Angry shoppers are sharing photos that show the pitfalls of online purchasing – like accidentally ordering mini versions of certain household items instead of their full-sized counterparts.
The articles, obtained this week by The Wall Street Journal, have sparked significant dissatisfaction among bargain hunters and show the enormous gap between what is pictured online and what is unpackaged.
The tiny household items range from a pint-sized rice cooker that doesn’t actually cook to clothes hangers that fit easily in your bag instead of a closet. In the case of the stove, a hobbyist told the newspaper that he bought it on purpose.
The latter was a set that was mistakenly purchased by a fashion designer who also works as a second-hand children’s clothing seller. The item was tagged – perhaps too appropriately – as “small” on a popular Chinese fashion site.
The purchases – and others like a woman’s purchase of lounge chairs that barely have room for a finger, let alone a person – show the dangers of not reading the fine print and buying blindly.
Shoppers are sharing photos that show the pitfalls of online shopping – like accidentally ordering mini versions of household items instead of their full-size counterparts
The tiny household items ranged from the purposely purchased small rice cooker that doesn’t cook (seen here) to clothes hangers that fit in the bag instead of the closet
In comments to the Journal published Sunday, not-so-astute consumers recounted how they were misled by vague descriptions and terms on various retail sites.
British-based graphic designer Emma Platt said of the less than six-inch-long mini hangers that arrived at her home last September: “I probably couldn’t fit anything in there except Barbie clothes.”
In the listing, which can still be found on Chinese fashion site Shein, the set of ten is proudly advertised as a “clothes holder for teddy, dog, cat, doll, doll, pet store” for what initially appears to be a modest price of $6.32. denoted dollars.
The post includes an image with dimensions listed, but not before a series of photos promoting the hangers without any other elements to put them in perspective.
This was the case with several other products that other equally unimpressed shoppers promoted and ultimately purchased, including 54-year-old Rob Vlock of Boston.
The Boston-based audiobook author, now the owner of 10 marble-sized drawer pulls designed more for a model than a wardrobe, described how he and his wife found the set on AliExpress, owned by China’s Alibaba, and used it for got a bargain.
“I remember she showed me the listing and said, ‘Oh yeah, these look good,'” he told the newspaper after paying $1.98 for the set.
Similar to the case of Platt, who was also deceived with a supposedly “small” Christmas tree that was actually “literally as big as…”. [her] Thumb’ – Vlock said the signage that marked the item was misleading at first glance.
The purchases – and others, like a woman’s purchase of lounge chairs that barely have room for a finger, let alone a person (pictured) – show the dangers of not reading the fine print
Ten marble-sized drawer pulls intended for a model rather than a wardrobe that were accidentally purchased by a Boston author earlier this year
A woman who ordered a ramp for her dog from the now-defunct website Penblast.com was also surprised that the finished product that arrived to her was smaller than expected
Another ordered a foam roller for her 10-year-old son to use after playing soccer and was instead greeted with a cylinder that was “basically half as long.” [her] Poor’
“I think it may not have been entirely clear what the size was,” said Vlock, who upon closer inspection noticed that the dimensions were listed on the website.
Speaking to the newspaper, he added that he was surprised not only by the size of the jewelry that arrived at his doorstep, but also by the sheer volume of positive reviews the product had received on the popular all-purpose website.
“There are people who say, ‘These are great for my dollhouse,'” he recalls, sharing a photo of the too-small buttons as proof.
Rather than complain or demand a refund, he said he and his wife Joanne decided to cover the cost, considering how small it was in the grand scheme of things.
That wasn’t the case for Platt, who said that not only was she given a refund when she tried to return the compact hangers, but she was also allowed to keep them as a souvenir of sorts.
Still, she cited the other mishap with the tree several years ago and told the Journal that neither experience troubled her.
“I swear none of these things existed when I bought them,” she snapped.
“Now I literally have 40 tiny little hangers in my closet. It’s irritating because I’m no closer to having hangers.”
She quickly added, “But those [refund] “The gesture was nice, I guess.”
Speaking to The Journal, former Alibaba executive Ivy Yang said she gave the little exercise task to her other son – who is two years old – instead, telling the newspaper: “He gets to imitate what his older brother does.” It fits somehow perfect for its size.
Similar to Yang’s case, Rob Vlock of Boston said the signage accompanying the shrunken drawer handles was misleading at first glance – he told the newspaper: “I think it may not have been entirely clear how big the drawer was.”
Another person who spoke to the publication about the increasingly common phenomenon was a woman who ordered a ramp for her dog from the now-defunct Penblast.com, but instead received what appeared to be a toy slide that was even smaller than that Puppy itself was.
Another ordered a foam roller for her 10-year-old to soothe his muscles after playing soccer, but was instead greeted with a cylinder that was “basically half the length.” [her] Poor’.
Speaking to The Journal, former Alibaba executive Ivy Yang said she has now found a use for the small training device with her other son – who is two years old.
“He can imitate what his older brother does,” she explained, without revealing where she bought the roller. “It somehow fits his size perfectly.”
However, not all parties who spoke to the newspaper were unwillingly involved in the miniatures fiasco – and Chicago-based student Tōru Katakami, who uses They/Them pronouns, told the Journal that she intentionally included her shrunken rice cooker as part of it had bought an increasingly popular, if strange, pastime.
While some buy of their own free will, prominent consumer analyst Brendan Witcher told the newspaper that sellers like Aliexpress and Shein are definitely up to some tricks that he says are capitalizing on buyers who have become lazy when clicking “buy.”
Not all parties who spoke to the newspaper were unwillingly implicated in the miniature fiasco – Chicago student Tōru Katakami told the Journal that they intentionally purchased their shrunken rice cooker as part of an increasingly popular, if peculiar, pastime
In such cases, he said, the customer might say, “Well, it’s only $1, $2, maybe $3 — what’s the harm?” before biting the bullet and labeling the purchase a mistake.
“When you add that up to these companies selling hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of these items over time, that adds up to a nice chunk of change,” Witcher said, explaining the relatively recent incident.
“It’s about finding a loophole in the way society works and making money from it,” he said.