I’ve Been Had!

So, a couple of months ago I posted about Overstock.com.  I had been contacted by a representative who offered me a reusable 10% off code with no expiration date to share with my readers in exchange for a blog post.

Shortly thereafter, I used the code to order a new sewing machine.  My old one was getting finicky and was a major source of frustration.  I just wanted a simple machine without a hundred stitches I’d never use.  This Brother got good reviews everywhere I looked.  I’ve used it several times, and I like it fine.

My mother always told me not to sew over top of the pins (the ones holding the two pieces of fabric together, perpendicular to the line of stitching).  My home ec teacher said we could.  I’ve been ambiguous about it ever since, sometimes sewing over top, and sometimes pulling them out before the needle crosses over them.  I’ve never had any problems.

Then today, with my brand new machine, for the first time in 25 years, the thing my mother warned me about happened.  I didn’t take a pin out, and the needle hit it.  It bent the pin and jammed it down into the whatever-you-call-it under the needle until the point poked back up through the other side.

I had to take the whole plate off to get the thing out.  Considering the damage done to the pin, I was amazed that the machine still appears to be working fine.

The 10% off code, however, is another story.  I tried to use it the other day, with no luck.  I had a quick online chat with a customer service rep and she had no idea what I could be talking about, as Overstock evidently doesn’t have any codes that do not expire.

I sent an email to the original woman who contacted me with this whole thing, and it looks like her email is no longer working either.  On further inspection, she was in fact a representative of MSO Marketing, and not of Overstock directly.  (Although theoretically, the O could have hired a marketing company.)

So it’s all very strange.  It appears to have been some kind of sham, and yet I was able to use the code once.  And how some third party could benefit from my post about Overstock, I have no idea.  I may delve into this a little more and see what I can find out.  But it seems I’ve been bamboozled!  Hate that.

ETA:  I had one reader who was also able to use the code back in October.  However, I got looking and Elyse Mallone has contacted many bloggers with the same offer, and it’s generally accepted that she is some kind of scam artist. I really don’t know how it benefits her; I did not give her any personal or financial info, and all the links in my post were directly to Overstock.  Weird.

I have deleted my October post, and contacted Overstock (just the customer service dept.  Hopefully, they’ll be able to tell me who I really need to talk to).