Beautiful frame right? WRONG!

I’ve written before about the difficulty in purchasing ‘custom’ framed materials online and even in the big box stores. Unless you know what to look for, and even sometimes when you do, you can end up with something terribly structured or worse, something that is just plain dangerous.
I took the pictures above of a mirror a customer brought in…..this is what the rest of it looked like:

   

This mirror is 24 x 60…five feet long…and it is extremely heavy. It was ‘framed’ in some sort of plastic composite which, as you can see, broke off due to the strain of the weight of the mirror. I’ve noted some of the other structural issues in the pictures below.

   

Again, this isn’t just cheap, it’s potentially dangerous.

I am sure there are reputable companies selling quality framed product online, so I’m not trying to throw them all under the bus, but I am trying to help folks understand why many of these products are priced the way they are. These companies typically offer guarantees, but really do you want to hassle with shipping it back and will they work with you if you decide you just want a refund?

Caveat Emptor