I have debated A LOT about writing this post. It has taken a lot of time to do so, but yesterday I decided to vent on one of my favorite doll groups and everyone has urged me to make this public. I will keep the names of the people involved secret because this is my last act of kindness to them.
In 2015 I was contacted by a doll dealer who had (has) an eBay store because they wanted to advertise on my blog. They offered a doll that was sold out as payment and I said yes ’cause I really wanted her and the price on the secondary market was kind of high.
Everything went ok, I gave them a banner on my blog, wrote about them, promoted them. We talked on the phone, all was perfect and then they told me they wanted to create a website for their business. I offered to help and they would pay me in dolls once again.
We decided to buy a premium template that I would customize which I did. The website turned out great! It was a presentation website + blog + online shop. I even uploaded what they had for sale on their eBay shop.
After this I messaged them. No answer. I messaged them again. Nothing. Almost a year passed when they finally decided to write back saying that life happened and I would get my payment because the site was beautiful. I was overjoyed even if I would have to make updates to the site because a lot of security updates became available.
Anyway, they said they would send the doll (yes, I was stupid enough to agree on just one doll) and asked me if I wanted to work some more for them and they would continue to pay with dolls. I declined as I don’t do this kind of “pay with dolls” work anymore and waited for the doll for the website.
And waited… And waited… AND WAITED!!! After more months passed I got an email from them saying things were slow with the doll shop and shipping to Romania was $50 and they want to wait before they could send it but no worries I would get my doll.
It’s now January 2017 and no doll yet!!!!! They haven’t used the website but how pathetic and disrespectful can they be?!!! I don’t want any dolls anymore but I feel nausea every time I think of people like this.
I know they are reading this so I’ll just say this:
SHAME on you! I wonder if you would have done the same thing to someone from the US. I guess not ’cause they would have taken you to court. But it was ok to do this to someone from an Eastern European country, right?
I have taken down the template I made. I don’t want an answer from you, I don’t ever want to hear anything from you ever again. Don’t contact me and say thank you that I am not releasing your name to the public. As someone said, the shameless have no shame so I doubt this article will mean anything to you, but it’s my way of closing this deal.
Have a great life!
Ughhh, that is so disrespectful. I can’t even ever imagine doing that to someone. I’m sorry you had to have an experience like that. They should be ashamed. :(
I have one word to describe that type of behavior and it’s disgusting. Not only that, they are quite stupid to do something like that to a well-known and respected person in the doll community.
Wow, not only is this disrespectful, but downright dishonest! I do hope, though, that you do not lose all faith in humanity because of this obviously horrific person! I enjoy reading your blog and I do respect your opinion. I do still find that the majority of people I have become acquainted with from the doll community are honest and respectful people!
I’m so sorry this happened to you. Don’t lose all faith – your fan, Wendy
It’s totally understandable that you would take the high road and not mention who this person is but keep in mind other people are conducting business with him and if he did something like this to you, he WILL do it to others.
I have no issue with people being called out and punished for what they’ve done, so I’ll say it was “Overstock.tom” and suggest everyone avoid buying from him and pass the word.
Please do correct me if I’m wrong (which I’m not). I know you’re going to delete this post regardless, but consider waiting a while. No one expects you to be available to check these comment 24 hours a day. It could take several days before you even see this post before you delete it….. O:^)
Unfortunately that banner ad was on your site for a long time and that will still register as a recommendation with your readers despite the fact that you’ve removed it. Anyone who’s read your blog for a while (like me) would be able to figure out who it was, but for those who are new or who don’t notice the banner is gone, his name needs to be known. Of course, he’ll just change it and keep going, but at least it will be a bit of a hassle.
It’s clearly a difficult situation but when someone does something bad to us, we owe it to others to warn them so they can protect themselves. We all know this type of behavior can catch up with people eventually (or not, just ask that well-known dealer whose name starts with “Marl”) but unfortunately, unless we name names, other people have to be cheated too before it can happen.
Also remember, we as readers are in a difficult situation too because we know who it was and want vengeance. O:^)
Here’s important advice for anybody considering doing this type of work for people: Don’t deliver the final goods until you’ve been paid in full, and don’t promote the person until you’re sure they’re reliable and you’ve gotten something concrete from them in return. If someone has an issue with either of those things it tips you off that you shouldn’t be working with them. It also doesn’t hurt to register the domain name and pay for it yourself, then not give them the login info until they’ve paid so if they renege on the deal they lose their domain name. :-) And NEVER accept work for “barter” from someone you don’t know. If they’re not willing to give you money, there’s something seriously wrong. When you’re doing work for someone, it’s no time to be “nice” and there’s nothing wrong with that. :^)