copycats

I originally wrote out a whole post about how I thought I was being ripped off, only to find out I technically wasn't, so I revamped the post accordingly.

Have you ever had a moment when you realize you've been ripped off? I did this morning and I was pissed. Then, a bit later, I had another moment where I realized I actually hadn't been ripped off and I was relieved. And kind of annoyed. Let me take you through the journey.

Last weekend, The Hubs and I were conferring on what to get his parents for Christmas. We had picked their "joint gift" about a month ago in a catalog, but wanted to get them each something small. We had a theme going on and decided to stick with it. I can't spill all the beans, since I know they read the blog, but trust me, it's awesome.

I was purusing Groupon and LivingSocial for deals that day (for others and for us) and noticed a gift that would be great for my mother-in-law and tied into the theme. At $20, it certainly didn't break the bank, so I ordered it.

Last night, I was searching Etsy for some ideas to give my siblings-in-law for the annual family Pollyanna. Lo-and-behold, I stumbled upon the same gift I had just ordered for $8.00. $8.00!!  My first thought was: Is LivingSocial taking such a high percentage of a seller's profits that they needed to mark their products up more than 50%. And, what's even worse, LivingSocial lists the product's "retail price" as $28.00. No where in their Etsy shop is that product listed for $28.00.

I later realized the product I was looking at on Etsy was a copycat of the product I had bought on LivingSocial. I mean, seriously, I couldn't even tell the difference. I would put a picture up, but then it would ruin the surprise. Note, after pasting them side by side in Paint, I realized they actually don't look that similar. But when you're clicking back and forth between webpages (and simoultaneously trying to look like you're not blatently online shopping at your job) it looked like the same thing, I swear.

Moral of the story: when buying goods off a deal-based website, do your homework. Is that the actual retail price? Can I get it cheaper somewhere else? Would my my mother in law really been able to tell if  I gave the $8 product or the $20 one if I didn't just tell the whole internetz? Lucky for me, she knows I'm frugal cheap and she loves me anyway.