Doesn't the photo above look like a screenshot of a shipped item from a real vendor? Turns out, it's fake! I was getting tons of ads on Instagram for Velanico's products for curly hair. Apparently, everyone with curls should be sleeping in a bonnet and using satin ponytail holders. After seeing the videos several times, I couldn't resist buying some for myself and a few as gifts. The credit card payment went through. The email confirmation came. The shipping notice appeared, and then I waited. And I waited. After seeing this same shipping screen for a week, I emailed the company and got a lovely reply saying they'd look into it and get back to me, so I waited. After another week, I wrote again and again got a kind reply. They had me confirm my shipping address. They offered to resend my products. I accepted. Nothing happened.
At this point, I checked the tracking number, which didn't lead anywhere. I Googled the company, which led to mixed results. I decided that I'd been scammed. Not expecting to get anything out of it, I asked for a refund, which they gave me -- MINUS THE SHIPPING COST OF $5.00.
"So that's the scam," I thought. "They get five dollars of 'shipping' costs from every dumb shopper with curly hair."
At this point, I was glad to get anything back. Five dollars and my sense of myself as a savvy shopper weren't too high a price to pay for this valuable lesson. I need to remind myself that the algorithms that make my Instagram ads so appealing to me are made by both legitimate businesses and evil agents. I need to check into companies' bona fides before I give them my credit card information. Or, maybe I should turn every month into NoSpendtember and opt out of consumerism altogether. At this point, honestly, what do I need to buy?
When I wrote this post, I thought that was the end of the story, but two months after I got my refund (minus the fiver), the shipped items arrived. And they really are great. So do I learn my lesson or not? I don't know; you tell me. Please share any scam-related or smart-shopping stories you'd like in the comments.
Glad you like the products, but I’m still trying not to buy things from social media ads. The analysis I read of it didn’t say they were scams, but it did say that because they can figure out your preferences so well, they’re more likely to trick you into buying inferior products. The recommendation I saw is that it’s fine to learn about products and product categories from social media ads, but then to take a step back and look up other options for that category and that you’re likely to find better products cheaper. So for example, even if the ads and testimonials (which I’ll remind you are at least probably a part of the ad, even if they appear in the comments) say X product is the best thing ever for curly hair, go check Wirecutter or Consumer Reports or probably even Google/Yelp/whoever for best products for curly hair before deciding which brand to buy.
But I am absolutely delighted that your story had a happy ending!
Yes, I’ve been approaching shopping more like this since my happy-but-nearly-not story. The algorithms know what I want, and then I do the research to figure out the best way to find the right brand.