Fool Me Once...

Have you ever faced a situation where something sounds too good to be true? Did alarm bells clang and red lights flash in your brain? Or did you put aside your cynicism and take a risk?

I am a cautious person and certainly far from naive. If something sounds too good to be true I am usually the first to walk away, scoffing quietly at those who can't see the writing on the wall. So how is it I am now the very disappointed (and somewhat embarrassed) owner a pair of fake designer shoes I bought off eBay?

The eBay seller in question, responded to all my questions quickly and with informative and honest sounding answers. She was selling the shoes after her husband bought them for her in Rome only they were too narrow for her feet. She provided pictures of the product, the packaging, shopping bag, the whole lot. It all sounded legit and perfectly possible - who hasn't made an impromptu but entirely worthless purchase when travelling? She also had a good eBay rating, although as a buyer and not a seller.

It only took minutes after I opened my package that reality set in. While good enough for your average shoe store, these shoes were not Christian Louboutin. The make was inferior, the size was far smaller than the label indicated and the packaging looked slightly wrong. The dead giveaway though was the sole - a completely different material from the CL norm.

I've already sent a message back to the seller who has apologised saying she genuinely thought the product was legitimate and offered a full refund... once I post the product back to her. So what does everyone think? I can't help but think - fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me! Am I just asking to get burned a second time?