A Pair of $200 Dollar Shoes That Have a Small Misprint on Them. Seller Refuses to Assume Responsibility

Ghosteye on 11/11/2019 - 17:04
Last edited 12/11/2019 - 14:36

Hey guys,

Looking for some advice here. I don't want to name and shame the seller as of yet, but I do want to know what my options are going forward, and whether any of you have gone through similar things.

Basically I bought a pair of shoes that had printed words on the side. When I got them in the mail today I discovered that there was a misprint on one of the several letterings.

I haven't tried on the shoes yet, and they are still in an immaculate condition. After discovering the fault I called up their customer care. They advised me to send images of the shoes and the misprint.

After doing all of the above, the store refused to assume responsibility for the misprint, stating 'this is not identified as a manufacturing fault as the shoes are individual.' (I don't quite get what this means either)

The seller is offering to refund the shoes, but are expecting me to fully pay for the return postage.

Is there anything I can do from here? Or do I have to just suck it up?

I'm just a little upset that I paid quite a steep amount for these shoes and they're not up to the standard that they should have been.

edit: https://imgur.com/kIMAUlU

The letter circled on the left is what it should look like, and the one on the right is the misprint.

edit:
After some back and forth on emails regarding the issue, the seller has denied all responsibility for the product and I have submitted a claim to the ACCC for their help.

This was the most recent email that they have sent:

"Thank you for contacting us at JD Sports Customer Care.

Unfortunately, as it does not affect the wear of the shoe this is not deemed as the faulty item. If you're not happy with the quality of the shoes, you're more than welcome to return them at your own will.

If there’s anything else I can help with please don't hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,"

I'm just disappointed that they have chosen to go down the hard and arduous path. I'm pretty sure that their internal team knows if they display this item its definitely dead stock so they are trying their best to keep it in my hands and keep the cash.

Nevertheless, I will keep updating here, and let this be a cautionary tale for others I guess. I will name them when the ordeal is finished.

Fashion & Apparel

Comments

  • Nugs on 11/11/2019 - 17:06

    Photo of misprint?

    • Ghosteye on 11/11/2019 - 17:08

      I'll get it up on imgur, sec

      edit: updated!

      • Nugs on 11/11/2019 - 17:19

        Whiteout to fix?
        .

        • Ghosteye on 11/11/2019 - 17:23

          Yeah, I know its a minor issue, but the thing is that I'm a pretty avid collector of these, (having collected the previous iterations of this very same shoe)

          fun fact: the first iteration of this very same NMD is now worth over 3 hundred (my bad) dollars on stockx :)

          So I'm pretty peeved that this version is 'tainted' in a sense I guess.

          If you look closely at the character on the left and compare it to the one the right, there's a missing bottom stroke on the bottom of the character! It's been replaced by a gash on the side which is even more unsightly.

          • Nugs on 11/11/2019 - 17:25

            @Ghosteye: In your case (collector), I'd be upset too
            .

          • spackbace on 11/11/2019 - 17:29
            +10

            @Ghosteye: I wonder if they're worth more with the misprint, like an upside-down stamp

            • westzod on 11/11/2019 - 17:32

              @spackbace: With sneakers? Nah bad QC is normal only issue is if OP decides to sell and will probably have the same complaint from the buyer lols

            • Ghosteye on 11/11/2019 - 17:34
              +1

              @spackbace: If I was to give an honest opinion, I think it would be worth the novelty if it was just printed and missing the stroke completely.

              Probably comparable to something like how some un-centred Yugioh cards are worth a lot now because the printing machine made an error in batches.

              The only thing that really screwed up the novelty of that missing stroke is the gash, IMO. The gash is a little more reminiscent of a fake product. But that's just a personal opinion hahaha

  • Fergy1987 on 11/11/2019 - 17:07
    -1

    Does the misprint affect the performance of said shoe?

    • Ghosteye on 11/11/2019 - 17:08
      +3

      No, it does not, but honestly I didn't buy the shoes for performance. I bought them because they looked good

  • spackbace on 11/11/2019 - 17:09
    +1

    Knock-offs?

    Need a pic of the shoes

    • Ghosteye on 11/11/2019 - 17:13

      got a pic up!

      I highly doubt they are knock offs, after some thorough inspection it does look like the real deal, just a stuff up in the manufacturing that should have never made it into my hands.

  • G77 on 11/11/2019 - 17:11
    +1

    I discovered that there was a misprint on one of the several letterings.

    Sounds like a non-genuine item.

    If you paid for the item via PayPal, they offer refund on return shipping costs

    In saying that, if you didn't receive the item you paid for, the seller should be responsible to cover the return shipping costs.

    Edit: From ACCC

    • Ghosteye on 11/11/2019 - 17:29

      Honestly I would be pretty okay with just a small token compensation or something, maybe I could have just used these as my daily shoes.

      But the way they shrugged off any sort of responsibility for the quality of these shoes is quite insulting to me as a customer :(

      • MITM on 11/11/2019 - 17:38

        Would a "sorry" do ?

        • Ghosteye on 11/11/2019 - 17:39

          hahaha, probably a "sorry, but as a token of our apology we would like to offer xx" or just pay for shipping and a full refund.

  • Hybroid on 11/11/2019 - 17:52
    +8

    Your issue is calling them a 'misprint' which makes it seem petty. It's not a misprint. it's a 'defect'. You're entitled to a refund and return postage on them no matter how insignificant. You're not entitled to a part refund or compensation unless the seller choose to of their own accord.

    • Ghosteye on 11/11/2019 - 20:16
      +1

      Alright, I sent them an e-mail, detailing some quotes from the ACCC as well, and calling it a defect. Fingers crossed.

      Thanks for the affirmation! I thought I was just being too picky.

      Don't want to be another Karen hahaha

      • Hybroid on 11/11/2019 - 20:48

        You are being picky, but it's within your rights to do so.

  • pegaxs on 11/11/2019 - 18:41
    -3

    The seller is offering to refund the shoes, but are expecting me to fully pay for the return postage.

    Then box them up and send them back. And then leave appropriate feedback.

    just a small token compensation

    For real? “WhErEz mAh CoMpEnSaTiOnZ???!!1!1!!”

    • Ghosteye on 11/11/2019 - 19:03
      +2

      Are you okay with remedying someone else's mistake out of your own pocket through no fault of your own?

      No amount of feedback is going to get the time spent at the posties and money spent to send them back back.

  • c64 on 11/11/2019 - 19:38
    +1

    the whole thing looks like a misprint to me - it should be in english

    anyway i don't think a genuine product would be misprinted

    • Ghosteye on 11/11/2019 - 19:51

      It's supposed to be Japanese! Not sure how adidas does their Q&A but it's a little sad that this made it out :(

      • [Deactivated] on 11/11/2019 - 20:40

        Does it mean 3 stripes or am I reading it wrong? If it's 3 stripes, then it's Adidas logo and not a personalised pair of shoes?

        • Ghosteye on 11/11/2019 - 20:49
          +1

          I had to do a little searching on reddit but I found this comment :

          "I ain’t Japanese but I used an app and it gave me “足根骨 、 中 さらに 足 の 裏 ン システム さえ あれ ば いい なんて 。 1-1 は クッショ 、 とんでも ない” which translates to “Foot of the tarsal, middle and even a sole system of the feet should be enough. 1-1 is Cusho, outrageous”. Hope that helps!"

          とんでも ない does definitely mean outrageous. Personally I'm not very good at reading kanji, but the lettering with the issue means 'foot'

          It's definitely not a personalised pair of shoes for sure.

          • psdillon on 12/11/2019 - 13:10

            @Ghosteye: Japanese culture… it's as though they are from another planet. I love it.

  • OzHunterNSW on 12/11/2019 - 10:55

    Cut your losses… send the shoes back and get your money back.

    You will never be happy with them.

  • bobbified on 12/11/2019 - 11:02
    +1

    That doesn't look like a misprint, it looks like it's been scraped off by something.

    • Ghosteye on 12/11/2019 - 14:38

      I had those thoughts too, but after a more careful inspection it looks like the stroke is 'naturally' missing, meaning the machine didn't even attempt to print it at all.

      I have some suspicion that the scrape was caused by something else altogether.

  • Bargainbattles on 12/11/2019 - 11:11

    How did you Pay? It's a defect and if you paid full price I'm sure pay pal would be able to help if you paid via them

  • Tee Rex Arms on 12/11/2019 - 13:01
    +1

    Fux sake…

    • peteru on 13/11/2019 - 04:23

      Yep, certainly smells like a troll-post.

  • Deridas on 12/11/2019 - 17:55

    It looks like the printer misprinted at that very character.

    Admittedly I would think this is something very pretty for a pair of shoes you wear. However, if you're buying it as a $200 collectors item that you're not planning to wear, I think you have a case, it'll probably affect resell value.

    Good luck.

    • Ghosteye on 12/11/2019 - 18:07

      Same line of thinking here too bud, if it was just something I would use daily I won't care that much.

      It's a little sad that the seller sells shoes geared towards sneakerheads like myself which is almost bordering on the collector market. But they don't treat their customers as such.

      The error will definitely affect the resale value in years to come.

      • solidice on 12/11/2019 - 19:30

        I was in a similar position recently. I ended up paying and shipping the item back. The benefits of both convenience and discounts attributed to online shopping can sometimes be negated by the possibility of items not appearing as desired.

        Out of curiosity how much were the shoes and how much is it to ship them back?

        • Ghosteye on 12/11/2019 - 19:33

          That's extremely sad to hear. They really need to have stricter quality controls in place. Even selling them as deadstock with a cheaper price would be way more professional.

          It was 200 and its about 20-30 to ship them back.

    • Deridas on 13/11/2019 - 04:41

      Oops, I meant *petty not pretty

  • astrotrain on 13/11/2019 - 12:50
    +1

    Are those NMDs? My GF had the japanese ones someone stole them from our front doorstep. I would not have even noticed if there was a misprint but i would definitely claim defect if that is your issue. If you are paying $200 for a pair of sneakers you would want them to be perfect.

    • Ghosteye on 13/11/2019 - 13:00

      Yup, they are! I've been wanting to cop these for awhile, but I missed out when adidas dropped them. The colorway for this variant is really nice and the text really makes it pop.

      'If you are paying $200 for a pair of sneakers you would want them to be perfect.'

      my sentiments exactly. 200 is not a small brush-offable amount to me.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/11/2019 - 12:16

    I wouldn't accept it, ship it back for sure.

    The adidas NMD R1 Japan Black is supposed to look like this:

    https://stockx-360.imgix.net/adidas-NMD-R1-Japan-Black-2019/…

    Pretty much, thanks for the heads up. I know their PR team at JD are looking at themselves like idiots now.

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