I must admit I'm a patsy for late-night infomercials; this is where I was first introduced to the InStyler by Tre Milano with all of its amazing features producing spectacular results for television models right before my very eyes.
I was tempted right then and there to whip out my credit card, call the 800 number and order right then and there and to be honest that's what I probably should have done. It can’t hurt to check; or that’s what I thought since I’ve made Internet purchases for several years now buying everything from doodads to the unappreciated gifts I give my in-laws after Christmas. So you can see I could not resist the temptation of trying to find a cheaper way to get my hands on one. When I get a lust for bargain hunting one of the first places I go is one of my favorites shopping sites: eBay. I've been able to pick up all kinds of deals there over the years so I figure why can’t I have the same type of results bidding for my very own InStyler Rotating Iron.And that's where it all went wrong
When I searched on Ebay for InStyler I was happy to find multiple auctions offering the product for low initial bid price so I jumped right in. I was blinded by my insatiable desire to have this thing for next to nothing. I didn't spend much time paying much attention to the sailors rating, shipping origin or the inherent spelling mistakes that should have been all too obvious. Needless to say I won the auction and quickly approved the $39.95 plus shipping to be deducted from my PayPal account. In about 15 days a package came via regular mail to my home. I knew within 10 seconds of receiving the package that I had been duped. The package had no return address, shoddy packaging materials and included a electronic device (I won’t call it an InStyler) that looked about as flimsy as my daughter's fourth grade science project. I was even afraid to turn the darn thing on, when I did it made a cracking noise and emitted a very funky electrical burning similar to my electronic bug zapper by the swimming pool. All attempts I made to contact the seller went unanswered in all my e-mails went unattended; I even tried contacting the real manufacturers of the InStyler to see if their warranty would cover items sold on eBay; guess what, not in my wildest dreams!Lesson learned
So ladies and gentleman be warned and be aware that there is a proliferation of counterfeit InStyler hair products coming out of China, Mexico and other countries where trademark infringement is neither policed or discouraged.How to Spot InStyler fakes
1. Beware websites that sell InStyler singles as the manufacturers website only sells them in pairs.
2. Beware incoming shipping addresses from countries outside of USA and Canada.3. Beware of any selling offer that is written in poor English and has spelling mistakes.
4. Beware of any seller that claims to have large quantities as anyone who may want to sell a personal InStyler after purchasing it would only have one available.5. Any InStyler sold on eBay claiming to have a warranty.
Why should I avoid InStyler fakes?Other than the obvious reasons expressed by my earlier humiliation; fake InStyler's can be very very dangerous. If I would have tried to use my fake one not only could I have been injured (like my hair catching on fire) leaving that thing plugged up somewhere could have burned my house down.
Auction style websites that possibly sell fakes- 4sale4now.com
- ebay.com
- ioffer.com
- ubid.com
There you will find professional ratings, reviews and side-by-side comparisons about the InStyler and other popular hair straightening irons
