteLook (that I am aware of), but when you see the same items appear on each and every flash sale it's a clear sign that those are the "fake sale" click bait items. So you need to know your merchandise. I have returned items to HauteLook without any problem, and have gotten my return shipping paid for when something was damaged in shipping.

I have several DWR pieces in my home. I have had good and bad experiences with ordering from this company. The good thing I can say about them is that they do correct any problems that arise, and they don't leave the customer taking a loss. The bad thing is that you might have to fight for your rights. For example, I received an upholstered DWR chair that had been damaged in shipping (cracked wood frame). The damage was slight, but the piece was pricey and I had paid for perfect! So I demanded a return and full refund. They tried to discourage me from returning it, but they gave I when I pushed back. So if you stand up for yourself you are fine with DWR. Their delivery fees are high, it sometimes they offer deals on that.

I've ordered from this company many times, over the years. When they first started, they were an absolute mess of a business, but I ordered from them anyway because they sold some things no one else did. Now, years later, they are still pretty much a mess when it comes to fulfillment. I think they are just a "drop ship" business, with no stock on hand. Does that mean they are blameless for fulfillment delays? No. A company should not accept your order and take your money unless they know they can provide the merchandise within a reasonable time (based on the customer's choice of shipping speed). If an item is back ordered, a customer should be informed of that at the time of purchase. Gracious Home does nothing of the kind. Recently, I was notified a month after I had ordered and paid for an item that the ESTIMATED shipping date is in two months. Three months to fulfill an order? This is not the first time this has happened to me. GH is no longer a unique business, or sole supplier of any product, as they were in the early days. They need to clean up their act and catch up with the (superior) competition.

I entered my dimensions, for a single outdoor replacement cushion, into their calculator. The cushion was to be (in inches) 31X28X6, which should be a little pricey because that is fully custom. But the estimate came out to be $1007. 69. For one outdoor cushion. What the heck?

ADDENDUM

Immediately after this review posted, I was sent the following communique, from a "Jim T":

"Subject: Your Bitter B***h

It looks as most of your reviews are bad/negative you POS dirt. Maybe you should stay off the internet you piece of trash. Wow, you are truly an idiot. What goes around comes around b***h."

Related to this review? I think it must be.

Beware! I went to what I thought was a Dyson website (came up as a top search result when I Googled "Dyson warranty"), and went into their customer service Chat feature to ask about a warranty issue. All looked perfectly legit. The "agent" took my information and said they were transferring me to an expert, and that I would be charged $1 US. "Don't worry, you'll be refunded," the "agent" said. I followed instructions, and paid with PayPal. The "matching you with an expert" function on the JustAnswer website kept spinning and spinning. The penny dropped that I had been scammed. I contacted Dyson through another (nearly identical) Google search result, and got the real deal. That (real) Chat agent said they have no affiliation with JustAnswer. I contacted PayPal and got the charge reversed and the JustAnswer subscription which I had unknowingly signed up for canceled.

This company should be prosecuted for fraud. Stay away.

I ordered bulbs and plants online from about half a dozen companies this fall. This company stood head and shoulders above the rest, for both quality and shipping practices. All of my bulbs were perfectly fresh, plump, healthy, mold free, and of good size. They were shipped in a well ventilated plastic crate, which is a genius idea. Most companies ship in taped-up cardboard cartons, and almost always there will be some mushy, blackened bulbs in there because bulbs don't like to be handled that way. I would order from Dutchgrown.com again in a heartbeat. Highly recommended.

Zazzle did refund me after I chewed them out. But before they did that they told me they couldn't do a refund for a charge under X dollars. They said all they do was a credit toward future purchases. Really? I did not believe that for a minute. I pushed the matter and got my refund, magically. Of course, they had to make it sound like they were doing me a favor. Spare me.

So if this happens to you, stick to your guns and get your money back! It's not right that they trick people into signing up for an auto-renew membership.

I had to cancel most of one order (seven plants canceled) because the shipping date was delayed so long that it was too late to plant bare root specimens here. The bare root roses I did receive were shipped with no moist material around the roots (packing the roots with moist newspaper, moss or something similar is standard practice for growers), and they were slipped into in a loose, unsealed plastic bag, inside a shipping carton with no padding. The plants had advanced sprouting that was blanched from lack of sunlight, so they must have been held in a warehouse for some time prior to shipping. One plant had several roughly broken major roots that were clearly old wounds not from shipping. One of the broken roots was rotting. That plant never should have shipped out.

BTW, the only reason to not pack the roots with something to keep them moist is to save on shipping cost. Water adds weight. So the company would rather risk shipping compromised plant stock than pay a bit more to pack it properly.

Not happy. Not buying plants from this company again.

I've ordered from this company just once, but the transaction went smoothly and I am pleased with my purchase. My Isabel Marant coat was shipped from Germany to the US. It shipped quickly and arrived promptly, and was beautifully presented in a pretty yellow box nice enough to keep for storing clothing. The DHL courier did something truly stupid when my box was delivered, but that is a problem with DHL, not this company. I will order from them again.

For an interesting read on Yelp's dodgy practices go here:

https://blogs.findlaw.com/strategist/2013/08/yelp-shakedown-complaints-lawsuits-over-review-sites-practices.html

I've suspected for a long time that Yelp was a shakedown operation, and I have been told as much by business owners, but now I have proof that it is true. This is based on what happened with two low-star reviews I wrote, a few years apart.

The first review (a one-star, with a long, detail, explanation as to why) was killed by the business owner (Yelp said it was "managed") because he claimed it did not speak to the personal experience of the reviewer. That business had all full-star reviews on its page at that time. A couple years later, my one-star review was reinstated on that page, and not at my request. It just suddenly appeared in my account, so I clicked over and looked at the business page. I noticed that the page now showed several one-star and low-star reviews, with various dates! The only explanation that makes sense is that the business owner stopped paying the monthly "page management" fee to Yelp, so the archived negative reviews were posted again. Kind of funny, but really unethical. Devious.

The second instance was infuriating because it endangered me, and it was so blatantly in violation of Yelp's rules. I wrote a low-star review of a business that I had used for years and no longer supported. My review was detailed and honest. The business owner harassed me (violating Yelp's rules). She then posted a long reply revealing my personal information (sick and twisted, and also in violation of Yelp's rules). I flagged the reply and was ignored by Yelp. I deleted that detailed review and wrote a short, terse review with a low rating. The business owner pasted in the same, long, vindictive, identity-revealing reply. Again Yelp ignored my flag. I contacted a Yelp through another channel and was told that they deemed that hateful, vindictive reply not to be in violation of the Yelp rules (no mention of the harassment, of course, because they cannot explain that away). And here is where things become absolutely clear, when it comes to Yelp's shakedown business model. The business in question used to have several negative reviews on their Yelp page, along with some positives. They now have 100 percent positives, and the business owner managed to "manage" two negative reviews away, by breaking Yelp rules.

So what is Yelp if not a blackmail operation? If a business owner gets a negative review and contacts Yelp for advice on what to do about it, Yelp will tell said owner that they can pay a monthly fee to have their page "managed." I know a business owner who got this sales pitch. This is about as dirty as advertising gets!

I have many R&B pieces in my home. I can count off thirteen at the moment, and may have more than that. Over many years I have purchased case goods, benches (one custom), tables (one custom), and bookshelves from them, and all have been excellent quality. Their delivery service could not be better. I have a long, winding driveway that is not accessible for the huge delivery trucks furniture companies use. I always request a step-down service to deliver with a small truck. The last time I got a R&B table delivered (with a heavy stone top), the dispatcher or someone else messed up and sent out the full-size truck. The delivery guys parked down on the main road and carried the table and the stone top up to my house. It's about a quarter mile walk uphill! They could have passed on delivering and rescheduled for a smaller vehicle, but they went to all that trouble to keep the delivery appointment. That is great service. The few times I have had a problem with the quality of a R&B piece, the company has swapped out a replacement without fighting me on the issue. Highly recommended for quality merchandise and top-notch customer service!

The book I received had been extensively damaged by water — cover warped and rippled, pages swollen — yet the WOB listing said it was in good condition. Their definition of "good" includes this: "a book that has been read but remains in clean condition." My book was not in clean condition.

Dishonest listing. Do not recommend.

If you you send items here to be sold, don't expect to se any money for your efforts. You are just donating goods to a for-profit business. I sent in a large box of high-end clothing and accessories. Thread Up did not process my box for several months. All but one item was accepted, but then it took a couple more months to get the items photographed and listed on the website. Just one or two have sold. My profit on the transactions is just a few dollars. And I have yet to see a check for that pocket change! Total waste of time! I have made a fair amount of money selling on other sites. Thread Up is either very badly managed, or really dishonest. Not sure which of those is true — maybe both. But I am certain this is a business to be avoided.

Do not give Staples your business.In late July of this year, an immuno-compromised, senior woman was assaulted in a New Jersey Staples store. It was a racially based hate crime, even if it was nominally triggered by an argument over mask wearing. The victim was grabbed and thrown to the ground, with force, by the younger assailant. The victim lay on the ground, in extreme pain from a broken leg, and NO ONE in the store stepped in to help. NO EMPLOYEES came to her aid, for the several minutes that the security camera footage ran. Everyone just stood back and watched this woman writhe in agony. After the attack, the assailant breezes through the store, with no one intervening. She even circles back to the woman she attacked. And appears to kick her. And no one stops her. So cancel Staples. They no longer exist, for me. I would not feel safe in any of their stores.

Amazon used to be great for refunding or replacing damaged shipments, no questions asked. That is no longer true. I received a box of glass canning jars shipped by Amazon that was partially shattered because there was no padding in the shipping carton. None. Reported that online (Amazon now has a Bot doing its customer service Chat, not a human) and was told that because it was from a third party seller, I have to send back the shipment and wait for a refund. Absolutely no way I am going to send back broken glass, and I am not going to wait for a refund. So I requested a phone call from customer service. Agent initially did the "third party seller" thing, but I called her on it. Almost everything is from a "third party seller" now, at Amazon, so that is a BS excuse. Even when it appears in the listing that an item is from Amazon, it is usually from a TPS. Also, the items broke because Amazon did such a shyte job at packaging them for shipping. So I suggested that she refund me only for those broken pieces. She agreed, but after checking to see whether she could do that she said all she could offer was a "promotional credit" toward Amazon merchandise. Once again, I called her on this, and demanded a true refund for all or part of the damaged shipment (I had provided a photo of the broken jars, btw.) I pointed out that this issue had nothing to do with the TPS because Amazon packaged the items for shipment. I said that she could just send an entire new shipment, since I did not get what I ordered, and I have consumer protection on my credit card account. Once again, she disappeared to check on this. She came back and said she could refund my credit card just for the broken jars.

Hardly worth my time arguing, given the low cost of the items, but I hate being jacked around by businesses when they are so clearly in the wrong. If you run up against this kind of thing with Amazon, stick to your guns and make them do the right thing for you. The TPS excuse is not thing but a way for them to dodge responsibility. If it is an item "fulfilled by Amazon," and it is damaged in shipping, Amazon is responsible for that, and Amazon should refund you for your loss.

YOU CAN ALWAYS REQUEST A PHONE CALL from Customer Service. Just go through the Chat screen procedure and click on the prompt that indicates you need more help. Then click "request a phone call."

Purchased a Speck case for an iPad. The one I received made the buttons on my decide impossible to use, so I contacted customer service. They said that all of their cases are "tested by a lab" before being sent out. Really? If so, it must be a Labrador retriever. The case also had horribly sharp edges that could slice skin. The response from customer service, when I complained about this, was, "Our cases are designed that way." Again, really? I ended up returning the case, using a prepaid label they provided. But the refund has been slow in coming. I won't be shopping here again.

Submitted a request for contact on this matter, got back a "What can we help you with?'. Replied with explanation of problem with evaluation and "repair" of my shoes. (Not only. Are they still too stretched out, they just don't fit anywhere since the adjustment. I think the repair crew lessened the width of the forefoot, so now the shoes are really loose in back and pinching my feet in the front.) Customer service has, so far, ignored my reply. Do not recommend this company for anything! Reviews on the website are meaningless because they will not publish anything critical of their products.

(This portal website is is now Rakutan.com.) I've shopped through this portal for years. I was so disappointed when Nordstrom stopped their association with Ebates (criminals were abusing the system, so it's understandable, but still), but there are enough businesses that I use included on Ebates that I still get nice Big Fat Checks. Just not as fat as they used to be, alas. They have improved the website so that it is now really easy to track your "shopping trips" and your cash pending or cash back records. Once in a while a cash back has not been noted, and I have notified Ebates of this. A few years ago this notification would require some time emailing back and forth, but now it is all very quick. And I always get my money! In fact, Ebates has gone ahead and credited my account for cash back that the business has not yet credited to Ebates. This is a great business. Yes, by going through a portal you are selling your information for marketing purposes, but you are sharing all that already by galloping through the Internet. So get some cash for it.

I have used this service for numerous orders, over many years. All of the outdoor cushions they make for me last for ages. Every custom cushion I have ordered had been precise on size and shape no mistakes. The cording is done beautifully. The fabrics are high quality and so is the padding. They can be expensive, especially when you do custom shapes, but they produce a high quality product. Very dependable, ethical company.

This site was recommended to me by a friend. Tried it for two days and got mostly very unsuitable matches (too many were way outside my designated geographical area, also many were not professionals or highly educated by any measure). I cancelled my premium membership contract within the three days allowed under law and am currently awaiting reply on my request for refund (they charge the full, several-month contract up front, FYI). The company does not make it easy to find the required links to delete your account, request contract cancellation, and request a refund (three separate steps!). And get this: when you get to the third step, the form asks for a code that is in your profile, which you cannot access because you have cancelled it! It took me several tries to delete my profile, which is worrying. There is no human to talk to for help, as far as I could tell.

I cancelled largely because I did not feel safe on the site. I was besieged by "X might be interested" and "your profile is popular" emails, which began to feel oppressive. One man was obviously married (that's pretty common on dating websites, but this is supposed to be a better-vetted site than most). Furthermore, anyone joining this site can claim to be anything, for all the company cares. None of the information provided is verified. And here is something that completely turned me off. I was looking for men in one of the senior age brackets (I believe it was 58-70). Many of those men answered the "children?" question with "someday maybe" Yuck. There should be a way to filter those guys out.

Avoid this service!