Caveat Emptor!

My coat on its way...

Let the buyer beware!

I took two years of Latin and never learned the meaning of caveat emptor, but I know it now. I was recently bamboozled by my love of fashion and a bargain. I also learned "you get what you pay for", and there was no way I was going to get a lavishly embroidered coat for $43.90.

I fell victim to a rather extensive internet scam— Chinese manufacturers who get your attention on Instagram or Facebook with striking fashion pieces for ridiculously low prices. Every model seems to be headless, shot crossing the street, and from an angle where they all look like Melania Trump.

Among the many plying this trade are Vavaspace, Romwe, SheIn, YesStyle, ChicNova and Front Row Shop.

I fell for a coat from Vavaspace as I am a sucker for anything "folkloric"— kimonos, kurtas, cheongsams, you-name-it. Several years ago I bought a beautiful embroidered jacket at H&M for about $90. The same coat was on the Vavaspace website "on sale" for $36.76, so I figured there was a good chance things were on the up and up. Here are pictures of what they showed, which looks exactly like my H&M coat:

 

Yes, the text says "Autumn and Winter Fashion Ethnic Printing Warm Coat", but it sure looked embroidered to me. Without a magnifying shot it was impossible to know for sure.

Above is the coat I bought. It too looks embroidered. There were no other shots on the website, and the text called it "Retro Ethnic Fashion Slim Embroidery Long Sleeve Cardigan". I knew there was a possibility it might not be as good in person— loose threads or uneven stitching, maybe a lopsided shoulder. I'm pretty good at fixing things. It did say the fabric was polyester, but there are all kinds of polyester.

What I was not expecting was a garish design printed on Aunt Tillie's polyester house coat. It actually fits pretty well, and if there were buttons I might even use it for a house coat. As something to wear in public, however, it failed miserably.

The coat is gone now from the Vavaspace website. With some difficulty I found this listing. Different wording and a doctored photo with an obviously printed coat, which is what I got.

Doctored photo, printed coat

It took over six weeks for my package to arrive from China (though the return address says "Chino, California"). While the website has instructions for returning unwanted items, I'm afraid I will never get my money back— in which case I will have lost $44 and Aunt Tillie's house coat.

It will be worth the humiliation of this confession if I save one more damsel from making a fool of herself. Crave not lest ye caveat emptor.