Even though online shopping is becoming increasingly accessible, that doesn’t mean users should trust any site. Among the best practices for shopping online are checking multiple reviews, analyzing images, and verifying the website. However, one person in Maryland forgot these tips and ended up sharing their painful experience of believing they had purchased the most beautiful knitted sweater in the world. But in reality, this person only discovered that they had fallen for a cheap scam, one with the worst possible quality.
Redditor selcouthsirenpro shared on r/mildlyinfuriating how they ended up in a web of lies in the world of online shopping. This buyer in Maryland shared that they found the most adorable sweater with a knitted pattern and embroidered bees on a website. According to the photos, the sweater looked genuinely hand-knitted and had intricate embroidery, almost at an artisanal level. However, buying from a
“lesser-known” website has its risks, and that’s precisely what happened. The OP received what could be “the textile scam of the century”: a cheap polyester sweater with a print that attempted to give the optical illusion of knitting. Yet there is a bigger problem beyond the fact that the shirt was not knitted and the “knit” pattern was not even of high quality. The sweater actually looked like a printing error, with some parts blurred and others pixelated.
“It has PS1 graphics,” said solopro3000.
It’s not that OP didn’t read all the product information, since OP also added the description. This is a blatant scam attempt because the same ad describes the sweater as “Textured knit body with embroidered motifs.”
The worst part of this case came after OP contacted the company to resolve the issue. The company agreed to refund 20% of the sweater’s price, while OP would pay the return shipping costs to China. Sadly, this is not an isolated story. Many people have reported receiving sweaters printed with supposed knit patterns, when in reality they are simply fabrics printed with cheap images. Although companies should not engage in these bad practices, people should also be more careful about where they shop.
“This is becoming a near-daily post. Please avoid buying things from no-name stores on Instagram/Facebook ads. If they’re not a scam, then they’re of absolute bad quality. Either way, not worth it,” commented the_bollo.
“Stop ordering from random websites that you see in TikTok ads,” added Luutamo.
In the end, our unfortunate buyer learned something important: to carefully check the products they are going to buy and not to trust unknown websites.
