Home Forums Explore Media Oil Painting Major. Rant.

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  • #992160

    ”If you’re gonna begrudge the buyer for buying it, Don’t #****** sell it!”

    This is basically what I was told at one time, and, what I have advised to noobs who were starting out selling on ebay and having a hard time thinking they had to compete with all the penny auctions. It basically comes down to; ‘if you’re not comfortable selling at the price that’s on it, raise the price, or, don’t offer it for sale. ;) Well, I recently made a purchase that left me angry and feeling just a little bit betrayed by a company that I have supported and recommended for years. It seems that same advice would be good advice for this company, too!

    About a month ago, I received a sale notice in my email from CAS paints … that they were having a big close-out sale on the Alkyd Pro paints that I use…at $1 a tube – come buy some paint! OK, they asked me to buy, so, I bought 22 tubes of paint! I paid for it and received my order confirmation…and that was the last I heard from them. Two weeks later I still hadn’t received my paint and still had not heard anything from them, so, I checked their website and facebook page, then left messages, wrote emails, and tried to call…no reply at all.

    Well, at this point I figured CAS must be going out of business and I really didn’t have much hope of getting the paint I ordered, so, I opened a Paypal dispute against them to either get my paint order, or, get my money back. A dispute is not the same as a claim…that comes next if you persue it. A dispute is just a time for both parties to contact each other, duke it out, discuss, cuss, and hopefully come to an agreement…or maybe not and so proceed to a claim. I didn’t realize at the time, but, putting a dispute on a Paypal order also puts a freeze on the sellers Paypal account for the amount of the purchase. I heard from CAS pretty fast then.

    First I got an email telling me that they were ready to ship my paint order, but, couldn’t until I closed the dispute and released the funds for the shipping. I didn’t know what they were talking about, but, it didn’t sound right. My paypal transaction showed that it was completed and paid, including the shipping two weeks ago, and, didn’t show any kind of hold that had to be released by me. This had to be an issue with their account, not mine… and that is what I told them in the next couple emails. They kept on saying that they couldn’t ship unless I first closed the dispute so they could pay for the shipping.

    So, I thought maybe I should just do as they were asking and close the dispute so they would ship the order, but, first I re-read the Paypal guidelines on disputes. Good thing, too, because I would not have been able to re-open another dispute or a claim on this transaction if I did, even if the seller failed to send the order. I told CAS in my next email that I would not close the dispute until I had received the paints and would be following Paypals guidelines.

    So, next I got a call from John at CAS. Basically the call was more of the same with him trying to tell me to close the dispute, but, he also kept going on about how the paint was basically being given away and I should understand that they had a huge number of orders to fill and that was why it was taking so long. He kept on about how cheap it was and how they couldn’t afford to ship it unless I closed the dispute first.

    By this time, I was starting to feel guilty for having bought their under priced paint and then expecting them to actually send it to me! I told him at this point that I didn’t appreciate being treated like a 2nd class citizen when I had purchased hundreds of dollars worth of their paint over the past 4 years, used their paint exclusively, and recommended it to anyone who was willing to listen! His attitude changed drastically at this! It was suddenly ‘Oh, you’re a customer!’ like what I had just purchased (sale items) did not count…that anyone buying the sale items wasn’t worth the trouble of a simple email to keep them informed about the status of their order because they weren’t really customers.

    He kept asking me if I bought these earlier orders from them, because he only showed me as having bought a color chart. Well, my brain doesn’t work as well as it used to, but, I know I bought the bulk of my first Alkyd Pro paints directly from them the manufacturer, but, even if I did buy some from their distributors…why should that be such an issue to him? I’m still a customer, right? I bought their paint.

    Anyway, by this time, I’m finding it hard to focus on what he is saying…I really not a confrontational person, but, I was getting angrier as what he had said and how he was saying it sunk in. He did say that since I [claim] to have bought paint from them before, he would trust me and go ahead and ship my order…really?!!!…I paid for it already….why does he need to trust me to ship it??? And so the call ended.

    He did ship the paint the next day, and, watched the Fed Ex shipping online as it traveled towards me. I received another email asking me to close the dispute. I ignored it as I had already decided I was going to wait until I got the order and checked it out first…but, I still felt bad about causing his account to be frozen until I did close it. My order was in transit…I was feeling sympathetic.

    …anybody still reading this? :rolleyes: :wave: It goes on….

    So, yesterday, the 12th, the package was due. At 2pm it had not arrived, so, I checked the shipping status online. Fed Ex showed it as delivered on my doorstep at 1:45! It wasn’t. I spent the next few hours trying to figure out where my package was and what if anything I could do about it! Basically at this point, Fed Ex showed it as delivered…done deal…too bad…somebody must of stolen it off your porch…tough luck! I was still awaiting a call from a Fed Ex service rep with any possible information about my missing package, but, by this time I pretty much believed it was gone for good. After finishing up with an online discussion with Fed Ex, I decided to close the dispute. CAS did ship the order, and, I could not in fairness blame them for Fed Ex’s screw-up, and, I wouldn’t want my accounts frozen any longer than absolutely necessary, so, I closed it.

    Not minutes after closing the account, I get a call from a complete stranger on the other side of town. They have my package and could I come get it! :clap: Yes! :clap: :lol:

    Fed Ex left my package on Courtney’s step by mistake. Courtney spent all day trying to track me down, searching my name and business name online until she found my number through my Fine Art America page. I was soooo thrilled when I got that call! Not because I would finally get my paint, but, that Courtney went to so much time and trouble to find me! Most people would not bother…maybe they would call Fed Ex, but that is about it. When I met Courtney and finally got the ‘order from he!!’ (as I had taken to calling it), she told me that the Fed Ex truck had just left her house and that the driver was so sorry for the mistake…had discovered her error…and had returned to Courtneys to exchange the switched packages…but that was after I had spoken to Courtney so the package was waiting for me when I pulled up at her house. See…there are still actions done in this world to restore our faith in humanity! :heart:

    So, I finally get home with ‘the box’. And I open it. :confused:

    :eek: Good thing I did close that dispute because otherwise I would have taped that box right back up and sent it back! Look at this mess!

    I photographed this as soon as I opened it. Guess John, or whoever packed this order, felt the paint sold so cheaply that it just wasn’t worth putting proper LABELS on it, or, packing it so it would not fly around in the shipping box so that multiple tubes were PUNCTURED and all the tubes were covered in paint and badly dented! :mad: I hate BS like this!

    Most of these are colors I ordered, but, 4 are not, just replaced with random colors I guess…colors I don’t use. Two I’m not sure what color they are…no labels! What blue???? The blue could be Prussian or Thalo…I ordered Thalo…guess I’ll find out when I use it. Which I. Black???? I ordered iron oxide black…I won’t use Ivory… It took me an hour to clean up the paint tubes and tape up the punctures. Do I sound really un-grateful? I’m angry! I expected the SAME products I have been buying and using for the past couple years. Nothing on the CAS site said anything about these paints being unlabeled, or, that there was anything different than what I have always received when I bought their paint. I don’t give a d@mn that these were really cheap paints… I was asked to buy them so I did…YES, I was thrilled to save a ton of money on normally very expensive paints, but, I expected to be treated as a VALUED customer with respect and honesty!

    OK…anyone still here? Am I just a spoiled, un-grateful, cry-baby? :rolleyes:

    [FONT="Tahoma"]EquiArt-n-More ... Stylistic Realism in Oils[/I][/B]

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    #1209759
    SarahY
    Default

        :eek: One rightfully expects the same professionalism and courtesy from a company whether one is buying sale items or not and whether one is a previous customer or not; you are most certainly not being a spoiled cry-baby.

        This is just ridiculous, I would be furious to receive paints in that condition for any amount of money unless they were specifically advertised as seconds, missing labels, etc – and even then I’d still expect them to be packed properly!

        http://www.shyeomans.co.uk
        \m/ neue deutsche härte \m/
        Nothing left but smoke and cellar, and a woman with a black umbrella...

        #1209760
        SarahY
        Default

            I did feel that the mysterious Courtney was a shining beacon of human kindness in this story though. Very few would bother, well done her.

            http://www.shyeomans.co.uk
            \m/ neue deutsche härte \m/
            Nothing left but smoke and cellar, and a woman with a black umbrella...

            #1209730

            Yes, she certainly was! :)

            [FONT="Tahoma"]EquiArt-n-More ... Stylistic Realism in Oils[/I][/B]

            ETSY FACEBOOK FAA EPILOGUE [/CENTER][/COLOR]

            #1209729
            Ben Sones
            Default

                No, you definitely aren’t an ungrateful crybaby. That mess of paint is ridiculous. If PayPal won’t let you open a new dispute, I’d do a chargeback.

                #1209724
                karenlee
                Default

                    The question at this point is, Do you want to return the paint? If so, you can contact your credit card company and stop payment (& ship the paint back in two weeks).

                    #1209720
                    ArtsyLynda
                    Default

                        You can also complain about them to the Better Business Bureau. Even if they aren’t members, the BBB will list the complaint against them and the company may decide to make things right to try to salvage their reputation. Also complain to Ebay. They want to hear about bad sales experiences.

                        #1209762
                        Palespyder
                        Default

                            even if they are going out of business, it shows a poorly managed company that would allow customers to be treated this way. The fact that their paint was $1 a tube had nothing to do with you, they solicited you to buy from them via email.

                            #1209746
                            blr2449
                            Default

                                OMG. What a mess. I hope you sent photos to the company along with your extreme displeasure with them.

                                Always inspire, never discourage a child from creating art.

                                ~Barbara

                                #1209770
                                Norma46
                                Default

                                    You have the pictures of the mess. I would contact the credit card company and have the charge placed in dispute. In my experience the credit card companies are very helpful in situations like this.

                                    Norma

                                    #1209747
                                    kevinwueste
                                    Default

                                        I will be hated but – you get what you pay for – often! Your 1 dollar /tube deal – sounds so good and it may just not be! You did pay in sweat-equity to get your tubes.. My guess is, post rant, it’s best to apply all this energy to painting!

                                        Kevin

                                        i draw, paint and teach | my voice is hoarse | my shoulder hurts.
                                        Talent is really a capacity for a certain type of learning of knowledge and a consuming interest in the facts that contribute to that knowledge~ Andrew Loomis
                                        http://www.kevinwuesteart.blogspot.com
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                                        #1209719
                                        Vasili
                                        Default

                                            Sorry, to hear about your troubles.

                                            After reading your horror story, I will most definitely be wary of any deals that seem too good to be true.

                                            Long post, but I read it all! :clap:

                                            Newer Paintings[/URL]

                                            #1209764
                                            accivatti
                                            Default

                                                Wow. I can’t believe what a chore it was to finish this transaction. What a disrespectful and distasteful way to treat their customers.

                                                #1209721
                                                Brian Firth
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                                                    Well, to make it short, I had the exact same experience. I ordered the special, my payment went through paypal immediately, waited two weeks, contacted them and they finally sent the package along with a computer printed note that said all the tubes I had ordered that they didn’t have were replaced with gel tubes. (didn’t mention that in the email) Needless to say they all looked like they had been through World War III. Not the least impressed and now even more concerned that I’m not the only one this happened to.

                                                    "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."
                                                    -- Carl Sagan

                                                    Brian Firth

                                                    #1209723
                                                    snoball
                                                    Default

                                                        I would definitely send those photos to the company as well as a link to this thread along with a solemn promise to never buy another tube of their paint from them or any distributor.


                                                        If you're asking me for advice, I'm going to assume that you've run out of rational options.
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