Before I begin with the complaints, I need to say that Bidz customer service department per se provided good service. Their responses were prompt and to the point, and their personnel were invariably courteous, even when I was not at my best. The problem is with some of the corporate policies that staff has to apply and defend. So here we go...
Deceptive sales practices
Colored Stones For each style of ring, etc., Bidz appears to use one representative photograph and, in each case they seem to have chosen the piece with the best colored stone for that photograph. The actual item you will be bidding on is not pictured, so you cannot tell what the color of your stone will be until it arrives at your door. This fact is not mentioned anywhere in the auction materials. And the written description of the stone color is just as generic and useful. For citrine they say yellow, for topaz smoky, and the like.
I purchased several items containing colored stones before becoming aware of the apparent practice of using just one photo per style.in only one piece did the color of the stone actually match the auction photograph. Four others were close enough to be acceptable. The other two were way off. The worst, a citrine, was pictured as a rich golden yellow; the stone I received was so pale you had to look closely to see that it had any color at all.
Necklace Stone color is not the only problem with the jewelry. I purchased a necklace which was shown on a headless model as a triple strand. The item I received was a single strand with no opening or clasp. It could be worn as a long single strand or doubled, but there was no way an actual human with a head could wear it tripled as pictured.
Sunglasses The item I bid on was clearly pictured with gradient (half and half) lenses; the item I received had solid color lenses.
CZ The last item I purchased was a ring with five cubic zirconia. Again, beautiful sparkly photo. Unfortunately, the stones I received had almost no faceting and were absolutely dead. The only sparkle was from the silver setting surrounding them.
Bad faith regarding returns
Bidz return policy states: All Bidz.com merchandise is guaranteed to be as described. This is a full money-back guarantee including the price you paid for the item, as well as shipping. Return Shipping fees are subject to approval...
I returned the two pieces with very off-color stones, the necklace, the sunglasses, and the CZ ring. When requesting the return authorizations, I clearly explained how each of the pieces was not as advertised. I also provided the required proof of return shipping charges.
When the returns were processed, each item was declared to be as advertised, completely ignoring my descriptions.
Each had a 15% restocking fee deducted from the credit.
No shipping was refunded.
No return shipping was refunded.
After spending some time emailing and speaking with customer service, they finally credited the restocking fees as a courtesy. Regarding the colors of the stones and sunglass lenses, they claimed that, since there was no way for them to view the returned items — was that arrangement poorly thought out or shrewd? — there was no way they could reverse the original decisions. Regarding the necklace, the rep was actually aware that this style was a solid loop but refused to acknowledge that the photograph showing it tripled was misleading.
Consequently, shipping was never refunded on any of the items, as promised in the return policy. Return shipping was not refunded on any of the items, as it should have been for legitimate not-as-advertised returns.
In summary, Bidz.com does not voluntarily honor its stated guarantee or return policy and the time and effort I invested resulted in only partial compliance.
Judy
Longmont, Colorado
U.S.A.
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