Given A Few Hours To Myself...
I feel like I should apologize... it's Tuesday already and I'm only managing to get a post in now. I guess it's just "that time of year" and I've been just crazy busy! That's why, when I unexpectedly had a couple hours to myself recently I decided to set up the carder and tackle those pesky bags of washed fiber that have been sitting around. I really hate half finished jobs, especially when they're right under my nose all the time! That's why I keep my UFOs in baskets so at least they're half hidden by something I don't mind looking at! Ha!
Never one to shy away from a challenge I hauled out those 2 skimpy mesh bags of Icelandic from that garbage pound I bought on eBay. I figured, since they were the smallest lot I could card them up first to get them out of the way and then move on to something more wonderful.
Never one to shy away from a challenge I hauled out those 2 skimpy mesh bags of Icelandic from that garbage pound I bought on eBay. I figured, since they were the smallest lot I could card them up first to get them out of the way and then move on to something more wonderful.
Yes, the whole 2 bags was pretty much all wads and bits like this, no really nice chunks of long staple fiber. So away I plodded, pulling open the fibers and putting it through the carder. More and more and more wads of second cuts came up to the surface of the batts. For those who don't know, 2nd cuts are 1/4" long and under, and basically useless for anything but making felted batts, certainly not useful in any way for spinning fiber!
It didn't take long before there was quite a pile of it in the garbage can. All I know is it took 5 and 6 passes through the carder before this stuff resembled something spinnable! Working with this trash ate up the bulk of my free time and this is all I had to show for it when I was done, and NONE of them weighed a full ounce like my batts usually do. Believe it or not, I AM going to spin it and then I'll weigh it. What, you think I'm a glutton for punishment? Ya, probably, but only when I get really mad!
But this isn't the end of my story though! Jody , one of my blog readers, had emailed me privately to find out the user ID of the eBay seller I bought the fleece from because she didn't want to get burned. Turns out she knew who the person was and gave me her contact info.
Now let me begin by saying that I am a firm believer that you'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar - even if I'm roaring mad - so I wrote her a detailed email about her mis-labeling, the 4 ounces short lamb's fleece and all the hoary details of the Icelandic. I said that because the final buying price wasn't high I chalked it up to Buyer Beware on eBay but that I would have been well beyond furious if the amount I had bid as a maximum had been what I had paid for it in the end. If I bid on a pound of fleece, I expect to get a pound of usable fleece. I explained to her that I have recounted all this on my blog and that it was only out of courtesy that I didn't expose her because I thought I should give her a chance to reply. Oh, did I forget to tell you that I sent my email through her FIBER SELLING BUSINESS website?
Her reply was equally polite and she blithely admitted to dumping her garbage on unsuspecting eBay buyers and that she thought I did very well to savage as much fiber as I did from the Icelandic skirting. (!!) But here's the comment that blew me away - she said she didn't think anyone would make the connection between her eBay selling and her regular fiber business! I kid you not! So she says she'll likely put the trash in the dumpster now instead of listing it and would I be interested in 4 ounces of something to make up for the pound that was short.
Now I did seriously consider her offer but I have a hard time reconciling myself to dealing with someone - even for something free - with a selling ethic like that. So I simply replied that I hoped she would benefit from my friendly advice and politely declined, which likely surprised her but she certainly didn't reply back insisting. What I didn't mention, and she didn't seem to know, was that during the week after I had made the original 2 pound fiber purchase (meaning before it arrived by mail and I found out what it was really like) I purchased an 8 ounce lot of gorgeous superwash combed top blended with firestar from another of her eBay auctions for $4.50. Yes, $4.50 plus shipping. So in the end, I think it was fair exchange for the Icelandic, don't you? Cheers all!
Now let me begin by saying that I am a firm believer that you'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar - even if I'm roaring mad - so I wrote her a detailed email about her mis-labeling, the 4 ounces short lamb's fleece and all the hoary details of the Icelandic. I said that because the final buying price wasn't high I chalked it up to Buyer Beware on eBay but that I would have been well beyond furious if the amount I had bid as a maximum had been what I had paid for it in the end. If I bid on a pound of fleece, I expect to get a pound of usable fleece. I explained to her that I have recounted all this on my blog and that it was only out of courtesy that I didn't expose her because I thought I should give her a chance to reply. Oh, did I forget to tell you that I sent my email through her FIBER SELLING BUSINESS website?
Her reply was equally polite and she blithely admitted to dumping her garbage on unsuspecting eBay buyers and that she thought I did very well to savage as much fiber as I did from the Icelandic skirting. (!!) But here's the comment that blew me away - she said she didn't think anyone would make the connection between her eBay selling and her regular fiber business! I kid you not! So she says she'll likely put the trash in the dumpster now instead of listing it and would I be interested in 4 ounces of something to make up for the pound that was short.
Now I did seriously consider her offer but I have a hard time reconciling myself to dealing with someone - even for something free - with a selling ethic like that. So I simply replied that I hoped she would benefit from my friendly advice and politely declined, which likely surprised her but she certainly didn't reply back insisting. What I didn't mention, and she didn't seem to know, was that during the week after I had made the original 2 pound fiber purchase (meaning before it arrived by mail and I found out what it was really like) I purchased an 8 ounce lot of gorgeous superwash combed top blended with firestar from another of her eBay auctions for $4.50. Yes, $4.50 plus shipping. So in the end, I think it was fair exchange for the Icelandic, don't you? Cheers all!
Posted by Gloria Patre at 10/5/2010 9:58 PM 
Categories: Spinning, Fiber
Tags: ruined fleece icelandic fiber blending fiber carding
Categories: Spinning, Fiber
Tags: ruined fleece icelandic fiber blending fiber carding
Hi Gloria,
My that is pretty hard to swallow that kind of business ethic. I am not sure what to think anymore
When I deal with customers thru Hubbert Farms I always add a little extra and think of how I would like to be treated.
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I know Jody. It really left me wondering. Maybe she's just the kind of person you always have to deal with face-to-face to have everything go smoothly....
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For her to admit to you that she knowingly sold garbage on eBay is hard to believe! One would think that she would apologize for letting that lot slip by her usual standards and then offer to replace it, not tell you that she makes a practice of dumping junk on unsuspecting buyers. I would be interested in knowing who she is so that I don't send her any business (privately, of course).
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I was little taken aback myself by her admission but you have to remember is that enough time has passed that I couldn't leave her negative feedback on the transaction and since I was unhappy with my purchase she knew I wouldn't be in any danger of buying from her again. I think she figured she had nothing to lose, so why not 'fess up? I also think she was caught off guard because she didn't think I'd ever find out who she was. Sellers on eBay need the buyer's shipping info but there is no obligation on the part of the seller to give the same. If she could maintain a one-way street she figured she could keep the 2 "selling worlds" separate.... surprise!
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Well now we are all interested in knowing who this is. I buy a lot on the internet and certainly don't want to get burned.
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Just stay away from eBay.ca fiber sellers in Ontario with the name pat in the user ID and you should be fine.... if you really need more details let me know!
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