So, I found the table below on Craigslist really cheap. The table retails for $400 (without the glass top), but the seller was selling it for $50. They said the glass top broke when they moved and ended up getting a knew table. Sounds too good to be true, right? It was.
I went and bought said table tonight, and when I was wedging it out of my car, I noticed a large "Made in China" sticker on the bottom. What? I don't think Crate and Barrel would slap a "Made in China" sticker on their furniture. Then, when I got in my apartment, I noticed there were a lot of screws. Funny, considering the description on Crate and Barrel's website says "dark, minimal flared legs and an architectural cross-brace of the same wood connect so precisely that no screws or nails are required." Then I measured it... it's several inches smaller than the dimensions listed on the C&B website. I looked at the pictures on the site, and there are not any exposed screws... I feel SO stupid. Really, I am embarrassed and also horrified that I could be so naive.
I am SO embarrassed, esp. because I made such a big deal out of this to my parents, and I called several friends looking for someone with an SUV to fit it in.
Luckily, I'm only out $50, but I can't tell my parents. They would be super pissed b/c essentially, I have the word SUCKER stamped on my forehead. Basically, I think I am going to have to buy the actual table from Crate and Barrel to cover up my stupidity. My mom could take one look at this table and know it's not real. I guess I'll have to try and resell this one on Craigslist.
I'm sure you all know already, but I hope this serves as a cautionary tale! I clearly have learned a lesson.
As you can see, there are no visible screws, unlike my table.
-- Edited by wetbandit42 on Tuesday 17th of November 2009 10:16:52 PM
-- Edited by wetbandit42 on Tuesday 17th of November 2009 10:33:53 PM
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Know first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly. - Epictetus
I mean, I suppose I could keep it, but with the exposed screws, it just doesn't look like it came from C&B. I have a bedroom set from C&B, and this just looks cheap compared to it. I"ll buy the glass top and see if it still looks obvious. If it doesn't then I'll keep it and hope my mom doesn't notice. I can't believe I didn't notice when I went to look at it.
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Know first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly. - Epictetus
Ranchera - the screws stick out of the wood so there's no way I could cover them up with touch up paint. They're the same color as the wood, but you can still see them.
I feel like emailing the seller but that won't help. It's not like she'll say, "Sure I'll refund your money!"
-- Edited by wetbandit42 on Wednesday 18th of November 2009 08:21:45 AM
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Know first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly. - Epictetus
you can prob recoup most of your costs on craigslist- $50 isn't bad for a made in china table Im sure some poor college student will snap it up.
personally (lets preface this with the fact that I am an enormous bitch when someone lies to me) I'd call the original owner, and not shut up until they agreed to come to my door take it off my hands and give me my money back as well. or at least give me my money back for the misrepresented goods.
I would definitely try calling the person you bought it from. This is blatant misrepresentation if they listed it as a C&B table. If you know a friend who is a lawyer, it might not be a bad idea to have him or her call as well. Scare them a little if you need to.
That being said, I'd just consider this a learning experience and be glad it was only $50. As for your parents, they're your parents! They expect you to make mistakes every once in a while. Everybody gets taken on something once in a while. I can't imagine from everything you've ever written about your folks that they would judge you harshly for this. It's only a table. I wouldn't spend money I don't have (and I'm only assuming this since you were looking for a cheaper alternative to purchasing the table from C&B in the first place) to cover up an innocent mistake.
Don't be so hard on yourself. Stuff happens. And then you learn from it.
I would definitely try calling the person you bought it from. This is blatant misrepresentation if they listed it as a C&B table. If you know a friend who is a lawyer, it might not be a bad idea to have him or her call as well. Scare them a little if you need to.
That being said, I'd just consider this a learning experience and be glad it was only $50. As for your parents, they're your parents! They expect you to make mistakes every once in a while. Everybody gets taken on something once in a while. I can't imagine from everything you've ever written about your folks that they would judge you harshly for this. It's only a table. I wouldn't spend money I don't have (and I'm only assuming this since you were looking for a cheaper alternative to purchasing the table from C&B in the first place) to cover up an innocent mistake.
Don't be so hard on yourself. Stuff happens. And then you learn from it.
Honestly, I'd be more disappointed as your parents if I found out you were duped then felt the need to replace the table with the one you thought you were buying to cover your mistake.
You liked the look of the table enough to buy it. Keep it. You needed a table and you got one.
Ditto to what everyone else said about not being too hard on yourself. And while $50 may seem like a lot, in my experience dining tables are pretty expensive and once the glass top is on this one it will probably look a lot more like the C&B table. It almost fooled you so I'm sure it would fool other people!
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Oh that stinks. Sorry. It sucks that someone would be dishonest just to make a sale. If you don't end up returning it, maybe it can be repurposed somehow for some other room or something...that way you don't ruin the effect you were initially going for but still find a way to use it.
Thanks ladies - you all are right. I'm being too hard on myself and this was definitely a mistake to learn from. I still feel stupid, esp. b/c if I had gotten on my hands and knees I would have seen the Made in China sticker and then I would have thought about the fact that there weren't supposed to be any screws in the table and it seemed smaller, etc. I think if I had really thought about it, I would have realized this wasn't real.
Boots - I can afford the real version, but I figured if I could get it cheaper on Craigslist, then why not? Unfortunately, it obviously didn't turn out to be authentic.
I am going to contact the seller and see if they'll let me return it, b/c they completely lied. I think I am going to buy the real table at C&B, esp. b/c I got a catalog recently with a 15% off coupon. I want the real deal, and if I can get it cheaper, now would be the time to buy. This one just looks so cheap, and that's exactly what I was trying to avoid. I bought this to replace a cheap, battered Ikea table set. If the seller refuses to let me return the fake table, I guess I'll try and sell it on Craigslist myself.
GD - you're right, my parents probably would be more disappointed that I tried to cover up my mistake. I don't think they would be disappointed per se just by the fact that I was duped, but my mom would definitely lecture me about being naive, which I justly deserve. Hopefully they don't find out that I'm going to replace it.
__________________
Know first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly. - Epictetus
Boots wrote:If you know a friend who is a lawyer, it might not be a bad idea to have him or her call as well. Scare them a little if you need to.
I'll be an official lawyer in May! I'm sure I can rustle up something I learned to scare them with. Maybe something to do with contracts...
-- Edited by wetbandit42 on Wednesday 18th of November 2009 04:19:42 PM
Use it! Sometimes just the mention of a lawsuit will be enough to make these jerks reconsider their actions. Make sure they know that their life will be that much easier if they just refund your $50.