Club Monaco Review : Is Legit or Scam? 2024

Club Monaco is an online fashion shop that advertises as a “brand that designs and creates modern yet timeless clothing and accessories for women and men“. They add that their collections feature “relevant, wearable pieces, fine fabrics and exceptional fits”.

Club Monaco is a legit fashion store. They will never steal your money or credit card details. And there have never been complaints about theft. All purchased goods are shipped to the owners without a problem.

Those descriptions are fitting of the go-to shop for fashion needs. The big question then is whether Club Monaco is actually the go-to shop or whether it is just an empty shop that only attaches glowing stickers to itself. In the first place, is Club Monaco genuine?

This Club Monaco review will examine the store in order to provide information that will help you answer those questions.

Club Monaco review at a glance

• Started in 1985 as a Canadian company, but owned and operated by US fashion giant Polo Ralph Lauren since 1999
• They operate over 150 stores all over the world
• They specializes in both men and women clothing and fashion accessories
• Their merchandise is reputed to be of high quality but expensively priced
• They offer free shipping for the US orders over $150 and for international orders over $200
• They allow returns within 30 days of the delivery date
• Customer Support is available through email and telephone

What is Club Monaco?

Club Monaco is an online fashion website that was started in 1985 by three Canadians when they opened they opened the first fashion shop by the name in Queen Street West in Toronto, Canada. Club Monaco gained popularity for their classic black and white styles for both men and women; the company expanded, and in 1989 they opened their first US shop.

Club Monaco operated as a Canadian Company until 1999, when it was acquired by the US fashion giant – Polo Ralph Lauren.

Apart from the change in ownership, Club Monaco has gone through various other changes over the years: they ditched their classic black and white styles and embraced modern styles; they launched a lifestyle brand in 2000; they eliminated their men’s wear line in about 2011 and reintroduce it in about 2015, and they added a footwear line in 2013.

However, through all the changes, Club Monaco comes out as a reputable retail brand that designs modern yet timeless clothing and accessories for men and women. True to that status, they operate stores in over 150 locations worldwide which include Canada, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macao, Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom,  and the United States.

Is Club Monaco legit?

Club Monaco is legit. It is not a Legit and scam are probably some of the best keywords on the internet. With so many scam platforms online ripping people off, before proceeding to transact with an online platform, customers want to know whether it is legit or a scam.

In this regard, you need not worry because Club Monaco comes out as very legit. First, Club Monaco is a company duly registered as Club Monaco US, LLC; and it is an arm of Polo Ralph Lauren which is also a duly registered company. In this least, this means that Club Monaco is 100% legal.

Also, too many people, a scam store is one that does not deliver when orders are placed causing them to lose their payment. It should be said that the fake stores do not fulfil orders because they cannot. They operate only virtually; with no physical warehouse, stores, or distribution centre. Thus, fake stores have no capacity to fulfil orders. On the other hand, Club Monaco had a physical existence that features a corporate headquarter in New York and over 140 stores (holding hundreds of thousands of merchandise) in various parts of the world. Thus, Club Monaco has the capacity to fulfil orders and is therefore legit.

Using the test of time, we see that Club Monaco has been operating since 1985 which is over 33 years of operation. Suffice it to say that no scam store can operate for that long. Scam operation cannot continue perpetually; the information will be out in no time, and the stores will run for the covers and disappear.

Is Club Monaco safe?

Club Monaco is also a safe platform to make payment. When you shop in an online store, you share information like your credit card details; and if fraudsters intercept this data, they can clear your account. Thus, the legit store should also be safe. That is, it should make sure that the sensitive information you share with them is protected.

In this regard, Club Monaco takes certain physical, administrative and technical steps to safeguard the personal information and payment details you submit on their platform. For example, they use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology which is the industry standard for creating a private connection between a device and a web server communicating on the internet. Data transferred in the link is outside the reach of unauthorized third parties. Also, the data is encrypted before being relayed in the link, to further assure it’s protection.

With the use of this top-notch technical security feature, it is safe to say that Club Monaco is safe.

Features

Club Monaco Dresses:

Product Description and Images

Online purchase is characterized by blind purchases where you don’t get to see the items until it is delivered to you. However, it doesn’t have to be completely blind, in that the store should provide resources that will help you make an assessment of the item before committing to the purchase. These resources include product descriptions and product images. The ideal store should have descriptions that are detailed enough and images that are thorough and clear enough so that it would be as if you’re physically examining the item.

In this regard, Club Monaco ticks the box. The product description includes the type of fabric, seam work, measurements, and even the model’s sizes (for on-model items). Images are very clear and shot from various angles to give you a good view of the item.

While the product description and product images of Club Monaco will help you with a good assessment of the item, I’ll like to see them employ recent developments in the industry, which is a video viewer. Some online stores use video technology, where their listed items are shown in a short on-model video. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a thousand pictures.

Website

The ideal app should have a website that allows shopping on the go, and that is only possible if the website is compatible with mobile devices.

In this regard, the website of Club Monaco is fully mobile optimized. If you enter the URL into your web browser, you’ll be redirected to the mobile page which resizes to fit the small screens of mobile phones and tablets. You’ll be able to view all listings, pay for your order, track the order and do anything else that can be done with desktop devices.

Also, the website is easy to navigate. On the landing page, you’ll find links to the men’s wear and women’s wear category; you can also follow links to the shipping information page, “about us” page, and the terms of use. The webpage is simple and uncluttered.

Product Range

The ideal online fashion store should be a one-stop shop for fashion needs, and it can be that by holding a wide product range. Why is this necessary? You want to buy all your items in one place so that you can take advantage of bulk purchase discounts. You also want to pay for one order shipment as you ship all your items from one store instead of paying multiple order shipments and ship different items from different stores.

In this regard, Club Monaco ticks the box. The shop offers both men and women clothing, and you’ll find items for all seasons and occasions.

In the women wear range, the product categories are:

• Clothing – You’ll find sweaters, coats and trench coats, jackets and vest, dresses, jumpsuit and rompers, pants, jeans, shirts, knots and Tees, skirts, shorts, and swimwear
• Accessories – You’ll find shoes, hats, scarves and gloves, jewellery, handbags and belts, sunglasses, tights, home and beauty products.

In the men’s wear range, the product category and items you’ll find in each category are:

• Clothing – this include sweater, outerwear, pants, jeans, sweatshirts and knit jackets, shirts, Tees and Polos, suits and blazers, shorts and more
• Accessories – this includes shoes, hats, gloves and scarves, socks, bags and small accessories, jewellery, grooming products, ties and belts, sunglasses

Apart from holding a wide product range, Club Monaco also holds a large number of each product type. With this, you can make a choice from a large inventory, and you’re more likely to find something that you like. Club Monaco is able to offer a large inventory because they draw items from a lot of designers. These include: On The Bright Side, A Perfect Pair, The Heritage Crest Collection, All That Jazz, Golden Hour, In Bloom, Around Town, Cooldown warm up, The feel of it, No ordinary life, At Ease, She’s the One, Soft Focus, A New Suit, Day Shift, Some Place Better Than Here

Also, it is not enough that an online fashion store holds a large inventory, it is also important that their items should be of good quality.

In this regard, Club  Monaco ticks the box. They create functional wearable pieces that feature fine fabrics and exceptional fits. Online reviews of customers who have actually bought from Club Monaco also support this. Looking up what actual customers are saying about Club Monaco on the various customers review platforms, we found statements like “I would like to shop here again even when they’re expensive because the clothes are beautiful”, “the clothes are definitely pricey but the quality is there”, “modern, chic and stylish pieces… but the fit and quality is amazing”, “they have the most luxurious fabrics and quality is amazing”.

The ultimate test of quality for most customers is clothing pieces that can stand the test of time. The reviews also include customers happy with timeless clothing materials that have stayed years and still look new.

That said; there is no doubt that the quality of items in the store is top notch.

Shipping

Shipping is an important consideration in online purchases. First, you’ll want to know if the store ships to your location; also you’ll want to know if the shipping costs are not unreasonably high, and you’ll also want to know how long it will take your order to be delivered to your location. Following these, the ideal online store will ship to a lot of worldwide destinations, will have shipping rates that are as low as possible, and will have delivery times that are as fast as possible.

In the first case, Club Monaco ships to all locations in the US and Canada as well as over 100 international countries. While this is impressive, you’ll find online fashion retailers that cover twice as many countries. What it means is that many persons from many international locations will be unable to shop in Club Monaco.

In terms of shipping cost; the lowest possible cost that can be offered is zero, which is free shipping. Thankfully, Club Monaco offers free shipping, but the terms differ in different countries.

For shipping to the US, free shipping is available for all orders over $150 dollars on the Standard and Economy delivery options only. However, for international destinations, free shipping is available for orders over $200. If you’ve seen reviews of other stores, you’ll find that the domestic US free shipping offer is not good enough. This is because you have a high order qualifying amount. There are many online fashion stores that ships free to the US address for orders of about $50 – $100; but Club Monaco requires that your order is into $150. This put pressure on customers to spend more than intended in order to qualify for free shipping.

Where free shipping is not applicable, Club Monaco charges reasonable rates which depends on the delivery options chosen.

For US shipping there are five different options you may choose from. There is an Economy delivery option which takes 7 – 10 business days and cost $5.00. There is also a Standard delivery option which takes 5 – 7 business days and cost $8.00. The free shipping is available for orders over $150 that you’ll want to ship with either of these two options.

US orders also have expedited shipping options which include: the 2 Business Days delivery, an Overnight delivery, as well as a special Saturday delivery. Their moniker is revealing of how long it will take you to receive your package with these options. The 2 Business days delivery will get you the package in 2 business days, and it cost $20. The overnight delivery will get you the package the next business day following order placement, and it cost $25. Lastly, the Saturday delivery allows you to receive your package on a pre-arranged Saturday, and it cost $35.

Shipping to most other international destinations is available only through standard delivery option. This takes 7 – 13 business days for Mexico and the UK; and 7 – 15 business days for most countries in Europe, South America and Asia. But Russia orders may take up to 22 business days. For Africa and the Middle East, the standard shipping takes 7 – 17 business days; while for Australia and New Zealand, it takes 8 – 17 business days. The shipping cost for any of the destinations will be revealed at checkout.

Club Monaco offers international shipping through Borderfree. Because Borderfree supports a lot of currencies, this means that Club Monaco is able to show product prices as well as order totals in a lot of local currency. Also, the order total at checkout will be the only amount paid for getting the package; there’ll be no hidden charges to be paid on receipt of the package.

Returns and Exchange Policy

There are many reasons you’ll want to return an item after an online purchase. It could be that you got the wrong size, you’re not satisfied with the quality, the item gets to you damaged, and more. Whatever the case, instead of being stuck with an item you’ll rather not have, you’ll want to be able to return the item for a refund or an exchange with another item.

Returns

Thankfully, Club Monaco like every other online fashion retailers allows you to return any item in your order that you’re not totally satisfied with, and they’ll issue you a full refund.

Their returns policy allows 30 days from the time of delivery for every return to be made. The allowed 30 days returns window is on par with what most fashion retailers in the industry offer. Returns getting to Club Monaco within 30 days are accepted and processed, but those getting to them after the allowed 30 days are not accepted, and will not be sent back.

This is one area where customers will have to think twice before buying from Club Monaco. Though the 30 days window is wide enough; if for some reasons your returns for not get back to them on time, you’ll lose the item and whatever you paid for it. In this regard, some stores have policies that allow for the refund to be issued to original payment method if the returns get to them on time, and for refunds to be issued as store credit if the returns get to them late. With such policies, there’s no fear that the item will get to them late and you’ll lose it altogether.

That said, I’ll like to see Club Monaco issue refunds (as store credit) where returns get to them late.

However, it is not only the return window that determines if returns will be accepted. There are some conditions that the items must also meet. Any item to be returned must be in its new condition, which means it must not have been washed, worn or altered. It must also be accompanied by its original invoice; it must have all tags attached and must be returned in its original packaging.

However, there are certain items that are final sale merchandise and are not eligible for return or credit. This includes bodysuits, home collections, and items marked as final sale.

For US customers, Club Monaco includes a USPS pre-paid returns label which makes for easy returns. All you need do is package the items appropriately, attach the returns label and drop it off at the post office. If you use the returns label, $5.00 will be deducted from your order refund.

When you use the returns label, you can start tracking the returns 3 days after mailing it. After receipt of the returned item, it takes about two weeks for it to be processed. After it’s processing and issuance of refund using your original payment method, you’ll also do some waiting for the refund to reflect in your bank account. This means that you should get your refund within three weeks. This is better than some online fashion stores but can be improved upon. I’ll like to see a reduction in the returns processing time so that the whole time of waiting for a refund will be significantly reduced.

In-store returns are also allowed for US orders, so you can go to the nearest Club Monaco store with the item you want to return together with its original invoice and return it to the store.

Exchange

After a returned item is received by the store and processed, you’ll have to wait for your refund to be issued. If you’ll want to use the same fund to get another item; it’s only when the fund has reflected in your account that you can proceed to place the order for the new item. However, where the store allows exchanges, you can simply order the new item immediately your returns is processed, cutting off the refund-waiting time. Thus, product exchanges expedite the process of getting another item in place of the returned item.

Unfortunately, Club Monaco does not offer product exchanges. You’ll have to wait to be refunded and then place a new order.

Price and Related Policies

Price

Price is the very first thing that you’ll look at in every intended purchase. The reason is that no matter the perceived quality of merchandise, you will not want to pay what you perceive as unreasonable for it. Therefore, it’s important to review the prices of items in a store.

In almost every review platform, Club Monaco is described as a high-end clothing line. The high-end that always precede “clothing line” tells the story, which is that their merchandise is expensively priced.

For example, you’ll be hard pressed to find: a dress that is under $150, or a women’s jumpsuit or pant that is under $100. The men’s wear is no different, as you’ll find that most shirts are priced at about $80, and most pants are over $100.

It’s my opinion that the prices of Club Monaco are on the high side. Customer reviews of Club Monaco also agree. In most review platforms, customers comment that Club Monaco merchandise are expensively priced. Reviews include comments such as: “their prices are on the high end”, “the only reason why I give it a 4 stars is because of the high price”, “the prices are a little steep”, “the clothes are definitely pricey”, “in my opinion they’re a bit expensive”, “I just ordered one because of the high prices”, and much more.

That said; if you want to shop on the cheap, Club Monaco is definitely the destination you should be heading.

Price Adjustment

Club Monaco is committed to giving you the best value possible; so even if you buy an item and find a few days later that it is marked down on their site, you don’t need to worry about not having waited a few days more before making your purchase.

If the item is marked down within seven days of your original purchase (the date on your invoice), all you need do is contact Club Monaco about it and they’ll credit you the price difference using your original payment method. However, is only applicable to items purchased at full retail price.

Promotions

A review of the promotions offered by a store is important because it gives customers the opportunity to get items for free or for less than their full prices.

Thankfully, Club Monaco offers different promos from time to time. The promos are usually time specific which means that they apply to only specific time periods.

At the time of writing this review, one of the promos that were being offered was tagged “friends and family event”; it allowed 25% off certain purchases including all new arrivals.

Club Monaco also offers a student discount of 20%. All you need do is show a valid student ID card at checkout. Also, this is the biggest student discount you’ll find in the industry. Some stores don’t even offer student discounts, while others offer less than 20%.

Another advantage of shopping in Club Monaco is that they have a referral program that rewards you when someone you introduce to the store makes a successful purchase. Even the friend you invite gets rewarded.

The friend gets a 20% discount on their first purchase in the store, and you also get a 20% discount on your next purchase. However, the offer cannot be used on sales/ clearance items, vintage items and items of some of the featured brands.

Payment Method

You want an online fashion store that supports a wide range of payment options so that you won’t have any problem with paying for your orders.

In this regard, Club Monaco partners with Borderfree and thus accepts the full range of payment options that Borderfree accepts. This includes PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB, and China UnionPay. Borderfree says that more payment options will be added soon.

Customer Support Service

There may be something you’ll want to know about the store and you’ll need a store that readily helps customers with their every question. There may be issues with orders, and you’ll want a store that swiftly helps with resolving such issues. Therefore, a review of the customer support service of an online store is very important.

Club Monaco provides two channels for addressing customers’ issues/ complaints – an email service and a telephone service.

The telephone line for reaching the company is 1-888-733-6410; while the email address to submit your queries is: CustomerAssistanceUS@ClubMonaco.com. You may also use the online contact form on their website to send Club Monaco a mail.

However, I’ll like to see more customer support options, especially the live chat feature. Where a customer does not want to pick up the phone for support, live chat will still allow instantaneous feedback.

Summary

Club Monaco is a legit online fashion retailer. There’s no doubt about that. They’re owned by Polo Ralph Lauren, and with over 150 stores, they have the capacity to fulfil orders. With the use of industry-standard data protection measures, the shop is also safe.

Club Monaco ticks all the boxes of the ideal fashion online retailer. Club Monaco offers both men and women clothing, and you’ll find every clothing piece. They hold a large inventory and you’ll not be short of choice.

With credit cards and PayPal accepted as payment options; paying for orders is easy. Free shipping is offered worldwide; returns are allowed and made easy with a returns label (US orders), and they have a responsive customer support service.

I liked

• Hold a wide product range, and a large inventory of each product type
• Offers only functional and high-quality clothing pieces
• Free shipping is offered, and it is available for worldwide addresses

I didn’t like

• The amount that qualifies an order for free shipping is relatively high ($150 for US orders and $200 for international orders)
• Relatively high prices for merchandise in the store
• Relatively high order amount for qualifying for free shipping
• Does not offer product exchanges
• Limited payment options
• Limited support options

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