To ask my mum to stop buying gifts from Wowcher

[Horsepie]

My mother is a "bargain" hunter. She buys all sorts of crap, not because she needs it but because it's cheap. She recently bought dd2 a doodle mat for her birthday. She was really pleased as apparently it was reduced from £50 to a tenner. I had also ordered the same thing for dd2 but had got it off amazon for £2.99. I didn't have the heart to tell my mother and as dd actually likes it then it doesn't really matter.
She has now however bought dd1 some jewellery from wowcher. It is hideous. Dd1 will hate it. It was only £12 but she doesn't have a lot of money and is a complete waste. I am sure it is also a rip off. It links to a site which has it at £89. However when you investigate the other products on wowcher, many of them link to very similar sites, often with no product listings on any of the other categories.
I don't want to hurt DM's feelings but I also don't want her to be taken for a ride and my house to end up full of overpriced tat. Would I be unreasonable to say something to her??

I wouldn't

Most things bought as gifts are overpriced tat aren't they?

What is it about the jewellery you think your DD1 won't like? How old is she?

Your mum likes thinking she's got a bargain, why deprive her of such a small thing?

I would grin and bare it. Then i would wait a while to casually drop into the conversation that its been a big thing about these sites possibly ripping people off by inflating the rrp ect,

It is just really OTT and hideous. My dd is not a girly girl at all but it is pink and sparkly. She just won't like it. She is only 6.
My mother is the least thoughtful person I know. She won't buy a gift because she thinks someone will love it. She buys it because she thinks it is a good deal. It is a shame for her and a shame for the dc as she gives them a gift and whilst they obviously say thank you they have absolutely no interest in what she has given them.
I do normally just bite my tongue and try and make a bit of a fuss over the gift but i think it annoys me that she is being ripped off.

Aww, she's only 6! She's hardly going to fuck the jewellery off just because she's been cast in the category of 'not a girly girl'

Does it say more about what you think of it maybe?

What's your mum like with your DCs generally?

My DH isn't the most thoughtful person I've ever met, but I still know how he feels about me.

Your mum was thoughtful IMO because she bought something she thought a 6 YO might like. If she'd have got her a bathroom bin or a lawn mower then you might have had a point, but she got her something a lot of 6 YOs would love to dress up in. Even if you think your DD will hate it, it is an appropriate present for her.

No it really doesn't say more about me! I'll just out myself now: www.marcusemporium.co.uk/frozen-inspired-snowflake-watch-made-with-swarovski-elements-6609-p.asp

Dd is v mature for her age, can't stand pink and just isn't into that kind of stuff. I used that expression due to lack of imagination on my part.

My mother is crap with my dc. She lives 5 houses away from me (by chance not choice) and I see her maybe once a month if that. She has no interest in our lives at all.

It could definitely be worse though - my dsis managed to talk her out of getting another ceramic figurine for the farm collection she has been building for the last 4 years!

I don't want to go off topic, but I'm not sure I agree with you on the loathing of pink = maturity, a bit bizarre.

What 6 YOs say they hate one day can be the best thing ever the next time you ask. The watch isn't my cup of tea, but it's a nice present for a 6 YO girl.

The ceramic farm collection sounds hideous (link for that one as well please ), but your mum's been collecting it for four years! She must get something out of building it up and getting a bargain into the bargain, why would you want her to not have that?

If she was able to show you she cared about you and your family do you think you'd look on her 'hobby'/passion/whatever differently?

Have you ever told her how unloved she makes you feel?

If she's a bargain hunter, why not advise her to check pricing on Amazon before purchasing from wowcher? At least then she's checking whether she's getting her tat as cheaply as possible. All voucher merchants selling through voucher sites give the site their highest current selling price and the vast majority don't even 'discount' to their lowest current selling price.

As for your DD probably not liking the cheap tat, it's character building . (my nana was like this. I received a 7-9 year old's dictionary when I was 12 with a reading age of a 16 YO and a knock off Barbie car when I was 17 . )