The present that has gone awry...aka, you get what you pay for

GRRRR.

I bought 800 thread count sheets for my parents for the holidays. They tend to buy much lower thread count, and being the good daughter that I am, I wanted them to have something "nice." I found a great deal....about $30 with shipping for a king size set with 4 pillow cases!!! I wanted to get the pillowcases embroidered. And thus the beginning of the problem...

I sent them to someone I "know" from another website who has a side business. She was only going to charge me $3 a pillowcase, plus shipping. So for $22 ($12 plus about $10 shipping bothways), it was a done deal. I had budgeted $50 for their gift...so I thought $52 was pretty darn close.

She did a terrible job. Loose threads, puckered. Didn't embellish them as I wanted (the initials are correct). Left the backing on. Plus....there is a stain on 2 of them!!!

She and I have been arguing about this for over a week. I want my money back, plus money to replace the pillowcases. She is refusing. Said that there is nothing "wrong" with the pillowcases so why should she replace them. And that if she realized how much it would be to replace, she would never have done it in the first place. She claims to not have the money...I even offered to let her pay half now, and half at the end of the month. She isn't even responding to me at this point.

So...do I wash the pillowcases....hope to get the stain out...and give them to the 'rents, even though I think they look sub-par? Do I buy new ones...and cost myself another $30 to get new ones, plus the cost to embroider.....or I can cross stitch them myself (like I have time for this.....)

This woman won't refund my money....I am so frustrated!!! Where is work ethic, people??????