The Final Word on Miss Violet
By
I have allowed the comments to keep going because I feel that everyone involved should be able to speak without being deleted.
This could have been solved very quickly by talking to us. Some have said we should have done more research before we bought into this yarn club. I sort of agree with you on that. We should have done more research. The problem is that someone as well known in the knitting world you would never think they would run out on you, say you are likened to a drug addict or that we are whiny babies.
I have seen the plurks and comments about starting new projects and good luck to Miss Violet in that. However I would warn any companies thinking of starting a joint project to take a minute and think. Other then a few hits to my site what have I gotten out of writing these posts? Nothing. I did not receive a dime from these posts, I did not get an answer to my questions. I was removed from the message boards BEFORE my membership was sold and I was removed from seeing or being able to respond to any plurks. I’m sure if I had questioned on Ravelry I would have been deleted there as well. So I got nothing out of this other than letting my voice be heard in a space that could not be censored.
I have sold my membership in the yarn club. As promised I did not receive a penny of this money. That was not how this was started. As proof to all of those who have said that I am less than trustworthy I give you some photo proof of the donation. I blocked out the purchasers private information for her protection:
I have found some friends out of this ordeal and I stand beside them as they continue to fight to get answers. I cannot understand how Miss Violet would state that she had no idea that the September packet was not on the site as so many of us asked about it.
I hope that those still in the club and those that have just bought into it actually receive what they are supposed to. I’ll be waiting to hear if you receive a shipment this month. There is supposed to be a shipment before the end of the month which is just 10 days away. Unfortunately I highly doubt it. I have seen the “new shiny” too often now and feel that you’ve probably gone to the side while Miss Violet works on pencils, a different yarn club or something else she’s thought up to side track her from her actual responsibilities.
On a more positive note:
For those looking for something great to watch/listen in on make sure you check out Carin and Round the Twist. Carin (a familiar voice) takes on a videocast about her knitting and spinning. I love to see her projects evolve and her Mother’s Christmas present is just gorgeous. Almost makes me want to knit socks.
I also got some great hints for Indie dyers and I’m in love. I had visited Lisa Souza’s site several times but never could quite decide on an actual skein. The problem was just too many fantastic colors. I am now working on a scarf in the Mardi Gras colorway and I love it. The skein gave me quite a fit while trying to wind it but totally my fault not the yarn. I tried to wind it without the swift. Not a good idea.
I also am the owner of a new skein of Shulk from Dyeabolic Yarns. The greens are perfect for Charlie. I just have to find the perfect hat pattern. I’m in love with her Kettle dyed bubblegum colorway as well.
I have joined the Enchanted Woods Lace Shawl KAL from The Unique Sheep. It doesn’t actually start until January 10th but we did receive a gauge swatch pattern. I’m in love with my Cherry Blossom colorway in Tinsel Toes.
At this point I’m moving on. There is too much negativity in this ordeal and I surely do not want to drag myself to her level. I have my own work to do and projects that need my attention more.
Related posts:
- Miss Violet and Intentions Yarn Club
- The Miss Violet, Intention Yarns Club Saga Continues
- Lime and Violet Divorce?
- Knitting Goddesses
- Violet Seriously?
Good for you! I’m glad you were able to sell your membership and good for you for donating your birthday present to charity. It’s too bad this didn’t work out the way you hoped but atleast you can move on and hope it won’t continue to happen/ doesn’t happen again.
Thanks Erin.
I commend you on not being afraid to speak up. Sadly, Eliza has been able to sweep her transgressions under the rug for way too long. I hope you know how much everyone appreciates you putting yourself out there to help make things right and shed light on this situation.
It is insane how out of control this situation got. It started out with people simply asking questions about merchandise they paid for and because Eliza turned a deaf ear for so long it turned into all of this. So easily avoidable! What cracks me up the most is how gullible people are that are so quick to defend her. If she really had posted the packet back in September like she thought she had, wouldn’t she have just said so when people spent nearly two months asking her for it? She can’t claim she didn’t know people couldn’t see the packet. She did see their posts when she deleted them the first week of November. So crazy!
I hope the people that *originally* joined the club don’t blame themselves. There was no way to really see this coming. They/we were all victims and are not to blame. Now for those that have just purchased memberships recently or are continuing to do business with Eliza, I have little sympathy for them. You know what you’re getting into. You’ve read the facts and if you choose to take a chance with your money be prepared to lose.
Despite the drama, I’m glad this all came out and I hope this will be a wake up call to ALL business owners (small and large) that you need to remember how important it is to show respect to your customers. When you take money from someone you are making a commitment to them and you need to honor it or stop doing business. You can just jump ship and change your name when things go sour. You need to honor your promise to deliver. Sadly I don’t think Eliza, Elie, Violet, Beth or Elizabeth have learned this lesson and I don’t think this will be the last time we hear about another business debacle with her.
Check out Eliza’s latest post: http://moderngypsy.com/junebug/
Warning though, hold your valuables up high when you read it because the shit is flowing fast!
Did anyone else notice in that huge list of uncompleted and new projects that the Intentions Yarn Club wasn’t mentioned at all?
Yeah, it looks like 2010 isn’t going to much different that 2009 as far as Eliza’s ability to follow through on her commitments.
Nope, not surprised one bit. She already got those people’s money. She can’t make any more money off of them so they’re not on her priority list any longer. She’s too busy starting up new businesses and try to get money from new marks, I mean customers.
Hmm, interesting. When I click on the link for her blog from your comment), I get a page that says “F*$% off spammer, you’ve been blocked.” But when I do a Google search for Junebug on s String and click the link there, it works fine. Hateful bitch, much?
Holly,
I am so sorry that this has happened to you and this con-woman has not owned up to what so many people paid for.
I hope that you reported her to the Better Business Bureau in her state and yours. Also I would let the IRS know about her. I am sure that they would be very interested as to what she was doing as well because if she did not fulfill her agreement with you guys, you know that she is probably not paying them either.
I am one of those who used to help her when she lived in IA and I can tell you she pays no taxes and never paid her helpers. I would say more but I know she would just trash me all over the internet.
Interesting to know!
I can understand you wanting to protect yourself but it only lets her win. She uses intimidation to protect herself and keep others from telling the truth about her. That’s why she threatened club members with legal action for speaking out. People are afraid of her when they shouldn’t be. Her reputation and credibility has been ruined. People are starting to see her for the manipulative con artist that she is. If she starts to tarnish someone else’s reputation people will see right through it. We can’t let her win. The truth needs to come out before she rips off more victims.
I’ve actually heard this from a few people. I really hope this isnt true as she would be part of the reason why are economy stinks.
If she doesn’t pay taxes can’t you turn her in to the IRS? She should be filling out and filing for a 1099 as a private contractor. I’m sure uncle Sam will investigate and won’t give up. She needs to be stopped. She needs to be turned in for fraud. We have the IRS, Better Business Bureau, FCC, Paypal, the host sites, etc. I’m sure it can be done. It’s not right for her to be able to continue to steal other peoples money…especially in this economy. Good work Holly and I’m glad you didn’t back down and voiced how you felt and what she did. Karma is a bitch and she will get it back 10x worse.
I’m so glad that you and Beth at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab have had the strength to stand up to this horrible thieving woman’s bullying. I want to believe in karma, but I’ve seen too many good things happen to bad people to put stock in it, and Violet is a case in point. Since karmic repercussions don’t seem to be in the universe’s grand plan, I hope people keep coming forward with forthright, truthful information about the scams that Violet perpetrates on others so the public will be aware of what this woman really is before they send her their hard earned money.
I do believe in Karma to a point and I think Violet has dealt with some. Take a look at her life, she’s pushing 40. She has no children, little family. She is married to a man whom she can’t trust. She has health problems that seem to crop up frequently. She has no steady employment and money is obviously an issue for her. She is forced to live in a tiny home because it’s all she can afford. Her reputation has been tarnished greatly and has lost many friends and fans, including some close friends (AKA Carin). She has to avoid the knitting community because of all her unscrupulous actions. She can only post and speak in online areas where she can be sure that no one will call her out. She’s trapped and it’s all of her own doing. Think about it. How many podcasts have you listened to over the years where Violet complains about some sort of life drama she’s dealing with. That’s karma! You get what you give. If she lived her life better and had better morals and values she might have a better life herself. We also can’t forget the “Karma Cookies” (AKA red oreos). Bad luck seems to follow this woman and it’s all due to the way she lives her life.
I’m not saying that Violet shouldn’t be reported or held accountable for her actions. In fact I believe she should be. I think she’s nothing but a con-artist, pure and simple! I hope Karma continues to give Ms Metz exactly what she deserves and I also hope that people will continue to spread the word about this con woman and all she has done.
You all realize she won’t *actually* try to sue anyone for libel, slander or anything else, right? If she did, it would come out in court that she operates her business(es) without a tax id number and doesn’t pay her taxes.
She’s also moved on. Opening up any of that stuff would open up all of it, and she doesn’t want that. I think everyone has a similar attitude though and there won’t be any legal or official sort of action taken anywhere, even though crimes have clearly been committed. To get bad-mouthed on the internet and maybe to lose some customers isn’t going to make any difference. Imagine if the zine victims had taken any sort of action. There would have been no Intentions Yarns victims. So, yes, she won’t do anything about all of this now, but I’m also afraid no one else is going to do anything either, and there’s another batch of victims out there just waiting for their turns.
One question I have for any legal types out there is whether or not a “non-disclosure” clause Violet may have forced on her “minions” would be legally binding if said minions knew fraud was being committed? I was so glad to see Lisa Souza speak up, and feel that there is so much more she could have said. I’m sorry for the Intentions folks, I have a feeling that whatever you received to date is all that you will get. I also wish a certain large knitting community would allow open reporting of folks like Violet, Momma Monkey/Gigi Silva and MCY/Danielle Glunt.
Keep up the pressure folks, and for those who got conned, please file reports with all the agencies concerned–the knitting community is behind you all. Here’s hoping for justice for you in 2010!
I agree that she is trying to move on and put this past her. It seems to be her M.O. She has a pattern of starting a business, not following through, and then running like hell. Of course along with that comes the name change (Elizabeth, Beth, Eliza, Violet, Eli, etc…) Anyone notice the change from Eliza to Eli as soon as the Intentions club went south? Then there’s also the blog change too now? Yeah, she’s scared. She won’t be taking any legal action. She’s all about intimidation and no real actions, especially when she’s the one in the wrong. Rather than being a grown up, taking responsibility and admit she effed up, she’ll just point blame, play the victim, make threats and then go back to her happy little home called “denial” where she can pretend none of it ever happened. She hoped her big talk would keep people quiet, make the mod of the Ravelry group delete the group, get Holly to delete her posts, etc… It didn’t work though. I am afraid though that more people will fall victim to her schemes, especially since things have quieted down here and on Rav.
BTW, today is December 31st, dare I ask about the status of the December intentions package????
Yes, but haven’t you seen her Plurking about how she’s been “netless” off and on these past few days? How absolutely convenient when it’s time to get the December packages off to the customers.
Then she ran out of printer ink and boxes… and the list of excuses rolls on and on.
That’s one leopard that won’t be changing its spots. Once a con, always a con.
And… the chroma sock patterns mysteriously disappeared into people’s spam folders. Really, do that many people not check their spam folders before deleting the emails? Sometimes it just seems like, “Oh, this is a plausible excuse, let’s go with it,” even though it really isn’t that plausible. Much like how there was no way to tell the September packet hadn’t been uploaded. Right. Or how many times computer crashes have erased absolutely everything. That’s happened to a few people I’ve known, but never more than once, and it’s never happened to most people I know (*especially* Mac users).
The IY ravelry group has been quiet. Have they all moved on to the IY site itself? I sold off the skeins I had, and quit the club.
It’s such a shame, because she does have great ideas, and so many people get excited about them and want to join in, but then we’re all left hanging.
Yes, she has more computer problems than almost anyone I know and at the most “convenient” times.
It looks as though she’s sending out the yarn club packages, but guess what Eliza – you still didn’t make the December deadline. Don’t go patting yourself on the back because you had an entire month and got them out in January.
And don’t forget how much trouble she has with the post office not sending her stuff, or sending it to the wrong address, or sending it back to her. I mail a lot of stuff, and I think I only had one problem like that ever. Well, that wasn’t my own goof with the wrong zip code or something. Though I did lie once about why my Christmas package was late. I told my brother the PO sent it back to me, and I was going to send it out again immediately. And you know, he’s not the brightest or most suspicious guy, but he knew I was lying. I don’t get how people on the other end of her missing mailings fall for it.
I want a few more skeins of Intention, because I do love it, but I just don’t like the idea of feeding into all of this.
And now she’s plurking about post office issues right at the same time club members are expecting their “December” packages. Way too convenient. And in typical Elizabeth/Eliza/Violet/Ellie style she’s already onto her next little project, some fitness thing. Hopefully this one won’t involve her taking money from people, although I’m sure she’ll find a way!
Of course. Because whatever the fitness thing is it will eventually involve selling yarn, soap, scents, and patterns.
And… just as you said, there’s going to be a sock pattern. I’m sure the soaps and fragrances will follow.
I just saw the plurk about the PO issues and headed straight over here to see if anyone else noticed. It’s always something with her.
I’m sorry if my comments seem like nothing more than gossip. Mostly I just wish everyone knew what’s at risk when doing any sort of business with her, and I’m disappointed because she is creative and does great work (beautiful, high quality, original), but in the end it doesn’t matter how good it is when there’s the risk, lies, and drama you get when you want to get involved or buy something.
I don’t think it’s gossip at all. I’m sure most of us would agree that if we had known much sooner about Eliza’s past that we would’ve never signed up for the yarn club in the first place. $200 is a lot to in-trust someone with when they have a shady history like she does. Had I known about all of her money grabs, the Lisa Souza incident, and her past many failed business endeavors I would’ve never joined her club. The fact that she’s still out there taking money from people as if she’s done nothing wrong is downright scary (and wrong!). This isn’t gossip, it’s information, 100% true information at that. She’ll do whatever she can to keep it quiet like she’s done for so many years but people need to know who they’re dealing with and what the risks are. I wish this conversation was on Ravelry or someplace where more knitters could see it. I would not be one bit surprised if we see this pattern of hers continue.
This absolutely belongs on Ravelry. You’re correct in that this is information and NOT gossip. I was a L&V fan from the very beginning – from the very first post, to the L&V message boards, yarn sales on etsy- hell, I joined Rav because they mentioned it in a podcast.
The only problem with putting it on Ravelry is that, to borrow a Violet-ism, it’ll be like sharks on chum. It will become a feeding frenzy & the thread will be closed quickly & defeat the purpose. Not only that, be we all know how Eliza/Ellie/Liz will go after those who post. I got a wee taste of it a few years ago when I posted on the L&V boards even slightly disagreeing with her. Right then I started to get that bad hinky feeling I save only for guys that I think are hot but who I know are bad news.
I’m one of the lucky ones & didn’t buy the Intentions Yarn – only because I didn’t have the money at the time. $200 is a ton of money to plunk down on a lot of broken promises and outright lies. I think she needs to be held to a higher standard here. Lots of other yarn club members don’t stand for it and the club owners actually LISTEN (take a gander at some of the posts on the Rockin’ Sock Club threads…lots of people not happy not because Tina didn’t send yarn but because they’d expected a higher standard from her & didn’t get it. She listened…this year’s club looks fantastic. Meg Swanson is designing for Heaven’s sake. Now THAT’S a yarn club I can get behind.
Bottom line, I think the pressure needs to stay on Ms Metz. She needs to put up or shut up – either get the yarn out or get refunds to people. I think she’s a liar and thief and needs to be held accountable. I also think she’s got a bit of a bipolar thing going on which would explain an awful lot.
I realize it’s not gossip, especially because it’s all true. I guess I was just worried it might appear to be just gossip. This stuff does need to be shared, but I wish someone could do SOMETHING. There’s the taxes, the wire fraud, the theft, the deception. She should have to answer for all of that, and maybe if something were to happen she’d stop doing this to people. I’m afraid though, that no one is reporting anything. I almost wish now I HAD joined the club so I could be sure someone (IRS, BBB, FBI, ETC) would be notified.
I remember her going off about people posting on the L&V boards about late and missing shipments. It was never, ever her fault, and people were just too demanding. After awhile though, you realize it CAN’T always be the other person’s fault.
I can completely understand why it may not be the best idea to put this on Ravelry. But I have to say that it infuriates me that she’s got people intimidated and scared to speak our against her. She’s nobody to be scared of! She’s a loser with a big mouth! People are starting to (finally) see the truth now and are seeing the kind of person she really is. I think the more people speak up, the more others will listen. Whether she admits it or not, her “empire” is crumbling, fast. The more the truth comes out, the quicker it crumbles. That’s why we can’t let this go and we have to get the word out, somehow.
From what I’ve read people are still excited about her various projects, and if all these mailings are late or missing, it means people are still placing orders. If people are just reading ravelry and her blog and her plurk, it seems like everything is fine and they have no reason not to trust her.
I hate having seen so many people ripped off and hurt for all these years, and new people are jumping in line and the same thing will happen to a lot of them. They might be blindly following her because what else do they know?
Since the posts and threads at ravelry were deleted, this is the only place I know of where people are talking about it.
I also haven’t seen anything about packages being received.
I agree. The posts haven’t been deleted at Rav in the Intentions group, but they aren’t showing up unless you click “more” because they are a couple of months old.
Anyone want to guess if the next money grab is going to be for a new space heater? She’s been plurking about her heating problems. Go out and get an electric blanket for goodness sakes, or knit yourself a wool blanket to throw on the bed.
I just checked the “Knitting With Intention” group at Ravelry and I see all the threads on the front page. It doesn’t look like anything has been “archived”. The oldest thread is just over a month old. I’m glad the mod left everything up. Hopefully people will take the time and read the older threads. There’s a lot of Miss V’s dirty laundry in some of those threads! Maybe some of them need a little “bumping”?
Well, this is interesting. According to Rav and Plurk, the packages were supposedly sent December 30th and Jan 2nd. So now it is the 6th and some people are still without their packages.
Oh yeah, it’s the evil post office that has it out for Eliza.
just to clarify – I haven’t seen anything on Rav about any packages being received, so as far as I know, no one has a package.
Well, did she actually say they were yarn club packages that she mailed? In the past when club members were waiting for yarn, she would talk about “working” and putting packages together but they ended up being for something else, not the yarn club. She puts little priority on the yarn club customers (after all she already took their money over a year ago, their money wells are dry as far as she’s concerned). I wouldn’t be surprised if the packages she mailed were for *another* one of her businesses, not the yarn club.
And does anyone else think it’s a load of B.S. that she doesn’t even bother to TELL her customers when to expect their packages? Not to mention if it’s a “December” package doesn’t that sort of imply that customers will RECEIVE it during the month of December????
That’s true, she didn’t mention the yarn club specifically, and in fact, she has gone out of her way to not mention it at all. You have a point that since the money is already in her hands from that one, she has no interest in it anymore.
I’d be really worried if I was a club member… She posted that she has a launch/relaunch coming out almost every month this year and just this morning she had yet another IDEA that I’m sure will come before her other commitments. So it’s now January 7th and the customers still don’t have their packages and I haven’t seen anyone mention the pattern or the packet being up on the website either.
She’s a con artist who really needs to be held accountable for her actions, but she has surrounded herself with a bunch of lackeys that never call her on her crap. It’s rather disgusting.
So why won’t someone do something? What can be done?
Well someone did just post that they got their club package BUT that person is also one of Eliza’s biggest suck-ups too and foolishly supports many of her business schemes. No shock that Eliza would make sure that *certain* people get their packages on time. I’d be interested to know the status of the December packet also. Judging by her past I’m sure it won’t get posted until sometime in March!
Oh for goodness sakes, now the story is that the packages got returned to Eliza because they were missing 15 cents of postage. I call BS.
Awesome. I must have hit a nerve because she finally wised up and blocked me from seeing her plurks (I can still see them BTW). If it helps get her off her rear and get her customers what they paid for, I’m happy.
The barn door is open and the horse has bolted.
So apparently all of our “bitching and whining” is what’s finally lit a fire under her ass and got her to actually do what she’s *supposed* to be doing. Well, damn then why didn’t we all just speak out sooner? Shame on us customers for expecting her to actually deliver the yarn we paid for. Apparently the only way she actually does something is if you piss her off enough by waving the truth in front of her face.
And I won’t even get into the fact that my “December” package was postmarked January 2nd!
Yep, people ask for what they paid for and it’s “bitching and whining”. Isn’t that a lovely way to treat your customers and build up your reputation?
Just a quick quiz for you…
Who wrote these words, and who were they about…
“This one has just screwed over so many people, not the least of which herself, and blames everyone and everything but herself for it. And if there’s one thing I can’t abide, it’s the lack of personal responsibility in life, business, and the world. Causes so many problems for everyone involved.
I think I’m just so pissed off at the havoc this one has wrought that there’s no coming back from it at this point. She’s done, in my book. A Bad Egg with dubious intentions, even in this little “debilitating illness†thing, which seems to me to be a poorly-crafted charade, much like the rest of her business dealings.”
Any guesses?
How about these words…
“But not as unprofessional and, frankly, childish, and singling out one commenter of the multitudes who have pointed out the errors in the way this KAL was run. Frankly, from the look of your other patterns and comments by friends who have made them, I’d expected more from a paid KAL. Certainly not emotional outbursts at every turn, and a victim complex about anyone saying anything negative about your pattern or your method of leadership, which appears to hinge on the Only Praise Me method.
So now, since it’s been fairly proven by your own actions here in these responses, I feel justified enough to tell you to grow up. Your’e an adult. Criticism happens. Learn the lesson and move on. Attacking those people who bought your product and were unsatisfied is just beyond unprofessional, and, yes, childish.”
Ringing any bells?
No idea who said them but if you take out the word “KAL” and stick in “Yarn Club”, it would sound straight up like someone was talking about Eliza Metz.
They are quotes from Eliza herself. The first is about the MCY debacle and the second is about a Halloween mystery shawl KAL.
Wow! Talk about irony! Was she looking in the mirror when she wrote that?
Any guesses who said this tonight:
“doesn’t really care about those who don’t get it, though. The ones who DO get it are having fun, being creative, talking on the MBs now, and starting to have fun with it now that the tension’s off. The rest can go scratch — they’re not getting anything out of it now anyway. And honestly? The hyenas (as I’m calling them now) keep giving me so much Stupid to make fun of that it’s kind of becoming a joke around here. once they’re gone and the good ones are still around, it’s going to be a mighty funny thing to look back on.”
“I’m not doing another club like this. Ever. apparently attracts the crazy, and while it may be a small number of crazy in the big pool of good, it makes the whole thing stink. That’s not to say I won’t do something similar, but not in this format. Ever.”
LOL! Yes, we are the crazy ones who think that people should get what they pay for. In her own words…
“Attacking those people who bought your product and were unsatisfied is just beyond unprofessional, and, yes, childish”
and…
“This one has just screwed over so many people, not the least of which herself, and blames everyone and everything but herself for it. And if there’s one thing I can’t abide, it’s the lack of personal responsibility in life, business, and the world”
Grow up Eliza.
So tell me yarn club members. Does THIS resemble any of the packages that you’ve actually gotten from the club????
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elizametz/2861087542/
Who ever left the comment may want to edit their post. The photo was not taken in 2009, it was taken in 2008. The photo was taken before the club even started and was meant to represent what Eliza planned for her club packages to look like.
What’s wrong with asking if that’s what they ended up looking like?
Here’s a few more before I turn in for the night…
“Well, there are tons of people telling her how fabulous she and her yarn are, too. So she somehow has the mistaken belief that those of us complaining about very real issues are obviously just full of crap, difficult customers.
eyeroll
She’ll keep doing it as long as she gets away with it.”
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“OMG.
And immediately, it’s an “attack†when people start questioning. ::sigh::”
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“To offer a product without any quality control is laziness. To ignore customers who have been burned by their purchases is laziness. To blame every single problem on some outside force instead of taking responsibility for her own actions is laziness.”
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“Knitters, as a rule, tend to be very kind people. I think it’s the wool fumes – they do something to our brains and make us all squishy for people. (How can you knit things to warm your loved ones and not be a kind person, right? Well, unless you’re making ironic, veiled-insult hats, but that’s just me.) I think that’s why someone like Danielle can play on that kindness and take so many people for money – we just assume the best about other knitters.
It really is disgusting on her part.”
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“That’s exactly what tossed me right over the edge, too. She had to go to the boards, stalk them, look at every one of our profiles, figure out who we are, and then refund us with spite and remove us from the yahoogroup.
That’s obsessive. And sad, in its targeting of an entire large group of paying customers.”
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“And besides, this isn’t about me. This is about you. But as with most cases of immature logic development, the ad hominem is an easy fallacy to invoke.”
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“b) Apparently, no one is welcome in your little paid group unless they are willing to bite their tongues about what they don’t like and merely praise you for how wonderful everything is.”
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“Oh, but we are the troublemakers, morandia! We were discussing, in a closed group of folks that have become friends, our collective displeasure with the way the KAL was being run. From early on, the leadership made it relatively clear that dissenting opinions or questions weren’t welcomed. (If you could get in, I’d point you to the part where some people were understandably nervous about the first clue, and the smackdown that occurred. Those who wrote her privately were told they could have a refund, which was rendered in a general tone of “don’t let the door hit you on the way out”.)
In frustration, some began talking about it in what should have been a safe place — away from the KAL and among friends, where they could commisserate with likeminded people while still muddling through it on his/her own. This, apparently, was also unacceptable.
The conversation in question, by the way, is one of thousands of threads. The designer had to look through a startling number of posts to find anything written about her or her KAL. And then, to make it even scarier and more appalling, she had to look up each individual poster’s profile to find out who they were (since most yahoo IDs are not the L&V mb IDs), and then remove them manually from the group and issue unapologetic refunds. That’s the part that freaks me out — the level of obsessiveness required in order to “root out” the ones who she felt weren’t appreciating and venerating her appropriately. That scares me. The personal attacks? Fine, bring ‘em on. I can handle myself. But going through that much work to “punish” the people who weren’t happy with what she did? C’mon….that’s just frightening.
Had she (or any designer/indie dyer/businesswoman in general) responded to the criticism by, oh, say, making an account and saying, “Hey…I’m sorry you weren’t happy. My KALs usually go much smoother than this. Must be some bad juju in the water or the weather in blogland. If you’d like a refund, I can totally do that for you, and I hope you try again so I can show you how cool it can be!”, I’m telling you this: none of this flap would have occurred. I know the girls on the L&V boards pretty well now. They can be funny, they can have strong opinions, they can even be a little pig-headded sometimes (like we all can) — but they’re also incredibly forgiving if there’s good customer service. Pitting yourself against a group never works. Taking mature responsibility for your own actions and changing what you can or are willing to do to ensure as many people as possible have a positive experience is laudable, and rewarded with customer retention.
But hindsight’s 20/20, and everything’s a learning opportunity. So I hope that in the future, other people hoping to start a paid KAL can make note of the mistakes made and can make the experience a good one for as many as possible.”
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The last one is my personal favorite.
I’m stunned! She always talked about “The Crazy” following her around, that’s because this woman is freakin’ nuts!!!! Every single thing she wrote about is exactly what SHE ended up doing herself. She takes hypocrisy to a whole new place! At this point I seriously question her mental capabilities (and I’m not even joking!). This woman is such a piece of work. I don’t know if she really is that clueless about running a business or if she just realized that she could be a con-artist too and just followed the leads of the people’s she’s written about. Either way she sure copied their actions well.
And to quote the crazy one herself “She’ll keep doing it as long as she gets away with it.” Eliza needs to be stopped!
I am an original member of the club, and had misgivings right out of the gate when we got shipments of excuses–or silence–and not yarn. I haven’t jumped in anywhere for an Airing of Grievances because I don’t invite drama in for tea, but enough’s enough. I would have sold my membership and moved on already, but gods forbid that the whole thing flakes up for good and then yet another person is out their dough.
It’s completely ridiculous to be badmouthed for wanting the product that one paid for. I subscribed to a yarn club to get yarn, not a soap opera. I wish that she would have thrown up her hands and refunded our money when things went in the sh*tter for her; I can understand life getting out of control and having to throw things out of the boat to stay afloat…but I get the feeling that by that time that happened, the money was already gone. I’m also pretty irritated that there was no recourse for a refund through other means since we were charged as a “service” instead of a “product”. I learned a valuable lesson there.
I did receive my “December” package this week. It’s pretty, though I’m not sure what I’m going to do with 7 mini-skeins of yarn. Hopefully all will be revealed when The Packet is posted. Sadly, by now, I’m not sure I really want to knit with any of the yarn–the “intention” has been sucked out and replaced by a lot of negativity.
Well, the puppet has spoken again. Poor misguided woman. I really do feel bad for her whenever I see posts from her. It’s a shame to see a grown woman not be able to think for herself and to be taken advantage of so easily. So sad!
Any guesses on what this months’ intention is: “Confusion”, “Hypocrisy” or maybe “Denial”?
I saw that too. For goodness sakes, you think the woman would have a little more dignity and common sense.
To report someone to the IRS:
http://www.irs.gov/compliance/enforcement/article/0,,id=106778,00.html
For internet fraud:
http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
US Postal Inspector:
https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/
I suggest someone start collecting data from those of you that have been ripped off and then file one big report to all three sites.
The international members are still waiting for their packages, and I am beginning to think that we are nothing getting anything. Wow.
I’ve already reported her to USPS for potential mail fraud. The agent I spoke with said that it clearly is a matter that they would handle.
I also contacted the IRS and provided them links and screen caps to her many donation requests. They said it didn’t appear to be legal and that they would investigate the matter. The guy also said that the “raffle” or “un-raffle” constitutes online gambling which is also illegal and he was going to forward that to the appropriate office. Both people I spoke with did say that if they receive more complaints about the same person that it does speed up the process. So it would probably help speed things along if others complained as well.
Eliza is well aware that the international members haven’t received their shipments – and now she’s over complaining on Plurk that she was up until 3AM!!! packing and emailing some other people that she probably owes some merchandise or something.
I knew it would just be a matter of time before she showed her true colors yet again, but even I didn’t think it would be this soon.
If she is aware, why doesn´t she tell them anything?
Because she doesn’t care about them. She’s already got their money. She already knows that at this point she can’t get any more from them so she doesn’t care. You know damn well that if this was one of those clubs were you paid one month at a time that she would be like superwoman and would get those packages out on time and everything so she could be sure that people would continue feeding her piggy bank. But she’s a wise con-woman. She’s already taken their money so now she doesn’t have to a damn thing for them. She can just sit back and do whatever the hell she wants and send out the yarn whenever she damn well feels like it and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. All the while she’s busy planning her next scam, I mean business venture.