My experience with Woodland Marketing, Inc.

Since all of us who do art fairs, need fixtures for our art, I would like to share my experience with Woodland Marketing, Inc. in Medford, WI.

I ordered 2 maple spinner jewelry displays on March 28, 2011. My credit card was charged the next day on March 29, 2011. I received one spinner around the middle of April. I immediately contacted Woodland Marketing to let them know that I did not receive my whole order. It took 3 phone calls & quite a few emails before I was finally told that the other spinner had been lost in shipping, and they were replacing it.

I contacted Woodland Marketing at least four more times before I was finally told that the spinner was in shipping. But, it still took over two more weeks to receive it. I received the 2nd spinner today, May 10th.

I ordered the 2 spinners together so that I would receive them together, & they would match each other perfectly in order to match my booth. The spinner that I received today (May 10th) is not like the one I first received. There is a different grain of wood under the black paint. I ordered the maple spinners finished in black. I have to assume that since this 2nd spinner does not match the 1st spinner I received, another wood must have been used. I also think this is true because the 1st spinner is heavier than the one that arrived today.

Additionally, the 2nd spinner does not glide around as the 1st spinner does, either. When I investigated why this was true for the 2nd spinner, I found that the hardware that allows the display to spin is not glued to the middle of the bottom of the 2nd spinner. It is glued in the middle of the bottom on the first spinner. So, it wobbles & moves as it spins. Now I will have to keep an eye on it as my customers try to spin it. All of you know that this will be really hard to do.

I believe that Woodland Marketing thinks I am lying about not receiving both spinners originally. So, they decided to send me an inferior product for the 2nd spinner - just to shut me up. I am extremely disappointed in what I considered to be a major purchase for my art fair booth. A purchase that I hoped to use for many years.

I hope this story will save other artists from a similar experience.

Replies

Megan Horan May 12, 2011 at 6:46pm

That's not good! I ordered shelves from them 2 years ago and had no issues (I finished them myself). Sorry this didn't work out for you.
- Patricia Loboda > Megan Horan May 12, 2011 at 10:53pm
  
  I'm glad to hear that Megan. Maybe I should have ordered mine unfinished. All I really wanted was to receive 2 matching spinners at the same time.
  
  Ironically, I received an promotional email from Woodland today that was advertising 40% off on certain merchandisers so they could make room for new merchandise in their warehouse.
  
  Thanks,
  
  Pat
Chris Hoyt May 12, 2011 at 7:04am

Don't be confrontational. Be professional. Explain that you wanted wood that matched because you're a professional exhibitor and you wanted quality. That's why you contacted them in the first place. Explain how satisfied you are with the other unit, but somehow, somebody dropped the ball on this one. And all you would like is a spinner that is the same wood and quality as the first one. And if they cannot do this, you will be returning both units for a full refund.

But most of all, be calm.
- Patricia Loboda > Chris Hoyt May 12, 2011 at 10:49pm
  
  Great advice! Good news - well, partial good news! Woodland answered my 3rd email - the email that I included a picture of the defective jewelry spinner. The spinning aparatus on the bottom of the spinner that wobbled when spun, was not glued in the middle; hence, the wobble. I got a reply from the email with the picture - but not the first ones I sent. Woodland sent FedEx to pick it up. The email said I would receive a replacement. So, we'll see.
  
  Thanks Chris & Megan-
  
  Pat
Chris Hoyt May 11, 2011 at 7:42am

Whenever I order something, I always ask for the tracking number of the shipper. I then can track the shipment right to my home. If they sent the spinners in two separate boxes, there would be two tracking numbers. You could have gone to the UPS or Fed EX websites and tracked both boxes. If in fact they sent two boxes at all.

Now, why are accepting the inferior product? Let them know this is not what you ordered, and explain the difference.
- Patricia Loboda > Chris Hoyt May 11, 2011 at 8:48am
  
  You're right Chris - if I had gotten tracking numbers, I'd know whether the original order was correct. And, more importantly, I'd be able to track the packages myself. I guess I have to quit ordering online so much. I have sent an e-mail to complain about the display I received yesterday. No answer, yet. I will have to call, but I hate confrontations.
  
  Thanks for the advice,
  
  Pat

This reply was deleted.