Tip of the Day: Never Buy Beauty Products on eBay!!!

For years, I've been hearing great reviews from friends and hair stylists about the mighty Chi hair straightener. I decided a few months ago to finally break down and buy one. They're not cheap. The local salon had one for around $100, but being the cheapskate that I am, I decided to see if I could get one on eBay. I managed to snag a brand new one for around $80. It arrived quickly and worked great! I was very pleased and left rave reviews for the online seller.



A few months later, I was in the market for a new set of hot curlers. Once again, I thought I would invest in a nice set, and did some online research to find out what rollers were the best. I decided on a set of Babyliss ceramic hot rollers with butterfly clips. I found a set on eBay for around $40. I bought them, confident that I was getting a great deal.

A few days later, my package arrived, and I enthusiastically opened the box to find my hot rollers. I examined the product, and was shocked to find, not Babyliss rollers with butterfly clips, but Conair!? No butterfly clips. I had seen the exact same set at Wal-Mart for $20. I was, needless to say, very disappointed. I emailed the seller explaining the problem, confident that it must have been an honest mistake on their part. The reply I got was that "as far as they were concerned" the only hot curlers they sold were Babyliss, and if "I truly believed that I received the wrong product", I could return them at MY OWN EXPENSE and they would refund my money. What the heck?! I quickly went from disappointed to TICKED OFF!!! Did they really think I couldn't read that the curler box said "Conair" on the outside instead of "Babyliss"? I managed to get the seller's phone number and gave him a call. I explained the problem and he tried to convince me that Babyliss and Conair are made by the same company, so the product I received was equal to the one described in the eBay listing. I explained to him that the mere fact that the set I received did not have butterfly clips was significant difference enough, let alone the fact that the retail price of the Conair set was half the price of the Babyliss. The seller assured me that he would refund the cost of the item, plus shipping charges back to him. Relieved, I shipped the curlers back that very day. Days passed. Weeks passed. I sent emails, but got no reply. I tried calling, but got no answer. Finally, I filed a claim with PayPal, who reviewed my case and refunded the money I had paid for the item, but not the money I had spent to ship it back. I left negative feedback for the seller, and he left negative feedback for me, claiming once again that Babyliss and Conair are the same thing and that he had sent a refund the same day!!! The nerve!!! What lies!!! Oh, if I ever get my hands on that little....Anyway, back to the hair straightener. So, shortly after the hot roller fiasco, I was getting ready for church on Sunday and plugged in my eBay-purchased Chi. It wouldn't turn on. I tried re-setting the electrical outlet. Nothing. The darn thing was broken! No problem, I thought. One major reason I bought the quality hair straightener in the first place was because of the excellent customer service reputation the company has. I called Chi the next day and explained the situation, confident that they would replace the product without a problem. WRONG!! Once they discovered that I had purchased the straightener online, they informed me that their warranty is only effective on items purchased in a salon. Grrrr! So next time you see me and I'm having a bad hair day, you know why. And next time you think you might try to save a little money on hair appliances by purchasing them online, stop! Drive straight to your nearest hair salon and pay whatever they are charging, no matter how expensive, and know that you will be saving money in the long run!!!