Ciara O Doherty <3's AliExpress

Kuva · 11-12-2017 03:48PM

Were you guys all caught out buying from her?

wyrn · 11-12-2017 03:55PM

I wasn't. Penneys is out of my price range at the moment

The sad thing is, COD and JW actions have cause me and I'm sure a lot of other people, to be very mistrustful of any Irish designer or blogger. I'm sure a lot of people will check the likes of Ali Express before ordering anything off the other local websites. They haven't tarnished just their reputations, but the integrity of that whole sector. Like most people, I wouldn't mind paying a reasonable markup which would take into account import duty, quality control, quick delivery etc... However their practice and their response when caught have really damaged the whole sector. Absolutely no trust or integrity anymore.

Suckit · 11-12-2017 04:08PM

Sorry to barge in.
I do not get the problem? Many retailers do the exact same thing. I would not have a clue who either of those girls mentioned in Evoke and HER are but isn't the only rule of business, make money?

The only thing(s) imo that both of these girls did incorrectly, was they did not pay the extra $1 to rebrand, and probably did not take their own product photos.
I see MUF mentioned on these pages (I can not look at her without thinking Jen the Gelfling) and her products are also cheap junk, which she has rebranded (It costs pennies to do).
But even using aliexpress is not a great idea. Aliexpress products already have a markup on them, and often products can be found cheaper on Amazon.

I know of two businesses local to me that buy from sites online in China (clothes) and resell them as boutique/luxury top line clothing. The price hike is insane, but it seems to be working.

Is the problem that these girls used aliexpress before changing the price, or that they got caught?

I am pretty sure that every business does the exact same thing. These girls may have been a bit 'ambitious' with their prices, but surely no reason to single them out?

wyrn · 11-12-2017 04:24PM

One issue is about the consumers being mislead. One of the designers claimed and seemingly marketed her items as bespoke, when they weren't.

The issue is more about transparency than markups.

SpillingTheTea · 11-12-2017 04:45PM

Suckit wrote: »

Sorry to barge in.
I do not get the problem? Many retailers do the exact same thing. I would not have a clue who either of those girls mentioned in Evoke and HER are but isn't the only rule of business, make money?

The only thing(s) imo that both of these girls did incorrectly, was they did not pay the extra $1 to rebrand, and probably did not take their own product photos.
I see MUF mentioned on these pages (I can not look at her without thinking Jen the Gelfling) and her products are also cheap junk, which she has rebranded (It costs pennies to do).
But even using aliexpress is not a great idea. Aliexpress products already have a markup on them, and often products can be found cheaper on Amazon.

I know of two businesses local to me that buy from sites online in China (clothes) and resell them as boutique/luxury top line clothing. The price hike is insane, but it seems to be working.

Is the problem that these girls used aliexpress before changing the price, or that they got caught?

I am pretty sure that every business does the exact same thing. These girls may have been a bit 'ambitious' with their prices, but surely no reason to single them out?

Ciara originally claimed that she was selling bespoke items and alluded to them being created by her, when in fact ahe bought them on aliexpress and passed them off as her own designs. It’s not just Evoke and Her.ie that reported on it. Beaut.ie did and bloggers who attended her launch.

Jennifer Wrynne actually makes hats. She selling accessories, bags and dresses for like 18 times the price she buys them and many people thought they were her designs because she never declared that they weren’t.

There are at least 4 others doing the same.

I get that business is about making money, and I’d be delighted to pay the prices they are selling at if they were actually luxury items and Irish but they aren’t. It’s the dishonesty behind it. Also as I stated previously, they could be breaking the law because under the sales of goods and services act, items have to be as described and place of origin needs to be clarified.
It’s simply not just begrudgery, it’s actually the law.

Suckit · 11-12-2017 05:35PM

I was not implying begrudgery. A word i hate, usually used by people like Ryan Tubridy to defend against accusations of people factually stating that he is worse than useless.

I was just curious as to why these two were singled out, but if they were claiming to have been involved in the design/manufacturing of them, then that is even worse. Claiming they were exclusive to them is just stupidity.

Dezzal is the only one i can think of that sell 'luxury' items. And even then the markup would probably be too high.
I would be willing to bet, if people did the same searches across sites like (naming them if anybody wants to try

)
SammyDress, Dresslink, Dresswe, FashionMia, Makemechic, Nastydress, Newchic, Nextmia, Oasap, Rosewholesale, Rotita, Romwe, Shein, Tidebuy, Tidestore, Twinkledeals, Yoins and i am sure there are many more (all dot com), that they would find similar items in high street stores (claiming to be their own product), with a very high markup.
(And that is without mentioning the 'real' Chinese stores, which are half (or more) the price of those.

I did not think/realise that they were claiming the items themselves. That is just daft beyond stupid.

SpillingTheTea · 11-12-2017 06:48PM

Ah yeah I knew you weren’t implying begrudgery haha I was just saying it because people seem to think it is.

Yeah there are loads of sites around like that. Rosie Connolly’s Aluxe sunglasses are VERY similar to those on aliexpress too. There are so many out there doing it

Dave147 · 11-12-2017 06:59PM

WhiteRoses wrote:

Lucky for us ladies to have someone who knows nothing about blogging or the issue at hand come in and mansplain the whole thing to us, we obviously know nothing about how business works and needed to be educated on the matter. Lucky us

There's only one thing worse than "mansplaining" and that's using the word "mansplaining". Please don't use it and let's kill it off.

SusieBlue · 11-12-2017 07:40PM

Dave147 wrote: »

There's only one thing worse than "mansplaining" and that's using the word "mansplaining". Please don't use it and let's kill it off.

Did you come on to this thread just to post that gem of wisdom or do you have actually have anything constructive to add to the conversation?

njs030 · 11-12-2017 07:50PM

Suckit wrote: »

Sorry to barge in.
I do not get the problem? ?

If you'd read the thread instead of barging in its been explained multiple times.

Suckit · 11-12-2017 07:58PM

notjustsweet wrote: »

If you'd read the thread instead of barging in its been explained multiple times.

Yeah, but i didn't.
I glossed over it and was corrected, and took it.

Thanks for the late reply though.

njs030 · 11-12-2017 08:01PM

Suckit wrote: »

Yeah, but i didn't.
I glossed over it and was corrected, and took it.

Thanks for the late reply though.

Instead of glossing over threads and repeating the same thing loads of others have said just take the time to read it. It's less annoying to the people who are interested in the topic and sick of it being dragged all over the place by people "butting in"

Wow sarcasm.... How mature.

Suckit · 11-12-2017 08:05PM

notjustsweet wrote: »

Instead of glossing over threads and repeating the same thing loads of others have said just take the time to read it. It's less annoying to the people who are interested in the topic and sick of it being dragged all over the place by people "butting in"

Wow sarcasm.... How mature.

Okay.
Thanks for ladycating me.

Incidentally, if you had read the whole thread, you would have read where i was corrected, and replied. Meaning there was no reason for your post.

MuffinTop86 · 11-12-2017 08:15PM

You could say the whole point of a business is to make a profit, but if you want longevity it’s best to start right and go from there.
If you’re sitting at home laughing because you paid €4 for something you’re selling at €145 on the basis that you built up a following through genuine hard work and putting yourself out there, your customers will have completely lost faith in you and you’re fudged.
Good business isn’t selling a customer one item, it’s repeat purchasing that builds it.
I presume she has lost that now.

wendydoll · 11-12-2017 08:22PM

MuffinTop86 wrote: »

You could say the whole point of a business is to make a profit, but if you want longevity it’s best to start right and go from there.
If you’re sitting at home laughing because you paid €4 for something you’re selling at €145 on the basis that you built up a following through genuine hard work and putting yourself out there, your customers will have completely lost faith in you and you’re fudged.
Good business isn’t selling a customer one item, it’s repeat purchasing that builds it.
I presume she has lost that now.

But Muffin those Chinese people copied her design...oh wait did she change her mind on that lie...:rolleyes::rolleyes: I mean the items the girls in evoke.ie bought and the ones bought from taylor and rose were nothing alike..........

Suckit · 11-12-2017 08:23PM

MuffinTop86 wrote: »

You could say the whole point of a business is to make a profit, but if you want longevity it’s best to start right and go from there.
If you’re sitting at home laughing because you paid €4 for something you’re selling at €145 on the basis that you built up a following through genuine hard work and putting yourself out there, your customers will have completely lost faith in you and you’re fudged.
Good business isn’t selling a customer one item, it’s repeat purchasing that builds it.
I presume she has lost that now.

Would it be a big uphill struggle to re-invent herself?
I know it might mean undoing a lot of work (depending on how she/they went about it), but if she is young enough, (and obviously is savvy enough), could she change her ID and online persona?

I imagine that it would be 50/50 she could fall flat on her face or it could work, i guess i am really wondering how much damage this would have done to them. It is hardly the end of her blogging career, is it?

wendydoll · 11-12-2017 08:28PM

Suckit wrote: »

Would it be a big uphill struggle to re-invent herself?
I know it might mean undoing a lot of work (depending on how she/they went about it), but if she is young enough, (and obviously is savvy enough), could she change her ID and online persona?

I imagine that it would be 50/50 she could fall flat on her face or it could work, i guess i am really wondering how much damage this would have done to them. It is hardly the end of her blogging career, is it?

Personally I wouldn't be in the slight bit interested in her or help her career by watching her blogs or buying "her" good...she's a total spoofer. I don't even think she was ever that likeable

Dave147 · 11-12-2017 08:35PM

WhiteRoses wrote:

Did you come on to this thread just to post that gem of wisdom or do you have actually have anything constructive to add to the conversation?

I actually think it's plenty constructive. I don't have anything else to add to be honest, I'm happy with my contribution to pull someone up when they start talking ****e with this stupid word.

MuffinTop86 · 11-12-2017 08:47PM

I wouldn’t say her career is over. I think she’s knwn more as a ”stylist” than blogger so she has that.
She doesn’t have as big a following as some of the others so maybe it won’t have much of an impact. I had a look today and everything seems to be around 30 quid or less.
If it had started at those prices there’d be no cause for complain. As people have said, they’re happy to pay 6 euro for Sosu lashes because it’s affordable.
It might be a good idea not to post photos of YSL bags and Gucci belts for a while though.

gossipgirl10 · 11-12-2017 09:18PM

I'd say one of the main reasons she didn't post that blog post was because she tried to blame bad journalism for the misunderstanding and I'm sure she was advised not to go down that avenue as she needs to keep the media on her side.

I'd love to hear what beaut.ie or someone else who wrote an article at the time of the launch has to say about it since they came away thinking she made them / designed them / they were bespoke / they were handmade. How did so many people come away with the same message there was not one article that said she sources them from suppliers worldwide like she said was always her brand message.

They obviously were contacted in September to retract the articles when all of this came out so I'm sure they would have some interesting thoughts on the whole thing and now being accused of "bad journalism"

SusieBlue · 11-12-2017 10:46PM

Dave147 wrote: »

I actually think it's plenty constructive. I don't have anything else to add to be honest, I'm happy with my contribution to pull someone up when they start talking ****e with this stupid word.

Sorry who made you authority on what words I can and cannot use? What do you think gives you the right to 'pull me up' on it?
Unless you're a Mod I'd say back off and mind your own business.
Looks like your a bit of a mansplainer yourself as well :rolleyes:

SpillingTheTea · 11-12-2017 11:11PM

Suckit wrote: »

MuffinTop86 wrote: »

You could say the whole point of a business is to make a profit, but if you want longevity it’s best to start right and go from there.
If you’re sitting at home laughing because you paid €4 for something you’re selling at €145 on the basis that you built up a following through genuine hard work and putting yourself out there, your customers will have completely lost faith in you and you’re fudged.
Good business isn’t selling a customer one item, it’s repeat purchasing that builds it.
I presume she has lost that now.

Would it be a big uphill struggle to re-invent herself?
I know it might mean undoing a lot of work (depending on how she/they went about it), but if she is young enough, (and obviously is savvy enough), could she change her ID and online persona?

I imagine that it would be 50/50 she could fall flat on her face or it could work, i guess i am really wondering how much damage this would have done to them. It is hardly the end of her blogging career, is it?

Personally I don’t think she would want to try reinvent herself because she thinks she l has done no wrong, but if I were to give her advice, I think the best way for her to move on and help her business is if she actually sourced Irish jewellers and designers and be a stockist and if she just admits that she bought from China. That’s just my opinion anyway.

njs030 · 12-12-2017 02:45AM

Suckit wrote: »

Okay.
Thanks for ladycating me.

Incidentally, if you had read the whole thread, you would have read where i was corrected, and replied. Meaning there was no reason for your post.

"ladycating "

Nice.

rossygal · 12-12-2017 06:15AM

Has anyone spotted Jennifer Wrynne has dropped the price of some of her earrings! A specific pair was €17.95 (I know cos I was thinking of buying them but I'll wait a month for them to come from Ali Express instead) and now there €14.95 !!!I feel for anyone that's bought earrings off her !!!ðŸ˜“

silvervixen84 · 12-12-2017 10:16AM

mod

Stop bickering and get back on topic please

SusieBlue · 12-12-2017 10:39AM

silvervixen84 wrote: »

mod

Stop bickering and get back on topic please

Its extremely hard to stay on topic when these one post wonders continually derail threads again and again with no repercussions.

Can we please do something to address this issue.

Lindy97 · 12-12-2017 11:02AM

Look, can we all agree that we are all acutely aware of how business works, as we are not idiots. Mark ups have to happen, otherwise what's the point. The issue is a) the purposely misleading buyers into thinking these pieces are bespoke, hand made and designed by her thus justifying the large mark up b) marking up is one thing, marking up 500% in some cases is a whole other and should be exposed. If you're going to do it, as is your right, then expect to be pulled up on it especially when there is a trace on a Chinese website of you buying the products there. This is what's going on here, yet some feel like pointing out how ethically wrong this practice is, especially by bloggers and influencers who fly under the advertising radar more than companies and retail units, and are often advertising stuff so slyly that a lot don't even know they're being advertised to and often to very naive and vulnerable groups, is wrong or we are being pedantic?

You can argue that those of us on here are aware of what's going on, can laugh and see if all for what it is, but not everyone is and that is the point people on here are trying to make. Unlike companies, bloggers have this way of making followers feel like they're their friends, and have built up a huge amount of trust, trust which is traded on and capitalised on. What's wrong with calling these people out?

Suckit · 12-12-2017 04:31PM

I agree with everything you just said.
I did barge in, and i did not read the entire thread, i was a bit worse for wear. I did read much of it.
The ony reason for my original post was purely wondering why they were singled out, as i had missed it being mentioned.

I got two decent answers from wyrn and SpillingTheTea which explained the issue. I am probably not the only person that reads these threads and wondered where the issue lay, so asking it and having it answered may also help others out.

With regards to the 'one post wonders derailing the thread' - I did not think it was derailed, it actually reads like it honed in on the main focal point of it.
And everyone has to start somewhere.
Never did I assume nobody knew about business, it was me that did not know, and i never denied that. I posted as it was the only way i was going to get an answer to my question.

All of that aside (if it can be put aside)

Is there a Blogger Reviewer/Rater/Self-appointed Watchdog?

It seems like it would be a big market, Movies, Games (Rotten Tomatoes, Gamespot etc) and pretty much everything else has them. If i was a big blog reader/follower i would think it would be an invaluable tool to have as an extra feed, which bloggers i could or could not trust.

I do not know much about blogging (obviously) so i would not know where to start with something like that..

SpillingTheTea · 12-12-2017 04:43PM

Suckit wrote: »

All of that aside (if it can be put aside)

Is there a Blogger Reviewer/Rater/Self-appointed Watchdog?

It seems like it would be a big market, Movies, Games (Rotten Tomatoes, Gamespot etc) and pretty much everything else has them. If i was a big blog reader/follower i would think it would be an invaluable tool to have as an extra feed, which bloggers i could or could not trust.

I do not know much about blogging (obviously) so i would not know where to start with something like that..

In regards to this, there isn’t anything other than boards/reddit/Facebook and nothing really like an independent watchdog for bloggers, as like it’s happened even on boards a few times, bloggers/influencers and sometimes their fans shut down the content with Cease and Desists and threats from their ‘legal teams’.

We are all usually lumped into the bracket of the ‘jealuz h8rz’ because we don’t agree.

For example there was an Instagram page set up showing all the dodgy practices of these and other companies and was shut down on insta and the posts were removed on boards.

I would love to see something like you suggest, but unfortunately it won’t happen because the bloggers/influencers in question won’t let it.

Lindy97 · 12-12-2017 04:51PM

Its a difficult one in all honesty in terms of a reviewer/rater etc. Ive never seen it but I do think it's a good idea. The issue is that any sort of negativity directed at this group in a public forum (not here so much but in Facebook groups about bloggers) is usually labelled as begrudgery/hate/jealousy. The old "if you don't like them, unfollow" argument is trotted out without any awareness of the fact that the poster is trying to point out sketchy non declaring of advertising, passing freebies off as purchases or questionable and lazy content. That and some bloggers have and continue to threaten legal action (which Ciara O'D did on here and got a long thread closed down in which this Ali Express mess was initially exposed) whenever they read anything negative about themselves.
The ASAI are the official regulator but they're about as much use as a chocolate teapot...

Ciara O Doherty <3's AliExpress

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