checkout the wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JustFab
The criticisms are mentions as well as a lawsuit. Also note that this HN page is given as a source.
Why was a scam company able to raise $76 Million Series B?
71–80 of 185 posts
Re: Why was a scam company able to raise $76 Million Series B?
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's nonsense. The only time a chargeback makes sense is after the payment has already gone through.
He means after you've paid your credit card bill with the included charges on it.
I see 6 month chargebacks on a regular basis (dealing with consumer fraud is fun), so these definitely happen, they're possible and if consumers can do it when they are the ones defrauding the merchants there will be a lot less trouble when it is the merchant doing the defrauding.
In many cases the cc company debiting your checking account is automated and there is no step for you to verify other than to periodically go through your statements to see if you have taken on any ghost charges.
Re: Why was a scam company able to raise $76 Million Series B?
#73So basically this is the Columbia House[1] of shoes. That's not a scam, it's "a catch". When a consumer hears the pitch -- in the case of Columbia House, it was "get 8 CDs for 1 penny", in the case of JustFab it's "get any pair of shoes for $39" -- they should be asking what the catch is. An ungodly number of businesses involve catches to survive. How about cell phones? That new iPhone is only $200... but you have a 2 year contract and a $400 fee for leaving early.
Columbia House and the Columbia Record Club were around for 60 years. I doubt this model will ever go away or be deemed illegal.
[1] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_House
edit: hey, there's a wikipedia article about this model
Re: Why was a scam company able to raise $76 Million Series B?
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some VC information on this page if you're interested. http://www.crunchbase.com/company/justfabulous
As an aside, one of the investors is listed as mpizldqpida - what kind of name is that?
If you say his name backwards, you send him back to his home dimension.
Re: Why was a scam company able to raise $76 Million Series B?
#75Similar sites like ShoeDazzle recently removed the monthly subscription model so they will likely follow given enough complaints.
Note that as someone pointed out below, the billing provides a credit so theoretically your girlfriend has $320 in credit at JustFab and she can go buy some one-price-fits all items which makes no sense to me at all (t-shirt at $39.95 wtf?).
VC investments in LA tend to leverage the celebrity power of the backers since that gives access to a large audience and guarantees marketing/press coverage right off the bat.
Re: Why was a scam company able to raise $76 Million Series B?
#76So basically this is the Columbia House[1] of shoes. That's not a scam, it's "a catch". When a consumer hears the pitch -- in the case of Columbia House, it was "get 8 CDs for 1 penny", in the case of JustFab it's "get any pair of shoes for $39" -- they should be asking what the catch is. An ungodly number of businesses involve catches to survive. How about cell phones? That new iPhone is only $200... but you have a…
8 cds for a penny is ridiculous, so there has to be a catch. $39.95 for a pair of shoes sounds quite reasonable.
Having to pay for a membership without performance is ridiculous.
Re: Why was a scam company able to raise $76 Million Series B?
#77It may be harder than you think to get the credit card company to stop the charges. http://uncrunched.com/2012/08/26/my-undead-credit-card/ Like it or not they have a good business model. And the VCs probably don't care if they're ethical, as long as they get a good ROI.
Some VC information on this page if you're interested. http://www.crunchbase.com/company/justfabulous
Gilt Groupe Investor Matrix Partners Leads $33M Round In Fashion Retail And Styling Platform JustFabulous — JustFabulous, a fashion retail and styling platform, has raised $33 million in funding lead by Matrix Partners (who also invested in flash sales giant Gilt Groupe)[1]
The Round was led by new investor Rho Ventures, with participation from existing backers Matrix Partners, Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) and Intelligent Beauty, JustFab’s parent company, which incubated and launched the startup in 2010. The total amount of money now raised by JustFab is $139 million.[2]
______________
From:
[1] http://www.techmeme.com/110921/p29#a110921p29
[2] http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/26/justfab-just-nabbed-another...
Re: Why was a scam company able to raise $76 Million Series B?
#78While this is a bit scammy, I couldn't get past the part where she didn't notice this for 8 months. Come on people. Do a budget. Stop being stupid with your money.
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Re: Why was a scam company able to raise $76 Million Series B?
#79The page clearly says you'll be charged every month. It charges you and applies a credit, implying you can use the credit any time. It doesn't charge you and then not let you use the money. Is it misleading? Yeah slightly, except it says exactly what will happen with a bright pink numbered list. Did they create the program hoping some people will forget about it? Yes definitely. But, this a common tactic employed by…
Clearly? No. It's buried in the last point in the second list. It's pretty scammy. Sorry, but porn sites aren't this deceptive. Hell, they talk about joining the membership, and go on to talk about how with the membership, you can buy things for 39.95. No where does it talk about credits or even implying that you can use the credits at any time.
Re: Why was a scam company able to raise $76 Million Series B?
#80So basically this is the Columbia House[1] of shoes. That's not a scam, it's "a catch". When a consumer hears the pitch -- in the case of Columbia House, it was "get 8 CDs for 1 penny", in the case of JustFab it's "get any pair of shoes for $39" -- they should be asking what the catch is. An ungodly number of businesses involve catches to survive. How about cell phones? That new iPhone is only $200... but you have a…
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