True! Arg! I need to make myself feel better though lol. I have high ceilings and a deep wardrobe. These boots were at the back on the top shelf. I had to climb a ladder and move the shoes in front of them to even remember they were there! So I went months having forgotten they were even there. So I’m telling myself they’re still at the back of the wardrobe.
whatever helps me sleep at night, right?
I mean there is not a lot of hope getting them to actually act, the website doesn't display properly, for weeks they claimed it is a problem with the computer of the person looking at it, then they said that their IT team is working on the problem, it still persists, weeks later.
The massive problem is that everybody just seems to accept it, they never get challenged, the CS tells random nonsense... I have seen it 1st hand with my neighbour and I am mortified because I recommended them, similar situation as yours, dress sent in, passed QC then went missing, no updates for weeks, I had helped her with pictures and packing, she was super nervous, her 1st sale, buyer kept bugging her where the dress is in the comments, she replied it passed QC, when she rang they could not see but would get in touch, until somebody finally said it was "mislaid" don't know if it was 3 or 4 weeks later, with the buyer having canceled due to the delay, dress shows up again and goes into QC again, all of a sudden it has a snag, they want her to agree to keep it and sell it cheaper... She demanded it back and closed the account.
As for VC taking the seller's side because they have a track record, highly doubtful, my recent experience was somebody trying to scam, claiming not received, trying to redirect, DHL were happy to go after her as it was fraudulent, VC seems to be not interested.
I honestly don't know the answer about what can be done, as a buyer you can put pressure on them, as a seller you are totally lost and at their mercy, everything seems to depend on the person in QC, if they throw part of your item away, like in your case, have a bad day (over a year ago I got a dress back, they claimed stained armpits, it was an unworn dress and not a trace of a stain in the pits), lose items while they are with them and damage them. You call them and the phone drone will go "It is not my department" if you get that far, then you get a standard mail back.
I know they are in a difficult position as the middle man, can't be easy, but they do make quite a bit of money from people selling their items, I paid through the nose for mine, to treat them with a bit of care and respect surely would not be outrageous. Have you thought about a formal letter of complaint to the CEO? I used to be pretty sure that most of the complaints from sellers were exaggerated, but having seen how they brushed off my neighbour and feeling responsible because I recommended them, I tried to help her out, was with her when she called them, she did put them on speaker, and I have to say I was super shocked by the nonchalance with which they treated her, CS couldn't have made it more clear that sellers are a bit of a nuisance, to get as reply "It's not like the item is Hermes" - to me that sounded really like "If you aren't selling your Hermes collection, we don't care about you"....
So far I have seen 3 people (I think 3) complaining that the counting of the software doesn't always work and they lost their seller status due to that, responses always the same (there was at least one screengrab of their reply) "We know about the problem, tough luck, nothing we can do about it." I don't consider that customer service at all, just like the feather charms with your boots, it's pretty awful. There are also complains about items being forever with them without them doing the QC, for the buyer it looks like the sender isn't sending, some of them then cancel as they want an item for an event, VC will then make up an excuse like trying their best to find a flaw and trying to knock down the price of the item.
So far I had no major problems myself (knock on wood), but every time I send something, I feel like I am playing Russian roulette, which makes me wonder if it is actually worth using them at all.