To think this is a bloody rip off and be annoyed at my stupidity?!

[Booksandwine80]

Have just purchased a handmade Christmas gift from a local Facebook seller. Lovely item, ideal gift for a friend and was glad to be “buying local”.

Have received the item, realised a little while later that the label from a well known bargain Swedish shop was left on (by accident I assume!).

AIBU to message the seller? I’m annoyed that I’ve paid almost £10 for something which she bought for less than £1

😂😂😂@meatball comment

Wow - that machine is just ace - I'd love one

(Misses point of thread)

Are you sure it's not just the vase that's been brought or is the entire candle

Was it a meatball carved into the initial of your name?

It's not worth a tenner but it is nice enough I'm sure your friend will like it.
I'm going to do these myself for friends!

I'm loving that machine

Am I the only one who doesn't think the OP has been ripped off? Tis lovely is that candle!

It’s nice but I personally wouldn’t have paid £10. How big is the candle, I’m assuming not very big for 85p.

Was it one of the local sites where you go and collect or did she have to post it to you?

In the summer I bought my DD’s names printed like that to put on their water bottles from ebay for £2 I think. If she has the machine already it’s not too expensive for her to print them (my friend has one of the machines but I completely forgot otherwise she would have made my DD’s).

I guess in saying the above there still has to be something for her - she would have to buy the candles, print/order the lettering and stick them to the candles. That would all take time and money. But no matter how she dresses it up she has personalised the candles not handmade them.

Yes the machine does cost a lot. I have two. The latest was nearly £400. The cutting mats need regular replacing, they, nor the blades are cheap. I've had my machine for 5 years. It's taken me a long time to learn things! There wasn't the amount of help (you tube) available when I started.

The amount I've spent in materials is a fortune.

I have public liability insurance. More costs!

I regularly stay up until 3am doing things (I can't start until kids are in bed!)

That said, I think the candle is on the expensive side!

You got bumped

cheeky fucker!! I'd be pissed off

@Booksandwine80 you've been shafted my friend. It's also fraudulent misrepresentation and you should totally call her out on it.

One of my side projects is custom my little ponies. Am I ripping people off because it’s a mass produced item that I’ve repainted? Even ready made things that are hand painted and personalised still take time and effort to make. Don’t be so harsh

But the difference is I don’t expect you advertise them as unicorns who shit glitter

Complain. I'm an independent and its people who do things like that who make consumers nervous about buying from independents. If you shop in a big chain, you feel like you have more protection and when stuff like this happens, it reaffirms that belief for consumers. What she us doing is harming independent artisans.

Publicly question her description and complain so others see.

@toria6118

It's not the product that's the problem. It's the description. If she's sold it as a personalised candle, then there'd be no problem. But she sold it as a handmade candle with carefully blended scents. That's not what she is selling. Jazz up other products all you like and sell them; some people will love it. But you cannot say you made the candle yourself when you didn't.

Anyone fancy going into business together?

We'll undercut her 😂😂😂

@toria6118

Also, I hope you're not describing your product as "my little pony". If you sell anything which is copyrighted and you don't havnt been granted a license to sell it, then you're legally required to refund your customers without receiving the item you sold back.

If anyone is selling anything Disney or character related or anything at all copyrighted, then someone could buy it and once they've got it they can say "can I see your license to sell Disney (or other brand) products?". If you can't provide the license then they are entitled to their money back without returning the product So you risk giving thing away items for free.

It may be home made, just not by the seller.

It looks like this £1.75 Ikea candle.

There's nothing homemade about it at all, so I think the seller has misrepresented it in her advertising. Basically all she's done is stick a label on it!

We'll undercut her

There are literally hundreds of Etsy sellers selling stuff like this, some cheaper, some more expensive.

It's not home made unless she lives at Ikea

Get your money back

I bought a homemade candle in a vintage cup and saucer, seller was able to tell me the process and what oils and scents etc were in it for £7. I've used a cricket and if you compare time using that against making a candle from scratch, I know the outlay is more, but to me £10 for an IKEA candle is unreasonable.

That said if she had just described it as a personalised candle £10 that would be fine because it wouldn't have left you with a bitter taste in the mouth.

Its alway fascinating to see how poster (wilfully?) misinterpret the OP's posts in AIBU! I'm never sure if it's just a misunderstanding or just an odd need to ensure that someone is wrong on the internet.

Paying 10 pounds for an Ikea candle with a personalised label on isn't the issue. That's ok; if you do it then good for you, if you buy one knowing what you're getting, that's too.

Sticking a personalised label on an Ikea candle and selling it as hand blended candle that's twice its actual size isn't ok. No matter if an actual, glass tumbler sized, hand blended candle would cost more than a tenner or not.

Also I'm interested to hear how buying beeswax candles saves bees. (Mentioned up thread.)

OP, YANBU. I'd contact the seller if I were you.

The likely reason the label was left on is because when you sell candles you have to provide the ingredients list and all sorts of info. Even reselling I believe. That said I'd still go back as misadvertised.

PP who made Xmas plates- you were underpricing them. If it was £1 a plate then £1 say for materials, then you were paying yourself just over £2 an hour. If you were making lots and ended up paying tax and ni that would reduce your hourly rate even more. When I ran my own business I had a fornyks for working out pricing that ensured profit after covering these things.

@Iaimtomisbehave1 no, I don’t call them “my little pony, I call them custom pony’s. I don’t actually do them anymore, no longer have the time. I used to strip them right back, repaint, put new hair in, some were personalised, and I would insert genuine Swarovski crystals into the bodies. But..... to be fair about the candle in question.... I would have branded it hand decorated, or personalised, NOT handmade. Also, I would have not charged £10. I used to make candles once upon a time. I now sew instead.

Was it a meatball carved into the initial of your name?

Well done for the laziest joke ever.