Metamorphosis Cosmetics- A Warning

You know the old saying (it's Latin, so it's really old) "Caveat Emptor"? It means "Buyer beware". Keep that in mind when shopping with Metamorphosis Cosmetics, aka, Gipsy Dreamer, aka, Diaphoni, aka, Julia Williams (not even going to go into how Gypsy is spelled wrong). I'm not going to digress into too much shit talking, as much as I WANT to right now, but just know that she has ripped me off, as well as at least 2 other people I have found here on the blogosphere. This is a fact, not an opinion.

I thought something might be wrong when I didn't get my order 2 weeks or so after placing it on March 22, 2010. I emailed her asking what was going on (very nicely, I might add- we were "friends" on Twitter) and got a prompt, super apologetic response about her being sick and she told me my order was going out that day or the next... except it never went out. 2 more weeks passed, and nothing. At this point, it's been a month and the 45-day Paypal window to file a claim for non-receipt is quickly drawing near. So I opened a Paypal dispute, because in past experiences with non-shipping sellers, this has gotten them to either send me my crap, or refund my money. Then, I went to Google to do some research. Lo and behold, there were others who shared my story- I realized it WASN'T just me, and that this woman had (seemingly)taken us all for fools.

Heather at Eyeconic Makeup also had pretty much the same experience as me, only she laid hers out in a nicely organized timeline on her blog. I only WISH I could be that organized!! In the comments on that blog entry, you'll find others who've had pretty much the same experience as I did with Metamorphosis Cosmetics (I also made sure to leave my story there). I felt both relieved and angry when I found that blog post, because it meant I wasn't the only one Julia had failed to deliver an order to, but sadly, it also meant that I wasn't the only one Julia had failed to deliver an order to.

I don't have an awesome timeline like Heather does, but I do have the text from my open Paypal case. I escalated it to a "Claim" on 5/4...Here's what's been said in the Paypal dispute so far (you'll have to start at the bottom and read your way up):

• 5/4/2010 06:03 PDT - PayPal: Buyer escalated this dispute to a Claim.
• 5/4/2010 06:03 PDT - Buyer: The seller provided me with a USPS tracking number, 2308 3250 0000 2510 5671, which shows a package delivered to WASHINGTON (where the seller lives, incidentally). I live in CONNECTICUT. I have absolutely no reason to believe that the order I placed and paid for was sent and I'd like to escalate this to a claim. It's been well over a month now since i placed my order. A quick Google search shows that this is not the first time she's scammed buyers: http://eyeconicmakeup.blogspot.com/2010/05/my-dealings-with-metamorphosis.html PLEASE, Paypal, shut this "seller" down before she rips off any more consumers.
• 5/2/2010 07:44 PDT - Seller: Hello Becca, I am sorry that the post office is being such a pain at the moment, we have seen this happen where there is no tracking information until the item is actually delivered. If you truly want a refund then please mark the package return to sender and we will initiate a refund once we get the package back.
• 5/2/2010 07:38 PDT - Buyer: I still have not received any package, and when entering the tracking number into the USPS website I get the following message: Label/Receipt Number: 2308 3250 0000 2510 5671 There is no record of this item. If I can just get my money back I'll be a happy camper. I don't want the product anymore and have grown tired of dealing with this. We all have better things to do.
• 4/23/2010 07:29 PDT - Seller: Hi Becca, I am Julia's boyfriend and I am trying to help her get the shipping issues resolved. We have your package ready to go out in todays mail. You will be able to track it with the following number at USPS: 23083250000025105671 I hope this will resolve this matter to your satisfaction. Have a lovely day.
• 4/22/2010 14:04 PDT - Buyer: I REALLY hate to do this, but seeing as emailing you hasn't gotten my tiny little order shipped, and it's been over a month since I ordered, I'd really just like my money back at this point. I'll shop elsewhere.

 
FUN FACT about that tracking number- it traced to WASHINGTON STATE, where Julia just happens to live. So, not only is she not shipping paid orders, and lying to people about her reasons for her delay, she's also providing false information to Paypal about tracking numbers.  Apparently this tracking information changed- I don't quite understand how the package went from being "delivered to Washington" to being "delivered to Connecticut", but it did. Which makes this part if this story irrelevant. Still, my point stands:  I cannot advise you strongly enough to avoid doing any kind of business with this type of person, and this person specifically. What she's doing is just so wrong. I (and others) bought from her in good faith, and she took our money and appeared to run off with it. If she has done this to you off as well, please, feel free to share your story here. Also, I encourage you to file a Paypal dispute/claim against her. Or mail Paypal Fraud about it if the 45 day dispute period has expire and your package has not arrived. I firmly believe hat had I not filed my Paypal dispute/claim, I would never have seen this order.

FUN FACT about my Paypal Dispute- the day I filed it, Julia took a break form her Twitter hiatus to tweet "If you have ordered from me and have not gotten your order, I'm sorry. Please don't start a paypal dispute, I've been sick and will work..." She hasn't been back since. I hope that nobody who saw that actually listened to her pleas; she's just trying to push you to wait until the 45 day Paypal time limit for filing non-receipt claims has come and gone.

I'm all for supporting the little guys. I'm all for buying from new sellers. I'm all about buying way more makeup than I'll ever wear. I won't let Julia sour me on any of that. But I will  be wary from now on of buying from sellers who tweet about how their utilities are about to be shut off, and who have "donate now" buttons in their webstores. I think I'll steer clear from them from now on :) Thanks for reading my rant, guys! <3 Here, haz a kitteh:

UPDATE: Talk about timing!! Guess what I got in the mail today? An envelope from Metamorphosis Cosmetics, much to my surprise. It was sent out on May 3rd, the day after I complained again to Paypal but the day before I escalated the dispute to a claim (it was STILL weeks after Julia's boyfriend told me on Paypal that he was taking care of things for her and my package would be shipped immediately- see above).  Anyway, the envelope is sitting on my countertop, unopened. I'm debating whether or not to risk sending it back for a refund- not feeling too confident I'll actually get my money back. I just know I won't be able to use these products and be happy about it... anyone want them?

I've edited this post to reflect changes to certain bits of information- the tracking number that magically changed delivery locations, and I took out a lot of the "scammer" stuff- seeing as I did get my package I guess it's not fair for ME to call her a scammer. If you haven't gotten your stuff though, it's still okay for you to do so.


ADDITIONALLY: If you're only here to start shit, don't bother, I'll be deleting any more RUDE comments, thanks. This post has been backdated so new visitors to this blog don't have to be subjected to this drama the instant their page loads.