Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I love a sale! Combine that with free shipping and you’ve found the way to my heart. But even with my desire to find cheap clothing, there’s still some places that I won’t shop and for good reason too.
You may be familiar with some of those fly by night online shops that claim to offer cheap prices for high end pieces. The prices are so cheap that they seem too good to be true. Some of them take extra long to ship and when you get your item it’s too small, poorly made and nothing like the picture.
It’s called Fast Fashion. These items are usually made to order, produced in Chinese factories for unbelievably low prices. They lure you in by using celebrity images, of which they make a poor replica.
Here’s my experience with one of them:
I had always been skeptical of purchasing from these sites but was hopeful after a friend of mine had ordered a beautiful winter jacket. It didn’t take long to ship either which made it even better. So I went ahead and ordered a dress for a holiday party, a month in advance. It was a beautiful, velvet emerald green dress that was on sale for $20.
I placed an order on the 22nd of November. Didn’t hear anything from the company except this poorly written email on December 8th.
And another one on December 15th.
Finally, I had written them a fiery email, demanding to have my money refunded. I consider myself lucky but some aren’t as lucky. My advice is, be careful when you are shopping on these sites. Stick to the retailers and boutiques you know! But if you’re going to take a risk, do your research first. Do they have actual customer reviews or are the comments just from people saying how much they want the outfit? Do they provide a customer service number, email or some form of contact? What is their return policy?
Remember, if it seems too good to be true, most likely, it is! Here’s some food for thought, unless the celebrity that they are using actually endorses the brand, then more than likely it is a sad knock off. Do you really think you can get the same dress Kim Kardashian wore for $12.99? I don’t think so. At the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide if it’s really worth it.
Have you had any experiences with any of these online shops, good or bad? If bad, how was the issue resolved?
Twitter: @_thecollegegrad
The College Grad
A Black Girl About Town 