Online shopping has made a lot of parents’ lives easier. Instead of loading the kids up in the car, chasing them around the store, and dealing with any tantrums, all you have to do is click a few buttons and your order is on the way.
However, this mom’s equally terrifying and hilarious story might just make you reconsider shopping online for your kids again.
Elizabeth Faidley, a mom from New York, recently shared a hilarious but cautionary tale about shopping for your kids online.
Elizabeth’s story begins in December of 2015 when her daughter, Ellie, asked for a baby mermaid doll for Christmas. Not just any mermaid doll — a BABY mermaid (this is a very important detail of the story).
This is probably what Ellie had in mind when she asked her mom for the doll.
However, no matter how hard Elizabeth looked, she couldn’t find a baby mermaid doll anywhere. Finally, she turned to Etsy to see if there was anyone who made the dolls.
Lo and behold, Elizabeth did find a baby mermaid doll named Pearl on Etsy.
“When Pearl arrives, I am thrilled! I show her to several teenaged students who react to her face in sheer horror. I ignore this reaction, knowing that Ellie will love Pearl,” Elizabeth wrote in a Facebook post.
The big day arrived and Elizabeth was ready to give Pearl to Ellie.
However, Ellie was less than enthusiastic about Pearl’s arrival. The little girl reportedly renamed the doll “Disgusting” and honestly, I don’t blame her for being creeped out.
In a last-ditch effort to get Ellie to love Pearl, Elizabeth found a “doll hospital” in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Elizabeth hoped that the doll hospital would be able to give Pearl a makeover that would make her more cuddly and less creepy.
Elizabeth sent Pearl off to the doll hospital and waited for the doll to come back with her makeover.
Instead, a few weeks later Elizabeth received a call from a detective from the Secaucus Police Department. Apparently, Pearl had more secrets than Elizabeth could have ever imagined.
According to the detective, the doll hospital uncovered two ounces of cocaine in Pearl’s head.
Yes, really!
The detective asked Elizabeth where she got Pearl, and Elizabeth explained how Ellie wanted a baby mermaid doll and the whole Etsy shopping experience.
Hilariously, even the detective investigating Pearl’s drug stash struggled to understand why Elizabeth bought this terrifying doll for her daughter in the first place.
“The detective then said, ‘You spent money on this doll? Have you ever heard of Ariel? She is a pretty mermaid. You can buy her at any Disney store.’ And I said, ‘DETECTIVE, Ariel is a GROWN UP Mermaid. Ellie wanted a BABY mermaid. She will not be fooled by a fake baby mermaid!'” Elizabeth said.
Thankfully, Elizabeth was cleared of any wrong-doing but sadly, Pearl was seized for evidence and never came home.
Although, maybe that was for the best, right? It doesn’t sound like Ellie was too upset over losing Pearl:
“I hung up the phone and told Ellie, ‘Honey, Pearl is going to stay at the doll hospital for longer than we had anticipated. It turns out that she has …. many problems.’ Ellie nodded and said, ‘I told you, Mom. The doll is MESSED UP.’”
Elizabeth recently shared this crazy story on Facebook where it has been shared about 30,000 times.
Parents, let this be a lesson. The next time your daughter asks for a doll, just go to the Disney Store, okay?
