6pm vs Zappos

DonnaF

The sales items on the 6pm site seem to be the same ones with the same prices as those on the Zappos site. Zappos has a better return policy with free returns. Is there any reason to order from 6pm? Or am I missing something?

10 years ago

Sales and Deals

27 replies

Latest reply was from Traci

Kristin SF

Veteran

I thought 6pm was the discount site for Zappos. I have typically found much better prices on 6pm, but yes - the return policy is restrictive. I think 30 days vs. 1 full year on Zappos.

10 years ago

abc

Veteran

It's funny, the other day I was looking for a pair of shoes and both showed availability but with a different price, made me wonder if they share fulfilliment or if it is totally separate.

10 years ago

ironkurtin

Veteran

They are the same company, and I think they're both now Amazon. So who knows.

10 years ago

Kristin SF

Veteran

It's an older posting, but here you go:
http://www.yournextshoes.com/2011/02/6pm-scam/

10 years ago

Thistle

Veteran

What IK said.

10 years ago

gryffin

Veteran

I thought 6 pm was amazons sale site but, now they've acquired Zappos. As IK says I think it's all one big company now. If price is the same, zappos has faster shipping (esp if you are vip) and credits on returns. Also does 6 pm have the same return policy?

10 years ago

Claudia

Veteran

Kristin SF's link sums it up nicely. I LOVE 6pm, and have bought from the site often, footwear and premium jeans mainly, all at a very steep discount. If you have a good idea of how a brand generally fits you with sizing, the risk of paying for return postage is minimal, especially weighed against the upside of the big savings over Amazon and Zappos prices.

Shipping is prompt (faster than Nordstrom, GAP, etc.) and returns credited right away. I also find their site very user friendly for shopping and can easily access my account: open orders, order history, UPS tracking and all.

10 years ago

Diana

Veteran

6pm is Zappos' discount site, in much the same was as Last Call is Neiman's discount site. As such, it has a lot of the same merchandise, or merchandise that used to be sold at Zappos. In general, the prices are lower on 6pm, but the tradeoff is: no free returns (you have to pay your own postage), and a shorter return window (30 days). IMO this is a fair tradeoff. Shipping is still free and it seems to come pretty quickly. I generally buy things that have a decent chance of working (i.e. NOT gold zipper boots, haha). Yes, the customer service is not as good as Zappos, but that is to be expected. I have never had a problem with them. Prices on 6pm fluctuate like mad.

Amazon recently bought Zappos, so by extension, they now own 6pm as well. I haven't noticed any changes so far, and I don't think they are getting Amazon's clearance merchandise (at least not yet).

10 years ago

Claudia

Veteran

As an example, recently Sea of Shoes blogger featured a pair of Frye lace up boots http://www.seaofshoes.com/sea_.....ation.html, I noticed they are $149 - $169 on 6pm and $298 on Zappos:

http://www.6pm.com/frye-sabrin.....full-grain

http://www.zappos.com/frye-sab.....22205946:s

10 years ago

always trying

Veteran

I have purchased from 6pm and have been happy with them. I have only returned 1 item, a metallic top, out of 1 jacket, 1 pair of slippers, I pair of booties, and 1 pair of boots. It cost way too much to send back the top, but it just did not work for me, so was a loss of about $10.00. I hesitate to purchase from them now as the return cost is too much. I mostly purchase on line only if I can return it to the store, like Nordies, DSW, Macys, etc. I have a friend who works at Chicos, and she says they take in loads of returns from on line purchases, and the employees are not happy as they don't get any credit for sales, and these customers who return seldom make store purchases, and take a lot of salespersons time. Mostly I try to go to store and try on like or similar items, and then if I am at least 80% sure an on line purchase is going to fit will I order it, especially heavy things like jackets or shoes..But UPS is expensive anyhow. ONe thing about the return I did at 6 pm is it was to be sent back in the box it came in . s even though it was a light weight top it cost $10.00 to send back the big heavy box.

10 years ago

ironkurtin

Veteran

Claudia, those look like 2 slightly different boots to me. Maybe one is from last season.

10 years ago

Diana

Veteran

Always trying, I never, ever send my 6pm returns back in the box they came in, and I have never had a problem. You just have to print out a return invoice on the website and include it. I always use a tyvek mailer or similar to reduce weight, or depending on cost a USPS priority mail envelope. But this is why I tend not to order heavy things like boots from 6pm! Costs too much to return. I wish they would do prepaid returns, even though it might be more expensive for small things it's so much more convenient.

10 years ago

Claudia

Veteran

Here are the same boots on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/FRYE-Wom.....74&sr

10 years ago

Claudia

Veteran

IK, they come in a bunch of colors and some distressed.

10 years ago

ironkurtin

Veteran

Claudia - right, some colors and distressing might be from last year? Just guessing.

10 years ago

Claudia

Veteran

Whatever the case may be the exact color (looking at the Burnt Red) on 6pm is half the price, $149 of that on Amazon, $298.

Zappos is offering this style in only the one color at $298; 6pm has it in three from $149 - $169; while Amazon has it in nine from $175 - $298.

10 years ago

Liz A.

Veteran

I actually do think that the stock is the same at least for some items I have searched for on both sites. The same sizes and colors were available for marginally different prices.

10 years ago

deb

Veteran

6PM used to be a separate company until Zappos bought them about 6 years ago. I do not know when Amazon bought Zappos.

10 years ago

deb

Veteran

OK, I found this info.

6pm.com, Inc. operates as an online outlet for discount shoes, clothing, bags, accessories, and more. The company offers baby products, bags and handbags, beauty products, computer products, sunglasses, house wares, jewelry, shoes, sporting goods, and watches. 6pm.com, Inc. was formerly known as Shoedini.com, Inc. and changed its name in November 2005. The company was founded in 1999 and is based in Greenwood Village, Colorado. As of July 2007, 6pm.com, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Zappos.com, Inc.

Zappos.com is an online shoe and clothing shop currently based in Las Vegas, Nevada.[3]

In July 2009, the company announced it would be acquired by Amazon.com in an all-stock deal worth about $1.2 billion.[4][5][6] Since its founding in 1999,

10 years ago

Echo

Veteran

The issue is that at times, Zappos has the same shoe as 6pm, at the same price. If the two places happen to have the same thing at the same price, ordering from Zappos is a no-brainer. Indeed, sometimes Zappos has items for less than something comparable at 6pm (I was stalking a necklace, and Zappos had the gold version for less than the silver version at 6pm).

But overall, 6pm is Zappos discount site, and as such it has a more restrictive return policy, you pay shipping to return, etc. But if they make an error, they are VERY accommodating and will pick up the return shipping.

10 years ago

deb

Veteran

I honestly think that Zappos shows the 6PM stock but 6PM does not show the Zappos stock.

10 years ago

DonnaF

Veteran

Interesting, Deb. I've been thinking about a couple of pairs of booties and checked both sites. Zappos ran out of my size immediately when they went on sale, and 6pm offers the same price and same limited sizes so this got me to wondering.

10 years ago

Liz A.

Veteran

I think you're right, Deb. This happens when items go on sale at zappos. They keep them up for a slightly higher price than 6pm at least for a while.

10 years ago

Jjsloane

Veteran

wow am I confused. I have ordered from 6pm a lot but rarely from zappos. I'm a bargain shopper and usually zappos price is much higher than 6pm (but 6pm price changes without warning) I would prefer to order from amazon with free shipping and returns but always check there first so the pricing is not linked as yet.

10 years ago

Von

Veteran

See, I'm not so sure about the rhyme or reason at 6pm anymore. Some days they have completely random shoe discounts on items still full priced at normal Zappos. Case in point - I bought the pony Okalas for $75-80 on 6pm. At the same time I had been window shopping Zappos, and the price there was still $130. My pair wasn't dented and damaged, so I have no idea why they were so cheap.

Some shoes I will notice that they're discontinued styles not at Zappos, but there are lots of dupes with price differences.

10 years ago

leopardluxe

Veteran

I used to work at Zappos (leading the team that built the website you see today) so I can tell you with certainty Zappos and 6pm are the same company who operate off the same inventory platform with just different pricing rules on the backend that will get changed from day to day or week to week, depending on inventory availability and markdown schedules.

You will occasionally see price differences like the one you mention (where the prices are markedly different on 6pm vs. Zappos for the same product). They usually do this if inventory is running low in certain sizes so they want to clear them out.

Jump on it when you see it, because most the time the price differences will be minimal (essentially so minimal that if you were to pay to return it you would end up paying about the same as if you had bought it at Zappos instead of 6pm in the first place).

Hope this info helps!

10 years ago

Traci

Veteran

I had what I jokingly refer to as a shopping miracle on 6pm a little while back. There were a pair of boots I had been stalking for a long time, putting them into my shopping bag, removing them, etc. One day I noticed they were gone from stock and I thought I'd waited too long. Then I went onto the site from my phone one day and the shoes were sitting in my shopping bag there. I logged in from my computer and they were nowhere to be found. Not wanting to lose out again, I placed the order from my phone, fully expected to throw an error telling me the boots were not available. I held my breath for 2 days until I got the shipping notification. The color I got had been missing from zappos' site for a while before my order. I still don't understand how it happened, but I'm glad it did!

10 years ago

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