Wedding Tip #15 - Be a smart ebay shopper

I share this because I know a lot of brides purchase items from Ebay. I bought some vases for my own wedding this way. It's a great way to save money on some of the small details. It's especially good for things like vases, fake rose petals, or other items that can easily be re-used. Just be sure to know your rights as a buyer and leave plenty of time to purchase other items in case the Ebay transaction doesn't work out. The best thing to know is that Ebay stands behind their service and is available to help their buyers! After a great experience with Ebay's customer service I thought that the least I could do is to tell all of you how much I love Ebay and share my story so you know your rights as an Ebay buyer!

What I did:
I purchased a digital camera from a seller (lez266) and it arrived in the mail seemingly ok. I had to order a special memory card for it since it is an older camera model. Before the card arrived I couldn't fully test the camera. Since I had waited for the card to arrive the seller told me the window of return time had closed. (not true - see "what I should have done") When I emailed to report the problem I got a rude reply, even though I explained I had to wait for a card to test with, and was told to send the camera back to determine the problem. I was feeling really badly about the situation because it was a camera I had bought on behalf of my camera club at the soldier's home. So, I paid to ship it back and said I expected a refund or for the seller to pay to ship it back to me. Once they had the camera back the story was that there wasn't a problem and that I needed to send more money if I wanted it shipped back to me. At this point I felt naive for shipping it back in the first place; but it was only a $20 camera! I asked about splitting the difference and them keeping $10 as a restocking fee and issuing a $10 refund to my paypal account. The reply I received reads:

"The only choice left to me is to give you 48 hours to pay for shipping your camera back to you. Past that window, I'll consider that you have forfeited your right of ownership and it will be given to a local charity on your behalf. Furthermore any shipping paid for after April the 3rd would be immediately refunded and eventual emails would not be read nor answered! This would be at par with your attitude (tantamount to extorsion for an undeserved refund) of sporadic reactions to selected issues while ignoring the most relevant.

- lez266"

Extortion for an undeserved refund? I'm not an extortionist! I felt so helpless because now it seemed there was nothing I could do. I checked Lez's feedback, and even though it was 99% positive I found 2 other negative reviews with similar issues.

	sorry: item not received, no refund offered, and at first seller wasn't polite	Buyer: alanta3 ( 158)	Jun-19-08 06:53
	Reply by lez266 (Jun-19-08 09:10): PROOF OF SHIPMENT AVAILABLE NARCISSISTIC BUYER+ITALIAN LAX & CORRUPT BUREAUCRATY
	-- (#330229181680)

I clicked on the "help" icon on Ebay and found that there is an 800 number to call. I got to talk to someone pretty quickly (1-2 min hold time) and he was awesome! He issued me a $25 credit on ebay's behalf and even gave me some advice on how to deal with uncooperative sellers in the future.

What I SHOULD have done:
My new friend at Ebay told me that because I paid with pay pal I should always involve them at the start of a problem! Never ship anything back to the seller because then they have your money and your item! That seems pretty obvious now, but hindsight is 20/20. I thought I was taking steps to resolve the issue amicably; but if it had been a more expensive item I would have been more cautious! Where it was only worth $20 I just trusted the seller to do the right thing! Had I involved paypal before returning the camera they would have refunded the purchase price AND shipping and then dealt with the seller. It doesn't look good for a seller to have an open paypal dispute, so this course of action would have been better for me and done more to warn future buyers.

The lesson is:
You use Paypal for a reason! Don't be afraid to involve them at the start of an issue with a seller - they are there to protect you! Also, look through all of the feedback. If it isn't 100% positive look and see what the issue was and how professionally the seller responded! (You get a chance to reply when you are left negative feedback) Sometimes there are bad buyers who leave inappropriate negative feedback - but if I had seen Lez's replies I would have thought twice before buying! Also, do not be fooled by buyer's return policies. Paypal covers you for up to 60 days!

Again - thank you to Ebay for wonderful customer service! It was nice to hear that someone understood I tried to do the right thing! Even though it was a bad seller, and not Ebay's fault, they issued me a credit. After such a positive customer service experience I will continue to use the site - because most Ebayers are really great!

Now advertsing on "The Bump"

You can now see my maternity & childrens' portraiture on my website and through The Bump (Part of The Knot).



Katie Ring Images Photography
Boston/Salem, MA
617.785.9241
katie@ringimages.com
Http://www.RingImages.com

Create beautiful and artistic images of your pregnancy and baby! From newborns to memories of childhood, Katie’s unique photographs will make lovely additions to your cherished memories. Choose from studio, in-home, and outdoor portrait locations making each session special. Services include: web galleries, canvases, announcements, digital negatives, and memory books.

"Status Update"

My work, "status update" has been selected for an exhibition bearing the same name!



Status Update: An exhibition that explores emerging online networking
technologies and/in art.

Curated by Debbie Hesse and Donna Ruff

Start Time: Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 6:00pm
End Time: Saturday, August 1, 2009 at 6:00pm
Location: Yale's Haskins Laboratory, New Haven, CT
www.haskins.yale.edu

I don't even have all the details yet but when I do I'll post them. In the meantime I will be busy printing and framing! They want 3 of the "status update" photographs (above) and 3 of the "Facebook Portrait Project" photographs (below)

Wedding Tip #14 - All About Cake

What is your cake style? Do you want to have a cake that matches your decor or one that is an art piece? (maybe both?!) The cake above (I'm asking the bride for baker info) had flowers that matched the center pieces and bouquets. It was a simple but beautiful cake. There are a few things you'll want to think about when deciding your cake style. A big part of that will be budget. Cakes that are a works of art are priced accordingly; the more hand-made details (sugar and gum-paste flowers) the more expensive the cake will be because of the hours of work that will go into it. If you have a smaller cake budget you may want to consider purchasing a simple cake and asking your florist to create a colorful cake topper. You will have to take it off before eating - but real flowers can be just as nice decorations as sugar flowers. However, If you've got the budget, or happen to be a big fan of Ace of Cakes, I say go BIG! Your guests will definitely be talking about it if they can't figure out if your cake is edible or not! The cake below, by Charm City Cakes, (yes, that's Ace of Cakes as seen on TV) was made to command attention!


Yes, that is a real cake not a wine barrel. Although I saw more than one guest closely inspect it to make sure! It was funny to see in person; looked like a barrel but smelled like delicious cake! I don't always eat cake, but in this case I had to try it! FYI - It was just as good as it smelled!

Speaking of eating, every couple should have a plan before they cut the cake. Ask your venue how much time they need to cut it. If you want it served for dessert you might need to cut it after the salad, or near the beginning of dinner, so it's plated and ready. You should also decide if want to invite guests to watch, or quietly cut it yourselves? Will you feed each other at the same time or take turns? What kind of music will be playing? If you want people to notice you should play some fun and different music, but if you want it to be more intimate just have the dinner music continue playing. Anthony and I cut our cake to Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me," yes, I can't believe I agreed to that! Guess whose idea it was? ;) The #1 thing that you should have planned BEFORE you cut the cake is how messy it will be! You should both be on the same page about how much cake smooshing (if any) there will be. Ladies, if your afraid your new husband will be too tempted to mash it in your face, let him go first! Guys, be careful, you don't want to be sleeping on the couch on your wedding night!



Awww, didn't Vicki and Adam have the sweetest frosting kiss? I love the kiss photos, as a true romantic they're my favorite. Mmmm, after looking at all that cake I need a snack now...

Wedding Tip #13- Hair & Make-up

From gchat yesterday...

[12:17] katie.m.ring@gmail.com: excellent, so how are your plans coming along?

[12:19] kristin(last name deleted for privacy): So far so good..I feel like I am in a good place. I know in a month or so it will start to get nuts.all of the small things..I do have a question..did you get your hair and girls hair done at a salon..how long before the ceremony did you make appointments? I need to book this and have no idea..

[12:20] katie.m.ring@gmail.com: i had a make-up artist come to me, she brought assistants and did all the hair & make-up at my parent's house

[12:20] katie.m.ring@gmail.com: we had 7 and started at 9AM to be ready by around noon

[12:21] katie.m.ring@gmail.com: this is who I used: http://www.gracemake-up.com/

[12:21] kristin: cool..thanks..that helps


So... when should you start hair & make-up? Let me elaborate. Let's work backwards to figure that out.

You will want to be done with hair & make-up at least a half an hour before you need to leave to go to the church or your pre-wedding photo session.

Here was my timeline:
8:45 - Bridesmaids arrive
9AM - Hair & Make-up Artist's arrive
(Bridesmaids & flower girl start hair/make-up)
10:30 - Bridal hair & Make-up
11:30 - Bride gets dressed
12:30 - Pre-ceremony portraits
2:00 leave for church
2:30 Ceremony starts

So, 5 1/2 hours before ceremony start was enough time for 7 bridesmaids and a flower girl to get hair & make-up (with 3 stylists), for me to get ready, to do pre-ceremony portraits with the bridesmaids & my parents, and get to the church on time. You should check with your salon or make-up artist to see how much time she/he recommends. If you're still looking for a great stylist, talk to Grace! gracequintal@gracemake-up.com

Wedding Tip #12 - Portland Maine, Raves & Favs

I was in Portland Thursday & Friday and I wanted to take this chance to talk about some of my favorite wedding vendors in Portland. There are all places I used in my own wedding, and they're so great I wanted to give them the RAVES they deserve.

Spoil Me
43 Exchange Street, Portland, ME

When I got my dress from Spoil Me, they were still selling all types of women's clothing and hadn't switched over to bridal - but they had the best dresses! I got a simple white sheath dress to wear at our after party and my mom got her mother-of-the-bride dress here.

(Yeah, my mom didn't want the traditional MOB outfit!) I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had changed over to a bridal salon. Not only is it an adorable store with great dresses but the people are great too! When I went with my friend Abby, Emily helped us, and she was very attentive as well as just fun to have around! I stopped back in to say hello to her and we had a nice chat about how much with both love this business. How lucky are we to be able to hang out with happy brides? It's always nice to meet someone who loves weddings as much as I do! Also, if you're thinking boutique = expensive then then you might be pleasantly surprised to learn that the dresses we saw were in the $2400-$3700 range. While this is certainly more expensive than the big box bridal stores, you also get much better quality and service with a boutique. And by Boston-standards, theses prices are quite reasonable! The two Portland brides I've been chatting with (Lindsey & Abby) both rave about Spoil me too! I've also blogged about spoil me in a previous "choosing a dress" post.

D Cole
10 Exchange St, Portland, ME

I LOVE D. Cole, they are the best. Anthony and I both got our rings here. Why are they the best? You can trust that you are getting great quality jewelry - they refuse to sell anything that's going to break or fall apart. I am by no means a diamond expert. However, I've learned that the setting is as important as the stone. Stones that are hand set are much less likely to become loose over time than stones that are machine set, and when you go into D. Cole you can see the jewelers working from just next to their showroom. They were also happy to work with Anthony on designing my non-traditional pink sapphire ring! (which is SO ME)

They spend time with you, and because they don't work on commission you won't feel the pressure you feel at other jewelry stores. This is a local family-owned business. Dean and Denise Cole started the business and now their son Ryan and this fiancee Lindsey also work there. They're all super friendly - go say hello! (Tell them Katie Ring sent you!) If you're not in the market for wedding jewelry you should still stop in if you're in Portland. They have a great selection of sterling silver jewelry that you can treat yourself to! Hmmm, speaking of, maybe I need a new Pandora bead...

Papier Gourmet
26 Free St, Portland, ME

I got my invitations here after searching through stores and online for my pink and orange color combination. This is now a popular color choice, but in '07, when I did it - it was much less common and hard to find. They have the best selection of paper, including one that was pink on one side and orange on the other, just what I was looking for!

You can walk-in and look at samples but if you make an appointment they'll go over all the options with you! They have options to just order the paper or have them print the wording as well. It's also helpful to have an expert to help you with wording, and they emailed me the layout to approve before printing. I opted to assemble my own to save a little, but for the time-deprived bride you can pick them up pre-assembled making things totally easy for you!

*Please note that I am not paid for any of these endorsements. I just appreciate great businesses and I want to connect brides to the best products and services.

I've been a busy lady!

Hello blog! I've been busy, busy, busy! I decided last week to try a new wedding show with New England Bride. S0, last night I was in Nashua at the Radisson, which has a beautiful ballroom! I just loved this show. It was very well organized with every bride getting a sheet of stickers so they could enter each vendor's raffle. Usually you need to write: name, address, email, phone & wedding date, and some bride's make their own labels to put in the raffles, but I thought it was so nice the NE Bride did it for everyone who pre-registered.

Speaking of, you can come visit me at these upcoming shows:
Hyatt Regency Hotel - Boston, MA Sunday (12 noon - 3 pm)- May 31
Spinelli's Function Fac. - Lynnfield, MA, Wednesday (6 - 9 pm) - Sept 30th

I met so many wonderful people last night, I'm so excited to start chatting with them all! Right now I'm back in Portland to fulfill some official bridesmaid duties. But, now that I'm not planning for a bridal show in a week I'll be back to my blog MUCH more often! See you again soon blog :)