Military Glasses & Libiyi

Although Libiyi’s website sells just about anything you can think of – including patriotic home decor, bras, “the best hummingbird feeder ever” and even a robot – the product that stole one TINA.org reader’s attention was a Veteran Tribute Glass.

And we can see why. The company’s website showcases pictures of intricately designed, gold-embossed glasses for all five branches of the military, along with some detailed descriptions of the craftsmanship that went into making the glasses:

Each Migilife Veteran Tribute Glass is crafted with precision, honoring the legacy of those who have served. While every glass features its own unique emblem and motto, they all share the same luxurious gold-embossed classical floral detailing, adding a touch of timeless elegance.

According to Libiyi, this makes the glasses perfect gifts for military members:

But the company’s marketing may be camouflaging the truth.

After our reader reportedly received glasses that looked “nothing like as advertised,” TINA.org purchased the Air Force and Navy glasses and found that there is indeed a discrepancy between how the products look on the website (shown on the left below) and how they look in real life (shown on the right) in terms of quality.

When we requested a refund, the company told us that we would have to pay between $50 and $80 for return shipping to China if we wanted a full refund of the $65.98 purchase price. While this general requirement that consumers pay return shipping is disclosed in Libiyi’s refund policy (linked at the bottom of the page), the policy makes no mention of how expensive it will actually be or where you must ship the products back to.

But considering this could leave us with no refund at all, Libiyi offered us a “more convenient” option – a whopping $8 refund. We told the company that this wasn’t enough and that we wanted a full refund after which Libiyi upped their offer to $15 (still $50 short of what we paid).

Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be an isolated incident.

Consumers who have left reviews on the company’s Trustpilot page (where Libiyi is currently awarded 3.6 stars despite marketing a near five-star rating on its website) have reported similar issues for a variety of Libiyi products.

It’s also worth noting that this bait-and-switch issue may be widespread, as TINA.org has spotted what seems to be the same Veteran Tribute Glass being hawked on various online marketplaces.

Libiyi did not respond to a TINA.org request for comment. TINA.org also reached out to the other online retailers. The only one to respond was Walmart, which told us:

Like other major online retailers, we operate an online marketplace that allows third-party sellers to offer merchandise to customers through our eCommerce platform. The tribute glass you identified is a third-party item sold on our Marketplace — there are several brands that sell similar items. We expect sellers and suppliers to provide accurate and honest descriptions about their products.

(Really, Walmart?)

The bottom line

Consumers should tread carefully when shopping online. Always make sure to do your research before parting with your money. Reading online consumer reviews can be helpful.

Read more of our coverage on bait and switch.