Should be careful when you order on Future Fashionista!!

[slang]

Wow. I am shocked! How are people still sticking up for this woman? Its amazing all the excuses elana has given since may. First she had a death in the family. Then the flu. Then poison ivy. Then she was in the hospital but got out. Then she got sick again with colon issues.

What magical ilniss does she now have that allows her to talk on phone to purse forum members, update her website, post pics on her facebook and take money from others but does not let her send merchandise or reply to customers?

Great post! My thoughts exactly

 

[Perigord]

I rarely venture into the jewelry threads, but I have been reading through the posts and I hope you don't mind if I add some thoughts.

I have made several attempts over several months to contact the seller about a pair of earrings that caught my eye. This would have been my first transaction with futurefashionista. I have never received any response. At this point in time I will absolutely not proceed, of course. Would I buy from the seller in the future? I will say a very guarded "maybe". The choice would be based on whether the seller returns to deal with the current serious issues, and on whether I see a resumption of a clear pattern of responsible, sustained customer service.

I am concerned, but I am certainly not ready to begin using words like scammer.

The seller has years of good history and thoughtful participation behind her, both on tpf and on her site. Am I sweeping things under the rug or minimizing the current issues? Not for a second. Given the amount of money involved, everyone would agree that this is serious. But until I know the physical, financial, or emotional reasons behind the very real recent failure to perform, I would rather not engage in too-excessive blame.

The fair thing is to post that we have an uncharacteristic problem with a known member. The problem is grave enough that it would be prudent to hold off on all new orders until more is known. And that anyone who has purchased an item that has not been delivered should absolutely be proactive about quickly and aggressively requesting a refund through their credit card. But that anything more is a bit of mob rush-to-judgment.

It seems this is the time for a calm and strong consumer advisory. But not, at this point, charges as strong as scamming. If we were dealing with an upshot, new company or a member here of brief duration with a number of tpf infractions, I would be holding up the "scammer" flag too. But given the weight of her past participation here, I am really comfortable just saying it is the time for a strong buyer beware statement--do not make new purchases at this point...get your money back in all cases of non-delivery...but be thoughtful about some of the harsher comments until more is known.

Again--I am not making any excuses for troubling behavior. I am just willing to factor in many things, and hold final judgment about the reasons why, about intent, or about personality. Thanks so very much for bearing with me.

 

[Stophle]

I rarely venture into the jewelry threads, but I have been reading through the posts and I hope you don't mind if I add some thoughts.

I have made several attempts over several months to contact the seller about a pair of earrings that caught my eye. This would have been my first transaction with futurefashionista. I have never received any response. At this point in time I will absolutely not proceed, of course. Would I buy from the seller in the future? I will say a very guarded "maybe". The choice would be based on whether the seller returns to deal with the current serious issues, and on whether I see a resumption of a clear pattern of responsible, sustained customer service.

I am concerned, but I am certainly not ready to begin using words like scammer.

The seller has years of good history and thoughtful participation behind her, both on tpf and on her site. Am I sweeping things under the rug or minimizing the current issues? Not for a second. Given the amount of money involved, everyone would agree that this is serious. But until I know the physical, financial, or emotional reasons behind the very real recent failure to perform, I would rather not engage in too-excessive blame.

The fair thing is to post that we have an uncharacteristic problem with a known member. The problem is grave enough that it would be prudent to hold off on all new orders until more is known. And that anyone who has purchased an item that has not been delivered should absolutely be proactive about quickly and aggressively requesting a refund through their credit card. But that anything more is a bit of mob rush-to-judgment.

It seems this is the time for a calm and strong consumer advisory. But not, at this point, charges as strong as scamming. If we were dealing with an upshot, new company or a member here of brief duration with a number of tpf infractions, I would be holding up the "scammer" flag too. But given the weight of her past participation here, I am really comfortable just saying it is the time for a strong buyer beware statement--do not make new purchases at this point...get your money back in all cases of non-delivery...but be thoughtful about some of the harsher comments until more is known.

Again--I am not making any excuses for troubling behavior. I am just willing to factor in many things, and hold final judgment about the reasons why, about intent, or about personality. Thanks so very much for bearing with me.

I agree 100%. This is exactly how I feel. Very well worded post.

 

[K.Z.]

I would feel scammed if I paid for something in August and still didn't have my item in November, especially when I don't seem to be the only one, which indicates this may not be a fluke or mistake affecting only me.

Bottom line, for me, is that if a person has the time, energy and health to post on FB, blogs, whatever, then that same person has the time, energy and health to send an email to me about my item. According to posts here and what I've seen elsewhere on the Net, she isn't totally MIA. So right now there's no excuse.

 

[gga]

I rarely venture into the jewelry threads, but I have been reading through the posts and I hope you don't mind if I add some thoughts.

I have made several attempts over several months to contact the seller about a pair of earrings that caught my eye. This would have been my first transaction with futurefashionista. I have never received any response. At this point in time I will absolutely not proceed, of course. Would I buy from the seller in the future? I will say a very guarded "maybe". The choice would be based on whether the seller returns to deal with the current serious issues, and on whether I see a resumption of a clear pattern of responsible, sustained customer service.

I am concerned, but I am certainly not ready to begin using words like scammer.

The seller has years of good history and thoughtful participation behind her, both on tpf and on her site. Am I sweeping things under the rug or minimizing the current issues? Not for a second. Given the amount of money involved, everyone would agree that this is serious. But until I know the physical, financial, or emotional reasons behind the very real recent failure to perform, I would rather not engage in too-excessive blame.

The fair thing is to post that we have an uncharacteristic problem with a known member. The problem is grave enough that it would be prudent to hold off on all new orders until more is known. And that anyone who has purchased an item that has not been delivered should absolutely be proactive about quickly and aggressively requesting a refund through their credit card. But that anything more is a bit of mob rush-to-judgment.

It seems this is the time for a calm and strong consumer advisory. But not, at this point, charges as strong as scamming. If we were dealing with an upshot, new company or a member here of brief duration with a number of tpf infractions, I would be holding up the "scammer" flag too. But given the weight of her past participation here, I am really comfortable just saying it is the time for a strong buyer beware statement--do not make new purchases at this point...get your money back in all cases of non-delivery...but be thoughtful about some of the harsher comments until more is known.

Again--I am not making any excuses for troubling behavior. I am just willing to factor in many things, and hold final judgment about the reasons why, about intent, or about personality. Thanks so very much for bearing with me.

Thank you for this comment, Perigord. This articulates how I feel far better than I could.

I have had a number of good experiences with FF, and until I was shaken by lovely64's appraisal report, I have been satisfied with my purchases. I have an appointment with an impartial eye this afternoon, and hope to find out if her assessment is in line with what I was told at point of purchase. If the news is good, then I will not quite yet be at a point to declare NEVER AGAIN. I won't buy for awhile, but I will hold off from saying SCAM and wait to see if there's a resolution of this awful mess that doesn't involve lawyers or credit card companies.

In the past, Elana has gone to great lengths to keep her customers satisfied, so while I do not doubt the OP or others who have experienced difficulties this last few months, I feel this current behavior is bizarre and completely at odds with her years of work and her presence here and on other forums. The Elana I worked with would have resolved this to the OPs satisfaction.

I hope that whatever is happening gets fixed. I have always preferentially shunted business toward smaller, indie artists and businesses, and I always prefer to encourage women-owned businesses. Seeing this mess makes me very sad.

ETA Karmenzsofia and others: I haven't read anyone making excuses. I have read posts from people who are confused, baffled, and concerned. No one on this thread is saying that it's okay to take money from someone and not deliver. That is a given, and I haven't seen anyone disagree with you.

 

[Contessa]

I'm also going to add this:

There are TWO sides to every story. And even in the legal system, people are innocent until proven guilty. Perhaps this woman should be given the benefit of the doubt before people jump off the deep end. Personally, I prefer to give people the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. And YES, while I think it's ODD that blogs, tweets, FB etc...are taking place, I'm equally curious as to the explanation behind it.

It's all too easy to talk negatively about someone when they are not here to defend themselves.

 

[Perigord]

Thank you for this comment, Perigord. This articulates how I feel far better than I could.

I have had a number of good experiences with FF, and until I was shaken by lovely64's appraisal report, I have been satisfied with my purchases. I have an appointment with an impartial eye this afternoon, and hope to find out if her assessment is in line with what I was told at point of purchase. If the news is good, then I will not quite yet be at a point to declare NEVER AGAIN. I won't buy for awhile, but I will hold off from saying SCAM and wait to see if there's a resolution of this awful mess that doesn't involve lawyers or credit card companies.

In the past, Elana has gone to great lengths to keep her customers satisfied, so while I do not doubt the OP or others who have experienced difficulties this last few months, I feel this current behavior is bizarre and completely at odds with her years of work and her presence here and on other forums. The Elana I worked with would have resolved this to the OPs satisfaction.

I hope that whatever is happening gets fixed. I have always preferentially shunted business toward smaller, indie artists and businesses, and I always prefer to encourage women-owned businesses. Seeing this mess makes me very sad.

ETA Karmenzsofia and others: I haven't read anyone making excuses. I have read posts from people who are confused, baffled, and concerned. No one on this thread is saying that it's okay to take money from someone and not deliver. That is a given, and I haven't seen anyone disagree with you.

Thank you so very much for the kind words and thoughtful response. Even though we al understand that sometimes appraisals can vary, I would love to hear from you after your appointment. Again, thank you.

 

[Nyria]

The member in question has been a long standing tPF member, so can we all leave the speculating out of the thread. There are some facts that are being posted - and you can post your comments/opinions - but there is some speculating that really will probably just help things spiral downhill.

I am in no way promoting what has happened - it is awful if someone paid and did not receive their item. Truly sad, especially since this is a member that used to have a great reputation here.

That's how scammers work -- they gain trust so they can take your money.

The fact that people are still sticking up for her proves what a good job she did. All the evidence is right there yet people don't want to use the word 'scammer' --

 

[Bag*Snob]

I'm also going to add this:

There are TWO sides to every story. And even in the legal system, people are innocent until proven guilty. Perhaps this woman should be given the benefit of the doubt before people jump off the deep end. Personally, I prefer to give people the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. And YES, while I think it's ODD that blogs, tweets, FB etc...are taking place, I'm equally curious as to the explanation behind it.

It's all too easy to talk negatively about someone when they are not here to defend themselves.

She COULD be here to defend herself but she chooses not to. She is aware of this thread as evidenced by members' posts here that have talked to her. She is still a member of tPF.

 

[habanerita]

As with the above posters, I hope that very soon Elana can return to the trustworthy, professional standing she once had with TPF and elsewhere.
Many of us enjoyed perfect dealings with her and enjoyed her presence on this forum. Hoping it all gets cleared up soon.

 

[K.Z.]

She COULD be here to defend herself but she chooses not to. She is aware of this thread as evidenced by members' posts here that have talked to her. She is still a member of tPF.

I think I said something to that effect earlier--that the one person we all want to hear from is her, but she's the one person not showing up. Why?

 

[Contessa]

She COULD be here to defend herself but she chooses not to. She is aware of this thread as evidenced by members' posts here that have talked to her. She is still a member of tPF.

Well, let's see if she drops by then.

Apologizing for mistakes is never easy and takes great courage.

If she wishes to save what's left of her reputation, I hope we see her.

 

[Nyria]

As with the above posters, I hope that very soon Elana can return to the trustworthy, professional standing she once had with TPF and elsewhere.
Many of us enjoyed perfect dealings with her and enjoyed her presence on this forum. Hoping it all gets cleared up soon.

How can someone return to being trustworthy after all this?

Fool me once shame on you - fool me twice shame on me!

By the way - what did she say when you suggested she come on and tell people what's really happening? DId she say she would not?

 

[gga]

How can someone return to being trustworthy after all this?

Fool me once shame on you - fool me twice shame on me!

By the way - what did she say when you suggested she come on and tell people what's really happening? DId she say she would not?

Right now this is a huge mess, and I hope that Elana will show up and address it, but as was pointed out, it takes great courage to apologize for mistakes, and it takes even more courage when the mob wants blood.

As far as being fooled personally, Did Elana ever fool you? Did you ever buy from her? What was your experience and what did she do to "fool you once"?

I've been sick to my stomach for days now, and today I will finally find out if I made stupid purchases. Until I get my appraiser's report, I can't claim to have any idea whether she has fooled me once or not. If she did, then no, she won't get a chance to fool me twice. But I'm not making a decision based on the emotions of people I've never met and have no reason to trust. That would be as silly as walking wide-eyed into a transaction with someone who had already "fooled me once."

 

[Swanky]

I agree, people who aren't involved w/ her in some may want to step back w/ strong judgement.
I'm not involved, but I also haven't severely condemned her.

I think some deep breaths are in order. Maybe more people that have dealings w/ her can contribute so this thread is more constructive and helpful.