Private Trade War with China

    

TikTok isn't the only nefarious plot against Americans by the Chinese. There's the less known underwear bait and switch. And it started my own private trade war with China.

I took the bait when an ad popped up for a bra that looked so comfortable I had to have it. 

I waited three weeks and contacted customer service. They assured me it had shipped, and sent the tracking number.  Uh-oh. 

First lesson learned, verify the location from which the item is being shipped.  (When I saw another interesting product online I emailed that customer service center and learned that although the company was German, the product would be shipped from China.  No thanks. )

I waited another month and then asked to have the order canceled. Too bad, so sad, it had been shipped.

I found the translate-to-English button on the original tracking order which revealed that my item was in Chengdu China, 6,287 nautical miles from here. The package had been passed off to an airline transport center on April 28th.

There it sat until May 5th when it was returned to the processing center for a security concern.  I bet my US addressed was the trigger.  A day later, it was cleared. 

Sounds like Chinese job security. Agent A says to Agent B "Ooh, look, a very tiny package. Very light.  It's going to an American. It could be something dangerous." The next day Agent A gets it back with yet another official stamp on it and it's no longer a security issue. 

June 16th it arrived in Los Angeles. Perhaps the plane island hopped? 

A week later it arrived in my mailbox. 

I opened the package carefully. I didn't want to slice the garment along with the package. I should have because there is no way a senior woman with a filled-out shape could wear that thing without cutting it open. It wouldn't fit MY body. Labeled M for medium, it looked like M for minuscule. Perhaps they measured in centimeters, not inches.  I couldn't even get it over one arm and my head at the same time. 

Whew,  Chinese women must have veeerry tiny rib cages.

Second lesson, confirm the unit of measurement and ask for the garment's circumference.

So I waited three months for an undergarment that is ridiculously small and unwearable by any adult or child I know.  

I wrote again. Asked if I could exchange it THIS SIDE OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN.  No, they said, and I would have to pay the shipping back to China. For crying out loud. Third lesson, sometimes it's just better to take the loss and move on.   

 I wish I could hover around the ARC display bin to see who takes the bait the second time.  

Complaining to a friend about the experience, she recommended a sports bra. It came fast. Once I got it on, it was comfortable. But as I've said before, a garment that requires a ladies' maid just isn't practical. Maybe the next size up will be the ticket. 

What was your worst online shopping experience? What wisdom could you share with us?