Hi! My name's Lauren, I just submitted two jewelry shop reviews earlier in the day...stumbled across your site for the first time, I'm having a great time sifting through everything...fantastic site :)

Regarding the shops issue, I think it's a fantastic issue to address. Frustrations with jewelry co's, in NYC and online, lead me to start up my own operation (www.YourePiercedWhere.com) because I was tired of buying jewelry at hyper inflated prices from someone who either didn't give two shits or had the 'my plugs are bigger than yours' holier than thou attitude.

I HATE THAT SHIT. Customer service for me as a consumer is a number one priority...I can't fathom why someone would so blatantly screw their business by treating potential customers like shit. I think a rating system might be an adequate way to inform ppl what the deal is, kinda like restaurants and their stars, start an unbiased rating system of various retailers and post their rating next to their links so ppl can be informed based on past company performance on what they might be getting into when handing over their money to that retailer. I don't think removing the links would be the best route to go, I think ppl should be informed either way if a company is good or bad. If you remove the link, the person may just stumble onto the site from somewhere else and then have a crappy experience, by keeping the link and posting a rating or review alongside, they can consider themselves forewarned.

Anyhoo, I'm rambling. I think you definitely opened up an issue that needs addressing, I look forward to seeing other responses. Thanks again for a great site ;)