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Ruby Lane has a rating of 1.82 stars from 41 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about Ruby Lane most frequently mention customer service problems. Ruby Lane ranks 2nd among Antique Furniture sites.
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I purchased a Monmouth Art Pottery Vase the other day for my birthday (hubby insisted I pick something out). My vase arrived very fast and very well packed by the seller, better than most of my packages from other sites. I have purchased on Ruby Lane in the past with no trouble either, so I was surprised by the bad reviews. I would buy here again without any hesitation. I did not pay a buyer fee? And have no idea what that is, see photo of invoice, maybe it is a fee sellers add themselves. I did decline the shipping insurance but that was a personal choice. I got a great vase from a great seller, I am a happy buyer.
The management of ruby lane is terrible, experiences as a buyer was a horrible ordeal. A former buyer mentioned how Rubylane has little idea in identifying fakes. While many I know will never buy again. Most of the best dealers are not here or have left. Wish I could give it no star. As they deserve none. Their customer service is unhelpful. The company is going downhill fast.
The management of ruby lane is terrible, experiences as a buyer was a horrible ordeal. A former buyer mentioned how Rubylane has little idea in identifying fakes. While many I know will never buy again. Most of the best dealers are not here or have left. Wish I could give it no star. As they deserve none. Their customer service is unhelpful. The company is going downhill fast.
Don't buy or sell with this company, their fees are hidden and they are engaging in practices that are possibly illegal including closing down shops but keeping the balances paid. Their Customer Service is a joke and they treat their sellers and employees really badly. Their best shops have left or are leaving, and they will probably be out of business within the next 18 months.
To leave this review is sad, my shop has over 1000 sales and over 400 5 star reviews and while trying to expand and open on rubylane, it won't let me, it says my item is not authentic...which one and how so and why shoot themselves in the foot as now they have given me a good reason to dislike them and not shop there. They are welcome to apologise and change their attitude if they choose.
I purchased a Monmouth Art Pottery Vase the other day for my birthday (hubby insisted I pick something out). My vase arrived very fast and very well packed by the seller, better than most of my packages from other sites. I have purchased on Ruby Lane in the past with no trouble either, so I was surprised by the bad reviews. I would buy here again without any hesitation. I did not pay a buyer fee? And have no idea what that is, see photo of invoice, maybe it is a fee sellers add themselves. I did decline the shipping insurance but that was a personal choice.
I got a great vase from a great seller, I am a happy buyer.
The seller was very rude, didn't get back to me email, so I called her. To let her know I wanted to make a return, then charged a restocking fee without telling me, totaling nearly the full amount of one item which wasn't cheap about $69. She didn't list the size of the item and wouldn't get back to me. As it turned out it was much bigger than the other one, and the other one had weird plastic eyes which was ugly. They were not as nice as pictures. I'm deleting my account. Read everything you can because there is no one to help with bad sellers. At least eBay will step in with people like this.
Tip for consumers:
Read everything you can and don’t buy unless you read reviews on the seller. I couldn’t find any reviews but bought anyway because I did make a return once and that person was very kind.
Products used:
None
I have been a shop owner on Rubylane for the past year. Prior to that I had tried other platforms like etsy and ebay, which were very disappointing. I take great pride in my authentic well vetted jewelry that I sell on Rubylane. I offer free shipping with insurance in the USA and provide excellent customer care.
I am appalled at seeing so many negative reviews here. While I have recently starting hosting my own website in order to expand, I continue to keep my shop on Rubylane for my loyal customers. As a shop owner, I know it is MY responsibility to make sure my customers are happy and want to continue doing business with me. Rubylane's platform has nothing to do with doing the right thing for my customers. Thank you.
Abby Rose Fine Vintage Jewelry
I purchased an item from a seller stating all in working order. When I received the item only one thing worked and it was very dirty. I spent my own money returning. In transit one piece was broken. That piece didn't work when I received it. The seller should have refunded me immediately, but it has been a fight the entire way, with nothing refunded. The Ruby Lane customer service is absolutely no help. I will never buy from again. I have never had anything like this happen on any other selling website. Other sellers refunded and made right immediately with an apology.
Tip for consumers:
Will never use again. Seller totally uncooperative and will never see refund. She just made a bundle off me.
Products used:
Only one item worked and all dirty
Ruby Lane does it right.
I am a seller of antique furniture on Ruby Lane and have been for the last nine years. It took a while for me to understand how the Internet works when selling. But all the information needed is available in their help section.
I have sold many items on Ruby Lane. They have been very helpful, and respectful when I had a problem. I was in no way debased At any time. The staff has always been helpful, understanding, and respectful.
Just recently I discovered they had a shop mentor assistance. I sent an email requesting this free service. My email was answered in 24 hours. Within a week or 10 days I had a very explicit and to the point email from the shop mentor explaining to me what I could do to better display my items and what I could do to promote sales. For the money I spend each month for about 150 items I could not get better exposure or advertising anywhere else. The more items you add the more hits you seem to get on your page. I dont know why. But I was told to do it and it works.
Been trying to open account Ruby Lane has used every excuse possible to not let me. I am a minority and believe they are prejudiced certain groups of people.
Bad Company I am an older female in New York and a minority. I am researching possible legal action as I am being treated rudely and discriminated against!
This company is engaging in really sketchy practices. They're requiring sellers to collect sales tax, even if the seller is overseas, and so nut subject to sales tax. If an item is returned the seller is forced to refund the sales tax from their own account, but the tax paid to RL goes into their pocket. Huh?
And DON'T trust Trust Pilot reviews! Sellers who have left or been kicked off for complaining about illegal practices have their TP reviews deleted. Keep in mind TP is a paid service, paid for by the business, so they then ask to have all their negative reviews removed. Don't trust either company.
Products used:
web site
Most of the time my shopping experiences there have been great- but that's only because of the sellers I buy from. The site itself and the people who run it however- are just horrible people. They are very rude and unprofessional. I really do think that the site is just run by some weirdo in his garage. The platform is very outdated, like IBM designed it in the 80's. It's clunky and prone to errors. They treat their dealers very poorly- and now charge fees for the privilege of shopping on their site- have you ever heard of having to pay an extra buyer fee? The sellers don't have it any better- they pay a lot just to have a shop- needs to pay extra for "marketing"- and now are being charged almost as much as ebay charges for a final value fee. You can find most of the same items from the same sellers on Ebay and Etsy- at better prices so it makes no sense to keep shopping on this stupid site. They literally shut down for several days to "upgrade" their site. Nothing changed, it didn't get better- but suddenly when you check out you get hit with fees. I would have given it 4 or 5 stars for the sellers- but I will just buy from them on other sites from now on. Btw- they put it on the buyer to purchase shipping insurance.
Tip for consumers:
Shop around - you will probably find the exact item on ebay or etsy.
Stuff of rubylane doesn't hear about democracy. CORRUPTED. They run their business in favorite of certain group of privelage dealer. They could do almost everything with unaware buyers and get away. Honest Dealer was rejected to sell on Rubyline without any good reason.
Very disappointed
I have had a shop on Rubylane for 10 years. I realize changes are inevitable, however, I have been disappointed with some recent shop fee charges. On the service fees page under account, it states that there is a 6.7% on the total cost of item(s) sold. I was curious about that, so, I sent an email inquiring. I received a reply that this also includes a service fee of 6.7% on the shipping and insurance. This is WRONG! Shipping and insurance is not a profit for shops. It is what the post office charges to ship and insure a sold item. To charge 6.7% on the cost of shipping and insurance is WRONG. If the company insists on this practice then they need to explain that the TOTAL COST includes a 6.7% service fee not only on the item sold but also a 6.7% service fee on shipping and insurance. Lay it ALL out for your Rubylane Sellers.
Please avoid at all costs this site as they sell fake items described as gold but they are not.
I bought gold earrings from them paying lots of money, when received they were plastic and not gold.
My luck I paid with PayPal so I recovered my money.
They are a shame!
I've purchased many jewelry items from Ruby Lane during the last 20 years or so... imagine my shock when I placed an item in my shopping cart and discovered all the charges that are being tacked on. I left the item in my cart overnight, while I did some comparison shopping at other sites. I learned that I could buy essentially the same items for a corresponding price... without the added charges. The decision to not buy from Ruby Lane was very straightforward.
When I purchase something online I always get a notification when the item has shipped and a tracking number, both which I didn't get once I placed my order through RubyLane. I was clueless as to when and if I would receive what I ordered. Luckily I just received it in the mail, but the lack of correspondence between customer and buyer makes me not want to order from this online store again. Maybe others have had a better experience.
Rita Brand was a $#*!! She is rude and a total $#*!. I will never buy anything from this site again, what a joke.
Our purchase from Vianova a vendor on RuyLand came to us in pieces seriously a terrible wrapping job! We have not received a refund zero help from RubyLane be very careful
I called this antiques shop, Green Country Estates, a Ruby Lane vendor in Tulsa to ask about purchasing some Waterford crystal glasses to replace some from a vintage 1970s set. This merchant, Ms. Kelley, was so well informed about the provenance of her merchandise that she was able to help me ascertain that the ones in her shop had been blown at approximately the same time as mine, which is important in hand blown glass, as each artisan has a slightly different technique. The glasses arrived promptly and no breakage They were a good match for mine. I would purchase from her any time
Two years experience w/ that was quite successful. After just starting to know EBay, stunned to find standards horrible low, coast sneaky high, they hide 1-10% costs until to late. Rl golden in comparison. They police sell vigulantly, respect their ethics-walk the talk.
An aside, dislike new ascetic format, looks hooky, now former elegance.
I purchased a Rolex watch that arrived broken. The seller blamed it on the shipper. However, after taking it to the top high end watch repair company in my city, they informed me that it was the (undisclosed in the listing) after-market adjustments made to the watch that were the reason for it not working. The watch was sold to me claiming that it was fully inspected and serviced prior to shipping. The date that the watch was stuck on told otherwise, meaning it wasn't working before they shipped it. It took over 6 months of fighting to resolve and Ruby Lane refused any help or take responsibility. It's between you and the seller and when the seller has proven unethical business practices, Ruby Lane will not take action against them. So they do not care if the sellers on their website are legitimate or not, they just want their cut from the sale. Whilst Ruby Lane is a platform for private sellers and not the seller themselves, they do nothing to vet or monitor proven unethical sellers, they are willfully complicit.
The CEO is unhinged and also really dishonest. He actually told his customers - his source of cash flow - to take a hike! I've never known a successful business that stayed afloat by telling their customers to take their business elsewhere. Good luck surviving in this economic climate with that attitude. Here is the email he sent:
"Dear Shop Owners,
As CEO, I am compelled to write this note to you following a whirlwind of misunderstandings, false claims, and rather unprofessional remarks made about Ruby Lane, myself and my staff that need to be addressed.
Thankfully, these observations and recommendations do not apply to all of our dealers, but there were enough to warrant this note.
First and Foremost - Sales Tax
I think by now most shops know and understand that Ruby Lane is required by state laws to collect and remit Sales Tax for you and your buyers. We fought this for 2 years, incurring costly legal fees, hoping for the conclusion that we would not be required by law to do so because we were not involved in your transactions, but that did not happen. Because Ruby Lane is now potentially liable for all of your Sales Tax prior to various dates starting in 2018 and 2019, plus all Sales Tax going forward, we had to start collecting Sales Tax immediately in the 4th quarter of 2019 -- we had no choice. You can thank your local lawmakers for that. If you think Ruby Lane, or in fact any other website now charging Sales Tax, is making money off of it, you are misinformed.
If you're currently selling on any marketplace, show or event and you or someone on your behalf is not collecting and remitting Sales Tax for you, then you are potentially liable for all back taxes and penalties in the state for which you have triggered a Sales Tax collection obligation. The penalties and interest for many states are very severe.
We estimated the cost to administer the collection and remittance of Sales Tax to us was about 4% of total sales based on 2018 numbers. This includes, but is not limited to, additional staffing for collection and filings, 3rd party assistance, tax advisors and attorneys in 37 states, accounting for our liability to pay the Sales Tax when shops leave but don't pay what they owe or try to evade the system (unfortunately this is already happening), existing staff resources for administration, tech work and communication, and future audits. And yes, this is tied to sales amounts, and not a flat fee because of our liability. Sales Tax not paid or skirted is a lot more on a $1,000 item than on a $10 one.
Also, as previously communicated, we are working with PayPal and other 3rd party processors for options so Ruby Lane can take the Sales Tax directly, rather than have to have you take the Sales Tax amount from your buyer. As it is not quite clear to some, this is not a trivial thing to do. We cannot go from a system where we never touch the transaction, to one where we are involved in the transaction overnight. If we could do it now we would, but we cannot.
Buyer Service Fee
Since Ruby Lane is traditionally dealer-centric, we decided to implement a Buyer Service Fee to help offset the cost to our dealers. But after the announcement, it was obvious that shops were very concerned about this Buyer Service Fee. So after a few weeks, we decided to invite shop owners to take a survey and find out how the majority felt.
That survey showed the majority of shops wanted to take control of the cost by paying the fee themselves. And no, we did not rig the survey as we've been accused of doing. I would have hoped that after 22 years I would have gained more trust and respect, but obviously some don't understand my moral integrity and frankly, it's deeply disheartening.
Seller Service Fee
As stated in other communications, we decided it was time to add a 3.75% fee on the seller side, as we had not raised fees in years. The maintenance fee would be reduced slightly for smaller shops but basically remain as is because we would leave the site open for unrestricted buyer and seller communications, knowing full well some shop owners would not be so honest in reporting sales.
As it turns out, this was a wise choice as many shops are unfortunately trying to skirt paying Sales Tax and Ruby Lane fees. It's one thing to be dishonest to Ruby Lane; it's another to evade State Sales Tax laws. Some interesting facts: Year Over Year reported sales volume last week was down 85%, while site sales were just down single digits which we attribute to sales happening off site and not being reported, and the introduction of Sales Tax and Buyer Service Fee.
As the year progresses, we most likely are going to be forced to take a tougher stance against dishonest sellers. If you are one of those sellers, I would prefer that you sell on a different site for the good of Ruby Lane and its dealers. If we see immediate improvement in shop behavior we won't need to do anything and just let the states handle the shops not playing by the rules. But as they say, a few bad apples spoil the barrel, so let's all try to be honest here folks and do the right thing. Sellers actively promoting tax evasion, which is in violation of the law and Ruby Lane's Terms of Use Seller Agreement, will be closed immediately upon discovery.
That said, 2.75% of the 3.75% is meant mainly to support our continued cost of running Ruby Lane, and so we can invest more in marketing efforts. One key marketing avenue we've never been able to do is anything related to a profit share or affiliate programs, where a 3rd party advertises your products in emails, texts, blogs, Instagram, Pinterest and other websites, and in return gets a small commission on the sale. We now are able to do that.
Ridiculous and Greedy
Some shop owners have told us about how greedy and ridiculous we are to charge additional fees and that we are making money hand over fist. Again this is far from the truth. We've always gone out of our way to help dealers in this tough market as best we can. We try to be as fair as possible and charge fees to make our ends meet. We listen to our dealers and try to do what's best for them, and Ruby Lane as a company.
Please remember we provide a website platform, host your shop, create reports, do SEO, AIP images, have fraud prevention, protect you and your customers from hackers, provide award-winning customer support to buyers and sellers, market your items and the site, collect, report, and remit Sales Tax for you, curate items, keep up with desktop and mobile technology, create newsletters, handle wish lists, create and promote sales, plus much more.
Those shops who are disparaging Ruby Lane in public (forums, reviews, and in communication with customers) are in turn disparaging each and every shop owner. This is not only true for Ruby Lane but really any marketplace. Complaints and concerns should be addressed in forums for shop owners or sent directly to Ruby Lane. Buyers are free, of course, to address their concerns in public but shop owners should hopefully strive to use their best business sense.
Choices
We know there are other choices out there for marketplaces, shows, events, and your own sites. We feel strongly that we offer the best marketplace for curated vintage and antiques at a competitive price, run with high integrity and a general respect and well-being for our dealers.
If you do choose to go to one of the large publicly traded sites, remember to compare apples to apples - final value fees, commission, "free shipping" subsidizing, closed communication, fees on top of fees. And if you're trying a new site, show or event, please make sure they handle the Sales Tax for you.
Wrapping Up
Although I hope you find the above information helpful, this note concerning Sales Tax does not offer a substitute for professional legal or tax advice. If you have questions about your tax liability or concerns about compliance, please consult your qualified legal, tax, or accounting professional.
I truly appreciate all the shops over our 22 years that have helped build Ruby Lane together. If we work together, we can continue to grow and prosper. We hope our long relationship can weather these growing pains and continue to evolve and thrive.
We look forward to a strong year in 2020 and thank you for working with us.
Sincerely,
Tom Johnson
President & CEO
Ruby Lane Inc."
Tip for consumers:
Don't!
Products used:
Website
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Stroll down Ruby Lane's cobblestone streets to buy and sell quality Antique & Art, Doll, Vintage, and Jewelry items from the world's largest curated marketplace since 1998.
