You’d think I would have learned by now. But no. I still make stupid mistakes when it comes to buying fly tying materials online. Latest failure: ordering a Hareline Premo Deer Hair strip sight unseen.
Wrong. The hair is short, stiff, and coarse, totally unsuited for my needs. If I’d seen this item in a shop I would have quickly rejected it. Oh sure, I’ll find a use for it some day, but for now it only serves as a reminder to never buy large fur patches sight unseen unless you have a reliable description and a trusted source.
This is not to say that Hareline products are lousy: I have dozens and dozens of great Hareline items in my bins, and the replacement deer hair patch I found — which is spectacular — is from Hareline.
Two deer hair patches from Hareline. The one on the left is gorgeous — beautiful, long hair fibers. The one on the right is garbage. When it comes to buying fur, saddles, feathers, and skins online, sight unseen, caveat emptor.
currentseams.com 
I feel your pain, and it’s familiar sensation. It drives me nuts when that happens and I’d rather go to a brick and mortar store. The only problem is that any of them that were nearby have gone out of business. You almost need a personal “picker” working on the inside of each mail order house. And how you do that is beyond me.
The worst part is that I saw a spectacular rusty brown strip at a store in upstate NY earlier this year and didn’t buy it. Argh…
Oh yeah, I’ve done similar things many times…to the point where my wife now says if you want it stop and buy it now. Sheesh, I hate it when she’s right. 😉