Monday, June 18, 2012

PB Paradise Tropical Duvet, thumbs down.

My new Pottery Barn Paradise Tropical duvet arrived over the weekend.  Since I had never actually seen the duvet in person, I was hoping that I would still like it as much as I liked it online.




I was slightly surprised to see that it was much more mustardy-yellow than it appeared online.  Other than that, however, its really beautiful.

There is one other significant problem.  I bought it on ebay, where it was listed as a King duvet, 106 inches by 90 inches, and as having been washed once.

It may have only been washed once, but it was probably run through the dryer, because it is now 100 inches by 83 inches. A too-short blanket will cause much marital distress.  We cannot use this duvet as a blanket without killing each other.


So.....ever had something from ebay show up not as advertised?  I don't know what to do.  This pattern is discontinued, and I've been looking for it for over a year, so its not like you can just order up another one the right size.  I can't return it, but I'm annoyed that I paid nearly as much as you would for a brand new one, only for it to be unusable as advertised.

I will probably keep it, and turn it into curtains eventually.  Not sure if I will make them for curtains for my bedroom, or some other future room down the line.  The pattern doesn't play with the chiang mai (not surprising, they are both large scale florals), and its a much muddier color palate than the clear, bright colors I am currently working with.

Back to the drawing board.


Updated: As suggested in the comments, I contacted the seller and explained the issue, and she offered me the option of returning it or a 30% discount.  I took the discount, since I do love the pattern and will find a use for the fabric elsewhere.

7 comments:

  1. You can always go back to the seller and try to work out a compromise. If they are unresponsive, you can file an eBay claim against them for an "item not as stated" (or whatever the jargon is). If you don't want to do that, you could re-sell on eBay to recoup some of your money. Or pick a solid duvet cover and use this as an accent (pillow, stripe on curtain, edge the solid duvet). Sorry it turned out this way! I bought a dreamy duvet cover from West Elm last year, and was bummed to find that it is just a few shades off from the wall color in my bedroom. Doesn't work at all & I feel like I wasted the money (yet I still love the pattern).

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  2. Yes! The first thing to do is contact the seller and say something like "this is what you said it measures, this is what it actually measures, what can we do about this?". If they don't respond, file a complaint, you'll get your money back if you paid through paypal, though it might take a while.

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  3. That sucks! I agree with the above comments. Maybe you could do a cornice and some pillows out of it if you didn't have enough for curtains.

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  4. I plan on complaining, I just haven't quite figured out what I want--I love the fabric, and I'll keep it to use as something else, so I don't want to send it back. Can I just ask for a discount, I guess?

    blarg, interacting with people in a confrontational manner is not my forte.

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  5. Lisa, I buy and sell a lot of stuff on ebay and I hate it when things are not as advertised. I usually email the seller and they will provide a partial refund. I would ask for a refund especially if you want to use the fabric for something else. Thankfully, the confrontation is all electronic and there is no face-to-face haggling involved. BTW, your bedroom is looking great!

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  6. I agree that you should point out the measurements are not as advertised and that's false advertising and threaten to give a bad review and report them if they don't give you at least 50% back (I just made that up). If you wind up keeping it, instead of making it curtains because it's such a loud print, what about making it into throw pillows instead? Or a baby blanket for your girl?

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  7. Glad to hear the seller was fairly reasonable once you pointed out the issues. I have to say, I think it will make fabulous curtains!

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