I have purchased from maybe half a dozen quilt/fabric shops on the internet and have never felt that I was ripped off.

Would you care to give us specifics?
Teresa

We all know that on eBay you can post negative feedback or pursue other avenues for a refund.
But where could somebody complain or report ripoffs that occur elsewhere online? It has not happened to me, thank heavens, but I wonder...
BlueBars

Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've been buying things on-line for almost 15 years and have never felt I was ripped off. I purchase quite a bit of fabric on-line too. The one time I was unpleased with a purchase I contacted the company and was very satisfied with their response. If it's a reputable company, I don't think they would want unhappy customers out there telling their friends about them.

Crayt, I think we would all be interested to know about a fabric seller who wouldn't stand behind their product and if you would care to share more information on this I'm sure it would be appreciated.

Kate

I haven't got a lot of experience with on-line fabric shops, but the ones that I have dealt with have been excellent. The products have been exactly as described, amounts were generous, packaging was good, and shipping was prompt. I agree that specifics of your experience would be useful.

Annie

I shop online all the time but I do tend to stick with the same vendors who have always shipped to my satisfaction. I seldom try a new, unknown one. Since you are sending off your credit card number to a stranger, it pays to be careful these days.

I rarely send my credit card off, unless it's a company I know. I use PayPal to pay for almost everything on line. I know it's safe and that they'll take care of any problem if it does come up. On almost all sites there is a 'pay by credit care or pay by paypal' choice.

Kate

Maybe I've been very lucky, but I've never had a problem ordering anything over the internet. I love the convenience of it. Too bad you've had a bad experience. Try and contact the company directly and speak with someone.

Dianne

Thanks for your feedback ladies, the shop that I am talking about has had no less than 5 storefronts online that I have been able to recover so far, and several people I know have been ripped off by this person, so I know there are more out here. Please come forward so I can effectively build my case.

this is not easy to do. first you have to report to the bbb where they are located. I have also reported to the FTC since it was not small change that was ripped off, my local police department to file a long arm statute, and the local police department in the state the shop is located, which is WA.

so, any others????? please let me know. you deserve your money back or if nothing else, justice. this has to stop!!!!!

So, crayt77, are these on-line sites still LIVE?
Even it they are, would it be easy for them to simply change the name and look like a new site?

I have used many on-line shops and always been very pleased with them. I have received fabrics that were not exactly what I expected, but did technically match the description on the site. Many sites have even sent free FQ or discount coupon with my order. I do avoid sites that have only a few items listed or just don't "look right" to me. I had trouble with my PayPal a few years ago, kept getting spam wanting my password and various things, so I just closed it. I have a credit card with a very small limit that I use exclusively for internet purchases. Keeps me from overspending, and if someone does get it they can't get much.

beverly

I do about 90% of my fabric buying online never had a problem if you know the brand name of the fabric you want it makes it alot easier.

Gillian.

I've never had a problem. I have dealt with many online fabric shops. Always the fabric arrived timely and often with a little extra surprise, a fat quarter or something. Once I was sent the wrong colorway. The company immediately sent a replacement and let me keep the one that was sent in error.

If there has been a problem with an order you bought over the internet, your credit card company is best positioned to help you. It is easy for them to reverse the charges.

I've never had a problem ordering on-line. I purchase most of my fabric this way.

There have been a couple of sites I decided not to order from, but I won't name them. I don't KNOW that there are any problems with them, just that I was uncomfortable with them.

You're trying to hunt down information, but unless you tell us the names of the sites, how do you expect us to help?

I order from very few places that have not been recommended by someone else...and no large amounts and always use a credit card. Lots of sites are just someones home or basement or garage business. I don't know either how you can tell if a place has bad customer relations but agree there should be someplace.

Is there a reason you do not want to post the names of the sites to protect others from ordering from them?

I don't get your purpose for this post since you refuse to provide any ligitimate information. I am not sure you are even a quilter or interested in quilting.

This is a QUILTING FORUM where we come to share quilting and make friendships and take part in exchanges. Obviously by the responses, no one here has any problems that you describe with online shopping.

As of this date, bluebars, as far as I have been able to tell, the latest rip off site of this person is currently down. There have been no less than 5 shop name changes associated with the same person and each time she took it down it was a sob story that turned into a lie as far as I have been able to find from other chats online. thanks for your query.

Posted by mary_c (My Page) on Thu, Dec 4, 08 at 14:04
You're trying to hunt down information, but unless you tell us the names of the sites, how do you expect us to help?
RESPONSE TO MARY C: The sites are currently down so no one is in danger at this time.
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RE: online quilt shop rip off
Posted by lilypad22 (My Page) on Thu, Dec 4, 08 at 14:09

Lots of sites are just someones home or basement or garage business. I don't know either how you can tell if a place has bad customer relations but agree there should be someplace.
Is there a reason you do not want to post the names of the sites to protect others from ordering from them?
RESPONSE TO lillypad22 - I dont want to be caught up in a slander lawsuit because the person is very unprofessional and I have emails to prove it. I stated the shop was located in the state of WA.

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RE: online quilt shop rip off

Posted by love2sew (My Page) on Thu, Dec 4, 08 at 16:43

I don't get your purpose for this post since you refuse to provide any ligitimate information. I am not sure you are even a quilter or interested in quilting.
This is a QUILTING FORUM where we come to share quilting and make friendships and take part in exchanges. Obviously by the responses, no one here has any problems that you describe with online shopping.

RESPONSE TO LOVE2SEW: again, I was trying to see if anyone was willing to speak out about being ripped off such as they did in the previous thread "rotarycutter mania" . This person has made a living at ripping off innocent quilters of all ages for more than two years that I know of and needs to be stopped.

If I was not a quilter y would I be buying from an online quilt shop when I could just shop locally and y on earth would I b frequenting a quilting blog??? duh!

RESPONSE TO ALL: If you have been ripped off, you would know and hopefully respond. this is not a witch hunt. I am filing legal charges. thanks TO ALL for your responseS.

"I dont want to be caught up in a slander lawsuit"
So you want someone else to slander this person?

For the record, I haven't been ripped off by anyone in the quilting world.

I find your post very odd.

I didnt ask anyone to name anything did I? Just asked had anyone else been ripped off.

Crayt77,
I did a search on this forum, and on the whole site. No thread turned up with the title "rotarycutter mania". You are clearly in the wrong forum.

Ok, crayt77,

I googled you. I would have preferred to respond via email, but you don't have a contact on your member page. I do know what you are referring to.

It's a lost cause, as far as I'm concerned. You won't find any evidence here, and many didn't believe it was a scam in the first place.

I don't need you to name the sites (not sure if that'd be permitted here either), but pls. won't you say what the transgression was?

Did they keep yr. money & not ship the goods? Did they short ship or ship the wrong products or WHAT?

Personally, I'd want to be sure what they did was actually wrong before I proceeded further or added my two cents.

Reply to MaryC - ok I apologize, I am searching several forums and you are correct, the rotartcutter mania was in cafemom. thanks for pointing that out to me. sorry about that. i will fix my member page also. I am on yahoo. thanks.

ok pirate girl, now I get y everyone is confused. duh for me.

in february i broke my arm and was surfing the net when I came upon a quilt site that offered a "mystery quilt block a month" all of precut fabric. so I ordered it, paid for it, and the blocks started coming as first stated, then they kept getting later and later arrival dates, and pieces were missing and I could get no response from the owner nor replacement blocks for missing items.

finally, they stopped coming altogether and the website disappeared with no warning. my money was already spent several months ago so the bank would not rescind the payment.

still was unable to get response or satisfaction fromthe owner which caused me to start digging and tht is when I began to discover the numerous other shops and a few others that have been ripped off by her.

does this help everyone understand? thanks for your patience with me and sorry for confusing you all.

Yes, this does help us understand your problem better. If you had just posted this information at the very start, none of us would have been so confused and maybe we would have heard of other quilters who had similar dealings with these shops. But we are very suspicious of new posters who just breeze in with odd requests and questions.

Teresa

What a frustrating experience for you--no wonder you are upset!

Annie

Today, many businesses (small and large) are going under due to the economy. That's no excuse for dishonesty or fraud, but it is something we all might keep in mind.
That is only one reason I would not purchase a BOM by-the-month. Another reason is, by the time the last package arrives, you've spent so much on shipping.
I would never pay upfront for all the months That doesn't seem ethical either; even your credit card company can't help you in the event of a dispute.
The only BOM I ever purchased by the month, there were so many errors (same package sent twice, wrong fabrics, etc.) it was more hassle than it was worth. I know from experience that it is very challenging to put BOM kits together, and very error-prone.
If I cannot buy the whole package at once, forget it.
BlueBars

Just a thought...I'm not legally trained, so it's only something I might have heard at one time...doesn't INTENT have to be proven in order to be considered fraudulent? Perhaps this person had good intentions, but just got in over her/his head.
Salijo

I am afraid that all WA online fabric stores may be affected by something like this. As I have said several times my favorite online quilt store is Over The Rainbow on Camano Island WA. I have ordered from her many times with no problems. Actually I have never had any problems with any online store except sometimes it takes a little longer than I would like.
Pat

Pat, that's why I really dislike posts that make claims but won't name names. The innocent get hurt right along with the guilty. If you have direct knowledge of a problem, tell others so they can avoid it. If it's hearsay, then be cautious because it might be wrong. And if you have a problem, be specific so we can understand. I appreciate crayt telling us exactly what happened. And it seems possible that the selling just got in over their head and couldn't meet the responsibility. If it was a total rip-off, wouldn't the have taken the money and never sent anything? As it was told, they did send the materials for a few months.

I'm actually surprised this doesn't happen more often. I have only been burnt one time ordering anything, and it was before the inet stores were mainstream and it was a mail order made through advertising in legitimate gardening mags. I paid up front, and it was to a legitimate "name" I knew professionally and the check was cashed immediately. And the business number was always on an answering machine and the calls never returned, the merchandise never came, and the money never returned.

I pursued it through some government agencies I knew that particular business to be governed by. Yep, the business had new owners, they had quality problems and were inexperienced, and they just got in way over their heads. They had no business cashing checks for new orders, however when they knew darned good and well they would not be filling them. It was through the mail, across state lines, and if I had pursued it any further, would have been nasty for them, I'm sure.

The funny thing is, one of the fairly prominent gardening mags several years later actually listed them as a source for certain kinds of material. LOL. So, I no longer bought that magazine, because those articles could not have been written by anyone current in that industry.

I have ordered material of all sorts from many places in the world over the inet. It's a wonderful alternative to being locked into the few box stores I won't shop at who are dominating many rural areas. Yes, I am careful from whom I order, and often make sure they've had references from friends first or are companies I already know and trust. It's also a great equalizer for home based businesses, in that they can compete against the 'giants' on equal footing since they don't have to maintain a billion dollars worth of store fronts and overhead. One of these days, down the line, I think they'll be more highly regulated, and until that time, one just has to be careful.

Thanks Pat for the recommendation for Over the Rainbow. What an awesome quilt site. I will order from them soon.

Being a newbie to quilting, but not online ordering it's always a good idea to make sure that when you are ordering something the site has the same security of walking into a store. And for me I always use a credit card, (so I can get my money returned if the product is never sent). If you send a check that is only one step away from cash. Your only alternative is to put a "stop payment" on it, but if it's cashed right away you are basically out of luck. You can always go after them with your copies of the invoice etc., but if they are no longer in business...well it's a real headache.

I agree that the regulations should be improved but I really think it's important to keep these wonderful quilt stores in business. They are the heart and soul of the quilter that doesn't have a store (other than the big name stores that offer very little help when you need it). I live in So. Cal and believe it not I have very little to choose from in the way of a good quilt store. I love the online stores and I can imagine how hard they work to keep us all happy.

One more thing. Maybe in the future if someone has a problem (and doesn't want to name names) they can ask people to email them privately to find out the details of the story.

Sorry to be so long...

Susan

Over the Rainbow is one of the Best shops online. I have been ordering from them for years NEVER a problem.

I do not see it as slander if XYZ did this or that and
you state what happened to you. And unless it is a substanial amount of money, I would look at it as lesson learned. It would cost to much to go after them. And you can not get blood from a turnip if they have gone out of business.

I have done several blocks of the month with Planet Patchwork and you buy each block from a different store online. I buy them all at once so I do not have to wait.

Nanci

Thank you to everyone for all your wonderful responses and replies. I am sorry for the confusion at first and now i understand why you acted the way you did, as I am new here.
I am certainly gonna check out the rainbow shop too!
I am probably gonna chalk it up as a lesson learned for certian because I cannot afford a civil case over state lines I dont think, however, I AM reporting her and all the affiliated shops to my police dept, hers, and the fbi, the fcc and comcast (her domain provider), the the bbb in WA. I have already done some of these.

My biggest concern and the reason for this post was to gather information to see how many others she ripped off as this it the 5th store front she has opened and closed. I did find others, none willing to report her though which is sad because it leaves the rest of us vulnerable to being ripped off in the future.

Thanks for listening and trying to help. I did add my email to my profile.