Don’t lynch me!

59 comments

1. that grey tux is too amazing!

2. While there’s no way in hell that I’ll ever be able to win a bid on eaby, those acid wash jeans and plaid dress are indeed fantastic.

3. My goodness Susie! You’re an expert at interesting finds.

4. The jeans are superb! And anyone can win on eBay if they snipe. Don’t try to do it manually, peeps!

5. What’s interesting about the vintage eBay sellers is that the pic makes all the difference. I’ve got a friend with a bad, headless mannequin, and her lovely finds don’t command much respect. She always talks about hiring a cute young gal to model, but even with that eye appeal I don’t suppose there is any redemption for the Jeanus Horrendous.
   (Younger readers: Yes, women did wear those. With a can of Aqua Net.)

6. I’m not sure how, but I actually managed to stumble across Indie Cult Vintage yesterday or the day before, which is a bit of a coincidence.
   I saved loads of pictures onto my computer for inspiration – there are some stunning pieces. Unfortunately, I can’t afford the posting prices, even if you didn’t cause bidding prices to soar!

7. I love Indie Cult… they always seem to be great at interpreting vintage fashion…
   🙂

8. I love Indie Cult… they always seem to be great at interpreting vintage fashion…
   🙂

9. Indie Cult Vintage are amazing, but I think the girl who models the stuff has such a wicked figure, she makes anything look good. I do wonder where they find this stuff though, they always have the most amazing pieces, sadly, the mojority of them are in size xs 🙁

10. I love what you posted! I’m sure they will find their bid price so much higher after your post, lol

11. ** WARNING! **
    i hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this seller practices bad business. she’s copied other ebayers auctions (thereby breaking ebay rules) and threatened retaliation to those who might report her. i also understand that she removes labels off of newer clothes so that she can sell them as ever-so-desirable “vintage” items. she changes her user ID so that people don’t catch onto her.
    obviously it’s your choice what to promote what you want and i don’t expect you to take my word for it… but i have seen this story shared in a few forums.

12. There are so many great vintage finds on eBay but I have never once bid. I’m not really sure why, I think I feel too much pressure and uncertainty. Will I win? If I win and I get the item, will it be as good as I hoped? Etc. etc.

13. Indie Cult always has the best things!

14. No to the jeans. No, no, no. I saw someone at a bowling alley wearing something like them. They were too small. Her crushed velvet crop top was too small. Her mullet, however, was huge. I will never be able to shake that image.

15. i don’t much like the jean cut outs (imagining them on anyone other than a stick thin model makes me start sweating) but the cape and prom dress remind me why i love vintage when recently i’ve been wondering if it’s just a fad for me.

16. I love those boots.

17. I rarely disagree with your choices Susie, but I must protest those jeans. Maybe I’m just old enough to remember the first times they came around, and I didn’t much like them then.
    Love the plaid dress though.

18. Hmm…I was burned by this seller and I wouldn’t recommend. Really, it was the only bad experience I’ve had with the big ebay vintage sellers and I buy a lot. I paid waaay too much for a dress that arrived with a hole and was obviously poorly shortened by the seller herself. It was so tatty I couldn’t wear it. When I complained about the hole it was implied that it was my fault. Never again! But the pics are pretty to look at.

19. I hope my Jesus comment wasn’t stalkerish/creepy..
    🙂

20. I adore ‘wtf’ items, so much more interesting than “oooh, cute” items…

21. I liked the floral dress you wore some posts ago! Simply amazing!!!!
    Your blog is so nice!
    What about mine? Would you link me???

22. I HIGHLY recommend this seller! I have bought over 20 pieces from her over the past 4 years (they have been on ebay for many years) and every piece is well selected and presented. I have never had a problem with the seller; very professional! She even refunded shipping when the article was late and it was not even her fault but the post office’s!!..Kelles is a fantastic asset to the ebay community and I LOVE her ability to find vintage that is really hard to find!

23. yea this seller was notorious for shill bidding a while back and selling stuff that wasn’t actually vintage, like sewing her own straps onto a new liz claiborne skirt and selling those luella for target dresses as vintage. i just remember because it was quite a big deal on vintage forums.
    as for her ability to find vintage, most of her stuff is bought off ebay and then resold again. buying id: thefantasyalive
    120218965491 vs. 270216896217
    150214222452 vs. 330216921721
    plus sized women’s jacket??
    don’t know if she still shill bids , but it all just seems kind of sketchy.

24. maggie- there is a luella dress for sale right now, it is not listed as vintage. it is listed as vintage style…in the new dress category.
    also, lots of sellers buy inventory on ebay…it is very common and ebay even tells sellers to set up buying ids.

25. plenty of sellers buy and resell all on ebay..what is the difference of buying on ebay and buying it at a thrift store? It’s BUSINESS..to actually give someone’s buying id away on a blog forum is really wrong!

26. you’re right, it’s not just indiecult that buys and resells, most of the big sellers do. it is just business, but knowing that somehow loses its appeal for me to want to buy from them that’s all. what’s the big deal about an ID name? if we’re just going to see what she bought a few days later being sold in the store, it’s not that secretive, is it? as for the luella dress up right now, either she has a couple of the same dresses, or she won it herself a while back and relist it again. it was listed as a vintage piece a few times . i just have a problem with dishonest sellers and i don’t meant to target this seller specifically, but ebay just isn’t what it used to be.

27. Wow… a bit of a hefty debate going on here.
    The truth is I have never bid on Indie Cult Vintage items yet but I plan on doing so within the next week so if any of these accusations are true, of course I will see it as my duty to comment back.
    However, having been in personal contact with the seller, she has refuted these claims….
    Is it possible that people have mistaken Indie Cult Vintage for another seller?
    In any case, I’m not really equipped to comment and as I don’t participate in vintage forums, these issues are news to me….
    We shall see…we shall see…
    But looking at the current listings, I don’t seem to see any ‘new’ items masquerading as vintage….

28. I’ve never avidly shopped on eBay; it seems the site is too infiltrated with frauds and fakes, so I’m too intimidated by it now.
    I’m glad you are getting something out of the experience.

29. wow. what a great post, Thank you!
    I really like Tuxedo ruffle plaid mini dress!

30. i am positive that this is the same seller. her link and store photos were accompanied with the ebay horror stories. people who have been scammed by indie cult vintage have been telling their stories not only on vintage forums–i’ve read about it on the fashion spot as well.
    one can’t get too upset over her buying and reselling, but copying other sellers’ current or recent auctions outright is ethically wrong and going against ebay rules. so is threatening to get revenge on anyone who reports her.
    and, perhaps not that it’s against the rules, but if you go through her older feedback, you’ll see evidence of how this seller changed her user ID name. what honest seller needs to do that? and more than once?
    after you promote her store on your blog, kelles is obviously going to do everything in her power to make sure your experience is a positive one. you won’t be experiencing this seller as an anonymous buyer, you’ll be experiencing it as someone who’ll she’ll bend over backwards for. that’s just the nature of publicity and power.
    it’s ironic that you named this post “don’t lynch me!” indie cult vintage’s victims probably want to do just that.

31. i don’t mean to say that you should be lynched. you simply didn’t know any better. but now that you have been informed about this side of the issue, you have a responsibility to report all sides of the story. when there are clearly so many people out there who have ripped off by indie cult vintage, you’re disrespecting those scammed by her and doing your readers a disservice by keeping this knowledge to yourself.

32. My point is if I haven’t experienced these disasters myself, how can I report them back to readers? You don’t recount personal experiences yourself but reference forums which I haven’t come across (perhaps you could post links from TFS which I do ahve access to….).
    You also don’t leave personal contact details for me to follow up on this….
    There is also positive experiences recounted in this comment section. Therefore, it’s hard to get a finite conclusion out of all of this save for me buying from Indie Cult Vintage under a different eBay name…. (which I have…)

33. Here’s more detail about my personal experience with Indie Cult. The dress I purchased about a couple years ago was advertised as a vintage mini sweater dress, size xs/s in perfect condition. I paid about $100. What I got was definitely not any older than the ’80’s and had been manipulated by the seller to resemble a minidress. It obviously had once been a large muu muu of some kind…she chopped off the length and poorly hemmed it (did I mention it was a sweater knit??) and then sloppily took in the side seams to make it fit a smaller person. I wear lots of vintage and don’t need perfect condition stuff, but when it’s been manipulated and not disclosed I have issues. I don’t care that she buys and resells on ebay, lots of people do that.
    I’m not bad mouthing her shop, just telling my experience. They obviously have lots of happy customers that return. But I prefer to spend my money with sellers that deliver awesome quality like Oliveshoppe, Thriftwares and Patchwork Princess.

34. i am a customer of indie cult vintage and i have been around since the beginning. initially, the store name was designer (something) because they were selling more designer stuff and less vintage. shoppes change their names all the time when they come up with a name that more suits their collection. i believe the name change was over 3 years ago. ebay even recommends having “vintage” in your name if you are selling vintage. just good business.
    the seller changed their name one time…to reflect that they had become more of a vintage shoppe than a designer shoppe.
    as far as copying other sellers…how? i have seen sellers copy indiecult photos and put them in their auctions. that is against ebay policy. all sellers use similar titles and learn from each other. if one seller sells a piece really well, another seller will want to find a similar piece to sell…that is just good business. i am sure the world of vintage is fairly small and sellers find and purchase similar pieces. this is copying? is it copying when apple tries to come up with a product to compete with microsoft?
    how does one seller copy a recent or current auction of another seller?
    you simply are not making any sense. it is only against ebay policy if one seller copies photos of another seller and uses them in their auction. indiecult has never done this…they have their own model and take all their own photos.
    my personal experience with indie cult vintage is unmatched by any other ebay seller. they are constantly refunding shipping charges (since i am an international customer) if they quote too high. i have never received any pieces with flaws or damage. they are always much better than the photos show. one of my friends received a piece with a stain on the lining, on the INSIDE and they refunded her and gave her the dress.
    as for the issue with new pieces being sold as vintage…have you seen the auctions? you can see all the photos…there is no mystery here. what in the world are you seeing that is not vintage? i read about that liz claiborne issue when it happened and that was well over 2 years ago…and the auction was canceled by the seller and a note was left on the seller’s ME page stating that the item came to them that way…they get tons of reconstructed pieces from people in the local area. they had no idea it was not vintage, there were no labels or tags…they only had information from the person who brought them the piece and they canceled the auction as soon as they were informed.
    lastly, nothing that you have stated in reportable under any ebay rules. and, reporting is 100% anonymous…there can be no retaliation.
    amazing, you are talking about a seller with thousands and thousands of transactions.

35. meli – you are talking about one item from 2 years ago? you should contact indie cult and i am sure they will refund your payment. they have never been anything but gracious and generous with me.
    they posted on their ME page about a part-time worker that they had that they discovered was not communicating with their customers at the high level of standards they required…you could have even dealt with that person.
    give them a chance to make it right.
    olive and patch are friends of indiecult. patch has even visited them in seattle. it was on their ME page last year.

36. You’ve made your point, dream. Just stay put in your favorite shops so we can all shop indie…

37. It is true, she has a long reputation for being really rude, threatening, and generally practicing BAD business. It is a shame, since she does have nice things sometimes. But if that comes with a stab in the-back guarantee, then no thank you. I like nastygalvintage, since they have a really nice customer service and great selection too.

38. Wow, rude, threatening, back-stabbing, bad business? Crazy since according to unique user feedback stats almost 40% of indiecult business is from repeat customers.
    Well, I guess we all know what seller was behing this attack against indie. Can it be any clearer?

39. I don’t really understand all this back-handed annonymous negative commenting here…. surely all the more great selected vintage on eBay the better? The high bids build up on a lot of items these days… nothing wrong with that…

40. AHa! so it was you… one day nobody is bidding, the next, everyone is bidding to the 100s.
    you my dear, have a very scary power.
    use it only for good. hahaha

41. Does anybody know of any similar ebay stores that sell mens clothes?? It’s so difficult to find moderately avant garde or unusual vintage clothing for guys, unless one wants to spend hours and hours typing in different combinations of keywords mostly to no prevail xxxthanks

42. I have always been iffy on bidding on eBay vintage finds… I don’t know… I don’t trust the sizing…

43. This is who Indie Cult Vintage really is, a 36 year old lawyer making a killing .
    This is a newspaper article from seattlepi.com dated April 17th, 2007.
    Others are willing to pay a nice penny for something unusual, like the vintage clothes sold by Kelly Weaver.
    Weaver’s career took a surprising turn a few years ago when the international tax law attorney started spending her weekends selling on eBay vintage clothes from her huge collection.
    “I was really shocked at how well it went and how lucrative it was,” said Weaver, 35.
    So, after her legal work decreased, Weaver turned her hobby into her main source of income. Now she works 20 to 25 hours a week on her eBay store, “indiecultvintage,” compared with the 60- to 70-hour weeks that weren’t unusual as a lawyer. Last year, she says she grossed about $150,000.
    It was this ease — and the hefty profit margin Weaver made on vintage clothes — that hooked her. Weaver says it’s not unusual for her to sell items for 10 times what she paid for them. In recent months her average item has sold for $115, although not long ago she sold for $920 a vintage white fox fur bolero jacket she had bought for $20.
    Weaver says it helped that she showed a photo of model Kate Moss wearing a similar jacket on her auction page.
    Ahh, the power of celebrity marketing.
    Weaver also distinguishes herself as a seller by displaying clothes on live models rather than on hangers or laid flat. She adds her own touches to some of the garments by cropping, re-hemming and sewing on new buttons or other decorations.
    Weaver has more than 100 coats and between 100 and 200 dresses, and she’s known for rarely wearing the same outfit twice.
    “I have the option of wearing any possible thing that comes through my doors,” she said. “You’re not marketing items as brand-new or never worn.”
    Weaver also is a real estate investor and likes the flexible schedule and the creativity inherent in running her eBay store. But there is a downside.
    “There’s not a lot of intellectual stimulation,” she said. “From a certain perspective, I’m just peddling stuff that I find at junk stores. It is kind of weird. But I find solace in the fact that my education has provided a background for me to become an entrepreneur.”
    Not many of Weaver’s stylish dresses and tunics end up in Seattle. They’re far more likely to go to fashionistas in New York and Los Angeles, and as far away as Australia.

44. Geezussssss! Y’all are a bunch of SHEEP! Indiecult is a known shiller and if you want HALF the carp she’s selling look in the childrens section on Ebay where you can get the same thing for under $20! That’s where she buys most of it. Oh! And a VERY large percentage of whay she sells isn’t even vintage!!
    You know all those xxxxxxs 80s Cropped Biker Jackets she sells? Bought brand new on Ebay for $32! NOT vintage. NOT cropped.
    She is WITH OUT A DOUBT one of the most unethical Ebay sellers of Vintage ever!!!
    Want a couple of her buying and shilling IDs as proof?

45. I’m part of the board. I was personally messaged by her. There’s a whole going on with those “one of a kind” flapper dresses over at Nasty Gal, but since everyone doesn’t mind that things are BOUGHT NEW AND RESOLD AS VINTAGE, I won’t get in to that.
    Buyers, please use toolhaus.org to get to know your buyer. Some aren’t as clean as they look.
    http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=indiecultvintage&Dirn=Received+by&ref=home

46. Ok, lets get this straight. IF you intentionally sell a fake and claim it is something else, you are breaking various laws, the very least of which would be federal mail fraud (mailing over state lines). Unfortunately, it will be up to buyers to police themselves and act on any unfotunate discoveries. Enough complaints and eventually someone will act and make somebody a poster child over this. Additionally, I believe the person blogging about sellers has the moral obligation and responsibility to know the difference and disclose any relationship they may have, and report the truth. Don’t say its vintage if it ain’t, or atleast put a disclaimer. It affects your credibility, and with the evolution in consumer laws, could someday get you in real hot water. (I hope not).
    Anyone ripping off a buyer over state lines will eventually get caught, and should seek legal advice regarding state, but likely federal prosecution if a decision is made to continue such deceptive practices. You should be advised that federal courts, do NOT offer probation. There are minimum mandatory penalties. Get caught, get prosecuted, do real time. Any questions?

47. Indiecult is indeed one of the most unethical sellers on eBay. Her background in international law helps her get away with all sorts of things, FOR NOW.
    She has a few shilling ID’s registered in Switzerland, similar to how other-big time criminals will get a secret Swiss bank accounts to hide illegal activities.
    Yeah, she’s a FRAUD, a very smart and sneaky FRAUD, and she is VERY mean and nasty as well. To all you people who think she is so wonderful: you have obviously never been one of her victims or you would be singing a different tune.
    All I can say is this: She will get what’s coming to her in the end. She obviously has a few screws loose in the common sense department, and her head has gotten a little TOO big. I think she is delusional at times, thinking she’s never going to get caught. She WILL get caught; she has before and she will again.
    Be vigilant, people. Report her when you can, make sure to network with other victims of hers, and keep blogging about her. Sooner or later she will be brought down. The bigger they get, the harder they fall.

48. Why was the link removed that showed evidence of her evil deeds? Several posts were removed as a matter of fact.
    This is what indiecultvintage is all about:
    http://www.kiboshapparel.com/tmp/
    You will also notice that she has taken down all her auctions and switched her feedback to Private. She has also deleted all the pictures from her closed auctions because too much damming evidence was being presented.
    I suggest you take a look at the link and ask yourself if that’s an honest person who deserves promotion on this Blog.
    Ripping labels out of things and sewing them into cheap, new items so you can pass them off as designer is FRAUD and COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT!

49. The above comments made by Suzanne… were made by indiecultvintage herself. She is posing as a satisfied customer, but that’s REALLY indie, all right.
    No mistake about it.
    She is notorious for using posting ID’s on discussion forums so she can defend herself, because nobody else will.
    Keyword: the way she spells ‘shoppe’. Not to mention the plethora of paragraphs. And the general writing style…..
    yep, that’s indie!
    Hi Indie!!

50. Dope—did you mean Meli is really Kelley (Indiecultvintage)?? She’s the one that recounts INTRICATE details that ONLY the seller would remember from years ago & uses the old english spelling “shoppe” ???? (next time try to be more objective, Kelley–Your 10-inch post was so transparent, I’m insulted. You really must think we are all a herd of sheep, and not as crafty & sly or literate as you.)!
    Anyway, copying other sellers auctions referred to plagerism–copying verbatim–cut & paste. She puts as much effort into the description as she does her dufoid facial expression. The bulk of all the auctions had the exact same info over & over & over–scant detail about the actual item being auctioned. Kelley’s closed down now, and removed all pics so eBay or other
    ‘police’ have little to peruse in their efforts to crack her down.
    Oh, and “Meli” quit lying about your name changes–there were 4 SELLER accounts: …….along the lines of 1. K.weaver 2. fashion something 3. Supercultvintage 4. INdiecult… It’s there on eBay for all to see. That’s NOT including the buying id’s on eBay… the 2 I’m aware of are Giantfriends & thefantasyalive.
    See ya, wouldn’t wanna BE ya” ,,, Kelles! Good LUCK this summer “designing” & “consulting” for tons of fashion houses…. we sheep need a break from your idocity, cheating & shenanigans.

51. Here’s some of her user names if anyone cares to know them or search their bidding history…
    designernorthwest
    k.weaver
    supercultvintage
    fashion-fool
    hungry.freaks
    fawnkisses
    mamalovesyoutoo
    All I have to say about this is “What goes around comes around”…everyone gets caught + brought to justice sometime, it’s only a matter of when + how…
    I don’t think people are meaning for this to be so negative, but I think people are fed up with being lied to + ripped off, so it’s all just kinda coming out this way.
    As for me I work hard for the money I make +
    respect + value myself too much to allow myself to be taken advantage of by a scam artist…

52. INDIECULT STOLE THIS PICTURE!!!!
    http://www.indiecultvintage.com/ebay/logos/face2.jpg
    ORIGINAL:
    http://www.kittenmag.com/k44/k442021.html

53. http://www.kiboshapparel.com/tmp/
    serious stuff!!
    i am not a ICV hater…I have bought about 10 or so items from her and will continue as her stuff is gorgeous…but I would never spend more than $60. She has so many buying ids that she has shilled with: ones you havent mentioned include giantfriends…this ID also purchased one of those purple flapper dresses that ICV and Nasty Gal sold.
    her ‘about me’ section makes me laugh so much…making it sound like she is taking a wee holiday…and not that she is obv being forced to take a break due to the furore surrounding the YSL dress/pants!

54. ICV’s other buying ID giantfriends also purchased a couple of THOSE flapper dresses that ICV and nasty gal were selling!
    LOSER!!

55. Well, she’s still out there. Screwed me long ago, then emails me to ask for my reserve on an item “to see if I can afford them”. Dirty *^$)! Using cindynewyork as her ID currently…and with the huge amounts of stuff she’s buying, she’s still turning a profit somewhere.

56. Well, she’s still out there. Screwed me long ago, then emails me to ask for my reserve on an item “to see if I can afford them”. Dirty *^$)! Using cindynewyork as her ID currently…and with the huge amounts of stuff she’s buying, she’s still turning a profit somewhere.

57. In these crazy financial times I would like to know if anyone knows where I might find some reputable blogs that have information about[url=http://www.gazillionare.info/offshore-hedge-fund-investment.html] offshore hedge fund investment[/url] . If you do, please PM with info. Thanks

58. Indie has some amazing vintage, but Some pieces are real and some are fake. Most pieces have the tags removed, trying to fool people. I have had some on the same pieces that were from the 1990s and indie said they were 70s. Amazing. She is making the cash though. The educated people know complete authenticity doesn’t come from indie cult…..(the name indie cult makes no sense either….)

59. You’re just spreading gossip, usually placed by competing vintage sellers. What are your words based on? An anonymous post! That is all. No proof. I know for a fact that vintage sellers will go online and smear their competitors, especially the ones who are successful. I have seen it done to other top vintage stores not on ebay too. You should be ashamed of yourself. You are the kind of person that gives us women a bad name.

Comments are closed.