How many times do you find a near-perfect fashion style? The designer thinks it’s perfect, but we all have different tastes. Maybe chopping the sleeve from three-quarter length to elbow length would have done it for you.
How many times do you find the perfect fashion style, which unfortunately does not fit?
It’s not news that in women fashion, getting that style and size that’s perfect for you can easily be a difficult task. That account for why many items fresh from being delivered are taken for amendments. This is where eShakti comes in – to eliminate the problem of near-perfect styles or ill-fitting perfect styles.
eShakti is an online women fashion destination which advertises that it “has disrupted women’s fashion with personalized clothing made to the customer’s size and height and her preference in style”.
The big fashion is whether using eShakti is worthwhile. For example, can you really shop custom-sized and custom-styled fashions products from the online store? Apart from customizing, what about the quality offered; are the items made from quality materials and well made? What about pricing; does eShakti offer competitive pricing? If eShakti offers “the product” and at the right price, what about its service? Does it offer top services that we’ll want from the ideal online store (such as ease of use, fast delivery, friendly return policy, effective customer service, etc)? In the first place is eShakti legit?
Yes, eShakti is legit. It is not a scam because they have been online and delivering fashion products to all its customers without a problem. With this store, you money and payment information is sound and secure.
This eShakti review will examine eShakti in order to provide the information that will help you answer these questions and more.
eShakti Review at a glance
- Website: eshakti.com
- An international fashion retailing brand from India founded in 1999
- Focuses on women fashion pieces (dresses, tops, pants, etc)
- Offers the option of size and style customization
- All customizations (size and style) comes at a cost of $9.95 per clothing item
- Offering a welcome offer of 33% off first order (up to $30)
- Ships to locations within the US and 19 other countries
- Returns are allowed even for custom-sized and custom-styled merchandise
- Return window is 30 days from the delivery date for a refund via the original payment, and 31- 60 days from the delivery date for refunds via store credits
- Customer Support is provided via email (online contact form) and telephone (855 374 2584)
What is eShakti? – About
There is no doubt that the diversity in human shapes and sizes means that getting a fashion item to size is not as easy as it should be. Also, the diversity in preferences means that sometimes only personalization can give fashion pieces that match your taste. eShakti says that its value proposition is “fashion customization that is easy, fast, affordable”
eShakti was established in 1999 by BG Krishnan; and is headquartered in Chennai, India. It also has offices in New York, as it primarily serves the American market; as such, eShakti now stands as one of few consumer brands originating from India that has a stronghold in the American market.
eShakti advertises with the tagline “We design. You customize”. True to the first part of that tagline (We design), you’ll find that eShakti provides a range of fashion products (dresses, tops, pants, etc); and for each product, you’ll find a range of designs. Like any regular fashion retailer, these fashion styles can be ordered “as shown” in standard sizes. Also, true to the second part of that tagline (You customize), you can pick any of the shown styles and customize it to match your style. Also, instead of ordering the custom-styled item in standard sizes, you can opt for the clothing item to be sewn to your size (that is, custom-sized). At the time of writing this review, eShakti offered only three brands – Zapelle, Wayward Fancies, and eShakti (an in-house brand).
Is eShakti legit?
It’s not mews that unsuspecting customers are getting ripped off by scammers almost every other day. Thus, before making any transaction in any online platform, it’s wise to determine that the platform is legit. The big question is whether eShakti is legit.
The short answer to that is yes. The long answer is that eShakti is 100% legal, has industry-wide recognition, and has a rich operating record of helping women get custom-sized and custom-styled fashion pieces.
Our first test of a legit online store is usually legality. This is because stores that are 100% legal are less likely to be scams. Thankfully, eShakti ticks this box. eShakti is a private independent Company. It has put together different financing rounds from robust investors that include Infina Finance, IDG Ventures, and IvyCap Ventures. Suffice it to say that a scam store cannot see investment from such high-profile investors.
Another test of a legit online store is visibility and industry-wide recognition. This is because the scam stores operate largely in the shadows. Thankfully, eShakti ticks this box. Though it’s based in India, eShakti has offices in New York with plans for more offices in the West Coasts of the USA. Also, due to its US focus, eShakti is widely known in the US as the go-to destination for custom-made women fashion. Suffice it to say that a scam store cannot earn this recognition.
Another test of a legit online store is the test of time. This is because the scam stores are usually short-lived. With time, scamming is exposed; and with such exposure, the particular store disappears. Thankfully, eShakti passes this test of time. The store was launched in 1999, giving it over 20 years in the industry. Suffice it to say that it is just impossible for a scam store to rip people off using the same front for 2 decades.
However, the ultimate test of a legit online store is the fulfilment of orders. This is because the scam stores are simply set up to rip people off, and so do not fulfil orders. Thankfully, eShakti ticks this box.
In all the online customers’ review platforms, you’ll find that customers who place orders in the platform receive delivery of real products that are largely satisfactory. With all of these combined, there is no doubt that eShakti is a legit online custom-made fashion store.
Is eShakti safe?
eShakti is safe. When shopping online, customers will have to share sensitive data like contact details and credit card details. If this data is not adequately safeguarded and allowed to leak out, the customer will be exposed to all the fraudsters out there. Thus, the ideal online store should be safe in terms of protecting users’ data.
In this regards, eShakti gives two simple guarantees saying these should make your shop without fear at eshakti.com. These guarantees are: “Your transaction is secure, and information provided by you will be kept confidential”.
We found that eShakti employs 128-bit Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology in protecting users’ data that is transmitted in its systems. SSL is the current state of the art for Internet security. Not only does it involve the creation of a private channel between your device and the eShakti servers, but whatever data transmitted is encrypted, ensuring that it cannot be read by unauthorized personnel. With this technical security measure and more, it is safe to say that eShakti is safe.
Products
Product Range
The ideal shopping destination should support a wide product range so that you can get all your related products in one place. For example, when you find a custom-made clothing service that supports dresses, it wouldn’t be convenient to go scrapping for another service if you need custom-made blouses or pants.
In this regards, eShakti ticks the box, as it supports a wide range of women’s clothing. The departments you’ll find include dresses, tops, skirts, pants, and jumpsuits.
eShakti Dresses:
eShakti Tops:
eshakti Jumpsuits:
eshakti Skirts:
In the dresses department, you can shop by style, occasion, pattern, and category. By Style, you’ll find Fit-and-flare, Shift, sheath, Shirt Dresses, Maxi, Wrap. By Occasion, you’ll find Work, Vacation, LBD, Party, Special Occasion, Bridesmaid, Brides.
By Pattern, you’ll find Florals, Stripes, Plaid, Whimsical, Graphics, Animal Prints, Color Block. By category, you’ll find: Embellished, Knits, Solids, Sweater Dresses, Ruffle, Denim Dresses, Dupioni,
In the Tops department, you’ll find Shirts, Blouses, Tunics, Jackets and Cardigans, Tanks and Camisoles. Special category includes Solids, Knits, Embellished, Prints, Denim Jackets. In the Skirt department, you’ll find Denim Skirts and Coordinated Sets. In the Pants department, you’ll find Pants, Jeans, Coordinated Sets, Legging, and Shorts
Product Quality
Apart from finding a range of products, you’ll also want the ideal store to offer only high-quality items so that whatever you grab from the store will not be found wanting quality-wise.
One way to gauge quality is to check what real customers have to say about the store. Thankfully, eShakti does well in this regards. The online store has good ratings in the top online customers’ review platforms. For example: in Trustpilot, eShakti is rated 4.4/ 5 by 255 reviewers; in Sitejabber, it is rated 4.6/ 5 by 783 reviewers; and in Influenster, it is rated 4.3/ 5 by 77 reviewers.
Specifically, you’ll find many positive reviews citing excellent quality of material and workmanship. For example:
- Bianca Lewisoniel in Trustpilot says “… ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!! The quality and workmanship is incredible. This dress is exactly like the picture. Thanks to eShakti. I will definitely order again…”
- Jane in Trustpilot says “example of quality and what customer service should be”
- Janet C in sitejabber says “I was sceptical about ordering a custom garment online, but I am SO HAPPY with the 2-piece, cotton knit set I got from eShakti. The material is nicer than I expected, and it fits me well…”
- Judy C in Sitejabber says “Received yesterday. Well Made, decent fabric, happy with my purchase. AWESOME STYLE…”
- Gail W in sitejabber says “Unbelievable quality for the price”
Using eShakti
To use eShakti, you’ll have to register and create an account. However, registering is easy-breezy. The “We design. You customize” tagline of eShakti is revealing about how it works. To order from eShakti, you’ll have to go to the product categories, where you’ll find scores of designs. When you find a design that you like; you may proceed to order it or customize it before placing the order.
For example, on clicking on a Floral-Print Crepe Wrap Dress, we were taken to the product description page. Every detail of the product was available including a description of style, material composition, sizing, and more.
Additional product images (including close-ups), financing option, and delivery times were also available. We could also see the number of customizable options available for the dress. For the dress we checked it read “Available: additional 3 necklines, 7 sleeve type and 9 length options”.
From viewing the product description, 3 easy steps are needed to place the order.
- Step 1: Indicate your size. You can either choose from the standard size chart, or you can go with custom size and submit your body measurement. eShakti allow entry of a range of measurements, such that you’ll really get something that fits. You’ll also find a “how to measure” guide. Thus, you won’t need to run to a professional to take accurate measurements.
- Step 2: Indicate your height. Remember, this is for ordering a dress
- Step 3: Indicate your style. This is where you customize the dress to your style. For our dress, we could tweak the neckline, sleeve, and dress length. Neckline options included V Neck, Wide Neck, Low V Neck High Back Neck; the Sleeve options included Sleeveless, Inset cap, Capsleeve, Elbow length, three quarter length, bracelet length and long sleeve; the Length options included Mini, Above Knee-length, Knee Length, Below Knee length, 4inch above ankle length, Ankle length, floor length dress, and 2 others. There was also the option to remove pockets.
After customizing to your taste, you can add the item to your shipping bag. You can continue shopping or proceed to checkout where you’ll have to input your shipping address and payment method to complete the order. When your order is successfully received, you’ll get an email confirmation.
Many times, customers have a change of heart immediately after placing an order. Thus, they gravitate towards stores that allow order modification or cancellation. Thankfully, eShakti ticks this box. If you need to make a change to your order, all you have to do is contact the Customer Care team within 24 hours of submitting your order.
Pricing and Related Policies
Pricing
Nobody will want to pay what is perceived as unreasonable for any piece. Thus, the ideal store should feature reasonably priced items. In this regards, remember that eShakti’s value proposition is fashion customization that is not only easy and fast, but also affordable.
First, there is no doubt that eShakti’s customization is affordable. The company does all your size customizing and style customizing for just $9.95 per item. You’ll be hard pressed to find a custom-made clothing store that’s priced better.
However, it should be said that your total purchase price consists of the “as shown” style price plus the customization fee. While the customization fee is relatively low, that cannot be said of the base price – the price for the style “As Shown”.
For example, at the time of writing this review, in the Dresses category, only about 3.3% (51 of 1541 listed dresses) were priced under $50; and all 51 were priced at $49.95 (under $50?). However, over 70% (1085 styles) were priced at $50 – $80. Also, in the Tops category, only 2.9% (6 of 206 styles) were priced under $30; and half of these were priced $29.95. The bulk of the tops (119 styles = 57.7%) were priced at $30 – $50.
To put these prices in perspective, online fashion stores considered as low and affordable usually have many dress styles and Tops under $50 and $30 respectively. That said; the “as shown” pricing of eShakti comes out as relatively on the high side.
Promotions
Even with a fat wallet, you’ll want to take advantage of promotions, because promotions allow customers to get items for less than the items’ listed prices. Thus, customers gravitate towards stores that run a lot of promotions. Thankfully, eShakti is one such store.
For example, at the time of writing this review, eShakti was offering 33% off on your first purchase (up to $30). With this, you can get a whopping $30 off your purchase. eShakti run other promotions from time to time, and these promotions are time-specific. You can keep checking the website to know what promotion is running at anytime. Alternatively, you can register for email alerts.
Payment Methods
Also, you’ll want a hassle-free payment process. For this the store should support a range of convenient payment methods. eShakti ticks the box in this regards. You can pay for your eShakti order using PayPal or the following Credit/ Debit cards – Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover Card. Though eShakti does not break the roof with a long list of payment methods, with PayPal and the cards, you should not have issues with conveniently paying for your order.
Financing Plan
eShakti has also partnered with Affirm financing to give customers a range of financing plans that allow customers to “buy now and pay later”. With Affirm financing, your payment is divided into three equal monthly payments. Interestingly, it is interest-free financing. Thus, the total you’ll pay will equal the purchase price.
Shipping
In an online purchase, shipping is an important consideration. You have to consider whether: the eCommerce platform ships to your location, how long it’ll take to get your order, and how much the shipping will cost.
Shipping Destinations
Except for a store ship directly to your location, receiving delivery of your order will be unnecessarily difficult. Thus, you’ll want a store that ships to worldwide locations so that your location is more likely to be covered.
In this regards, eShakti serves the US and another 19 countries that include Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, UAE, and United Kingdom.
Though it’s fine that some international shipping is done, it is definitely not the world-wide coverage we’ll want.
Delivery Times
After placing an order, buyers will not want to wait endlessly for their item to be delivered. Thus, the ideal online shopping destination should feature fast delivery.
With eShakti, how long it takes your order to be delivered depends on where you are located. However, you’ll find that eShakti offers relatively fast delivery. For example, it takes the company only 9 – 13 days to deliver orders within the 48 contiguous US states.
Orders shipping to every other location served also take 9 – 13 days; the only exceptions are orders shipping to Canada and Australia which take 11 – 16 days to be delivered.
These delivery times include everything from processing your order to making the custom product, packing it, and to shipping it to your order.
Shipping Costs
The total cost of any online purchase consists of the item’s purchase price and its shipping cost. Thus, high shipping cost can drive up the total acquisition cost, and can easily make an item that is acceptably priced too expensive to acquire.
Thus, the ideal online shopping destination should feature shipping costs that are as low as possible.
With eShakti, shipping cost depends on where the item is shipping to and the total value of the order. For example: when shipping to the US, or Canada orders below $49.99 cost $9.00, orders with a value of $50 – $74.99 cost $9.95, orders with a value of $75 – $99.99 cost $11.95, orders with a value of $100 – $124.99 cost $12.95, orders with a value of $125 – $149.99 cost $14.95, orders with a value of $150 – $199.99 cost $16.95, and orders of $200 or more cost $24.95.
Orders shipping to every other country mirror these shipping costs except Canadian Orders, where shipping costs start at $11.00 for orders below $49.99 and ends at $24.95 for orders of $200 or above.
However, as an international shopper, you should know that there may be some additional charges levied by the respective government (such as Customs and duties).
For example, Canadian customers may have to pay duties up to 17 – 18% of the order value.
Returns
Many times, customers make an online purchase but are anything but happy with what is delivered. Thus, they gravitate towards shopping platforms that allow customers return any item that is not satisfactory for a replacement or refund.
Unfortunately, while returns are common in the conventional fashion industry, they are less common in the custom-fashion industry.
The restrictive return policy of the custom-fashion industry is understandable because the order is specifically made for the customer – made to the customer’s style preference, measurements, etc.
However, for a custom-made online fashion store, eShakti not only allows returns but has a very friendly return policy.
If you are not happy with your order, eShakti accepts the return of unworn merchandise, including custom-sized and custom styled garments.
This is where eShakti beats many custom-made fashion stores who do not allow the return of merchandise except there was a production error.
Return Window
Also, when returning an order, you don’t have forever. However, eShakti gives a relatively long return window, which is 30 days from the delivery date.
With a whole of 30 days to get the item to eShakti, there’s a lower risk of your item getting to the Company late.
It should be said that many other online fashion stores reject return packages that get to them late. However, eShakti friendly return policy continues.
Returned items that reach eShakti within its 30 days return window will qualify for a refund of the item’s purchase made in the original form of payment. But when return are up to 30 days late; they are not rejected like most stores do; rather, such returns will qualify for eShakti Gift card.
That is, if your returned item is received by eShakti within 31 – 60 days of the original delivery date, eShakti will issue refunds as store credits.
More so, the value of the credits will be the item’s purchase price, any customization fee, and the original shipping fee.
It should be noted here that if you customized your merchandise, you’ll not be refunded the customization fee if you’ll receive your refunds to the original payment. Original shipping will also not be refunded.
Full refunds (item purchase price + any customization fee + original shipping fees) only apply when you want store credits.
Though not getting a “full refund” if cash refund is needed might hurt, in our opinion, being able to return customized merchandise is a big advantage that more than make up for the small customization fee that you loss.
Product Exchanges
Sometimes, when customers have issues with an order, they don’t want a refund, but a replacement item. In such cases, product exchanges are helpful.
Stores that offer Exchanges will immediately send the replacement item after processing your return package. Thus, Exchanges facilitate the process of getting the replacement as you won’t need to wait to be refunded before going for the new item.
However, eShakti does not allow product exchanges. If you have issues with your order, you’ll have to return it, get refunded, and place a fresh order. Thus, you’ll wait relatively longer to get a replacement.
Refund Processing
After returning an item to its retailer, you won’t want it to take forever to get refunded. Thus, the ideal stores should process returns and issue refunds as fast as possible.
eShakti advertises that it process returns within 7 days from receipt of the return package. After that, the refunds are issued immediately.
However, you’ll need to allow additional days for your financial institution to do their thing for the funds to be reflected in your account.
Customer Support
The ideal online store should have an effective customer support service for answering the questions and resolving the issues that customers will have. In this regards, eShakti supports the self-help and contact channels.
For self-help; though there’s no dedicated FAQ page, you’ll find informational articles in the eShakti website that will answer some questions you may have, especially those relating to how eShakti works, shipping, and returns.
For contact-help, you can contact a Customer Care team of the company via email or telephone. The email service is actually an Online Contact Form, which can be accessed in the “Contact Us” page of the website.
For the telephone service, the number to call is 855 374 2584. The line is available between the hours of 8:00 am – 4:00 pm PST (Monday – Friday). Interestingly, the line is toll-free, so you won’t have to worry about charges when getting help.
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Summary
eShakti is a go-to destination for custom women clothing. You’ll find that it supports a range of women (dresses, tops, skirts, and pants); and you’ll find numerous styles in each product category. Like the regular fashion stores, you can order “as shown” styles and in standard sizes.
But the business focus of eShakti is allowing size and style customization. That is; you can choose a style, and tweak it to suit your taste, and submit your measurements so that your custom style can be made to size.
eShakti says its value proposition is “fashion customization that is easy, fast, affordable”. True to this: it’s pretty easy to customize a fashion piece and place an order; eShakti will make and get your custom piece to your door quickly, as it has relatively fast delivery times; and it’s customizing fee of $9.95 per item is one of the lowest you’ll find.
One area where eShakti shines is returned. The Company has a friendly return policy which allows customers to return any unsatisfactory order including custom-made items and within a relatively wide return window.
However, all roads are not paved. First, eShakti supports only a few countries, and shipping costs come out as relatively high.
Also, “as shown” style price is relatively on the high side. Also, if you return a custom-made item for cash refunds, you’ll lose customization fee.
Pros
- Offers a range of women clothing (dresses, tops, pants, skirts, etc)
- Offers a range of style customizable options for every product
- Very easy to use whether ordering on-the-counter designs or ordering custom-sized or custom-styled
- Provides guides that’ll help you with taking accurate measurements for your custom-sized orders
- Charges a relatively low fee ($9.95) per garment for all customizing
- Offers regular price slashing promotions
- Supports convenient payment methods (PayPal and credits cards)
- Offers 3 months interest-free financing via Affirm
- Orders can be changed within 24 hours of submission (albeit by contacting customer care)
- Delivery times are relatively fast
- Returns are allowed even for custom-sized and custom-styled merchandise
- A relatively long 30 days (from delivery date) return window is allowed
- Items returned within 31 – 60 days (from delivery date) are still accepted, albeit for store credits, and not refund via the original payment method
- Relatively fast return processing time of 7 days
- Customer support is available via email and telephone service
Cons
- As shown style (before customizing) price is relatively on the high side
- Ships to the US, and only 19 other countries
- Shipping costs are relatively expensive
- Product exchanges are not offered
- Refunds are partial if received via original payment method (customization fees are not refunded)
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