The Caveats of Online Shopping

In the midst of the holiday season, one must beware of possible pitfalls when shopping for products via mail-order or online.  It's not always certain that you will actually get what you believe you have ordered, and may be disappointed and wish to return or exchange the item.

Recently, the citizens of Brookfield found themselves in precisely such a situation.  In a frenzy of excitement, a new group of selectmen was ordered from some company called "RTC/APB" (headquartered in the Cayman Islands) and upon arrival of the shipment there was a bit of bewilderment and disappointment once the package was opened.  The chosen unit for the place of 1st Selectman, I believe it was the model called "Tinsley rev 2.0", arrived somewhat damaged and was not at all as it appeared in the sales flyer.  We believed it to be much more colorful and somewhat larger than we had originally thought, additionally the unit did not function exactly as described (the change-making feature always seemed to come up a few dollars short).  Of course, we understand that during this time of year, what with the overwhelming workload of shipping companies, that parcels can be mishandled and damaged during the shipping process, but even so we decided to request a replacement or refund from the company.  Unfortunately the aforementioned company was not at all accommodating to our request, and simply refused to issue a credit or replacement item (the Lasser rev 1.1 seemed to get pretty high reviews) and is simply not standing behind the purchase.

So in retrospect, it's doubtful we will want to purchase anything from this company again as they have proved they are not to be trusted at all, which is quite the shame since I have heard this company is trying mightily to rebuild its brand identity and issues like this are counterproductive to the desired agenda.  Unfortunately we are now stuck with a marginally functional unit until we can save up enough to buy a new set of selectmen.

Bottom line, beware of these types of purchases as they often lead to frustration and disappointment.