Bad news for anyone hoping to buy a taxidermized zebra head on
Fab.com: they're all sold out. Good news if you're a zebra.
Guys, these things were $2,448 (originally $3,600), and apparently that's a good deal to someone because they're gone. I don't care if you've got Seacrest money. $2,448-worth of disposable income that can go toward taxidermized safari animals is just an absurd thing to ponder. How many of them were there? Are there, like, 400 people with $2,448 and a taste for stuffed and mounted game? Amazing.
Oh, a few words about Fab.com -- it's basically Gilt Groupe for design, it's only been around for about five months (you can read about
Fab.com's growth here and
valuation here), and it's where many of my dollars have been going lately with the holidays and my sister's 30th birthday coming (OMG WE'RE ALL OLD FARTS).
Fab.com's excellent curation and prices get me every time. Modern jewelry, quirky housewares, even totally functional things like bikes. It's basically like every indie design shop came to me. Of course, Etsy does that too, but Fab.com's goods aren't all handmade (some are though), and the site lacks the Twilight magnets and crocheted doily dolls and related
WTF-ery of Etsy. Or
this. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Etsy and was very involved in that community for years, and I have the utmost respect for the creative enterprise it's become. Some of the most talented artists on earth can be found in that community. But the massive size of the site can be daunting.
Anyway, a few quick drawbacks about Fab.com, which I hope will be addressed in the near future, since they're still pretty much in start-up mode and have a lot of room to evolve.
1.) The site has no search (!!!!). As someone who creates digital content for a living, this sort of user experience could cause me to asphyxiate.
2.) They make PREPOSTEROUSLY LARGE credit card holds. Like over $100 per item. This is a LEGIT complaint. I'm not sure if the holds are in proportion to how much you spend, because I did place one order for a little over $200. And since every item appears to be processed separately from different vendors, I've experienced about eight temporary hold of over $100, each of which lasted several days. Which FUCKING SUCKS because I try to shop using only money I actually have (hairflip!) and therefore use my debit card, so substantial amounts of cash (in my world, and probably yours, a few hundred dollars in your checking account is kind of a big deal) have been suddenly disappearing and reappearing. I get that that's the nature of how temporary holds work, but I wish that had been more clearly disclosed at the time I made those purchases. Perhaps they don't clearly denote that, because, you know... IT REALLY SUCKS. I spent $5 for a tape measurer that looks like a cassette tape and got a $122 hold on my checking account. If it weren't for the fact that I'm ALREADY COMPLETELY ANAL and paranoid about this shit, I would've probably bounced a check. (Don't judge.) Then again... maybe it's just my bank and I should call Chase and go all Howard Beale on them.
Anyway, I'm sure that this sort of thing is made clear deep within the terms of service. I just hope they change their charging system, because it's a really negative user experience in an otherwise wonderful design portal and shopping site.
You can
get a membership if you're a total OUTSIDER AND DON'T BELONG. But you should belong. You can even buy a zebra head!
The Bastiens have been getting a lot of wear lately, so much so that I recently went scouring both the internets and the stores in search of some additional walking shoes, because even the best pair can't be worn every day for 3 (or more likely 6, because I often walk home too) miles of walking.
