Exercise caution when dealing with GreatFindToys on Etsy

[Skeen]

I want to preface this by saying this seller is really a nice girl and I think she tires hard but in my most recent transaction with her several things she did raised some serious red flags with me.

She listed this item, and I bought it on 2-18. 
https://www.etsy.com/transaction/1007466676

In looking at the pony it was fairly obvious to me that it was a German Baby Firefly, though it wasn't listed as such.  GFToys sent me a message pretty quickly after to say she'd ship in the next few days, which I appreciated.  On the 21st she messaged me again to say she'd been travelling and left Firefly behind, and offered a refund or another item.  I replied that no refund or extra was needed, I'd just like Firefly.  It had only been 3 days, and it wasn't a big deal.

On 2-25 she messaged me again to say she had suffered a back injury and still hadn't shipped, and asked if I wanted a refund.  Again I declined and wished her well. 

On 2-27 she messaged me again to say Firefly would be on her way ASAP, and again on 2-28 to say she'd been shipped and tracking would be provided.  I don't think tracking ever was given but I didn't care. 

On 3-2 she messaged me to say the pony should arrive that day.  This is where things get weird.  She told me in another message that she had had to buy another Baby Firefly so it wouldn't be coming from her address, and that she had given that seller my address to ship the pony directly to me.  So, not only is the pony NOT the one I bought, she also handed out my address to someone else without letting me know about either.  I replied that that was something I should have been told about in any of the previous messages, and that if Firefly wasn't the painted symbol version I would need to send her back.  I would have asked to cancel the transaction had I ever known.  She also messaged me that day to say she'd been in the hospital for asthma and that was why she'd shipped so late.  It sounded like she was mixing up her stories (was it a back injury or asthma or both?  What?), but whatever. 

She replied that she had spent extra money to get that Firefly but would refund me.  I told her I would attempt a refusal or return to sender so she could get Firefly back, and she told me to keep her (the baby, incidentally, had a haircut and smelled of mildew, and when I found the auction on ebay the smell wasn't mentioned in the description so she couldn't have known.  Not her fault.  It was nicely packaged by the ebay guy though!).  When she refunded me, she didn't use the refund feature but instead sent me a payment, so Paypal took out their fees.  It wasn't a big deal but it did make me roll my eyes.  I didn't reply any further, thinking it was over, and she messaged me the next day to say she'd hoped I got the refund by then.  She messaged again on 3-5 thanking me.  She messaged me several other times, replying to various other messages, saying much the same thing and that I could keep the baby, she was a gift.  It got hard to keep up with the multiple messages. 

At some point after that I left her a 2-star feedback and detailed why, because overall I was not and am not happy with how this turned out.  It's not even about not getting the right pony anymore, it's about the fact that she lied by omission.  Even if she didn't know the baby was German she should know enough to let me know if she's lost or misplaced the item.  She also gave my address out to an unknown without my consent.  Right after I left the feedback I got a message from her asking how she can make it up to me so that I'll revise my feedback.  She said that since I got a refund technically it didn't count as a sale.  My feedback was factual.  There's no reason to change it, and I didn't want anything else from her. 

Before I could even reply she sent another message asking what she could do, and I got an email from Etsy advising that she had initiated a cancellation request.  She sent me a Paypal payment, which I refunded.  She sent another PP payment in the same amount later, which I also refunded.  I don't want her money!  She's already refunded me most of what I originally paid, so that's that as far as I'm concerned on the money front.  During this time she also sent me a massive message detailing the things she'd learned from this transaction and asking me again to work with her to revise the feedback.  She replied to a message I had sent to her over a year ago to send this latest one, and again it was hard to keep up.  I spoke on the phone with Etsy, and the rep told me it wouldn't matter if she cancelled the sale or not, the feedback would stay (I have no experience with this, I don't know if this is true or not).  After I replied that she had asked me to change my feedback and that I did have the item the rep replied that she would stop the cancellation, since it was a finished transaction. 

Today GFToys asked me to return the pony, saying Etsy told her to.  The rep told me that if I do, it is at GFT's discretion to refund me the cost of shipping.  I haven't replied to the request yet.  I find it odd that the pony is a gift until I leave less that 100% feedback and then it needs to be returned.  GFT also asked in the last message that I not tell anyone about what happened, which is really strange to me.  I haven't had a chance to think about it yet but even if I do return the pony I'm not changing my feedback.  She took what should have been a straightforward sale and turned it into this giant mess.  In looking her up here she is a member and has had issues before, especially in regards to her shipping. 

I don't have a problem with GFToys but I wanted to make sure people knew what she'd done so they could make an informed decision.  Her feedback is great and she's really nice, but I won't be buying from her again.  I bought something from her last year and she also shipped it very late with the excuse that she'd been injured, but I did get what I ordered that time. 

[Juliepants]

Wow, what a mess!! Something that should have been so simple was just not! The whole thing just sounds really fishy to me, I'm sure more experienced others will give you good advice, but I just got huge alarm bells ringing! I'll be following this thread to see what others suggest. Hope it all gets sorted.

Jules x

[shabbychicdee]

oh she's paying you for good feedback 
sorry to hear about your dealings. i think i know the person and its not the first time they have been on trader class. support :/
 iv been stalked a couple of times by this person, fist time was really bad like 5 messages a day, i didn't not like it one bit.
i'v politely decline trading with her and still get messages.
BTW if im sick and can't go to the post office i get someone else to post if for me. i hate that excuse grrrrr

thanks for the heads up hope many will read this

[Loa]

Skeen, this is a mess! A MESS!

[banditpony]

Woah. That's crazy... I don't think I would of handled that as well as you did.
Thanks for the heads up about this seller :/

[Loa]

Woah. That's crazy... I don't think I would of handled that as well as you did.

From what I understand she takes meditation. "Meditation to avoid lunacy".

[shintoji]

geez! i can understand that sometimes people get held up with life and all that, but that just seems really irresponsible to me good job handling it as well as you did, i dont think i would've been so kind

[lovesbabysquirmy]

*shakes head*  Wow...  starting from "did not send the pony that was in the photograph I viewed when purchasing"... this has been a disaster!  *pony hugs*

Can I ask either the OP or the mods to PM me so I can link up ID's if I don't already have them?  Thanks! 

[brighteyes]

*shakes head*  Wow...  starting from "did not send the pony that was in the photograph I viewed when purchasing"... this has been a disaster!  *pony hugs*

Can I ask either the OP or the mods to PM me so I can link up ID's if I don't already have them?  Thanks! 

That is all kinds of crazy.  I'd like to know their Arena ID as well.  I really like to avoid this kind of drama if possible.  I get to deal with enough crazy at work.

[MLPWhitney]

Its Mylittleponysparkle. Lizzie. I have both bought from and sold to her in the last month, and while she is very nice, the messages were excessive and the package i received was from a different state to which i shipped her sale. Again, she is a nice girl, and i won't get into it, but my purchase was a but jumbled too, although she sent money back and i left good feedback.


EDIT!! No wonder she kept trying to haggle a deal with me- 2 of the ponies I LITERALLY JUST sold her LAST WEEK are listed in her Etsy shop for more money- RUDE!!!!!!! 

[shabbychicdee]

yes thats the one



all to weird.  her pm's are weird. i won't reply to them know

[Skeen]

Woah. That's crazy... I don't think I would of handled that as well as you did.

From what I understand she takes meditation. "Meditation to avoid lunacy".

There may have been vodka in my coffee this morning.  Don't tell my boss. 

[Loa]

Woah. That's crazy... I don't think I would of handled that as well as you did.

From what I understand she takes meditation. "Meditation to avoid lunacy".

There may have been vodka in my coffee this morning.  Don't tell my boss. 

But... your cat is your vodka supplier. And your boss.

[archidraca]

I have gotten a few unsolicited advertising emails from her as well. The first couple I ignored. One email was confusion about people using [ you ] on Valentines Day, which I was happy to answer as the first time I saw it I was confused as well. The third was another advert, this time probably having looked at my Wishlist, it was more targeted and for things not listed on Etsy. I replied, thinking maybe they wished a Trade but the item I wanted (which was listed) they said they really wanted to sell.

I'm glad I listened to my instincts and didn't do more than just glance at the ponies there.

[ponylady]

Skeen you are a saint and thank you for sharing your story. It being a mess is an understatement    This is not the first time this has been discussed about unsolicited emails from above said member either. There is a 5 page thread floating around concerning it from November of 2013.

While I understand that real life issues can arise and people make mistakes, a very simple email to you through Etsy stating she did not have the pony would have had a better outcome than what she put you through. It also most likely would have not made it to TS. I am also not keen on someone giving my home address to some stranger on eBay that I am not directly dealing with.

*shakes head*  Wow...  starting from "did not send the pony that was in the photograph I viewed when purchasing"... this has been a disaster!  *pony hugs*

Can I ask either the OP or the mods to PM me so I can link up ID's if I don't already have them?  Thanks! 

I am pretty sure you may already have them. If you need anymore information, please contact me.