The Pink Paper Studio ,Etsy / The Pink Violet Shop / Je t' aime Weddings Wedding Stationary Internet

I found "Victoria" on Etsy in December 2014 and fell in love with a style of Wedding Invitations that would be perfect for my sister's Wedding. I started a conversation with her on Etsy but she immediately encouraged me to email her to a different account outside of Etsy (red flag #1). 

She was very helpful and answered my MANY questions regarding the invitations and the pricing. I noticed throughout our many email conversations that took place from December 2014 - January 2015 that she seemed to forget information and would ask me multiple times for information I had already given her (red flag #2). 

When my sisters, mother, and I come up with a final decision on the total inviataions, colors, reply cards, paper, etc...we contacted "Victoria" and she sent us a link for payment. Having been an avid shopper on the Etsy website for years, I thought it was odd that we didn't just make our purchase directly through the Etsy website like I've done for everyone else (red flag #3). However, because it was pay pal, and it stated that it was through Etsy, I didn't question it.

Luckily, in our case, we decided to go with the most basic and simple invitations possible because we were going to do our own designs once they arrived, so we didn't pay as much as others that I've seen, but we still paid her $407. She had told us that as soon as we paid her she would work up the proofs. Once the payment went through, she was good on her word and we received proofs. We even went back and forth with some changes until they were just right. 

After the inviatations were exactly as we wanted them, I told her to go ahead and print them. She said it would take two weeks to process, print, and mail them. I had specifically asked if the invitations could arrive to us well before mid-march because we were leaving for Texas to visit my sister so that we could put the invitations together with her. This was our last trip out to Texas to see her before her Wedding, so it was VERY important that we had these invitations. 

I gave "Victoria" the two weesk time-frame and then I reached out to her when the invitations hadn't arrived. She gave me a few excuses and then promised they would be on the next truck out (2/26/15). When a week went by and there were still no invitations, I contacted her again. It was from this point on that I never received any more correspondence from her. I contacted her 3 or 4 more times before my final email to her stated that I would have to file a claim against her.

We currently have a claim against her via Pay Pal to get our money back. We never received our invitations and since it was a week before we left for Texas, we had to rush around to print new inviations elsewhere. Luckily, a local shop really came through for us and we have the invitations ready to go - but currently we've paid double for these invitations until we get our money back for the invitations we never received. 

I don't normally react like this and file scam reports, but this "woman" not only scammed me, she scammed my entire family. I am feeling very guilty because I was the one who found her online. She is in the business of scamming people who are supposed to be making decisions about the happiest day of their life. Weddings are expensive enough without this kind of thing happening! This was a nightmare and I want others to know about it so that they do not fall victim to her scam as well.

The only problem is that it seems she is clever enough to change her name and her business so that she can continue to bounce around undetected. I only hope that she can be located and stopped.