I have been wanting a nice nativity set for many, many years but I have never been able to find one I have liked. I started looking again this year & found a lot of nice looking sets at Fontanini Store.com. I purchased this one ...
... along with several separate figures to go with it. It arrived earlier this month but I did not bother looking inside the boxes, trusting that all would be fine. After all, Fontanini has been around for a long time, & they are a well respected company that produces nativity sets of high quality, right?
This morning I felt festive & decided to start doing a bit of decorating. I cleaned off the top of our buffet in the livingroom & excitedly opened the box that contained the stable you see above. Let's just say that I am appalled. See those "earthenware pots" on the right side of stable? Mine are sitting on blobs ... big blobs ... of hot glue that spread out around them. One of the pots is actually leaning to one side because it was not glued down flush with the base. There are also blobs of hot glue underneath the fence posts & these blobs spread down toward the front of the stable base.
What has happened to pride of workmanship? I could literally sit here & cry, I am so disappointed : ( Now I have to package everything back into a shipping box & pay to ship it back to the store. I did not notice before printing out the return form that they charge a 20% restocking fee for all returns!!! I emailed them saying I did not think this charge should apply to me since I would have gladly kept the product if the workmanship hadn't been so shoddy. I'm sure that will get me nowhere. If anything, they might offer to send me another nativity set, but after seeing the workmanship on this one, I don't want to try again.
Sorry for the rant. I guess I'll go do some dusting & think of what else I can put on that buffet other than something that represents the true meaning of Christmas : (
28 comments:
I am so sorry, Shirlee! It truly is a bummer that many places don't take pride in their wares.
Good luck on your quest in finding the right Nativity for you.
Robin in Virginia
Hi Miss Shirlee,
Come on feel better. Mom has the Willow Tree Nativity that she has added to over the last few years. She first found Willow Tree collectibles at the Hallmark store where we use to live.
Maybe you can find them online to look at them, they are beautiful and very well made. Hope I have helped you.
Heaps of Hugs
Prudence ♥
I think you are quite justified to complain, the shop is selling faulty goods - they should be paying all postage and giving you some sort of recompense by way of an apology.
Wow - I, too, would have thought that Fontanini is a trusted brand and you wouldn't have received something so poorly made. Chin up! You'll find something you like even more and this will be just a memory (hopefully one you can forget, though!)
I hate it when you buy something that is faulty , they should replace it and cover all costs. Hugs.
That is so disappointing Shirlee. I hope the store will make it right for you.
I love how you have spiffed up the place....your header pic is wonderful.
Sorry to hear about that ~ I do hope they make it right and you should not have to pay the fee since it was faulty!!
How disappointing. Hope they will stand behind their product and replace it for you.
How disappointing. Sometimes it isn't fun to order online because you don't get to examine what you're getting before you buy it. A little different scenario but I just received 3 sets of glasses that I'd ordered about 3 weeks ago. Of the 20 glasses, half were broken, from totally crushed to cracked. I called the company and they credited my account for 2 of the 3 sets. Yes, I will most likely order from them again. Sorry you order didn't work out as well.
Oh Shirlee! My heart sunk to my toes. I am sorry. I am the dingleberrydorf that inspired you to go with Fontanini. =( Do you want to keep the figurines? Maybe just look for a different stable. I do NOT have a Fontanini stable, just the figurines. I hope you are able to come up with a solution for THIS year my friend.♥
You have every right to feel upset. It upsets me when pictures of products are deceiving. I don't think it is fair to charge a restocking fee.
Hopefully they make this right for you.
Oh dear, Shirlee, that is such a shame and so very annoying for you. Good luck on your quest to find the perfect nativity set.
Shirlee, that is sure disappointing! I've never heard of the store you purchased the nativity from, but stay after them until you get what you want.
What a shame. I've had some inexpensive items that I didn't think worth the return, so I stuck them in the freezer. Hot glue pops off easily when frozen and I carefully pulled it off and straightened it with fresh glue. I hope you don't have to pay the fee.
How very disappointing. I do agree about workmanship being more careless. I hope you find the perfect nativity for you.
I would be upset too.
I hope you can get a replacement, or find another one.
Why do you have to pay a re-stocking fee?
Are they really going to re-stock something that is faulty?
I would try and call them and complain.
Marilyn
(P.S.) We aren't going to see it burning in the sink, are we? LOL
Sorry, how disappionting. I agree on workmanship these days. Price goes up..quality goes down!
Hope you will find one soon.
Judy heartland stitcher
As I was grocery shopping today, I thought 'price is up, but contents are less.' And here you are!! Willow tree figures are VERY nice! I bought my 4 piece nativity from a senior community craft fair... and I love it! It is simple: Mary, Joseph, and Angel and Baby Jesus. Period. BTW--I sent you an email yesterday... hope you will read it.. SOON! Hugs!
Darn I hate it when this sort of thing happens - sending you a hug my friend xx
I feel your pain. Do you have a 10,000 Villages store--have seen some awesome Nativity sets there.
So disappointing!!!
Hi again, Shirlee,
I saw a gorgeous Jim Shore nativity set in a gift shop the other day. You might like to check it out online.
hugs, Kaye
Tsk tsk...blobs of glue all of the nativity scene?!! Terrible! I sure hope that you win this battle and don't have to repay the 20% restocking fee...which is ridiculous in my opinion. I hope you get a well crafted Nativity scene. I know how you've been searching for one!!
While passing through Costco of all places, I spied a beautiful
Nativity set, well made & priced.
A while back Sam's had an exquisite Nativity that looked like (but was not) a Lladro. Another worthy price. So sorry
to hear confirmation that quality has gone out the window...perhaps
a letter to the manufacturer saying due to this incident you
will never buy another of their
products and will pass the word
along....I wager their quality control and consideration to you will be upped....
Hope you find a Nativity set that
will be everything you want to last a lifetime...
Blessed holiday.
gosh that sucks! hope you get a full refund back - I miss the days when everything you bought was of quality and something you could pass down through the generations. giving you a big hug - Amanda
How disappointing! My hubby and I were only talking at the weekend about pride in peoples work and nowadays there doesn't seem to be any. It's a 'it'll do' society whereas before everyone did their very best for their fellow man.
Think positive, perhaps you will come across the perfect thing this festive season and love it much more than you did this one, I hope so.
Best wishes x
That is really a shame, Shirley... It really is hard to find quality workmanship in anything any more. Sure hope you can find a lovely, well-made Nativity set this month!
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