Our reader, a mum-of-two, has been breastfeeding, and pumping at work ever since she had her first child in 2013. Both her babies were drinking breastmilk when the second baby was born in 2015. She tells us, “I wanted something as a keepsake, to remember that both were taking my breast milk together, at some point in their lives. I also wanted to hand down the breast milk jewellery when the kids grow up, since the maker had advertised that her products last a lifetime.”
Sadly, “The items arrived with a strong cigarette smoke smell. It didn’t get better despite ripping off the wraps and throwing out the bag.”
Breast milk jewellery
Not only that, one of the breast milk pendants arrived mistakenly as a necklace, although she had ordered it as a pandora hook.
To make matters worse, the seller apparently did not respond kindly, claiming that this mummy was the first to complain. Our mummy says that she was even “told by the seller that her husband may have been smoking in the car while delivering”, and asked, “if I have a plier at home, after I pointed out the pendant mistake.”
Disappointed with this experience
The experience has turned out to be disappointing for our mummy reader, “I was impressed that Singaporeans have caught up with an art (with so much meaning) like this and I thought I would give it a go to support local works. (Now)I’d prefer to put my precious breast milk in the hands of responsible and credible makers (including their process chain workers), who would handle it carefully and with respect.”
“Before this, I had paid a UK maker to do breastmilk jewellery, back in 2013 for my first born, so this is not the first time. In comparison, the U.K. maker is punctual and professional, so I’d say read enough and know the maker/seller, as the breast milk we supply them with (besides the money) can never be reversed/returned.”
She finally asks this very pertinent question, “How to keep these as precious lifetime memories when they are all received tainted with second-hand smoke by the seller already? Heartbroken. 9 sessions worth of pumping..”
We feel for you, mummy.
Breast milk jewellery maker’s version
But as part of our commitment to objective reporting, we also asked the jewellery maker for her version of things.
This is what she had to say, “I told her that the delivery man must have been smoking while delivery, and told her to leave it at a distance from the kids and to air cool it first. Or else, the smell would spread to her house, so kitchen or service yard would be a better place for air cooling. We never denied that there was cigarette smell as we believe that most delivery men smoke while delivering parcels.”
She also says that, “We had delivered to some other customer on the very same night, they however never mentioned anything about any cigarette smell.”
Well, we are not going to take sides, and believe in letting readers judge for themselves. We would, however, like to offer some tips that will help you make a more informed choice when it comes to online shopping.
Go to the next page for some great tips on online shopping!
Online shopping is here to stay. The range of options available online for every conceivable product is mind boggling. Buying personalised memorabilia like breast milk jewellery in Singapore has become a trend, something that one wouldn’t have imagined just a few years back. Here are some tips on how we can make our online shopping a pleasurable and safe experience:
- Do your research : Make sure you know the name, company registration details and other contact details like phone number, email address and postal code of the service provider. Don’t buy from retailers who will not give out their contact details or who do not give you satisfactory responses to your queries.
Our mummy who just had a bad experience with her breast milk jewellery in Singapore says, “It occurs to me now that this has happened, why it is so important for the U.K. maker to have a policy on her web page, regarding what and how she does her work, her timeline, and precise instructions on how to provide our breastmilk, how she works on it and sends the end product back to us.”
“She also had an introductory column about her credentials (what she used to work as), her family (so customers can know more about her), how her workstation is smoke-free and pet-free. I felt comfortable reading these although I didn’t put much emphasis on its importance.”
- Verify the company’s reputation : Read up on online reviews and ratings for the service. When in doubt, you can always phone or e-mail a company the first time you purchase something, and ask questions.
- Be clear about billing, guarantees and delivery policies before you purchase : Always look out for additional costs and payment details, like :
- Packaging costs
- Delivery costs
- Whether you will be billed before or after delivery of the products
- Whether you can track the item from the moment of purchase to arrival at your door
- Whether the product comes with a guarantee or warranty for defects.
- Company policy about cancellations, returns and refunds.
- Read the site’s privacy policy. Reputable companies will be open about how they collect data from you and what they do with it.
- Only use secure websites when transferring funds through the site: Ensure that your credit card details are going to be processed using a secure connection. Most often the address bar in your browser will change from starting with http to https.
- Record purchase details. After purchasing your item, always record the details of the time, date, receipt number, and order confirmation. If you cannot print one off, take a screenshot as a form of proof of purchase.
Also READ: Another breast milk pervert in SG! Single mum victim of crude messages