Last week, I blogged about some bargain camp items on sale at daily deals site 13 Deals, including a telescoping walking stick with a built-in 9-LED flashlight and compass. It certainly looked cool, and it seemed like a great buy at $9.99 with free shipping — so much so that I shared it with all of you.
One of my longtime readers, Grandma, wrote tonight to share her disappointment after ordering that walking stick but receiving something other than what she ordered:
“I was so excited. I ordered a walking stick from your site and 13 Deals offered a ‘mystery gift’ for 98 cents more. (I couldn’t wait to see my mystery gift.) Today my walking cane arrived . What a rip off. I am going to call them tomorrow. Hope it will do some good. It arrived and is nothing like the picture. Just straight up & down with no handle. No flashlight & the compass does not work. It just spins around.
My mystery gift, and I know I can not complain about it, it a Tasmanian devil air freshener. The packaging is all yellowed & is dated 1995. It has been around for 20 years. I will not order anything from them again. Not blaming you at all, just letting you know. I believe they did a bait & switch with the cane. It is a piece of junk. This does not even have the light on it. Invoice says it is a lighted stick also, but it’s not. No way.”
Here’s 13 Deals’ photo of the Anti-Shock Telescoping Walking Stick w/ 9 LED Light and Compass:
The brand is “Cleye.” Note the built-in flashlight in the handle and the L-shaped grip. The item’s description states:
- 9 LED light with 90 degree inclination
- LED Powered by 4 x AG13 Button Cell (included)
- Ergonomic grip handle, comfortable feel
Now, here’s what Grandma received:
This walking stick has no flashlight and no T-shaped handle — it can only be gripped like a ski pole. The brand is Kodula. (Amazon sells the same one for $9.99, so it’s not like this was a great deal without the L-shaped ergonomic handle and built-in light.)
Grandma also sent a picture of the .98 “mystery gift” she added to her 13 Deals order, which turned out to be a tired-looking Taz air freshener from 20 years ago:
As a blogger, I receive lots of sale and bargain notices from a variety of brands every day, and I try to be discerning in choosing the best things to post. When 13 Deals sent over their list of camping items, I thought there were some good buys that day worth sharing. I’m so disappointed, and I want to apologize to anyone else who ordered from 13 Deals and received something other than what they ordered.
I also want to hear from you if you, like Grandma, got something other than what you ordered, so I can share it here.
This experience reminded me of another bad one from last year. Daily deals site Tanga had sent over a sale notice for cute maxi dresses for $9.99. Well… they were cute in the photo, at least. I ordered one for myself and one for my daughter, and when they came, this is what I received:
Who would wear this mess? I complained, and Tanga did refund my order. I sincerely hope that 13 Deals will refund Grandma’s walking stick too.
Again, I want to apologize to anyone else who ordered camping gear based on my sharing details of 13 Deals’ sale last week. If you received something other than what you ordered, please let me know. These “great deals” aren’t great at all if you don’t receive what you ordered, and your feedback and experiences do affect my decisions in what to post. I haven’t posted another Tanga deal since the awful dress incident, and now I’m afraid to post anything else from 13 Deals.
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