Sunday, February 3, 2008

Taking One for the Team!

This week I received little package I purchased on Ebay.

The price was spectacularly low for the 30% glycolic acid and there were those oh so tempting added items like the "egg white" facial and the "Free 10 Amazing Healing Serums (60.00 Value). Of course, the first thing I did was unpack the items when they arrived. One brown bottle with a label "30% Glycolic Acid" that looked about standard, but things started going south when I saw the "Amazing Healing Serums".

Ladies, how much would 10 capsules of vitamin E cost?

I left my feedback on Ebay, simply stating that the item did not bear the appearance of what I saw on the seller's page, nothing more, then wrote the seller to ask what was in the capsules. What was this "Amazing Healing Serum"?

I then looked at the instructions for the glycolic acid peel. Ladies, would you put an acid on your face and then not take steps to neutralize it? Well, there was no mention of that step in the directions. In fact, "After the appropriate wait time, rinse with cold water and gently pat the skin" is followed with, "Apply appropriate moisturizer". This sort of omission might be harmless for the experiences user. Most of us have baking soda or neutralizers left over from other home peels. What about the the new user?

Well the seller contacted me, harped on the bad feedback, I guess she didn't appreciate the restraint I showed with the one comment I left, but never explained what was in those capsules of "Amazing Healing Serum". They were in a plastic sample bag with directions on usage, but nothing explains what the serum actually is, and I a sitting here looking at it while I type! Should the FDA be contacted and informed of a violation? Naw, I am not so heartless. Something like that would make it impossible for careful and concerned small skin care and cosmetics businesses to keep filling this wonderful niche, and that is not my goal at all.

The seller had a perfect chance to explain the capsules and the reason there were no instructions about neutralizing the glycolic acid, and I told her I would be writing about this in my next article. She accused me of blackmail...oh well. When a few others - and there really aren't that many at all, have left negative feedback, she accused them of not following the directions. I know that my direction were incomplete, so the likelihood that others are is pretty high.

Ladies...and Gents....be careful when you find a really good price on any item. Too often, sellers want to take money for less than stellar products and customer service. I have a feeling that the seller I purchased from is selling on borrowed time.

Contact me if you would like to know more.