There's a shocking difference between clothing advertised on Facebook and what consumers are getting
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Lots of women are saying that they're being short-changed by absurdly cheap online apparel retailers, Sapna Maheshwari and Beimeng Fu of Buzzfeed have reported.
There's a host of these websites, Buzzfeed says, including Zaful, Rosegal, SammyDress, RoseWe, TideBuy, and Choies. They promise extremely cheap apparel via ads on Facebook that target women.
But the photos that they're posting are often not even their own. The knockoffs look nothing like the original photos.
Buzzfeed says that at least eight of these troubling websites operate under a Chinese e-commerce company called ShenZhen Global Egrow E-Commerce Co., which made about $200 million in sales in 2014. It's extremely hard to reach customer services by phone, too, since the businesses are located inHello China.
Furious consumers have created multiple Facebook groups, such as Knockoff Nightmares to share "buyer, beware" stories and photos of the alleged dissonance between the advertised photos and what they received in the mail.
The Independent has contacted Zaful, Rosegal, SammyDress, RoseWe, TideBuy, and Choies for comment on the allegations.
Read more:
• There's a 'gathering storm' in the global economy
• Sadiq Khan's speechwriter quits after 'hitman' joke
• Argument for Brexit saving Britain money is rubbish
Read the original article on Business Insider UK. © 2015. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments