Save. Spend. Splurge.
March 19, 2015

Etsy scam alert: BlueTwinSpur Alex Turcu and Iris T. Chang

UPDATE: The seller has closed their shop rather unexpectedly. Perhaps it was a mass-wide scam to screw all the customers who paid and/or asked for refunds and to not refund them.

Got an email from a reader who wants to warn me against using Etsy and loving them because the Etsy shop:

BlueTwinSpur cheated them out of around $60 USD

Screen shot 2015-03-12 at 8.00.37 PM

They had received 4 necklaces, and returned 2 because one of the colours didn’t match and the other one looked cheap compared to the photos posted.

In her words:

“…plasticky, cheap, icky, nothing at all stone-like as pictured. They look so pretty and wonderful on the site but in person, they were terrible. I could have purchased them for cheaper and of better quality from H&M or Forever 21.“

She returned them to the seller as requested for a refund and has been waiting since JANUARY for a return.

She also contacted the seller directly but said:

“I find it weird that the store owner is Iris T. Chang, but then I had to mail the necklaces back to Alex Turcu. I wonder if it’s a scam between the two of them, and I guess I was too trusting and naive because I did it without asking.“

Although she opened a case with Etsy and Paypal, they have done basically jack squat to return her money to her and closed both cases.

“$60 USD is not a huge amount of money like hundreds, but I want you to be careful about promoting Etsy and its sellers because they can scam you like anyone else.“

WHOA.

I tend to buy a lot on Etsy but her email has made me think twice.

I think I may stick to Amazon, at least they know customer service.

I’ve had packages stolen before that were shipped from Amazon and they refunded me or gave me a gift certificate without a hassle.

LOVE LOVE LOVE Amazon.

Getting lukewarm about Etsy now.

I will stick to my known sellers, but…. *uneasy*

Has anyone else purchased stuff on Etsy and gotten scammed like with the Etsy shop BlueTwinSpur?

Share your stories below.

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13 Comments

  • Shelley
    March 20, 2015

    I have 2 shops… one is only baby and the other is home decor 🙂

    Reply
  • save. spend. splurge.
    March 20, 2015

    Amazon is more my go to place now. I’m wary of Etsy

    Reply
  • Aleksie
    March 19, 2015

    I’ve only had one issue with Etsy that I didn’t bother to resolve. All my other orders have been fine, and I order from them rather frequently.

    Reply
  • Katie
    March 19, 2015

    I saw another blog post earlier today about someone not getting what they ordered from Etsy, not sure what shop it was, but they said Etsy was no help to them either. They recommended if you order using a credit card check the fraud protection it provides as that may be more helpful than trying to get it back from Etsy or PayPal.

    Reply
  • natalie
    March 19, 2015

    I bought some wedding items from Etsy. I would do extensive research (i.e look at the Etsy Shop’s reviews/comments from other customers) and check for red flags.

    If a store has less than 100 reviews, then it really depends on the person’s preference, and the risk. But if the Etsy store has over 500 reviews (from all over the world), usually it’s pretty legitimate unless the spam bots beat me to it, but it’s a good tell tale sign.

    Reply
  • Erika
    March 19, 2015

    I’ve bought a few items on Etsy and always had a great experience. I always look to see what other products the seller is selling, what country the shop is based in, and how many reviews the shop has. A review with a descriptive comment is better than those with just a rating. I also look to see if the Etsy shop has their own website (it’s actually better for the seller if you purchase directly through them because they don’t have to to pay Etsy any fees).

    All of my experiences have been great. I do steer clear of most foreign shops unless it is from a country like the UK. Also, I’ve taken a look at a lot of the shops with jewelry like the stuff pictured above and thought most of it looked too good to be true and most of the sellers were from countries like China or
    Indonesia. The products sold at this scam shop are not unique, there are hundreds of Etsy shops selling almost the exact same product. It’s just my opinion, but I think the shop that scammed your reader looked questionable to begin with. It sucks being scammed though.

    Reply
  • Shelley
    March 19, 2015

    This makes me very sad. I’ve heard similar stories since they allowed resellers and large manufacturers to sell on Etsy. It’s takes some research to find truly handmade, 1 owner shops on Etsy now. I have 2 Etsy shops and there’s been a huge drop in views and sales (almost 75%). Not sure what I’ll do if things don’t turn around for my shops… I’m a single mom and they have been my only income.

    Reply

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