Comments on: Doubting your shopping decision at home

By: Wanda from Canada

Wanda from Canada — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:37:01 +0000

Insightful.

By: Mander

Mander — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:33:28 +0000

Where do you shop in the UK that has such bad service? I’m American, living in the UK, and I’ve never had a problem taking things back. Even when I bought a cheap bag at Primark and my husband made gagging sounds when he saw it, I took it back no problem. I’ve had to take clothing items back to Marks & Spencer, John Lewis, and Tesco, and it hasn’t been any more troublesome than taking stuff back at Wal-mart.

I’m a thrift addict, and most of the thrift stores here are run for charity. If I buy an item that I later decide I don’t like that much, I just consider it to have been a small donation and I give the item back to the thrift store in my next donation.

Almost everything I take back has been either rare items that my husband disliked enough to comment, or something unique that I was not sure about but knew it would be gone if I didn’t buy it. Looking at it in a more relaxed way I then decided it didn’t really suit me after all.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:37:34 +0000

Angie, you often mention that your brand knowledge makes you one step ahead in knowing what brands work best for certain body types. Would you consider a list (for us clueless ones) of brands that often yield success for certain body types? I am not a big enough shopper to know what to try (being petite but not twiggy is my particular challenge). Walking into a Nordstrom is just overwhelming! A cheat sheet would be most welcome!

By: aussieinlondon

aussieinlondon — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:12:02 +0000

Wow, the returns culture in North America is light years away from here in London!

Here, the customer service is so appalling that I would rather slam my fingernails in a door than face the queues at the returns counter of most department stores. A girl can lose the will to live in those places – always tucked away in a dingy, smelly corner next to the mops for some reason. It’s often even worse returning internet purchases – the queues at the post office can be truly horrific, and they are the most god-awful depressing places as well.

Any purchase under about 30 pounds (which is probably $50 or so US) it’s not even worth it.

I think that’s why we buy so much cheap crap at topshop and primark, so that you don’t have to worry if you don’t end up wearing it because it didn’t cost very much to start with. It’s an appalling – and unsustainable – attitude, I know. But trying to return something is just hell. Sorry for the whinge

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:05:10 +0000

I work part time at a local boutique. Since I am familiar with the different brands, and am able to see how they work on different bodies, I often am pretty confident of clothing I take home to purchase. Even with all this knowledge, I still have second thoughts about a few things when I get them home. Sometimes you need to check a heel length with a skirt or a color looks different in natural lighting/ soft lighting at home. As someone who works in the retail business, I would rather a customer return anything that they were not 100% completely satisfied with. I do feel that returns should be done in a timely manner, and the merchandise should be in the same condition as when purchased. I feel confident that our repeat business is based on truly wanting every woman who purchases something to be in love with what they purchase!

By: Maya

Maya — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:03:16 +0000

I never feel 100% certain of almost anything I buy until I have it at home, with the rest of my wardrobe. I need to see it with everything else I own, on my body, in my “honest” mirrors. There is just no comparison. I have become a lot better at GUESSING which things will work out, but like I said, you just can’t be sure until you have put it through vigorous testing.

I am not in a position where I can spend money on anything that isn’t absolutely perfect, so I often end up taking things home, testing them out, and returning them. Even if an item is perfect, but is very restricted in how it can be worn, I won’t bother with it. I will only buy something if I can make at least 3 very different outfits with it. There is no way to know that until I get home.

By: san

san — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:56:08 +0000

I feel that Nordstrom’s encourages customers to buy and return if we change our mnd or have a problem with the purchase. The sales clerks do tell customers to do this, so I do take advantage of it and I love being able to bring things home and think more indepth about a purchase. This works for me. Now I am branching out to shopping at AT, Macy’s, and Club Monaco, so I better learn what their return policy is before I get burned.

By: Meredith

Meredith — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:50:40 +0000

I am very rarely organized enough to return anything.

However, I have taken a few things back to Nordstrom that I ordered online that just didn’t fit correctly. I also took a pair of shoes back to Nordstrom, because although they were simply ballet flats, they gave me bruises on the tops of my feet. Ouch!

I’m also thinking about taking a recent pair of boots back. They are very comfortable and they look fab, but sadly, they are falling apart after less than 10 wears. Should I take them back or suck it up, because they were the cheaper option to begin with?

love,
m!

By: JaneF

JaneF — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:34:49 +0000

I am all too familiar with the phenomenon you describe. But I’ve been less afflicted by it since I switched to doing most of my shopping online. I like being able to have my whole wardrobe right there when I try something on. Also, I would never spend an hour in the store trying to decide if a particular pair of shoes make me look like I have cankles, but who’s going to know if I do just that at home? I do send things back on occasion but that’s because it’s the equivalent of putting it back on the hanger in the store (albeit, it can get expensive without free shipping).

By: Taler

Taler — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:12:27 +0000

I actually do quite a lot of web shopping. I know which brands fit me so I tend to narrow my search, especially on ebay, if there is something that I want. Also, even though I keep up a never-ending but always changing wishlist of things that I want, I’m very wary to buy 99% because of 1) budget constraints and 2) Does it fill out my wardrobe? Also, I’m a student who lives in a dorm with limited closet space. So everything has to fit into my drawer and closet somehow.

But do I still shop in stores? Yes, all the time, but I have to be absolutely in love with the item, usually I’ve seen a variation of the item online or if they do have the item online, I use Polyvore and see how many outfits I can make with that item, with clothes on the website that reflect my actual wardrobe.THEN, I’ll buy it if its still around. By that point its fate. By that point, the likelihood of returns is pretty low.