Hiya - welcome to the latest post from my Expectation vs Reality series.
I'm going to take a moment to quickly set the scene for you here, as you may be new to my blog [hihihi!] and wonder what in the hell I'm on about, or you might have forgotten what this series is even about; as good old Hong Kong's postal service seems to have eaten up a fair few of my parcels, so I haven't written a post like this for a little while.
Well, there's not that much to explain really. I'm well poor. I'm that girl - the one who lurks in the Smart Price aisle at Asda, the one who scavenges food off others like a massive tanned [when I can be arsed fake-tanning] seagull and the kinda bird who picks coins up off the floor no matter what. The high risk of said coins being soaked in scally urine, surrounded by broken glass and ensuring a general loss of dignity - just a few of the hurdles I've come across in my life as a penny picker [although my luck's been in recently - I actually found a whole 50p on the floor the other day. Legit struggled to cope with how someone had managed to drop this small fortune and not notice.]
Combine this with the fact I have an uncontrollable urge to buy things, an addiction to online shopping and that I am also a self confessed eBay junkie - and you have the basis to this series. Boom.
On the rare occasion I can afford to buy something - no matter how little I might have paid for it, I want to know what I'm getting will be sh*t hot, not just plain old sh*t. But sadly, more often than not, that amazing looking playsuit you got for a quid and that looked pure fit on the model turns out to be nothing more than a sick joke with lace on.
This, my friends, is what the cool kids call an 'Expectation vs Reality' moment. You know what I mean; you order an absolute bargain online that looks like it's going to be a pure fitty, but then when it arrives... you don't know whether to laugh or cry because of how terrible it is. And sometimes, you just give up and do both; simultaneously. THAT.
This series tests out some of the cheapest bargains of the internets, to see if they meet the expectations that their stock imagery suggests. Kind of like a cool Watchdog; with much less Anne Robinson and much more swearing and inappropriate comparisons.
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Expectation vs Reality: Part #9 > The £2.24 Lace LBD
Expectation > Black lace bodycon dress. £2.24 - and not being shipped from China - say whaaaat?! I was bidding on this bad boy and thought 'I'll be reckless and put a £3 max bid on' [like a pure baller, splashing the cash] and then all of a sudden, the auction was over and I'd won it for £2.24 including postage. First impressions were good - it looked lovely on the model [but we all know that first impressions can be well deceiving - take the 99p playsuit and 99p top for example *shudders.*] What was it like in reality?
The £2.24 dress - insanely sh*t, or remotely fit?
The £2.24 dress - insanely sh*t, or remotely fit?
The images above are stock images from the eBay listing
Reality > I love complaining. I really do. Nowt better than being a bit of a drama llama. However in the case of this dress, I actually can't find too much to fault - especially as the dress only cost me £2.24 and was delivered to my door within three working days. After the fiasco with my last Expectation vs Reality purchase ['Here's my boobs squashed into a lacy horse harness'] this dress is surprisingly... normal.
I mean granted, it does look a bit different than it does on the model - and I have defo some beef with the awkward length of the sleeves, but I can't really complain, given the price I paid for it and how pleasantly surprised I was to crack open some Expectation vs Reality mail and not do a sick in my mouth. And if all else fails - I can just roll the sleeves up, like I'm about to wash up.
Conclusion > I feel a little sad that I can't do loads of complaining here; especially that I haven't been able to use the phrase 'sick joke' in this post [my fave.]
However, I also feel triumphant in that I have discovered that sometimes, you can get stuff for next to nothing online - and it won't bring you out in hives / the urge to vom / hysterical laughter.
If you fancy seeing whether you can get one of these dresses for a similar price, check out the seller's shop on eBay. They have tons of similar items / listings, all super mega cheap. Also, a surprising amount of bondage gear - but maybe skip past that [unless you're into a bit of bondage, but in which case I'd probably still avoid buying it, as I wouldn't trust being bound and gagged by something that cost 99p. Hello hilarious / embarrassing A&E stories!]
However, I also feel triumphant in that I have discovered that sometimes, you can get stuff for next to nothing online - and it won't bring you out in hives / the urge to vom / hysterical laughter.
If you fancy seeing whether you can get one of these dresses for a similar price, check out the seller's shop on eBay. They have tons of similar items / listings, all super mega cheap. Also, a surprising amount of bondage gear - but maybe skip past that [unless you're into a bit of bondage, but in which case I'd probably still avoid buying it, as I wouldn't trust being bound and gagged by something that cost 99p. Hello hilarious / embarrassing A&E stories!]
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What are your thoughts? Have you had any epic Expectation vs Reality moments with things you've bought online, or any amazing bargains off eBay?
*all photo credits [other than my own work] to the seller on eBay
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