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Was I swindled?????

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Anacaona

Anacaona

Well-Known Member
Ok, so I was at my local mall today and I saw a cart with some very cute flat irons (I have been on the market for one for a couple of months and have been looking at the ever-changing prices of the Joico Vaporirons.)

So with some sweet talking and flattery, I purchased an 1.5 inch Ceramic Amika flat iron for $200.00...........but wait..........I got one for free, so it was two for $200. After just one pass, my hair was so silky and shiny, I couldn't resist!:rolleyes: And I thought, ok.........I'll just sell the second one on ebay to help pay for the first.:dance7:YIPPEEE!

So I come on LHCF and of course....I see people who bought one for like $50!!!!!:angry2: And then I read that the ones at the mall are of poorer quality than the ones you get online!

I know, I know, I should've done my research but I was so frustrated with what's going on with the Joico flatiron that I just went for the rebound flat iron.

I still have the receipt (assuming that they'll even take it back:rolleyes:) Should I just return it?
 
Girl YES take it back! What in the world was the sweet talking and flattery for if they were just gonna jack up the price?!?!?:lachen:

Hopefully they will take it back, guuuuuurrrrrl! Do your research next time and just charge this one to the game! Thanks for the laugh though! Lol
 
...that's a $150 difference. For something that may be of inferior quality.
I'd be in the car, on the way back to the mall by now. :rofl:

I hope they take it back.
 
Take that back! You might have to jack them up though, 'cause those mall carts hate to give refunds...it's liking trying to take something back to a Korean BSS = DRAMA! :lachen:
 
Thanks ladies.....I KNEW this was too good to be true. I'm blaming all of this on the Joico flat iron!
 
melissa-bee said:
Buy one get one free?? :giggle: with a flat iron :lachen:
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The free one could be a mini. The Maxiglide has that kind of a package deal. But in any event, $200 is a lotta dough to shell out on a flatiron that you didn't even research chica..and from a kiosk no less and not even an actual store???:whip: Fingers crossed that they take it back. :look:
 
Girl, you gotta be careful of them kiosks. Especially shelling out that kind of money! Go get your money!

They've gotten my dad so many times. He calls them gypsies. :lol:
 
I've had the same thing happen to me. One day, I'm on my way OUT of the mall with my baby in the stroller, and this guy asks me what I do to straighten my hair as I'm walking by his stand...and I told him I texlax it (this was last year in spring 09). So, he says, "Let me test this flat-iron on you and show you how to straighten with this." I told him I already had TWO flat-irons and KNEW HOW TO USE THEM (one cheap ceramic Conair that worked good despite price, and one higher-priced Maxius Mini-Glide).

He was very persuasive, and all about grabbed me by the hand [very nicely] and sat me down. Then, he sections off a piece of my bang (combing wit a small-toothed rat tail comb, which I hate that so-called stylists do),:ohwell: and starts to run the flat iron through it. I hear it literally sizzling my hair, and I just knew he had that damn thing up as high as it could go. So, I'm like, thanks, but no thanks, and ask him not to do the rest. He goes, "Well I will sell you this for $300."

I was like, WTH?!! :nono: This flat-iron looked like your run-of-the-mill BSS/drugstore flat-iron with cheap red and black leopard-print paint on it. The others on display were looking the same in different colors, some solid, some print. I didn't see a temp dial on it, and honestly, my Conair from Wal-mart looked better and more professional!

So, I say, "No thanks," and he's like..."Okay, Okay. I will give you (2) for $250. " I'm thinkin', ok this is some Asian/Indian (no offense) seller BS. They try and sell you some ish for high price, and when you don't wanna buy, they knock the price down immediately. It's like, naw...you was just about to rip my arse a new one, and sell one to me for double, and now you wanna give a discount?!! :rolleyes:

I had to profusely decline (it's like they don't take "NO" for an answer) and just thank him for his time and walk away! My baby was crying and everything as soon as I sat down, so she knew they was full of ish anyway!!:lachen: Soon as we walked away, she stopped (and she isn't afraid of strangers) so she was definitely tryin to tell mommy to get the Hell outta Dodge! :yep:

Even if I was up to spending that kinda money on a damn flat-iron and it were no object, my common sense wouldn't have let me do it!! Them cheap arse flat-irons they was selling couldn't be worth more than $15 or $20, as I said, I paid $14 for my Conair, and it's WAY BETTER. Plus, the way it was sizzling my hair, and feeling a bit rough gliding down, I DOUBT IT WAS REALLY CERAMIC. Prolly just a ceramic coating over pure base metal, which is how these sellers get over, by marketing a product that isn't through and through real...kinda like plated gold!

OP, good luck getting your money back or re-selling it somewhere, but my general mantra is to NEVER BUY FROM THE CENTER MALL AISLE VENDORS, unless it's something real cheap and unimportant like a pair of sunglasses or a cell phone case! They are very shady, sell everyone something at a different price, and don't usually let you return for a refund/exchange! I NEVER buy from them cuz I know how they operate!!
 
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YES! Take it back immediately. I know the EXACT kiosk you're talking about, because I've seen it too. All the adorable flat irons with zebra print, hot pink, polka dots, etc....really draws you in. I remember over the holidays I stopped at one to inquire about a price and the guy said they were 159 or something. I must have made a screwed up face :perplexed because the guy immediately started in with "Oh but I can give u 20% discount right now..." "For you only...." "Only til the end of the day..." "I can shave off $30"....and kept going down and down on the price. I still didn't buy, but that just leads me to believe that the original price mentioned was WAY inflated :nono:

I hate shady business :mad:
 
Anacaona said:
Ok so I gotta put my big girl panties on and get my money back....
Any suggestions? Lol
Click to expand...

Demand you want your money back. If they refuse, ask to speak to their higher ups. Ask who they're contracted by and then demand to speak to them. Threaten to go to the manufacturer, file a report, AND slander them on the internets.

Don't take no for an answer! They might take some prodding, but they will give in. Tell them you found the same flat iron online at a FRACTION of the price. Ask why they charge so much for the SAME product.

Stay persistent! Where you live? Approach with a friend or two. Want me to come too? :lol: But no, usually going with someone does help. I've had this happen a few times - friend get suckered into buying and not being alone does seem to help.
 
Anacaona said:
Now how in the heck am I going to get my money back?
Click to expand...

IDK, the first thing I would do is take it with you and immediately ask for a refund. Try to make sure it's in the original condition and packaging, so they can't turn you away for that reason alone. It'll prolly be hard, just b/c these ppl are shady by nature, and b/c returning anything that could've touched your hair is near impossible in most cases (i.e. wigs, weave hair), due to hygienic guidelines from the health dept. You can make up a reason why you're bringing it back, "Like my mother took sick, and I need the extra money to fly to see her," (God forbid, but ya gotta be slick with these people, and maybe they will be merciful and let you have the money back instead of insisting on a store credit like they usually do).

If that doesn't work, ask for their company hotline/cust. svc. number. If they don't have one, ask for the district manager's number, which is often the immediate overseeing manager (with a little more clout than those actually working there) for those kiosks. Then, if you need to, take it from there. Also, if you can, speak with mall management about their practices and your issue. A little pressure goes a long way. Basically, the mall mgmt may not even know their operating procedures and may have even had complaints from other customers! These vendors pay a rental fee and set up shop. They prolly don't even have to explain what their selling to the mall mgmt!

Malls are struggling nationwide and just want that bread to pay their leases and operating costs (I know, because the swanky mall I had my experience w/these ppl at was in debt to the tune of almost a BILLION dollars--$900 mil specifically right before Christmas 08). They made up the money in the Christmas shopping time, but that kiosk was in that mall, and is still there the last time I passed through.

I hope that you don't get into a long drawn-out battle with these folks, because like returning a product to a BSS, it can be like having an act of Congress to get your money back, like others have said. I hope that you're able to get it back, because they don't deserve the money of honest, hard-working people since they aren't a legit business and not being truthful and transparent in their practices (selling bootleg, cheap quality flat-irons made in China or Korea for top knotch US salon prices). I say, get 'em girl!

HTH!
 
Thank you ladies so much. I am PISSED and will be going STRAIGHT to them as soon as I leave school tomorrow.

I'll follow up with what happened tomorrow.
 
What's the return policy? ALWAYS check the return policy!!!! I got "swindled" at Trade Secrets like that. Luckily, the flat iron worked out for me.
 
you're just having buyers remorse. if it works, keep it. sell the other one like you said initially or just cut your losses and keep it moving.
 
girl :nono: go get your money back! You would have came out better buying a flatiron on Folica or BeautyChoice. I mean for 200 bucks did they come with any warranties?

I bought my Sedu (results in siggy/AVI) for less than 99 bucks and with a 2 year warranty.
 
Unfortunately, you have been swindled. Plus, I've heard that people have had issues with trying to return them (back to the kiosk).

I got my Amika on Amazon.com for 55 bucks, it's all ceramic and it works great. Hopefully, you can get a refund and get one off of Amazon.
 
I never buy stuff from the kiosks. I have a friend who dated someone who worked at one so every time I walked by I would pick up a few pairs of sunglasses for free. The owner paid about 5 cents each for the sunglasses she sold for $5-$10. The mark up is crazy and a lot of times the receipts don't have return policy information on them.

Most kiosks are owned by small business owners and I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't take the iron back. Yes, you were swindled. If you can't return it, take it as a lesson learned.

I wouldn't spend more than $50 without doing some sort of research first. Actually, I even use my phone to research labels even before I buy a "vintage" clothing item from a thrift store (If I can buy something new for close to the price it's not worth it to me.)

Like another poster said, sell the other item. Maybe you can get a bid for higher than $50 and make some of your money back. In the future, it never hurts to forgo a purchase for a day to see if it's really a good deal.
 
Is the amika the one with the infra-red heat? Because a kiosk sales person also tried to sell me two flat irons for $200 (1 hot pink, 1 zebra. LOL.) But that one supposedly used infra-red heat so it wouldn't burn your hair. I didn't buy it though...I'm hard-core/cold-blooded when it comes to sales people, especially at those kiosks.

ETA: Not trying to throw salt on you wounds but...did you know you can get the Joico vaporiron online for less than $200 as well?
 
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