Onine Stores

Farfetch is a UK-based fashion store that was established in 2007 with over 500 boutiques and more than 200 direct brands.

Farfetch is an online store that promotes itself as a place for the love of fashion. This implies you may find high-quality and unique clothes at Farfetch. The major issue is whether or not Farfetch has truly stunning fashion items that will be appealing to people into fashion.

Farfetch is a fashion house that sells high-end apparel to clients. This business model has several issues, the most important of which being: Is Farfetch legal? Will an item purchased on Farfetch not be a fake replica of the real thing in their partner boutiques?

This Farfetch review will examine Farfetch in order to provide the information that will help you answer if Farfetch is legit and worth shopping from.

FarFetch review at a glance

• The website is Farfetch.com
• Farfetch is a UK based fashion place that was founded in 2007
• They operate simply as an e-commerce platform for some 500 boutiques and 200 direct brands
• They do not hold any inventory; they only connect you to the stores holding the inventory
• Farfetch is all about luxury fashion, so items are pricey
• There are no (or very few) saving offers
• Returns are allowed if made within 14 days of the delivery date
• Customer support is available via email (customerservice@farfetch.com) and telephone (+44 (0) 20 3962 2362)

What is FarFetch?

According to Farfetch, the platform was “born out of a deep love of fashion and a firm conviction that fashion is an essential manifestation of individuality and what sets us apart.”

In other words, if you want a piece of clothing that is well-crafted and seems like it was designed specifically for you, then Farfetch is the store for you.

Farfetch was founded by Jose Neves in 2007. Their mission is “to be the global technology platform for luxury fashion, connecting creators, curators and consumers”. Thus, when they launched in 2008, they had for sale products from 25 boutiques in 5 countries. By 2010 they have expanded to include 64 boutiques, and the expansion led to the opening of offices in the US and in Brazil.By 2014, the network has further expanded to include over 300 boutiques in 35 countries. By 2015, more boutiques and direct brand partners joined the platform; and local offices were opened across Asia, including China and Hong Kong. By 2016, Farfetch was boasting of almost 500 boutique partners and 200 direct brand partners.

It is important to understand that Farfetch operates simply as an e-commerce platform of her over 700 boutique and direct brand partners. Thus, Farfetch is not a fashion store that sells owned merchandise. When you purchase products from farfetch.com, you are not purchasing the items from Farfetch, but from the named partner.Farfetch simply acts as an agent on behalf of the partner, authorized by the partner to conclude the sales contract on their behalf. Thus, Farfetch does not hold any inventory, everything is in the stores/ showrooms of the partners, and it is from there that the item(s) will be shipped to you when you make an order.

Some of the partner boutiques you’ll find in Farfetch are 13 metriquadri (Ballaria, Italy), 202 (London, UK), 20 Twelve (Memphis, US), 4 (Kuwait City, Kuwait), 400m2 (Marseille, France), 519 (Verona, Italy), A Me Mi (Carate Brianza, Italy). Designers you’ll find include Balenciaga, Chloe, Dolce & Gabbana, Givenchy, Gucci, Monnalisa, Prada, Saint Laurent, Valentino, Versace, and more.

Is Farfetch legit?

FarFetch is a genuine service, not a scam. When you’re purchasing anything on an internet platform, the first step is to ensure that the site is trustworthy; otherwise, you risk losing your money. There are simply too many fraudulent/scam websites in existence for you to be comfortable.

Our first check in determining whether Farfetch is legit or not is legality. That is, is the platform 100% legal? In this regard, there’s no doubt that Farfetch is legal. Farfetch.com is owned and operated by Farfetch UK Limited, which is a company registered in England and Wales with registered office in London (at The Bower, 211 Old Street), and with registered company number 06400760.Suffice it to say that fake/ scam stores do not seek company registration. Also, apart from that registered headquarter in London, they have 10 more offices in major cities worldwide. This means that they do not operate only virtually with no physical trace, which is one characteristic of scam stores.

Another check is the test of time. Farfetch has been operating since 2008, which means that they’ve been fulfilling orders for over a decade. Suffice it to say that no scam store can go about scamming people for a decade; it’s only a matter of time before a fake store will be called out, and they disappear with the exposure.However, Farfetch have towed the other line of disappearing; from having 25 partners’ stores when they started, they now have over 700 partners’ stores that include some of the biggest names in the fashion industry. Also, in a bid to grow its brand, Farfetch holds various A-list events that bring together the best of the bests in the industry as well as industry watchers. Suffice it to say that scam stores run away from the spotlight.

That Farfetch fulfill orders is the ultimate test of legitimacy. When you place an order in the platform, no matter the partner store that lists the item, you’ll definitely receive delivery of it. Thus, there’s no doubt that Farfetch is legit.

Is Farfetch Safe?

Farfetch is also a safe store. While Farfetch is legit and will not rip you off; will using the store leave you exposed to other fraudsters? A store will leave you exposed to other fraudsters if it cannot safeguard the information that you share with it.In using an online store, you’ll submit personal information such as your name, and contact information, as well as sensitive data such as your credit card details. That is information you don’t want leaking out to third parties. Thus, the ideal store should not only be legit but should also be safe.

Farfetch says in their Privacy Policy that keeping customers and customers’ data secure is very important to them, and so they take a number of reasonable steps to try and protect customers’ data. One of these steps includes using SSL (Secure Socket Layer) technology.SSL creates a secure link between your device and their servers and any data that is relayed in the link is private, as it is shielded from third unauthorized parties. SSL also encrypts the data before its transference so that even if it is captured it cannot be read by the hackers. Farfetch also does not keep details of credit card that will allow a third party to transact using that card such as CCV number. They also regularly monitor their systems for possible vulnerabilities and attacks.

Thus, it’s safe to say that, Farfetch is safe, and that you can use the platform for your fashion shopping without worrying too much of your data being compromised.

Product

Product Range

It’ll be more convenient to walk into a fashion store where you’ll get everything that you need, instead of visiting multiple stores for your items. Apart from offering convenience, a wide product range can also give cost savings. For example, you may get to pay one order shipping costs, instead of paying multiple shipping costs to ship from different places. Thus, the ideal fashion place should have a wide product range.

Farfetch ticks the box in this regard. First, you can shop for women’s wear, Men wear, Kids’ wear and lifestyle items on the platform. The different items you’ll find in each product category are as follows:

Visit here for more beautiful dresses

Women

• Clothing – activewear, beachwear, coats, denim, dresses, jackets, jumpsuits and All in Ones, knitwear, shorts, skirts, suits, tops, pants
• Shoes – Ballerina shoes, boots, brogues and Oxfords, Espadrilles, flip flops and slides, lace-up shoes, loafers, mules, pumps, sandals, slippers, sneakers
• Bags – backpacks, belt bags, bucket bags, clutch bags, luggage, mini bags, satchel and cross body bags, shoulder bags, tote bags, bag accessories, vintage bags
• Accessories – belts, glasses and frames, gloves, hair accessories, hats, key rings and chains, make up bags, scarves, sunglasses, wallets and purses, vintage accessories
• Jewellery –bracelets, earrings, necklaces, rings, watches, vintage jewellery, fine jewellery

Men

• Clothing – activewear, beachwear, coats, denim, jackets, polo shirts, shirts, shorts, suits, sweaters and knitwear, trousers, T-shirts and vests, underwear and socks, vintage clothing
• Shoes – boat shoes, boots, brogues, derby shoes, espadrilles, flip flops and slides, lace-up shoes, loafers, monk shoes, oxford shoes, sandals, slippers, and sneakers (Hi-Top, Low-Top, Performance sneakers, and more)
• Bags – Backpacks, belt bags, clutch bags, laptop bags and briefcases, luggage and hold-alls, messenger bags, shoulder bags, tote bags, vintage bags
• Accessories – Belts, braces, glasses and frames, gloves, hats, key rings and chains, scarves, sunglasses, ties and bow ties, umbrellas, wallets and cardholders, wash bags, vintage accessories
• Jewellery – bracelets, brooches and pins, cufflinks, earrings, necklaces, and rings
• Watches – aviator watches, chronograph watches, diving watches, dress watches, smartwatch watches, and sports watches

Kids

• Baby Girls (0 – 36 months) – accessories, baby suits, coats, dresses, jackets, shoes, shorts, skirts, swimwear, tops, tracksuits, trousers, and changing bags
• Bay Boys (0 – 36 months) – accessories, baby suits, coats, jackets, shoes, shorts, swim wear, tops, tracksuits, trousers, and changing bags
• Girl – There are items for kids (2 – 12 years) and Teens (13 – 16 years) which includes accessories, coats, denim, dresses, jackets, playsuits and jumpsuits, shoes, shorts, skirts, swimwear, tops, trousers
• Boys – There are also items for kids (2 – 12 years) and Teens (13 – 16 years) which include accessories, coats, denim, jackets, shoes, shorts, swimwear, tops, tracksuits, and trousers

Lifestyle

You’ll also find a few lifestyle items such as Arts, books and magazines, homeware, phone, computer and gadgets, stationery, and umbrellas

The different fashion pieces you can find in Farfetch makes the platform a true one-stop for everyone. For those head-turning evening gowns, party-stopping styles, smart formal styles and more, there’s no better place to get your designers pick.

Product Size

Another important consideration when looking at items in fashion stores is the size of the inventory. It’s not enough that a fashion store/ house offer different product types; it’s also important that they offer a large inventory of each product type.

This is because with a large inventory, you’re more likely to find that piece that’ll make you cry. No doubt, many persons will want to go over a large selection of styles, rather than just a handful of styles when browsing listings to buy a product.

In this regard, Farfetch ticks the box. In fact, it is not possible for anyone fashion store out there to have as many listings as Farfetch. As explained before, Farfetch simply draws together about 700 boutiques and direct brand stores; this means that products from the 700 stores are available in Farfetch.

Farfetch spoils you with choices. For example, at the time of writing this review, in the women product category, there were almost 10,000 different styles in the dress section, and almost 3,000 styles in the skirts section. The men category had over 1,500 styles of polo shirts, and

Product Quality

What you’ll get in Farfetch are luxury items from top-end brands and A-list boutiques. The quality of the items is beyond doubt. Farfetch has grown a business development team with an experienced eye of finding the best boutiques in the areas they work in. Because of the high standards of Farfetch, not every boutique gets admitted into the platform. As a result, those selling in the platform have been thoroughly screened and found and carefully handpicked.

Thus, you’re sure to find exceptional clothing featuring the best fabrics, best tailoring, best designs, and every other best there are in the quality dimensions.

One question mostly asked by customers is whether the items gotten through Farfetch will be of the same quality as when they are bought directly from the store. In order words, if I buy a Givenchy product from Farfetch, will it be of the same quality as when I buy directly from the Givenchy store? The short answer is: Yes. As mentioned earlier, when buying through Farfetch, you’re buying from the Farfetch partner that owns the item; Farfetch role is that of an agent or facilitator.

A look at various independent customer reviews platform also shows that customers are generally satisfied with purchases made in Farfetch.com. For example, Farfetch was given an average rating of 7.5 out of 10 in Trust Pilot; with 76% of the almost 6,500 reviewers rating the platform as excellent. In fact, you’ll be hard pressed to find a negative review of the quality of items from Farfetch.

Prices and Related Policy

Prices

Farfetch has as their mission to be a platform for luxury fashion, and not a platform for fashion. The “luxury” that qualifies fashion tell you everything about what prices are like in the platform.

The prices of items in Farfetch are boutique-specific, meaning they are fixed by the particular boutique (or direct brand) partner; so you may find some price difference. However, prices are generally on the high side. For example, at the time of writing, we couldn’t find any skirt priced below $200; and the prices of the cheapest dresses were in the mid-hundreds (about $500). It’s the same story for items in the men’s category.For example, of the over 1,500 polo shirts, not more than 20 were priced below $100; and these ones were going for $72 – $93. Almost all the polos were in three figures, and some even managed to cross over the three-figure barrier and were costing over $1,000.

When branching into Farfetch to get your fashion items, you know you’re getting designer pieces. You know these pieces are stunning, and you would expect that stunning pieces will come at stunning costs. You’ll be holding hundreds of dollars to get “moderately priced” items in the platform, while you’ll be needing tens of thousands of dollars to get pricey ones.

Promotions

Promotions afford the opportunity to get products for free or for less than their full prices. As a result, we’ll want the ideal fashion store/ house to run as many promotions as possible. 

Unfortunately, you’ll not be getting promotional offers in Farfetch. We know a platform that is generous with promotional offers the moment we get to their landing page; there’s usually the price slashing discount offers and co boldly plastered on the site.

However, the website of Farfetch showed no sign of an offer. Digging, we discovered that the absence of any promotional offer at the forefront is actually because Farfetch do little to no promotion.

With many persons having to jump to reach the prices of items in Farfetch, you’ll expect that there should be some a couple of price slashing offers. However, it would seem that by advertising as a platform for luxury fashion, Farfetch expects its customers to have the money to meet luxury items.

While there are no huge promotional offers, Farfetch does feature a sale section for almost all product types listed in the platform. You can steer to the sales section to get some savings on items. You can save as much as 50 – 70% on most items by shopping from sales.

Payment Methods

You don’t want a fashion store/ house that affords painless services which include easy payment. Thus, the ideal place will support a wide range of payment methods backed by an easy payment process. You want alternative payment methods so that no matter where you are resident in the world, you can easily find one method that is supported that you can use to pay for your order conveniently.

Farfetch ticks the box in this regard. They accept payment from Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Delta, Visa Electron, PayPal, Apple Pay, Ali Pay, Union Pay, JCB, iDeal, Sofort banking. However, it should be noted that this is the range of methods accepted; it does not mean that all the methods will be available to you in your location.

For example, iDeal is only available to the Netherlands, JCB is only available in Japan, while Apple Pay and Union Pay are only available in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.  

Farfetch does not accept cash on delivery or instalments as payments. However, with some of the global options supported, you should not have any problem with paying for your order no matter where you are in the world.

Also, Farfetch transacts in a host of international currencies. This will save you the hassle and associated cost of currency conversions. However, if your local currency is not available, your order will be charged in USD.

Shipping:

When buying products online, you walk into the store, select an item and pay for it; but you do not walk out of the store with the item.  The item will have to be shipped to you. That brings in other considerations such as: whether the store ship to your location; how much extra it will cost for the store to ship the item to your location; and how long you’ll have to wait before the item will be delivered to you in your location.

Shipping Destinations

If you’ll want to receive delivery of your order in your location, you’ll want the store to ship to your location. That’s except you’ll be willing to pick up your package at a location that the store supports that’s closest to you. However, that’s a proposition that’s cost prohibitive; and so shipping to your location is really the only option. In this regard, the ideal online shop will ship to many locations across the world, so that your location will most likely be covered. 

Farfetch ticks the box in this regard. They ship to over 230 locations of the world which includes every region of the world. No matter where you are resident in the world, Farfetch is more likely to serve you than many of the fashion stores or fashion houses in the industry.

Shipping Times

You don’t want to wait too long to receive delivery of your package. Thus, the ideal fashion store/ house will offer fast delivery.

There are three shipping methods used by Farfetch – DHL Express, UPS Express Saver, and UPS Standard. When using DHL Express, delivery to most of Europe and the US takes 2 – 4 days while delivery to the rest of the world takes 3 – 7 days. It’s the same for UPS Express Saver: Europe and the US takes 2 – 4 days, while the rest of the world takes 3 – 7 business days.  The UPS Standard is available for only delivery within Europe, and it takes 5 – 7 days.

The delivery times are based on the time from dispatch. After placing your order, it will take 1 – 2 days for the order to be processed and dispatched. If you’ve seen reviews of other fashion shops, you’ll find that Farfetch has one of the shortest orders processing time. That they process and dispatch your order quickly means that their overall delivery time will be fast.

Farfetch also offers a Same Day delivery service, where you’ll get your package the same day you place the order. The delivery service is available in the following cities: Barcelona, Berlin, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Miami, Milan, New York, Paris, and Rome.

Expectedly, Same Day orders will be given fast processing. You’ll have to place your order before 11 am (local time) to receive it the same day. If your order is completed before 11 am, it will be processed swiftly, and you’ll receive the package by 7 pm of the same day.

From our reviews of fashion stores/ houses, we find that most fashion stores offer same day delivery in only their domestic markets. That is if a store is US based, Same Day delivery will be available for only US orders, and so on. Therefore, it’s impressive that Farfetch is able to give Same Day delivery in the major cities of the world.

Also, while Same Day delivery is the fastest delivery that you’ll get in almost all the other fashion stores/ houses, Farfetch is able to offer something faster. With the launch of their F90 service, they are able to deliver orders from select partners to doors in 90 minutes.The F90 Farfetch partners’ stores are located in Berlin, Dubai, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, London, Madrid, Milan, New York, Paris, and Sao Paulo. If the service (F90) is available in your location, you’ll be presented with the option during checkout.

Shipping Cost

You don’t want to pay over the tops to have your order shipped to you. When shopping online, the total expenditure on an item is not just the cost of the item, but also includes the cost of shipping the item. Therefore, high shipping costs can easily shoot the total expenditure up. As a result, the ideal fashion store/ house will have shipping costs that are as low as possible.

The lowest possible shipping cost is zero; that is free shipping. Unfortunately, Farfetch does not offer free shipping. Where free shipping is not offered, we like to see low rates. It’s even better if flat rates are offered so that the amount that you pay for shipping will not increase with an increase in the quantity or weight of the order.

However, because Farfetch is not a store, they do not have a particular distribution centre from where they ship worldwide, and so they are not able to fix flat shipping rates. When you buy using Farfetch, you may be buying from a store in your own customs zone, or from a store at the other end of the world. Therefore, in Farfetch, shipping costs will vary depending on the size, weight, and destination of the chosen item.However, if you’re willing to raise your order above a particular threshold, you’ll get flat shipping rate. Depending on where you’re shipping (applicable currency of your purchase), the flat shipping fee applies to orders above the following thresholds: 100GBP, 150USD, 140EUR, 215 AUD, 200 CAD, 10,000 RUB, 18,000 JPY, 1,000 CNY, 180,000 KRW, 215 SGB, 150 CHF, 2,500 MXN, 1,200 HKD, and 580 BRL. The flat shipping offer means that you can purchase multiple items from multiple partner stores and still pay one shipping fee. The one shipping fee you’ll pay in that case will be the lowest price shipping option available for the item in your order which will be travelling the farthest to reach you. At checkout, you’ll find all available delivery option available to your location, as well as how much each will cost.

Something that turns most customers off is having to pay additional fees upon delivery of their package. They’ll want a store that includes all charges in the shipping costs, so that after paying for shipping, they can receive their package without extra charges.

In Farfetch, cost of taxes and duties are included in the order for many locations. If you’re located in any of the following locations, you won’t have to pay additional fees to get your package; these are European Union, Canada, Brazil, China, Australia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, Singapore, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Qatar, Israel, India, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, U.A.E., Japan, Isles of Man, Guernsey, Jersey, San Marino, and Mexico.

However, if you’re located outside these countries, what you pay to exclude import duties and sales tax, and you’ll have to pay these fees to have your order released from customs. That’s except all the items in your order are coming from a partner store in your custom zone.

Returns

Online purchase is characterized by blind purchase; that is, you’ll be buying items that you did not have the opportunity to physically examine. Needless to say, there is the chance that the item may not be what you expected it to be.Even where the item wows in every way, fashion products are sized items, and there’s a chance that an item you order will turn out to be too big or too small and does not fit. There is even the ugly case of being delivered a faulty item, or a wrong item altogether.Whatever the case, if for some reasons the item in your order turns out to be something you’ll rather not keep, you’ll want to be able to return it back to the store. Thus, the returns policy is a very important consideration when rating fashion stores. Thankfully, Farfetch allows returns.

Returns Window

With return policies, the seller will give you a number of days to return any item to them; and only if your items are returned within the allowed time will they accept it and issue you a refund or exchange. Thus, it’s not enough that a store allows returns; you’ll also want to determine how many days you have to return the item to the store. You don’t want a short returns window that’ll have you running against time to get in your returns on time.

Farfetch gives a 14 days returns window; which means that any item you’re returning to them must get to them not later than 14 days after the delivery date. From reviewing numerous fashion stores, we find that many of the stores allow up to 30 days for returns. Thus, the 14 days allowed by Farfetch is about half what you’ll get in most other places.

That said; if you’ll want to have enough time to do your returns, Farfetch might not be the best platform. However, if you’ll quickly repackage and send back any item that you want to be returned, there’s no reason why 14 days wouldn’t suffice. 

Ease and Cost of Returns

Sometimes, customers will want to return an item, but will rather not go through the difficult process. The result is that the store would have retained the payment, but would have lost a customer (and future sales). Thus, the ideal store should offer easy returns. That’s exactly what Farfetch offers.

The returns process is very easy and straight forward. They even offer free returns pick up. You only need to (i) go to “My Orders & Returns” and select the items you are returning, and confirm your pick up address and time; and (ii) package the items appropriately, and attach the returns label. The courier will come at the chosen time to the selected pick up address to collect the returns package.

The returns label that Farfetch provides is also free, which means that there will be nothing deducted from your refund for the label.

Conditions of Returns

Just as it applies in all the fashion shops/ houses in the market; when returning items they must be in their original new conditions. That is, they must be unworn, undamaged, and unused; and must have all tags and labels attached. The items must be returned in their original packaging; foot wears and accessories should even be returned with their dust bags where provided.

Care should be taken to ensure the items are not damaged or stained in any way when trying them on. Else they won’t be accepted when returned. Hosiery, lingerie, and swimwear must be returned with the hygiene seal unbroken; and beauty and cosmetic products must be returned unopened.

Refunds

If the returned items get to Farfetch within 14 days of the original delivery date, and the items meet the conditions for returned items, you’ll be issued a refund in the original payment method.

It’s a good thing that Farfetch issues refunds as cash to the original payment method, unlike some stores that only issue store credits. With your cash back in your bank, you can decide whether to continue with Farfetch or to go to another store/ platform. However, Farfetch does not state how long it will take them to process returns and issue the refund. This is one detail we’ll like to know.

Customer Support

The first step to getting help is the self-help service – FAQ section of their website. This holds articles that may answer some of the questions that you’ll have about Farfetch and their service. However, if you still need to directly contact someone from the customer support team, they provide an email service and a telephone service.

You can send them an email by using the contact form on their website, or by sending your mail directly from your email to customerservice@farfetch.com. In either case, you’ll get your response in your after a few hours.However, if you’ll rather not wait for a response, you can put a call through using +44 (0) 20 3962 2362. The phone line is active between 8am – 11 pm GMT from Monday to Friday, and between 9am – 9pm GMT on Saturdays and Sundays.

It’s good that they support the traditional email service and the instant feedback telephone service; however, the miss the live chat feature, which would have completed the trifecta. We’ll like to see the live chat feature for those who’ll want instant feedback but don’t want to pick up the phone.

Also, for an international company, it’s disappointing that the customer support service of Farfetch is not round the clock (24/ 7). The active GMT time is another person’s downtime in another time zone; so, in our opinion, a 24/ 7 customer support service is necessary for a worldwide company.

• Offer a wide range of products; as well as a large inventory of every product type
• Products are of the highest quality
• Relatively fast order processing time (2 days) and fast delivery
• Same day delivery is available in the major cities of the world
• They offer super fast 90 minutes delivery when buying from select partner stores
• Efficient customer support service

• This is exclusively a platform for luxury items, so prices are on the high side
• There are no huge saving offers such as price slashing discounts
• They do not offer free shipping
• They offer a relatively short returns window (14 days)
• Live chat is not supported

Conclusion

Farfetch.com is a legit and safe platform where you can shop luxury fashion for men, women, and kids. They operate as a market place where the best boutiques and brands are brought to connect with their customers.Having luxury items means that the quality of the items you’ll get in Farfetch is top-notch; and as to be expected with luxury items, their prices are also in the skies.

With a wide product range and a humongous amount of items to choose from, this is a platform where you’ll find exquisite styles.Also, their service is one of the best you’ll find in the business: a good range of payment options is supported and paying for orders is painless; orders are processed speedily and delivery is fast. It only hurts that there is no free shipping, and you get flat shipping rates only if your total spend to reach a threshold.

You’ll like the items you get from Farfetch; but if for some reasons you have to return an item, you’ll find that they have an easy and free returns service. The only bump on the returns policy is that their returns window is only 14 days, and not the often seen 28 – 30 days.Their customer service is also very efficient; there are a couple of options to reach the service, and response is usually timely and helpful. There is no reason why you shouldn’t look at Farfetch for your luxury fashion items. For more sites like FarFetch, visit Prettylittlething.com and Zaful.com

If you have experience with FarFetch, kindly use the review section below to give us your brief FarFetch review.

There are so many online fashion retailers that it can be confusing to determine where to go for your fashion shopping. Fat Face is a UK based retailer that pledges to “combine trusted quality with considered style” to offer customers great value.

FatFace is a legit fashion store. It is not a scam because it will never steal your money. And you are going to get your items shipped to you with a problem.

Does FatFace offer quality materials just as they promised?

The big question is whether that is just a marketing speech or whether they really offer that (trusted quality + considered style = great value). In the first place is Fat Face legit?

This FatFace review will examine FatFace in order to provide the information that’ll help you answer these questions and more.

Fat Face review at a glance

• UK based fashion retail Company started in 1988
• Currently, operating over 200 stores in the UK
• Offers clothing and accessories for women, men, and kids (boys and girls)
• The quality of items is good, and the prices are competitive
• Offers free standard shipping and free Next Day delivery for UK orders over £60 and £100 respectively
• Offer flat shipping rates, which are also low
• Returns are allowed for both full-price orders and Sales orders; the former should be made within 30 days of the delivery date, while the latter’s window is 15 days
• Customer support is available via email and telephone

What is FatFace?

FatFace was founded by Tim Slade and Jules Leaver in 1988. The owners started out selling printed T-Shirts at the French ski resort Meribel; afterwards, they moved to other ski resorts and added other outdoor-related clothing to their collection.

The first FatFace store was opened 4 years later in 1992 in London. The company grew and many more shops were opened across Europe. FatFace had been selling only men’s clothing but introduced the women’s and kids’ clothing ranges in 1997. Though, Tim Slade and Jules Leaver still have some shares in the company, since 2007 FatFace has been operated by Bridgepoint Capital when they bought about 55% of the shares.

The online store can be found at www.fatface.com. The online e-commerce platform was launched in 2001; and since then, FatFace has not failed to fulfil orders placed online. The website is can be used only if you’re above 18; if you’re under 18, you’ll need to involve a parent or guardian. The website is available in English Language only; it is fully mobile-optimized, so you can shop on the go using your mobile phones and tablets.

Is FatFace Legit?

Fat Face is legit, and not a scam. Whether an online platform is legit or a scam is one of the questions that must be asked before proceeding to join. This is especially so when you’ll have to send in your hard-earned money. There are many scam artists on the internet; and if you do not verify that a platform is legit before sending them your money, it may be too late before you realize that you have been ripped off. In this regard, there is no doubt that Fat Face is legit.

First, the company has been in operation for over 30 years (since 1988). Suffice it to say that no scam company can continue scam operation for 3 full decades. Also, Fat Face is a company that is 100% legal. The company is registered as Fat Face Limited, registered in England and Wales, with company number 2954734. Suffice it to say that no scam company will pursue company registration. Also, the company’s operators are well known. From its inception, when it was run as a partnership, to when the Living bridge came on board, and then to Advent International, and now to Bridgepoint Capital; who is responsible for the company has never been doubting. Suffice it to say that the operators of scam stores are never known, and always hide behind phoney names and monikers. Lastly, Fat Face has a physical existence, and with it the ability to fulfil orders. Scam stores do not fulfil orders, and that is why they are a scam. When an unsuspecting customer pays for items, the money is taken (sometimes, the account could be wiped), and such items are never delivered. The problem is that scam stores operate only virtually; there is no production centre, no physical stores/ showrooms, and no products. On the other hand, Fat Face boasts of a robust physical presence with a network of over 200 stores in the UK alone. These stores hold hundreds of thousands of merchandise. Thus, when you place an order; Fat Face is sure to fulfil it, and deliver your package. That said; there is no doubt that Fat Face is legit.

Is FatFace safe?

FatFace is safe. It is not enough that a store is legit; it is also important that it is safe. Being legit means that the store will not rip you off, and being safe means that the store will not leave you exposed to fraudsters who’ll rip you off. Thus, a store being safe is as important as it being legit. When you shop in an online store, you submit personal information and sensitive data such as your name, mailing address, credit card information etc. For a store to be safe, it should ensure that the information that is shared with them is protected and not allowed to fall into the wrong hands. You don’t want information like credit card details to get to be captured by fraudsters.

In this regards, Fat Face says they use “strict procedures and security features to try and prevent unauthorized access” to customers’ information. Part of the security features is SSL (Secure Socket Layer) technology which creates a secure connection between your device and their servers so that every data that is exchanged remains private. SSL technology also encrypts the data before it is relayed in the secure link; thus, even if it is captured, it cannot be read. Thus, there’s no doubt that Fat Face is safe.

Product Range

The ideal online fashion store should hold a wide product range so that you can shop all your fashion items in one place. This will save the time and effort of having to check out multiple stores; it will also result in cost savings. The cost savings come from bulk purchase discounts, and from paying for one order shipment instead of paying to ship different orders from different stores.

In this regard, Fat Face ticks the box because they come out as a true one-stop fashion shop. They provide fashion products for everyone – women, men, and kids (boys and girls). They hold a wide product range, and you’ll find almost every clothing piece for each category. The different categories in the store and the items you’ll find in each are as follows:

Women

• Women Clothing – Athleisure, Coats and Jackets, Dresses and Skirts, Jeans, Jumpsuits, Knitwear, Nightwear and Pyjama sets, Shirts, Shorts, Sweatshirts and Hoodies, Swimwear, Tops and T-Shirts, Trousers, Underwear and /socks,
• Accessories – Bags and Purses, Bath and Body products, Bedding, Belts, Books, Gloves, Hats, Jewellery, Phone cases, Scarves, Seasonal Essentials, and Socks
• Footwear – Boots, Sandals, Slippers, Trainers, Wellies, and Branded Footwear

Men

• Men’s clothing – Coats and Jackets, Jeans, Knitwear, Nightwear, Shirts, Shorts, Sweatshirts and Hoodies, Swimwear, Trousers and Chinos, T-Shirts and Polos, Underwear and Socks
• Accessories – Bags and Wallets, Bath and Body products, Belts, Books, Hats, Scarves, Phone cases, Seasonal essentials, and Socks
• Footwear – Boots, Branded Footwear, Shoes, Slippers, and Trainers

Kids

• Girls Clothing – Coats and Jackets, Dresses and Skirts, Jeans, Shorts and Trousers, Knitwear, Nightwear, Sweatshirts and Hoodies, Swimwears, and Tops & T-Shirts
• Girls Footwear and Accessories – Bedding, Footwear, Gloves, Hats, Scarves, and Socks
• Boy’s Clothing – Coats and Jackets, Jeans, Shorts and Trousers, Knitwear, Nightwear, Shirts, Sweatshirts and Hoodies, Swimwear, T-Shirts and Polos.
• Boys Footwear and Accessories – Bedding, Footwear, Gloves, Hats, Scarves, Socks, and Sunglasses

Another important consideration when examining the products in a store is the size of the inventory. The ideal store should not only have a wide product range (that is, have different products), they should have a large inventory of each product type. That way, in each product section, you’ll be able to make a choice from a huge selection, which means that you’ll be more likely to find something that you like.

In this regard, we think that for an international retailer, Fat Face can do more. At the time of writing this review, there were: 36 products in the Women At leisure section; 40 products in the women dresses and skirts section, 35 products in the coats and jackets section; 28 products in the women jeans section; 42 products in the Sweatshirts and Hoodies section; 31 products in the women’s Boots and Wellies section. The men’s category was no different; there were only 36 products in the trouser and chinos section. The men’s T-Shirts and Polos section held the kind of numbers we want to see – 140 products. That said; it’s safe to say that Fat Face holds a sizeable enough inventory to serve selection needs.

However, the inventory is not large enough, resulting in items going out of stocks very often. This is one problem that has plagued the company as gleaned from customer reviews of the company in different online platforms. In many cases, customers were frustrated that the company allowed the placing of the order(s) only to communicate them later that the item(s) is out of stock. The customers will then have to wait until the company receives new stock before their package will be delivered. If you were expecting the item for an occasion, you’ll understand the frustration of the customers. To the customers, FatFace becomes a company who is only interested in grabbing their money. This ugly situation can be avoided by increasing stock, or by preventing the placing of orders that have gone out of stock.

Also, another important consideration is the quality of the items in the store. It’s not enough that a store holds a wide product rage or a sizeable inventory, it’s also important that the items it sells be of high quality. That way, you’ll be sure to be getting good value for whatever amount leaves your wallet/ purse. In this regard, Fat Face does produce clothes that are meant to last; they feature high-quality fabric and trims, which offers consistent fits and authentic finishes and washes. It’s interesting to know that in the many customer reviews of Fat Face in independent online platforms, the complaints about the quality of items obtained from Fat Face is very few to non-existent. This is despite the fact that the company has some very scathing reviews online. You’ll find reviews that start with: “Fat Face may have good products but…” Suffice it to say that if the products of Fat Face are lacking in quality, it will be drummed in the customer reviews.

Prices, Promotions and Related Policies

Prices

The prices of items in a store affect sales. Even where stores are reputable for selling premium high-quality items, there is a certain amount above which customers will not be willing to pay. Thus, the ideal online fashion retailers should expertly blend quality and cost, and produce good-quality items that are affordably priced.

In this regard, Fat Face also ticks the box. Sure, the shop is not where to go if you’re looking for super cheap fashion products; as there are fashion retailers that pride themselves on low and unbeatable prices. However, Fat Face is affordably priced; and the store will definitely not burn a hole in your wallet/ purse.

At the time of writing this review, you’ll find women’s Athleisure crop tops/ vests for £10.00 – £22.50; dresses were priced at £20 – £49.50; most of the women’s coat and jackets were priced at £45 – £110; a lot of women’s jeans were priced at £49.50; Sweatshirts and Hoodies were priced at £39.50 – £69; and most of the women’s boots cost £65 – £75. The men’s category was no different. You’ll find a lot of men’s trousers with the full price in the £42 – £49.50 range, while a lot was discounted to £22.50 – £28.50. Also, the full price of many of the men’s Polos and T-Shirts was £22 – £32.50; but you’ll find some discounted to £10 – £20. That said; if you want an online store that provides good fashion pieces at okay prices, Fat Face should make the list.

Promotions

Customers are always looking out for promotions because these present opportunities to get products for free or for less than the full prices. Thus, the ideal fashion retailer should offer huge promotional offers, and should also run these offers frequently.

In this regard, Fat Face comes out strong. Fashion retailers that are generous with promotions will display different such offers on their landing page, and Fat Face is no different. At the time of writing this review; the landing page of Fat Face announced a 25% off “our latest collections”.  Other than that, there were other promotional offers such as 3 for 2 underwear and socks where you get three of the items for the price of two. The landing page also advertised a “sales” that promised “further reductions”. True to that, many of the sales items were discounted by as much as 50%. The company also offers other avenues for getting products for less than their full prices such as Newsletter Bonus, Student Discount, and Military Discount.

Fat Face used to give a 15% discount if you register with your email to get newsletters from them; however, at the time of writing this review, it wasn’t clear if the newsletter bonus was still available. However, there was no doubt that the student discount and military discounts were still available. Student discounts are for online purchases; all you need do is register with Student Beans to verify your student status, and you’ll get a 10% discount for all online purchase. Military discount is for in-store purchases; all you need do is walk into any Fat Face store, present a valid military ID card which identifies you as a member of the UK Armed Forces and you’ll receive 10% off full price for your purchases.

Payment Method

You should want an online store that supports a lot of payment methods. That way you’re more likely to find a payment method that you can use to conveniently pay for your orders.

In this regard, Fat Face supports many of the popular credit and debit cards. You can pay for your orders in the store using Visa, Visa Debit, Master card, Diners Club International, American Express card, Discover card, PayPal, and Apple Pay.

With these payment options, you should not have any problem with making payments no matter where you live. However, the supported options are limited; we’ll want to see more options such as Visa Electron, Solo, Laser, as well as for cryptocurrencies.

Shipping Details

Shipping is an important consideration in online purchases. You want to know if the online store ships to your location; because if they do not, getting your package will be a problem if you somehow order from the store. Also, you want to know how much it will take to ship your package to you. Lastly, you’ll want to know how long it will take for your package to get to you.

Shipping Destinations

In this regard, the ideal online store should ship to a lot of countries so that people from many more worldwide locations can order from the store. Fat Face comes out strong. They ship to a lot of worldwide locations in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Oceania and Africa.

Shipping Cost and Times

In terms of shipping cost, the ideal online store should offer the lowest possible shipping costs, which is free shipping. Granted, free shipping cannot be offered on all orders; however, were not applicable the ideal store should offer flat shipping rates – that is shipping cost that will not increase when your order amount/ weight increases.

In terms of shipping times, the ideal online store should deliver orders as fast as possible. Also, the store would give estimates of delivery times (which should be low enough); and they would endeavour to deliver within the estimated delivery times.

The shipping policy of Fat Face makes for good reading. In terms of shipping costs, Fat Face offers some of the lowest costs you’ll find in the industry. They provide in-store delivery, where the order will be delivered to a Fat Face store closest to you for pick up. Domestically, they offer Standard Delivery and Next Day delivery; and lastly, they offer international delivery.

Delivery to store is free. It will take about 2 – 3 days; but during sale periods, it will take as many as 6 – 7 working days. The Standard Delivery will get the package to your door. It usually takes 2 – 4 working days, but could take 4 – 6 working days during sales periods. It cost £2.95. Fat Face also offers free Standard shipping, but it is only for orders that are over £60. If you’ve seen reviews of other online fashion retailers, you’ll find that this is fairly okay. Though there are stores that’ll ship free for orders of about $50; it’s not uncommon to find stores that’ll ship free for only orders in three figures. With Fat Face requiring you to spend only £60 to ship the orders to your door free of charge, you’ll not have to spend over the tops.

The Next Day Delivery is as its name suggest; it will get you your package the day after placing your order. The only catch is that you’ll have to place the order before 1pm (EST). However, if orders are placed after 1pm (EST) or on weekends, it’ll take two working days to receive delivery. Thus, orders placed by 1pm Monday – Thursday will be delivered the next day; orders placed on Friday by 1 pm will be delivered Monday, but orders placed Saturday and Sunday will be delivered on Tuesday. The Next Day Delivery cost £5.95, and it is not available during the Sale period. Another interesting thing is that the Next Day Delivery is free for all orders over £100. This scores Fat Face a lot of points because most online retailers offer free shipping only for the Standard Delivery option which will take a couple of days; and will require that you pay for all expedited delivery option. But in Fat Face, once your order is over £100, you are qualified to receive free Next Day Delivery.

While the Next Day Delivery is available for only domestic UK orders, there are certain locations in the UK that are not available for Next Day Delivery. This includes Northern Ireland, Jersey, the Hebrides, Orkney, Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, Aberdeen, Northern Highlands, Republic of Ireland, Argyll, Glasgow, Dundee, Guernsey, Shetland Islands, and Isle of Scilly.

If you’ll be shipping outside the UK, all international orders are delivered within 5 – 12 working days; and the cost is £10.00. If you’ve checked reviews of other fashion retailers (and especially if you’re in some of these international locations), you’ll find joy in knowing that Fat Face ships to all international locations for £10. In some of these stores, shipping cost increases the farther a location is from the store’s domestic region. Thus, you’ll find that it can be cost prohibitive to ship to locations in Asia and Africa.

You’ll agree that it’s one thing to advertise shipping times, but it’s quite another to deliver within those times. Thus, we looked into the reviews of customers who have bought from Fat Face to determine if they are satisfied with how long it took for their package to be delivered. One the whole, customers were satisfied with delivery times. Although there is the occasional late delivery, it is few and far in between to constitute a generic problem. That said; if you want a store that delivers promptly, Fat Face is worth looking at.

Returns

When buying any merchandise online, it’s important to make sure that the store will allow you to return the item to them if it turns out that after receiving delivery of the items, you are not satisfied with the items. This is especially so with fashion products which are mostly sized items. If it turns out that a wrong size was ordered, you’ll want to return it and get the right size. It could even be that the item is damaged in transit, or a wrong item was delivered to you. In any case, the ideal online shop will not leave you stuck with an item you’ll rather return.

Like almost every online fashion retailer, Fat Face allows returns. Their returns policy also makes for good reading. First, they allow a returns window of 30 days for full price items and 15 days for sales items. This means that you have 30 days (or 15 days) from the time of receiving delivery of the items to return it to Fat Face for a refund. 30 days is like the industry average for returns. The 30 days window is long enough, and you won’t have to race against time to get your returns to the company. While 15 days (for the sales items) might not appear as enough time, you’ll be able to get the returns to the company if you act quickly. Also, it’s a plus that Fat Face even allows for returns of Sales items, because many online fashion retailers do not. In many of those stores, Sales items are final sales which mean that you cannot return them. In such stores, buying sales items is a risky proposition because you cannot return the item if it turns out to be not to your liking. However, such risks are removed in Fat Face. You can purchase sales items knowing you can return them, only that you’ll have a shorter window for such returns.

Returns can be done in-store or by post. For in-store returns, you just have to walk into any of the over 200 Fat Face stores in the UK and Ireland with proof of purchase. Fat Face also allows returns via Collect+ where you can return the item to over 5800 participating convenience stores. However, you’ll have to package the item, attach the Fat Face returns label, and write your order number on the Collect+ label.

To send you returns by post from the UK, you’ll only need to attach the Royal Mail returns label to the packaged returned items and drop it off at any post office. For international returns, the package has to be addressed to: Fat Face Customer Care, Unit 2, Dunsbury Park, Fitzwygram Way, Havant Hampshire, P09 4EE.

All returns to store are free. Also, for the UK returns, the returns label is free for returns by post, meaning that Fat Face offers free domestic returns. However, for international returns, the customer will have to bear the returns shipping cost. However, during sales period, free returns are not available. That said; it’s also a plus that free returns are offered at all, because there are many online fashion retailers that do not offer free returns.

However, for the returns to be accepted by the company and a refund issued, the items must be in their original new conditions. That is, they must be unworn, and unwashed; they must also be undamaged and unaltered; all tags and labels must still be attached, and they must be returned in their original packaging. For hygiene reasons, there are certain items that cannot be returned. Swimwear and underwear cannot be returned except their hygiene strip is in place; also earrings cannot be returned except they are faulty.

After the returned items have been received by Fat Face, they say it takes them 14 working days for the returns to be processed. A couple more days should be allowed for the refunds to be reflected in your bank account; which means that in under a month, you should have your refund in your bank. In our opinion, even if Fat Face sticks to these refund time estimates, a whole month is too much time for a refund. Where you have to wait for the funds in order to place another order, waiting a full month will be very frustrating. However, it would seem that Fat Face does not even meet up with its already poor refund window. As mentioned earlier, Fat Face has a lot of negative reviews on many customer review platforms. In Trust Pilot, the company is rated “bad” with an average rating of 2.6 out of 10. One of the reasons for such scathing reviews is refunds. Reviews include comments like: “where’s my refunds; four weeks later and several emails… no money has been refunded”, “they do not want to honour returns”, “took 3+ months for returns”, and more. That said; we will like to see Fat Face reduce their returns processing time so that refunds can be issued out more quickly.

Customer Support Service

Customer support makes or breaks a product/ service provider. No matter how good the product/ service is, inquiries and complaints are inevitable. Thus, the ideal provider would make provisions to effectively address customer questions and complaints.

The first step to getting answers from Fat Face is the FAQ section of their website. The FAQ is detailed enough and provides answers to many of the questions you may have about the store and their offerings. The FAQ sections include account, placing an order, product information, delivery information, refunds and exchanges, gifts – wrapping and returns.

If you do not get the necessary assistance from the self-help FAQ articles, you may choose to contact Fat Face directly. You can do that via email or telephone. The email address for such direct contact is customerservices@fatface.co.uk. When you drop any support submission, you would expect to get a response within 48 hours. While the response time can be improved upon; it’s satisfying to know that you will surely get a response, which most often than not is helpful. If you’ll rather not wait for a response, you can use the telephone service via 0330 124 0000.

It is one thing for a customer support service to respond to your submissions, and it is a different thing entirely for them to actually resolve the issue. Fat Face is one of the few fashion retailers that not only put how long it’ll take to respond to customers’ queries but also how long it’ll take them to actually resolve the issue. They say: “We aim to resolve all complaints within 10 working days unless there are extenuating circumstances”. For this, Fat Face scores a lot of points. Where other stores can keep you hanging with the standard “your issue has been received and is being treated”; in Fat Face, you have an idea of how long it will take.

On their website, Fat Face even provides the details of a certified Alternative Dispute Resolution provider (RetailADR) that you can contact if you are not satisfied with how your complaint is handled and concluded. RetailADR will re-open the complaint, and Fat Face will be bound by their decision. You may contact RetailADR by post using the address: RetailADR, 12-14 Walker Avenue, Stratford Office Village, Wolverton Mill, Milton Keynes MK12 5TW. The email address to use is enquiries@cdrl.org.uk; if you’ll rather use the phone, the telephone number is +44 (0)20 3540 8063; while the RetailADR website is: www.retailadr.org.uk.

While it is good that Fat Face supports the regular direct contact channels, and even give an estimate of how long it takes them to clear complaints; it should be said here that the main reason for the negative reviews of the company is because of its customer support service. Because of some of the issues in the company which have been discussed (such as late refunds, out of stock items causing late deliveries etc), it’s understandable that customer support service will be flooded. In the review platforms examined, customers drummed that the service was largely ineffective in solving their issues. We went with the customers in this regards because in all the independent review platforms we look at, we did not see Fat Face agents reaching out to the customers. Often, fashion retailers seek out disgruntled customers in review platforms and try to help them out.

Conclusion

Fat Face is a legit fashion store that offers gold quality clothing and fashion accessories at competitive prices. The company is based in the UK, and that means UK customers will find joy in the store more than other customers. For example, there is free shipping and free returns for UK orders. However, every customer would be happy to know that in the store, the website is easy to navigate which makes browsing listings and selecting items easy. Also, global payment methods are supported which makes placing orders/ making payment easy and convenient. Delivery is generally fast; and to ensure a happy customer, they allow returns, even for Sales items.

ALSO READ: TopShop Review: Legit or Scam?

However, you might find that the items you select into your cart and order are out of stock, and you’ll have to wait longer than normal to receive the delivery. When you do return an item, you might have to wait longer than normal to get your refund.  When you do need to contact customer service, the experience shows that you won’t have a smiling face.

Pros:

• A one-stop shop for that holds a good product range for everyone – women, men and kids (boys and girls)
• Prices are in the affordable range
• Promotions are regularly offered
• Free standard shipping for orders over £60; and free expedited Next Day delivery for orders over £100
• Where free shipping is not available, shipping cost are flat rates and are very low

Cons:

• Inventory size can be increased to prevent the problem of items going out of stock too often
• They allow orders to be placed for out of stock items which cause missed delivery date
• Returns processing time is too long; thus, it takes a lot of time to get refunds
• Customer support is largely unhelpful in solving customer complaints

Do you have any experience with Fat Face? If yes, use the review section below to give a brief Fat Face review.

Urban Outfitters is the e-commerce platform of the American retail and wholesale fashion company. Three persons including Richard Hayne started Urban Outfitters in 1970. They were college mates at the time; a topic was needed for an entrepreneurial class, and the decision was made to open a retail store.

At the time, the store operated as Free People; and its mission was to provide second-hand clothing and some other home collections to college-age customers. It was in 1976 when the company was incorporated that they started going by the name Urban Outfitters.

Currently, Urban Outfitters is part of the URBN Group which consists of other brands such as Anthropologie, Free People, BHLDN, Terrain and the Vetri Family. In 1993, the URBN Group (together with its entire brand which includes Urban Outfitters) went public 1993 and has been trading ever since as a public company.

Urban Outfitters is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When the URBN Group started the international expansion, Urban Outfitters was the first brand in its portfolio to cross the Atlantic into Europe. This was with the opening of a store in London. When businesses started moving online, Urban Outfitters joined the bandwagon in other to reach more customers around the globe. Thus, in 2000, they launch their online shop.

The shop can be found at www.urbanoutfitters.com. Urban Outfitters accepts customers who are 13 and above. If you’re in the accepted age range and live in a region that the shop supports, you can visit the website and place your order.

Alternatively, you can download, install and shop from their fashion apps. Urban Outfitters have Android and iOS app that can be gotten at the respective app stores. The advantages of using the app include personalized service, getting alerts of exclusive items and offers, and more.

The company advertises itself as a “lifestyle brand”, “the fashion destination for customers who define their own sense of style”, and a shop that holds “an updated mix of premium basics and on-trend fashion pieces”

Urban Outfitters is a legit fashion store. It does not scam its customers because it is a very popular and highly regarded store online. You will get your item just as you ordered it from the store.

But do they deliver quality materials?

That sounds like the go-to place for your fashion needs. But are their claims true or just advert-speak? In the first place, is Urban Outfitters genuine?

This Urban Outfitters review will examine Urban Outfitters in order to provide the information that will help you determine if the online fashion store is legit and worth going to for your online shopping.

Urban Outfitters review at a glance

• An American fashion retailer started in 1970
• Is part of the URBN Group
• Offers a wide product range that includes different pieces of women’s wear, men’s wear, accessories and home collections
• Offers low and affordable prices
• Offers free shipping for the US, Australia and New Zealand orders
• Returns are allowed within 30 days of the delivery date
• Customer support is available via chat, email, social media, and telephone (albeit available in the only US and Canada)

Product Range

When shopping in brick and mortar stores, you’ll want to be able to walk into a store and get all your related items instead of going to multiple stores to shop for different items. It’s no different when shopping from online stores. Apart from the convenience that visiting only one store has; there are cost savings associated with it.

You can save costs when your order amount is large and qualifies for bulk purchase discounts, and you can save costs by shipping only one order from one store, as against shipping different orders from different stores. Thus, the ideal online fashion store should hold a wide range of products, so that customers can get all their fashion needs in one place.

In this regard, Urban Outfitters comes out strong. They provide men’s and women’s clothing and accessories, as well as home and lifestyle collections. The different product categories in Urban Outfitters and the products you’ll find in each category are as follows:

Women wear

• Dresses and Rompers – You’ll find styles which include Party and special occasion dresses, Going out dresses, Casual dresses, Mini dresses, Maxi and Midi dresses, and Sets)
• Tops – You’ll find whatever style (cropped, fitted, oversized etc), neckline (crew neck, v-neck, plunging, turtle neck, collared, hooded, off the shoulder, etc) or sleeve (long sleeve, short sleeve, sleeveless) that you want. The tops include Sweaters and Cardigans, Hoodies and Sweatshirts, Shirts and Blouses, T-Shirts, Graphic Tees, Camis + Tank Tops, Going Out Tops, Bodysuits
• Coats and Jackets – This includes Faux Fur Jackets, Coats and Puffers, Denim Jackets, Lightweight and Shirt Jackets, Leather and Suede Jackets,
• Bottoms – This includes jeans, pants, skirts, overalls, shorts, sweatpants and leggings
• Intimates – This includes Bras and Bralettes, Undies, Bodysuits, Lounge tops, Lounge Bottoms, Slips and Rompers, Socks and tights
• Swim – You’ll find Mix and Match swimwear, One-Pieces, Bikini Tops, Bikini Bottoms, Pool Floats and Beach Towels
• Beauty –This includes Makeup, Skincare, Perfume and Fragrance, Bath and Body Products, Hair Products, Nails accessories, Wellness products, Accessories, Gift sets
• Accessories – This includes Bags and Backpacks, Scarves, Hats, Gloves, Socks and Tights, Belts, Jewelry, Sunglasses and Readers, Hair accessories, and Cold weather sets
• Shoes – You’ll find Sneakers, Boots and Booties, Mules, Heels and Wedges, Flats, Sandals and Slides
• Others – This includes Cozy essentials, Vintage clothing, Animal prints etc

Men’s wear

• Graphic Tees – Some of the graphics you’ll find emblazoned on the Tees are drawn from Brands and Logos, Music, Pop Culture, Art and Design, Team Sport and Athletic, and more
• Tops – You’ll find all styles of tops including branded, pop culture styles, striped and printed and more. You’ll also find different necklines which include a hooded, crew neck, collared and turtle neck. Specifically, some of the tops you’ll find are Hoodies and Sweatshirts, T-Shirts, Shirts, Sweaters and Cardigans, Graphic Tees
• Coats and Jackets – This includes Denim and Trucker Jackets, Windbreakers and Rain Jackets, Sherpa and Faux Fur Jackets, Coats, Puffers and Parkas, and Bomber Jackets.
• Bottoms – This includes Pants, Jeans, Track Pants and Joggers, Short and Swimwear
• Suiting – Here, you’ll find different branded and own-brand men’s suits and blazers for formal occasions and offices
• Shoes – This includes Sneakers, Boots and dress shoes, Slides and Slippers, Nike Shoes, and Vans Shoes
• Accessories – Bags and Wallets, Hats and Beanies, Watches, Sunglasses and Readers, Scarves and Bandanas, Gloves, Jewelry and Pins, Belts, and Tech accessories
• Grooming products – This includes Haircare products, Beard and Shave products, Cologne and Fragrance, Skincare products, Oral care products, Grooming kits and sets
• Others – This includes Socks and Underwear, and vintage items

Home Collection

Bedding, Furniture, Art and Décor, Rugs and Curtains, Lighting, Kitchen and Bar, Bath,

Lifestyle

Vinyl and Cassettes, Audio, Cameras and Film, Phone and Tech items, Books and Stationery, Fun items and games, Pet items (dog toys, leash etc), Wellness products, Skateboarding products

Beauty Products

Gift sets, Makeup, Skincare, Perfume and Fragrance, Bath and Body, Haircare, Nails and accessories, Wellness products, Men’s grooming, etc

Some stores may offer a wide product range by having all the different clothing categories (such as dresses, skirts, jeans etc), but they have only a few items in each category. As a result, when you open up their listing, you may not find a style that you like. Thus, it’s not enough that a store has a wide product range; it’s also important that they have a large number of items within each product type. With a large inventory of the different items offered, you’re more likely to find something that you like.

In this regard, Urban Outfitters also comes out strong. For example, at the time of writing this review, in the women category Urban Outfitters held over 350 different styles in the Dresses + Rompers section, over 740 styles in the Tops section, almost 200 styles in the coats and jackets section, over 500 styles in the Bottoms section, and over 380 styles in the Intimates section.

Price and related Policies

Price

One of the very first considerations in purchases, whether in online stores or in brick and mortar stores, is price. No matter the perceived quality of merchandise, there is a price range that will be considered unreasonable and unacceptable. Thus, this section of the review will examine whether the prices of items in Urban Outfitters are in the reasonable (read as; affordable) range.

In terms of affordability, Urban Outfitters ticks the box. All their listings are in the purse/ wallet-friendly range. For example, you’ll find a lot of elegant women’s dresses and rompers at the full price of $49 – $79. A lot of Camis and tube tops were under $20, and a lot of sweaters, sweatshirts, cardigans and blouses had full prices of less than $60. Many of the women’s Coats and Jackets were priced at $69 – $130 (full price).  And you’ll find pants and skirts starting at $39

In many online fashion stores, you’ll only get these prices if promos have been applied. However, in Urban Outfitters you can shop full prices comfortably from any section as they are largely low and affordable. Where promos are applied and on the sales page, you’ll find that prices are slashed to very low ranges. You’ll find classy strappy heels at $39, mules at $14, dresses under $30 and more.

That said; if you’ll be shopping on a budget, you’ll find Urban Outfitters an appealing fashion store, because they have lovely pieces at very good prices.

Price Adjustment

You want the best deal when you make any purchase. Because prices are volatile and fluctuate; sometimes an item that you buy is marked down almost immediately following your purchase. You don’t have to worry about not having waited to get a better deal, because Urban Outfitters offers one-time price adjustments.

If the price of an item you buy in the online store is marked down within 14 days of your purchase, all you need do is contact the store and they will credit you with the price difference via the original payment method.

Promotions

Every business offer promotions as a strategy to induce sales. To the customer, promotions represent opportunities to get items for knocked down prices. As a result, customers are always on the lookout for promotional offers of stores Thus, a review of an online fashion store is not complete without examining the promotions that they run. As a generic rule, the more promotions a store runs and the bigger the promotional packages, the more appealing the store will be.

You’ll know the promotion-rich fashion retailer the moment you get to their landing page. However, we didn’t see any of the price discounts and other such promotions on the landing page of Urban Outfitters. That does not mean that Urban Outfitters does not run promos, for we saw an advert for UO REWARDS (daily deals, sales and offers).

The sales offer are not the crazy price slashes that some stores offer, but bothered by the conservative. To be fair to Urban Outfitters, their prices are already on the low side, so it’s understandable that there are no crazy discounts. However, we didn’t see a student discount, a referral program/ bonus, a loyalty bonus, and other such offers. That said; it’s safe to say that Urban Outfitters is low on promotions.

Payment Methods

The ideal store should offer convenient services, and part of that is the payment system. You’ll want to be able to easily find a means to pay for your orders no matter where you may be shopping from. Therefore, you’ll want the store to support a wide range of options.

In this regard, Urban Outfitters accepts the following payment methods: Visa, Master Card, American Express, Discover, JCB, China Union Pay, Diners Club, PayPal, Urban Outfitters gift cards, and Urban Outfitters merchandise gift cards.

Shipping

In online shopping, one of the first things to look at is the shipping policy of the online store. First, you’ll want o know what destinations the store ships to; you’ll also want to know the cost of shipping; and lastly, you’ll want to know how long it will take the store to deliver your package after placing your order.

Shipping Destination

When you browse a listing in an online store and make a purchase, you’ll want it to be delivered to your location. If the store does not ship to your location, you can’t make any purchase there because you won’t be able to receive your package. Therefore, the ideal store should ship to a lot of countries across the world. That way, they’re more likely to cover your location.

In terms of shipping destinations, Urban Outfitters comes out strong. They ship to countries in every region of the globe. Their coverage includes Europe, the Americas, Oceania, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Shipping Cost and Delivery Times

When shipping to the US, there are different delivery options; and the option chosen determines how much you’ll pay for shipping and how long it’ll take to receive your package. There is a Standard Delivery that takes 5 – 8 business days and costs $4.95. However, it is free for all orders over $50.00. There is also an Express Delivery which takes 2 – 3 business days and costs $14.95, and there is also a Rush Delivery which takes 1 – 2 business days and costs $21.95.

When shipping to Canada; the only two options are Standard Delivery by UPS and Express Delivery by DHL. The Standard Delivery takes 7 – 10 business days and costs $7.95; while the Express Delivery takes 5 – 7 business days and costs $24.95.

For Australian orders, Standard shipping also takes 7 – 10 business days, but costs $10.00. Customers will have to pay duties and taxes upon receipt of their package, but the good thing is that standard shipping is free for all orders of $50 and above. The Express shipping also takes 5 – 7 business days and costs $40.00. Gladly, there are no additional charges to be paid upon receipt of the package.

New Zealand standard delivery cost $40 and takes 7 – 10 business days, while Express delivery takes 5 – 7 business days and costs $60. In addition, there is an Economy Delivery option which will take 10 – 12 business days, and cost only $10. Orders above $50 qualify for free Economy Delivery. However, only Express Delivery is exempt from payment of additional charges (taxes and duties) upon receipt of the package.

For every other international country that Urban Outfitters ships to; they offer Economy Delivery which takes 10 – 12 business days at a cost of $30, and Standard Delivery which takes 7 – 10 business days at a cost of $40. Express delivery is available but only in some countries; where available it takes 5 – 7 business days and costs $60. Also, only express shipping is exempt from payment of additional charges upon receipt of the package.

Taking a closer look at the shipping cost and times for the different countries they support, you’ll find that Urban Outfitters does well in some respect but can do better. For example: in terms of shipping cost; you’ll want the lowest possible cost.

The lowest costs would be free shipping, and Urban Outfitters offers that. However, the free shipping offer is only available for the US, Australia and New Zealand orders. We’ll want to see free shipping available to more international countries. Also, where free shipping is not applicable, Urban Outfitters charges flat shipping rates. This is good because it means that your shipping cost will not increase with an increase in the weight of your package.

However, if you’ve checked reviews of other online shops, you’ll find that the shipping costs of Urban Outfitters are relatively high. Therefore, we’ll love to see a reduction in their shipping costs, especially for international shipping.

In terms of delivery times, you’ll notice that Urban Outfitters does not offer a guaranteed Next Day Delivery. Sadly, this is an option you’ll find in other shops; and it’s an option that will appeal to customers that want to receive their package in a blink.

The advertised delivery times for the other options (that is; 7 – 10 business days for standard delivery and 5 – 7 business days for express delivery) are also not the best we’ll love to see. This is because there are some online fashion retailers with better delivery times (e.g. Express delivery of 3 – 5 business days).

However, Urban Outfitters will still be a strong contender in the fast delivery podium if they’ll actually get the package to you within their advertised delivery times. But the evidence suggests otherwise. In many independent customer reviews platforms, Urban Outfitters is rated poorly and one of the major reasons is slow delivery.

For example, in Trust Pilot, Urban Outfitters is rated “bad” with an average rating of 2.8 out of 10. The reviews contain too many cases of packages never arriving or arriving far later than expected. Thus, it is safe to say that late delivery is one problem that’s plaguing the online fashion retailer at the moment.

Returns Policy

When you purchase an item online, it means you’ll not have the opportunity to physically examine the item before making the financial commitment. Though the online store provides resources (such as product descriptions and product images) that can help in assessing the items, there’s still the risk that the item may not be totally satisfying when you actually see and feel it.

Since most fashion items are sized products, it could be that the item you order is too big or too small and does not fit. The point is; that you want to make sure that the online shop you’ll be buying from allows returns of items that you are not totally satisfied with. Like almost every online fashion retailer in the business, Urban Outfitters allows returns.

How to return items

They allow in-store returns and returns by mail. You may return items to an Urban Outfitter store, but that’s available to only US or Canadian customers. For customers in other countries, even if there’s an Urban Outfitter store close to you, you’ll have to return the item by mail.

To return by mail, you’ll have to go to their website, initiate the returns process, print the returns label, pack the item appropriately and attach the returns label on the outside of the packaging. It is a good thing to see that returns label, which makes for easy returns, are provided.

With the returns label, you do not need additional postage; and you don’t have to worry about not having extra money for returns shipping because the returns label is prepaid. However, Urban Outfitters offers returns labels for only orders shipping to the continental US and to Canada.

Returns Window

Urban Outfitters allows 30 days from the date of delivery for you to return any item in your order to their warehouse. If you’ve checked reviews of online fashion stores, you’ll find that 30 days is like the industry average.  You’ll be hard-pressed to find a store that will allow a returns window of more than 30 days. With a window of 30 days, you’ll have enough time to get your returns to the store.

Condition of Returns

Just as it is with every other store; the items you’ll be returning must meet certain conditions for them to be accepted by the store. The item(s) must be in their original new conditions. They must be unworn, unwashed, or undamaged.

Cost of Return

The customers bear the cost of returns. Where a returns label is provided (the continental US and Canada), Urban Outfitter will deduct $5.00 as the cost of the returns shipping when issuing the refund.

Returns/ Refund Processing

After your returned item(s) gets to the store; you should allow 1 – 2 weeks for returns processing. After the returns have been processed, a refund will be issued to your original payment method. You should get your refund in 1 – 3 days.

This means that it is relatively fast to get refunded in Urban Outfitters. In some online fashion stores, one can wait for up to a month before receiving a refund.

Customer Support Service

Questions and issues are inevitable when using an online platform, especially an online shop. Therefore, you should make sure that the online shop you’re planning to enter provides for addressing customers’ questions and complaints.

Urban Outfitters provides the regular channels for contacting the support rep of an online fashion retailer. They have a chat feature where you can get instant feedback for your support submissions. The chat feature can be accessed on their website. You can also contact Urban Outfitters using their social media (Twitter and Facebook) handles.

If you’ll rather go the traditional route; they support emails. They promise to respond to all email submissions within 24 – 48 hours. Lastly, Urban Outfitters has a telephone support service. The number to call is (800) 282 2200. The service is available round the clock (24 hours a day, and 7 days a week). However, the telephone service is available to only US and Canadian customers. One dent in the support options provided is that the telephone service is not available in all countries supported.

ALSO READ: Rotita Reviews: Legit or Scam?

However, a look at the independent customer reviews platform shows that the customer support of Urban Outfitters is rated very poorly. It’s common that customers to label a support service ineffective if some of their issues are not completely solved, but this was not the case.

In many of the reviews, the customer service failed in doing basic things like communicating with the customer when that was necessary. Especially where customers cannot use the telephone service, not responding to emails can be frustrating; and that was one prominent complaint in the reviews.

It’s a long shot that all that many people will be wrong at the same time. Therefore, I’ll like to see Urban Outfitters take responsibility and improve the effectiveness of their customer service, starting with responding (swiftly, I must add) to email submissions.

Pros:

• Urban Outfitter is part of a larger retail Group with decades of experience in fashion retailing and wholesaling
• Offers a wide product range, as well as a large inventory of each product type
• Prices are in the pocket-friendly range
• They offer free shipping; and where applicable, the order qualifying amount is low ($50)
• Returns are allowed within 30 days of delivery

Cons:

• Free shipping is not worldwide
• Too many cases of orders being delivered later than expected
• Customer support is not as effective as we’ll want

Conclusion

An online fashion store cannot be more legit than Urban Outfitters. This is a company that has been incorporated for almost four decades and has been trading on a stock exchange for over 25 years.

They have hundreds of stores/fulfilment centres across the world, and they have the capacity and a history of fulfilling orders. They also provide a safe shopping environment with the use of 128bit SSL technology.

The company carries merchandise for men and women, as well as a range of home collections. They have a wide product range; as such, you’ll find every clothing piece and accessory you may need in the store. They have a large inventory that will serve your selection needs, and you’ll find that their prices are very competitive.

However, Urban Outfitters can see improvement in their delivery times and the effectiveness of their customer support. With the latter, telephone support service should be made available to all supported countries, and email submissions should be answered, and promptly.

Do you have any experience with Urban Outfitters? If yes, kindly use the review section below to give us your brief Urban Outfitter review.

Shopbop is an online fashion store that was started in 1999 as an online store to a brick and mortar store called Bop. The store was located in Madison (Wisconsin, USA). The fashion-conscious student base of the community coupled with the wider reach that the online store gathered saw the growth of the company.

Though the brick and mortar store was later closed, Shopbop continues to operate strongly and to ship merchandise to customers from their distribution centre in Madison.

In 2006, Amazon acquired Shopbop, and the company has existed since as a subsidiary of the retail giant. However, Shopbop operates almost independently of Amazon, and even competes with it.

The go-to destination for modern fashion styles will be the store that holds a large inventory of quality and affordable fashion styles and is also powered by customer-friendly policies and services. Does Shopbop meet this criterion to pass as a real go-to place for your fashion needs? In the first place, is Shopbop legit?

Yes, Shopbop is a legit fashion store. And does not trick or cheat its customers off their money. And you will get any item you purchased from the store without a problem. So, is not a scam.

This Shopbop review will also examine Shopbop in order to provide the information that will help you answer these questions.

Shopbop review at a glance:

• A US-based fashion online store
• Founded in 1999, but a subsidiary of Amazon since 2006
• Specializes in women’s clothing, accessories, and home items
• Offers low prices, price adjustment, price matching and a loyalty program
• Offers free express shipping to worldwide destinations
• Allows returns if made within 30 days of the delivery date
• Customer support is available 24/ 7 via email and telephone
• Website is https://shopbop.com/; has Android and iOS fashion apps

Is Shopbop legit?

Shopbop is legit, not a scam. The internet came on board, and businesses moved online. Sadly, fraudsters joined the movement. As a result, there are probably as many scam online platforms as there are legit businesses. Therefore, it’s important to find out if the online platform you’re intending to do business with is legit. Except you don’t mind being ripped off.

In this regard, Shopbop comes out strong because there’s no doubt that the online fashion store is legit.

First, Shopbop is a subsidiary of Amazon – the retail giant. To suggest that Shopbop is a scam store will mean saying that Amazon is a scam company, which is simply absurd. This is because Amazon is the biggest internet retailer in the world in terms of market capitalization and revenue.

However, Shopbop is not hiding behind the strengths of their parent company; because they have a legit identity of their own. The company has corporate headquarters in Madison (Wisconsin, US) as well as distribution centres. Suffice it to say that fake stores exist only virtually.

Usually, fake stores do not have a physical headquarters/ office or distribution centre/ stores. The absence of physical existence is one reason that fake stores do not fulfil orders. However, with physical existence, and especially the distribution centres, Shopbop has the hallmark of a legit store – the capacity to fulfil orders.

Lastly, Shopbop was established in 1999, which means that they’ve been operating for almost 20 years. Suffice it to say that no fake store can operate that long. The news of the scam activities will be out in no time; and with such exposure, the site and its operators disappear. However, Shopbop has only waxed stronger through the years, even adding new clothing lines, and opening up another store.

That said; as a subsidiary of Amazon, with the capacity to fulfil orders, and with almost 20 years of seamless operation, there’s no doubt that Shopbop is legit.

Is Shopbop safe?

Shopbop is safe. It’s not enough that an online shop is legit, it should also be safe. A legit store that I’d not safe can leave you exposed to other fraudsters. This is because when you use an online store, you share sensitive information like your payment instrument details. If the store is not safe, such details can be hijacked by fraudulent third parties. There’s no need to state what happens when a cyber fraudster intercepts your credit card details.

In this regard, Shopbop also comes out strong. The store uses a secure sockets layer (SSL) technology to create a secure link over a public network like the internet. The link is between your device and their (Shopbop) web servers. SSL is the industry standard for such, and any data transferred in the link is private. SSL also encrypts the data to ensure that even if captured, it is indecipherable.

Another data protection measure Shopbop is is not displaying your full payment instrument data, even when you are to confirm orders. That way no one looking in can steal such sensitive data.

That said, there’s no doubt that Shopbop is safe.

Some features of Shopbop

Website

The website is the first contact with an online store; thus, the website should be fully functional. The website of Shopbop (https://shopbop.com) comes out strong in this regard.

The first thing about it is that it is simple and uncluttered. Appropriately placed are product images and short introductory texts. Links to the various product categories can be found at the top of the site, while links to the company policies (shipping, returns etc) can be found at the bottom. This makes the site very easy to navigate.

Also, the website has a well developed mobile page (https://m.shopbop.com). It works on all mobile operating systems including Android, iOS, BlackBerry, etc. That the site is fully mobile optimized means it resizes to fit the small screens of mobile devices and platforms. You won’t have to drag screens to view the full web page. Also, all you need do to access the mobile page is type in the URL into a web browser and you’ll be redirected.

With this full mobile compatibility, Shopbop allows you to shop on the go from anywhere and at any time.

Fashion Apps

To make for even more convenient buying, fashion retailers invest in fashion apps. This is because apps allow the fashion shop to be one click away for fast access. Also, it uses push notifications to alert customers of new arrivals and special promos/ sales. Thus fashion apps can position you to take advantage of cost-saving offers and to receive exclusive items.

If you’ll rather be shopping with a fashion app and take advantage of the associated benefits, then Shopbop is worth looking at. They have apps for Android and iOS.

The iOS app has a high 4.7 out of 5 rating in its app store, which tells you it is highly appreciated. It is a 45.4 MB file that won’t take too much of your device resources. If you’ve checked reviews of fashion stores, you’ll find that iOS apps of most stores are usually way heavier.

The Android app fared poorer with a rating of 3.8 out of 5 in its app rating. One major complaint was that the items kept repeating over and over again. However, it’s just a light 5.5MB file.

Product Range

The ideal shop should have a wide product range. That way it will be a true one-stop-shop where you can shop all your fashion needs. You’ll want this because it saves you money. Purchasing all your items in one place may qualify you for bulk purchase discounts; also, you’ll be paying to ship only one order, as against shipping different items from different stores.

In this regard, Shopbop ticks the box. They specialize in women’s fashion, and they hold every clothing type you’ll expect to see in a modern women’s fashion store, including accessories. Their product categories including the items in each product category are as follows:

Clothing:

Clothing – You’ll find clothing pieces for every occasion and season such as cold weather picks, cozy at home picks, everyday essentials, vacation styles, wedding boutique, formal workwear and more. Specifically, the items you can choose include: Activewear (jackets, leggings, shorts and skirts, sport bras, sweatshirts and hoodies. Sweat pants and track pants, tanks, and Tees); Dresses (cocktail, formal, bridal, mini, midi, maxi, knee length, of the shoulder, long sleeve and more); Jackets and Coats (blazers, bombers, coats, denim, down and puffer, fur and faux fur, leather and faux leather, trench coats, vests and more); Jeans (boyfriend jeans, cropped jeans, distressed jeans, flared jeans & wide legs, high waisted jeans, maternity jeans, overall, relaxed skinny, skinny jeans, straight leg jeans, and more); Jumpsuit and Rompers; Lingerie and Sleepwear (bodysuits and teddies, bras, camisoles, maternity, panties, robes, shapewear, Sleepwear, slips, lingerie accessories); Maternity clothing; Pants and Leggings (ankle, boot cut & flare, cropped, high waisted, leather, leggings, skinny, slouchy, straight leg, sweatpants, wide legs); Shorts (denim, dressed up, knee length, mid length, short); Skirts (mini, knee length, midi, maxi, A line and full, denim, leather etc); Suit Separates; Sweaters and Knits (cardigans, cashmere, crew and scoop neck, sweater dresses, V neck, turtle neck, and vest); Swimwear (bikini, cover ups, and one pieces); Tops (blouses, bodysuits, button down shirt, crop tops, graphic Tees, night outs, off the shoulder tops, sweater and hoodies, tank tops, short sleeve tops, long sleeve tops an more)

Shoes:

Shoes – You’ll find all types of shoes including 80’s inspired shoes and Western boots, dad sneakers and animal print pairs. Specifically, shoes you’ll find include: Booties (lace-up, flat, low heel, medium heel, high heel and ultra-high heel); Boots (knee-high, over the knee, flat, and all heels); Espadrilles (platform, flat, all heels); Flats (ballet, espadrilles, loafers, oxfords, and slippers); Mules send Slides; Pumps (open toe, platform, all heel types); Rainboot; Sandals; Slingbacks; Sneakers (high top, low top, slip-on, platform); Winter boots; shoe accessories

Bags:

Bags – You’ll find all bag types and trends including handbags, vintage bags, animal print bags, bucket bags and circle bags. Specifically, bags you’ll find include baby bags, backpacks, beach bags, belt bags, clutches, cross body bags, gym bags, luggage, satchel and top handles, shoulder bags, totes, wallets, and bag accessories send pouches.

Accessories – this includes active accessories, belts, fine jewellery, gloves, hair accessories, hats, home and gift items (books, candles, drink water and water bottles, fabric care, home decor, pool and outdoor items, stationery, towels), jewellery (anklets, bracelets, earrings, fine jewellery, hand and body chains, jewellery boxes, necklaces, personalized jewellery, pins, rings, watches), key chain and bag charm, scarves and wraps, socks and tights, sunglasses and eyewear, tech accessories, travel accessories, and more.

Gift – this section is where you can shop a gift for her, gift for him, gift for kids, and for home

The different product categories show that Shopbop has a wide product range, and is a true one-stop shop for women’s clothing and accessories. However, another important consideration is the number of individual items within each product type. It’s important that the ideal store holds a large inventory of particular item types. This will give you a large selection to choose from, and you’re more likely to find something that you like.

In this regard, Shopbop also ticks the box. Not only do they hold a wide product range, but they have a large inventory of each of the product types. They are able to do this because they also feature items from many designer brands. Some of the designers you’ll find in Shopbop include BAUM UND PFERDGARTEN, ei8htdreams, Ganni, Golden Goose, Isabel Marant, Beaufille, Facetasm, I.AM.GIA, Khaite, Retrofete. These collaborations ensure that Shopbop holds quality and authentic clothing and fashion pieces. Thus, they not only hold a large inventory, but the quality of items is top-drawer.

Shipping

Shipping comes second only to price as an important factor in online purchases. The main shipping considerations are shipping cost and shipping time.

When the shipping cost is too high, the total expenditure on the item might be perceived as unacceptable even if the item itself was acceptably priced; therefore, the ideal store will have shipping costs that are as low as possible. Also, customers don’t want to wait for too long to receive the delivery of their package; therefore, the ideal online store will have shipping times that are as short as possible.

In this regard, Shopbop comes out strong. However, an important (yet oft-neglected) consideration is the destinations that the online store supports (ships to).

The ideal store should support a long list of worldwide destinations so that you can buy from the store no matter where in the world you’ll want to receive your order. In this regard, Shopbop ticks the box. They ship to over 220 countries/ regions worldwide. If you’ve checked reviews of online stores, you’ll find that this is much more than what many online fashion stores cover.

Back to shipping cost; the lowest possible cost is zero, which is free shipping. Thankfully, Shopbop offers free shipping.

When free shipping is not applicable, they charge flat rates which means that your shipping cost will not increase when the weight or size of your order increases. In terms of shipping times, they have different delivery options; and the one chosen will determine how long it will take to receive delivery of your package.

For customers in the US; there are three delivery options – there is the standard delivery, a 2 Days delivery, a Next Business day delivery, and a Saturday delivery. The standard delivery is the free delivery option, and it will take 1 – 3 business days to get your package.

The 2 Days delivery will get you your package in two business days, and it cost $10. The Next Day delivery will get you the package the next business day following the day you place the order, and it cost $25. The Saturday delivery will deliver package on a pre-arranged Saturday, and it cost $30.

It can be seen that the US free delivery offer is fast (only three days), and also has no order qualifying amount. Usually, online fashion retailers that offer free shipping will require that your order is up to a particular amount to qualify for the offer. And when the amount is set high, there’s pressure on the customer to spend high to get free shipping. However, in Shopbop US free shipping, all orders qualify; so customers are not pressured to spend more than they’d intended just to get free shipping.

When shipping to Canada, there are no 2 Days, Next Day or Saturday delivery options, so all shipping is free. There’s free express shipping which takes 1 – 3 business days, and there’s another free shipping option that takes 5 – 9 business days. However, the latter (option with a longer delivery time) includes free returns.

However, when shipping to most of the other international destinations, there are two delivery options – express delivery and postal delivery.

The express delivery takes 2 – 4 business days and cost $10 for all orders under $100 but free for all orders over $100; while the postal delivery takes 7 – 20 business days and cost also cost $10 for all orders below $100 but free for all orders over $100. You must be asking what the difference is in the two options when they are equally priced. In express delivery, there is packaged tracking, but for postal delivery, you can’t track your package.

However, there are other international locations with different rates. For example, free express (2 – 4 days) shipping to Armenia is $20, and only free for orders over $150. It is also $20 for orders going to China, and only free for orders over $300. Chins orders have standard shipping that is $10 and free for orders over $100, but that takes 8 – 11 business days.

That said; there is a drop-down menu on the shipping information page on the Shopbop website where you can select a particular country and get the available shipping options, cost, and times.

However, one good thing about the shipping policy of Shopbop is that they offer free shipping to worldwide destinations. Usually, online fashion retailers offer free shipping domestically; and since most of these shops are US based, only US customers (and at most Canada customers) get free shipping. Therefore, it’s exemplary that Shopbop ships free worldwide.

It’s also worth noting that they have free shipping on the express delivery option which only takes 1 – 3 days (in the US and Canada) and 2 – 4 days (for international destinations). This is a welcome shift from applying free shipping to only standard delivery that takes relatively longer periods.

Usually, there is an order processing time that is not added to the advertised shipping times. When such order processing times are long, it adds to the actual shipping time, and you’ll have to wait longer to get your package. This, the ideal shop should have order processing times that are as short as possible.

In this regard, Shopbop does not earn a living of marks from us. However, it’s not because their order processing times are longer than should be, but because there is no information about it. The company only says that “orders are processed pending availability and credit verification“. This does not tell us what we want to know. For example, if the items are available and there is enough credit in the supplied account, how long will it take to process an order and dispatch it?

However, the guaranteed delivery times of the  2 Days delivery option and the Next Business Day options suggest that such orders will be processed the same day. However, for all other delivery options, there’s no way of knowing.

Returns and Exchange Policy

Returns

The blind purchase that characterizes online purchases means that you may not be totally satisfied with an item when you receive delivery of it. Instead of being stuck with an item that you do not like, you’ll want to be able to return it to the store for an exchange or a refund. Thus, the ideal legit online fashion store should allow returns.

Thankfully, Shopbop does. They include a returns label with every package which can be used to easily return any item in your order that you’re not totally satisfied with. Their return policy allows 30 days from the date of delivery to return an item to the store. The 30 days window is more like the industry standard for returns because that is what most fashion online retailers give.

If your returns are received within the 30 days window, Shopbop will proceed it and within 5 business days issue a refund to the original form of payment. After that, you’ll allow the few days that it will take your bank to do their own processing and reflect the funds. If you’ve checked reviews of fashion retailers, you’ll find that this is one of the fastest returns/ refunds processing times out there; some stores can have you waiting for up to a month to receive your refund.

However, for your returns to be accepted, they should also meet some conditions. They must not be worn, altered, or washed. They must have all tags and labels attached and must be returned in their original packaging.

Where the return policy doesn’t make for good reading is in terms of returns shipping cost. Shopbop offers free returns but that’s only for US and Canada customers.

The US free returns have the returns window reduced to 15 days. This means that to get free returns, the returned items must get to Shopbop within 15 of the original delivery date. If it gets to them after 15 days (but not more than 30 days), a fee of $10 is charged for returns shipping which will be subtracted from your refund. The reduced return window will have customers racing against time to get their returns to the store.

The Canada free returns are only available to orders that used the longer 5 – 9 days shipping option. For orders that were originally shipped using express shipping, a return shipping cost of $30 will be charged. For the other international destinations, returns shipping costs range from $30 to $110. This is relatively on the high side. Imagine getting an item for $100 and paying $20 to ship it to Armenia, only got the store to charge $110 for shipping if I opt to return it.

Exchanges

Sometimes, you don’t want to return an item for a refund; you just want to get another item in its place. Product exchange is an option that most persons prefer because it’s usually faster to get the new item than when you have to wait for a refund, before placing an order for the new item.

Unfortunately, Shopbop foes do not support product exchange at the moment. So you’ll have to wait to get refunded before placing the new order.

Price and Related Policies

Price

The price of items in a store is the most important consideration. Customers will not want to buy items that are perceived as unreasonably priced; thus, a review of online stores should examine whether prices are competitive.

In this regard, Shopbop comes out strong. Though prices fluctuate, you’ll find that though Shopbop has some very expensively priced items, they also hold items listed are on par or lower than in most other stores.

If you’re shopping on a budget, you’ll find a lot of elegant under $100 pieces to pick from

Promotions

Virtually every business offer promotion to increase sales, and online fashion retailers are no exception. A review of promotions offered by a store is important because it can make a customer get free items or get items for less than their full prices.

Shopbop does well in this regard because they run different promotions from time to time. Many of the promotions are time-specific – only available for a specific period of time. Therefore, you’ll need to always check their website to know what’s being offered. Alternatively, you can install the app and get regular promo alerts.

However, at the time of writing this review, there were not a lot of promos. Unlike many online fashion stores where we get greeted to price discounts offers and other promos on their landing page, the only thing we saw on the Shopbop landing page was an offer to “sign up for Shopbop emails and get 15% off your next purchase”.

It is only when you go to their sales page, that you’ll see a lot of items marked down by as much as 40 – 70%.

Loyalty Program

However, while we did not see as many promotions as we’ll love to see; we did see that Shopbop has an amazing loyalty program that rewards customers for their continuous patronage.

How much you spend in the store in a year determines what level of the four-tier program you fall into. The levels are bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. As with all tiered program, the higher levels promises better rewards.

At the bronze level, you get early access to sales and new arrivals (that is you get to shop sales and new arrivals before non-members); you also get alerts of back-in-stock items.

As a silver member, you get every perk of the bronze level, a special gift for breaking into a new level, and a discount of 10% off purchases on your birthday. At the gold level, you’ll get all the perks of the silver level, but the birthday discount will be 15%.

Added to this, you’ll get a VIP customer service line for more effective customer support service, and a just-for-you surprise discount at some point of the year (mystery money). Lastly, at the platinum level you’ll get every perk of the hold level (but with the birthday discount increasing to 20%), and special invitations to exclusive events such as fun parties.

That said; if you want a shop that rewards your shopping activity, Shopbop is worth looking at.

Price Adjustments

You can also get items lower than the listed price at the time you completed the transaction. If you purchase an item from Shopbop, and within 14 days of your purchase it is marked down. You don’t need to worry about not having waited a few days before making your purchase in order to get the best value.

All you need do is contact Shopbop about it; their price adjustment program allows them to review the situation and they’ll credit the difference in price to your original form of payment.

This is a nice little perk that is not seen very much in the online clothing retailing business.

Price Matching

The ultimate proof that Shopbop is committed to offering the lowest possible prices is its price matching policy.

If at the time of purchase you find an identical item in another store selling for a lower price than it is in Shopbop, all you need do is contact them. If they determine that the item is indeed identical (quality, style and colour) to theirs, they will give you their piece at a lower price.

Also, this is a strategy common to online Jewelers, but rarely seen in fashion cyberspace.

Payment Method

The ideal online fashion retailer should support a wide range of payment options so that customers can easily pay for their orders no matter where they may be residents.

In this regard, Shopbop accepts payment using the following: Visa, Master Card, American Express, Discover, JCB, Diners Club, UnionPay and Alipay.

It is typical of online fashion stores not to break the roof with a long list of payment options; for example, they do not support the increasingly popular web wallets and cryptocurrencies. However, the payment options in Shopbop are still limited. For example, there’s no support for PayPal and any form of bank transfer that some stores accept.

That said, since the options supported by Shopbop are global options that are available in virtually every location in the world, you shouldn’t have any problem paying for your orders in the store.

Customer Support Service

No matter how effective an online store runs, some customers will have questions that they need answers to, and some may have issues with orders. Therefore, the legit store must provide for attending to customers’ inquiries/ queries.

In this regard, Shopbop provides two channels that customers can use to directly contact the – email and telephone.

To use the email service, you can submit your queries to the address: service@shopbop.com. There ate other email addresses listed on their website that you can use if you want email support in other languages. Shopbop email support is available in over 7 languages including Spanish, French, Chinese, Korean etc. As typical of email submissions, you’ll have to wait for a while to get a response.

If you want instantaneous feedback, you may use the telephone service. Shopbop provides toll-free lines so you don’t have to worry about charges. The number for US customers is 1-877-746-7267; while that for other be countries/ regions is 1-608-270-3930.

One good thing is that telephone support is available round the clock (24hours a day, and 7 days a week). The one dent is that telephone support is only available in the English Language.

Pros:

• Has a large inventory
• Ships to over 220 worldwide locations, and offers free shipping to worldwide destinations
• Allows returns within 30 days of the original delivery date, and issue refunds within 5 business days of receiving returned items
• Offers Price adjustment and Price matching which serve to give customers better value
• Has a loyalty program that acknowledges and rewards customers’ year-long purchases

Not sure:

• Not impressed by the number of promotional offers
• Order Processing time – no time estimates of how long it takes to process regular orders

Cons:

• Product exchange is not supported
• Relatively high returns shipping cost
• Limited payment methods – does not support PayPal

Conclusion

Shopbop is legit and safe. As a subsidiary of Amazon, with 20 years of fulfilling orders, and with the use of industry-standard data protection techniques, there’s no doubt about their legitimacy or safety.

ALSO READ: TopShop Review: Legit or Scam?

They offer products from the industry’s foremost contemporary and designer labels; thus, they hold a wide product range and a large inventory. They sell quality and authentic items; their prices are in the okay range, and they offer price adjustment and price matching focused on offering the best competitive prices.

There’s free express shipping worldwide, and returns are allowed if made within 30 days of delivery, and a refund is issued within 5 days of receipt of returns.

In all, Shopbop comes out as a strong fashion store, with only a few knacks such as limited payment options, and high cost of returns.

Do you have any experience with Shopbop? Kindly use the review section below to give us your brief Shopbop review.

Free People is a legit fashion store. It is not a scam because they will never steal your money and credit card details. And if you make an order, it will be shipped to your destination without a problem.

Free People was founded in the 1970s by Richard Hayne. The brand left the scene was it was renamed Urban Outfitters, but had a rebirth in 1984 and has been operating ever since. The online fashion retailer currently operates as part of Urban Outfitters, Inc.

FreePeople has only grown bigger ever since. They opened their first brick and mortar store in 2002, in New Jersey. They milestone was followed up by the establishment of many more stores (all over the US, Canada and the UK), and they now have over 136 freestanding stores.

FreePeople specializes in women’s clothing. The goal of free people is to be not just a clothing brand but to create a lifestyle. The store is the destination for bohemian fashion that features the latest trends and vintage collections. For all the old classic and dazzling latest; they have the styles that you need to break the shackles and be free. These range from the perfect special occasion dresses, to chic outerwear, to irresistible intimates.

That suggests exquisite fashion styles. The question is whether FreePeople really provides such styles that will have you freely expressing yourself no matter the occasion or season. How about their quality, their prices, and other services; do they offer top quality clothing, affordable products, and excellent service? In the first place is Free People genuine?

This Free People review will examine FreePeople in order to provide information that will help you answer those questions.

Free People at a glance

• Fashion store established in 1984, and is part of URBN
• Specializes in women’s fashion
• Hold a wide product range that includes clothing, fashion accessories, intimates, shoes, beauty products and more
• Worldwide free shipping
• Allows returns within 30 days of delivery to get a refund issued through the original payment method
• Accepts payment from credit and debit cards, PayPal, and gift cards
• Offers a financing plan
• Has iOS app

Is FreePeople Legit?

Free People is legit, not a scam. It is now a must to first determine that an online store is legit before placing an order with them. There are just too many online scam stores on the internet for one not to worry about whether a store is legit or a scam. And what is more, you cannot tell a fake online store by simply looking at the website. However, there are simple tests that can be used to tell a legit store from a fake one; and we will put FreePeople through these test.

First is the capacity to fulfil orders. To many customers, a scam store is one that will not deliver to you when you make payment for items listed on their site. They do not fulfil orders because they cannot. Usually, fake online stores exist only virtually; the website is not backed by physical production centres, warehouses, stores/ showrooms or products. On the other hand, FreePeople has a physical existence.

As mentioned, they have physical stores all over the US, Canada, and one in the UK. From these locations, they ship merchandise to worldwide locations. The capacity to fulfil orders is one thing that marks FreePeople as a legit online store.

Another is the sheer length of time that the company has been operating (the test of time). FreePeople is older than many of its customers. Since their rebirth in 1984, FreePeople has continuously operated, which gives them 34 years of operation.

In a fast fashion industry where the latest style today is old-school tomorrow, a store that keeps up with the trend for decades must be legit. In fact, there’s simply no scam store, in any industry, that can continue in its scamming operations for years, not to talk of decades.

Also, FreePeople is a duly registered company, and its parent company (Urban Outfitters) is also a duly registered company. This means that the company has legal recognition. No scam store will seek legal recognition by way of company registration. Also, the operators of FreePeople are known and visible (Margaret Hayne currently serves as the chief creative officer); this is in sharp contrast to scam stores where the operators are behind the scenes and unknown. You can also see sites like Free People such as Dresslily, Pretty Little Thing etc

Is Free People Safe?

Free People is safe. It is not likely that FreePeople will rip you off because the store is legit. However, it’s also important to make sure that the store is safe. This is because a store that is not safe will leak your sensitive data to third parties. I don’t know any person who would want sensitive information like credit card details to be intercepted by cyber fraudsters.

In this regard, FreePeople uses industry-standard data protection measures. Among them is SSL (Secure Socket Layer) technology with 128-bit encryption. SSL is the standard method for creating a secure link between a device and a web server. Thus, this technology ensures that when you communicate with FreePeople to complete transactions, your transaction details are transmitted over a secure link. The data packets are even encrypted before being relayed to ensure that even if captured cannot be read.

FreePeople also pledges not to disclose personal and sensitive data of their customers to third parties, except when such disclosure is necessary for the service. With these measures, it is safe to say that FreePeople is safe.

Features

Website Accessibility

First experience matters. A brick and mortar store that is untidy will probably see your back. It’s the same in the online spheres. A website that is untidy, cluttered, and not easy to navigate will see many people leaving. Fortunately, the website (https://www.freepeople.com/) of FreePeople created a good first impression; and moving around in the site sealed it. The site is simple, not cluttered; it’s set on a white background, and it is not packed with texts. It’s also easy to navigate, as you have links appropriately placed to take you to the background where everything happens.

Mobile Compatibility

The website is also compatible with mobile devices to allow accessing the store at any time from anywhere. It supports all mobile operating systems such as iOS, Android, Blackberry, and Windows phones. The site doesn’t just support mobile devices; it is fully mobile optimized. Thus, it resizes to fit the small screens of mobile phones.

This is all for a better customer experience because you’ll not have to drag the page left and right to view the full page.

iOS App

FreePeople is one of the online fashion retailers that have invested in a fashion app. The decision whether to buy straight from a store’s website or their app is usually tilted to the app for many reasons. Fashion Apps make purchases easy.

You can have the installed app on your device, and accessing the online store is a click away. Also, it allows you to save certain personal information so that you don’t have to type them in every time at checkout. Most importantly, fashion apps use notifications to alert customers of new arrivals, special offers and promotions. Thus, you’ll be positioned to take advantage of these offers and have cost savings.

If shopping with an app is a concern, FreePeople will be worth looking at. However, they have only an iOS app, which can only be used by those with Apple phones and tablets. The app is a heavy 157.9 MB file; but it has a 4.9 out of 5 rating on the app store, which tells you that it is highly effective.

That said, many of the other online stores that invest in their own apps offer at least apps for iOS and Android platforms. Thus, FreePeople would want to launch an Android app to keep up with the competition; and most importantly to also cater to customers with Android devices.

Product Range

Free People Dresses:

Free People Shoes:

You want the ideal online store to have a wide product range with a lot of different items in their inventory. That way, you’re more likely to find an item that you like because of being able to make a choice from a big selection. Also, a wide product range makes it possible for you to get all your related products from one place. That way, you can have significant cost savings from bulk purchase discounts and one order shipment.

In this regard, FreePeople ticks the box. FreePeople is a speciality women’s clothing brand, and they provide the full gamut in women’s fashion from apparel to accessories, and to beauty products.  The product categories (and different items) in each category in the store are as follows:

• Clothes – Dresses, Tops + Tees, Sweaters, Sweatshirts, Kimonos, Jackets, Denim, Pants, Skirts, Shorts, Jumpsuits, Rompers, Sets, Bodysuits, Swim, Endless Summer, FP Beach
• Dresses – Maxi Dresses, Midi Dresses, Mini Dresses, Bodycon Dresses, Day Dresses, Party Dresses, Night-Out Dresses, Printed Dresses, White Dresses, Black Dresses, Sweater Dresses, Knit Dresses, Sets, and Jumpsuits
• Denim – CRVY Jeans, Flare Jeans, High-Rise Jeans, Skinny Jeans, Wide-Leg Jeans, Boyfriend Jeans, Straight-Leg Jeans, Cropped Flare Jeans, Overalls, Shorts, Denim Jackets, and Vintage Denim
• Sweaters – Pullovers, Cardigans, Tunics, Turtlenecks, Sweater Jackets, Statement Sweaters, Sweater Dressing
• Shoes – Boots, Flats + Menswear, Clogs, Sneakers, Heels + Wedges, Sandals, Socks + Tights, Slippers
• Accessories – Jewelry, Bags, Hats, Gloves, Sunglasses, Scarves, Belts, Kimonos, Socks + Tights, Hair Accessories, Tech
• Intimates – Bras, Undies, Slips, Tops, Bottoms, Bodysuits, Rompers + Jumpers, Sleep + Lounge, Sets, Seamless
• Beauty Products – Wellness, Makeup, Skincare, Vegan Beauty, Body, Sun Care, Hair, Oral Care, Fragrance + Aromatherapy, Tools + Tech, and more
• FP Movement – This is a fitness-inspired category that features activewear and athletic clothing such as One-Pieces, Workout Gear, Wellness Essentials, Practice, Perform, Too + From, Yoga, Dance, Fit, Run, Bras, Tops, Leggings + Bottoms, Hoodies + Sweatshirts

Price, Promotions and Payment Methods

Price

Price is the most important consideration in any purchase because you will not want to pay what is unreasonable for your fashion styles. Therefore, it’s important whether the prices offered by an online store are affordable.

In this regard, it is safe to say that FreePeople is not known for its affordability. For example, you’ll find that many of their dresses are $60 – $200; you’ll be hard-pressed to find a denim piece that is less than $60, and you’ll have to hold at least $40 to get a legging. Their sales page did its best to slash down prices, with some items cut by as much as 50%. But because their main price was high, the discounted prices still stand high. For example, you’ll find tops: slashed from about $80 to $50; mini dresses brought to about $80 from three figures and so on.

That said, if shopping-cheap is a primary concern, FreePeople may not be the best place to be looking.

Promotions

Online fashion stores run promos from time to time, and a review of these promos is important because when a customer takes advantage of them, they can lead to significant cost savings.

We are used to seeing online fashion retailers advertising their promo codes on their homepage, but that was not the case with FreePeople. In fact, going through their website, it would seem that they do not offer any promo, as there was not even a link to promotional offers or bonuses. The only reference we saw of a promo is on the shipping page where free shipping was offered for all order amounts on certain items.

However, we saw that FreePeople does run promos from time to time. We’ll want to see more information on their site about these.

Payment Methods

You don’t want to come up with a headache just to make payment for merchandise in an online store. Thus, you want the store to support a range of options so that some will be available to you no matter where you are shopping from. You’ll also want the supported methods to be convenient.

In this regard, FreePeople does not blow the roof off with a long list of payment options, but they support global options that you can easily grab for use no matter where you’ll be playing from. These options they accept for payment are Master card, Visa, American Express, Maestro, PayPal, Visa Electron, Solo, and Free People Gift Cards (issued in Pounds).

This is pretty much what the online fashion retails stores offer. However, given the popularity of e-wallets and cryptocurrencies for online payments, I’ll want to see some of these options supported.

Also, FreePeople technically supports only one currency because all transactions are made in US Dollars. Though prices and the order total at checkout are listed in a variety of currencies, these are simply estimates based on currency conversion rates. Refunds are also credited back in UD Dollars using the current exchange rate. That said, I will like to see FreePeople support different currencies so that many international customers will not have to worry about currency conversions when making purchases.

Shipping Policy

A review of the shipping policy of an online fashion store is important for many reasons. You’ll want to know if the store ships to your country; you’ll want to know how much shipping cost because high shipping cost can make the total expenditure on an item unacceptable, even if the item itself was acceptably priced; and you’ll want to know how long shipping will take because you don’t want to wait forever for the item to arrive.

For the first, the good news is that FreePeople ships to over 100 countries worldwide. These countries are:

• North America

United States, Canada, and Mexico

• Africa, Middle East, & India

Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Botswana, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, India, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Reunion, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, South Africa, St. Helena, and the United Arab Emirates

• Asia Pacific

Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, French Polynesia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, New Zealand, Philippines, Republic of China – Taiwan, Republic of Korea (South),  Singapore, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Viet Nam

• Europe

Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and Ukraine

• Latin America & the Caribbean

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Falkland Islands, French Guyana, Grenada, Guadalupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Virgin Islands (British)

However, FreePeople ships oversized home items to only the 48 continental US states. The company does not support the shipping of these items to international locations, U.S. territories, Alaska, Hawaii, P.O. boxes, and APO/ FPO addresses.

In terms of shipping cost; customers want rates that are as low as possible, therefore free shipping is the ultimate deal clincher.

Fortunately, FreePeople offers free shipping. However, like always your order has to be up to a particular amount to qualify for free shipping. For the US, Australia, and Canada, free shipping is valid for orders over $100 (US Dollars), while for every other that FreePeople ships to, free shipping are valid for orders over $150 (US Dollars).

For the international shipment, it should be noted that the free shipping only applies to the merchandise; all duties and taxes assessed by custom will be the responsibility of the customer. Free shipping is not available for oversized home items.

Most customers don’t like having to spend too much in order to qualify for free shipping, and will closely look at the free shipping order qualifying amount. Customers from the US might not like what they see because there are some online fast-fashion shops that require spending only $50+ to qualify for free shipping (to US addresses).  

That said, one thing that makes the free shipping offer of FreePeople is that it applies to both domestic orders and international orders. If you’ve checked other online fashion stores, you’ll find that many of them offer only free domestic shipping; and since the bulk of these stores is US-based, only US customers (and at most Canadians) get to enjoy free shipping.

At the time of writing this review, FreePeople was offering free shipping on their “November Catalog” styles. The juice of this offer is that your orders don’t need to be over $100; any style from the catalogue that you pick gets shipped to you free of charge, no matter its cost. However, the domestic audience gets preferential treatment – the offer is only available for shipping within the US.

Where free shipping is not applicable, FreePeople charges flat shipping rates which means that your shipping cost does not increase with an increase in the size or weight of your order.

For domestic US shipping, there are different shipping options that you may choose from. There is Standard shipping which takes 5 – 7 business days and cost $7.95 USD; there is Express shipping which takes 2 – 3 business days and cost $10 USD, and there is Overnight Shipping which takes 1 – 2 business days and cost $20 USD. Orders for Express shipping and Overnight Shipping will be dispatched the same day if the orders are placed before 1 PM (EST).

Only standard and express shipping are available for Canada orders. Standard shipping takes 3 – 10 business days and costs $7.95 USD; while Express shipping takes 3 – 5 business days and costs $10.00 USD. Australia also has Standard and Express shipping; the former takes 6 – 12 business days and cost $7.95 and the latter takes 3 – 6 business days and cost $17.95. Shipping to all other international addresses is via Standard shipping that takes 3 – 10 business days and cost $35.

Returns and Exchange Policy

Returns

The sad reality of online purchase is that: what you see is not always what you get. There are so many factors that can make you want to return the item to the store after receiving delivery of it. Therefore, it’s important to check that the online store you want to buy from allows returns.

Like almost every other online store, FreePeople allows returns. When you receive your order, and you are not totally satisfied with any of the items, you can return the item to them, and they will issue you a refund. The return policy of FreePeople makes for good reading. First, any merchandise purchased in-store must be returned to the store, while those bought online may be returned by mail or in-store.

Also, they allow a 30 days returns window; which means that you have 30 days from the time of receiving the item to get it back to FreePeople. If the returned items are received within 30 days, FreePeople will issue a refund by crediting your original payment method. This is a very generous returns window, as it means that you won’t have to race against time to get in your returns.

You’ll find some online stores offering return windows of only 18 days. Also in many of the online stores, if your returns do not get to the store within the allowed time, the items will be rejected and you will not qualify for a refund. However in FreePeople, if your returns do not get to them within the allowed 30 days window, it doesn’t disqualify you for a refund.  You’ll still be refunded, but the refund will be issued as store credits.

However, there are some things that can cause returned items to be rejected and disqualify the customer from being refunded. Returns are only accepted if they are unworn, unwashed and not defective. Also, all original tags must be intact; and the items must be in their original packaging.

Beauty and Wellness products must be unopened, and swimwear and intimates not only be in their new and unused condition but must have their sanitary strips in place. Swimwears with broken sanitary strips cannot be returned; also items from the vintage collection (Vintage Loves and Vintage Revival) cannot be returned.

FreePeople includes a prepaid returns label which makes it easy to return an item to them. If you opt for the return, all you need do is pack the item appropriately, attach the returns label, and drop off the package at a USPS facility, with your postal carrier, or schedule a pickup at www.usps.com. The one small dent on the returns policy of FreePeople is that customers bear the return shipping cost. Where you use the returns label, a fee of $5.95 will be deducted from your refund per return shipping. However, the “November Catalog styles” offer also carries free returns. If you must return any of the qualifying items, the $5.95 return fee will be waived.

After the returned item is received by FreePeople, you should allow for about one and a half weeks for the returns to be processed; and after the processing, you should allow 1 – 3 business days for the refunds to be received to your original payment method. This means that it can take over two weeks for you to receive the funds. In my opinion, this is one area where FreePeople could use some improvement. They should try to bring down the return processing time so that refunds can be issued quicker than it is currently done.

Exchanges

If you return an item, wait for the returns to be processed and wait again to be refunded, before placing another order, a lot of time can pass before getting your item. But the process can be optimized if you can simply return the first item for an exchange (get another item in its place). Thus, it’s also important to check if stores allow product exchanges. Thankfully, FreePeople does. However, product exchanges are available for only US customers. All international customers that may have received a wrong or defective item will have to contact the company and start the returns process for a refund.

Other Services

Price Adjustment Program

In their commitment to making prices as low as possible, FreePeople provides a price adjustment program that allows you to get items for a price lower than it was marked. This happens when you pay the listed price for an item that is out of stock, and the item when on sale happens to be listed at a lower price.

If you contact FreePeople within 14 days of the original delivery date (or of making the payment if it is an in-store purchase); they’ll credit your original form of payment with the cash difference.

AfterPay

It’s sad if you’ve fallen in love with an elegant fashion piece but cannot completely pay for it at the moment. If you must have it at that time, you needn’t worry too much because FreePeople has a financing plan (AfterPay) that allows you to buy now and pay later.

Another interesting thing is that the AfterPay plan is interest-free; the total you pay is the order amount. AfterPay financing is available only for orders of $35 – $100. It requires you to submit your credit or debit card (Master Card or Visa) details.

The total order will be split into four instalments; you’ll have to pay the first instalment at the time of purchase, and the remaining three will be deducted automatically every 2 weeks. Thus, AfterPay is a 6 weeks financing plan. If you miss a payment (that is, funds are not in your account when payment was due), you’ll be charged a late fee of $8, and if that’s unpaid after 7 days, an additional $8 fee is added.

However, AfterPay financing is only available to customers with a US billing address; customers with international billing addresses cannot create an AfterPay account. That said, the financing plan is a good perk that is not often seen amongst online fashion retailers.

Customer Support

Customer support service is an important element of any store’s service, whether online or brick and mortar. You may have questions about the merchandise or about the seller, or you may have issues with your purchase, and you’ll want a store that will adequately provide the needed assistance. Therefore, it’s important to review the channels that FreePeople provides for addressing customers’ inquiries/ complaints.

They provide a FAQ that holds self-help articles that answers some of the questions you may have about shipping, returns and payments. It must be said that FreePeople extensively treats these topics in clear and simple language. However, if you must contact a support agent, they provide for that via email, telephone and live chat.

The email service can be accessed using a contact form on the website. The company pledge to answer all email submissions within 24 – 48 hours. While this is fine, we’ll like to see an improvement in the response; at least within 24 hours.

However, for those who wouldn’t want feedback, the live chat and telephone service provides instantaneous feedback. Also, these options are available round the clock (24 hours a day). You can access the live chat feature from their website; for the phone service, the number to call is 800.309.1500.

It should be said that many customer reviews of FreePeople have scored their customer service very poorly. With some of the issues identified (like paying extra charges upon receipt of international orders, long refund periods etc), you’ll expect customer support service to be busy. And it would appear that many customers weren’t satisfied with how their issues were handled.

Summary

Who does not want freedom? FreePeople promises to make you live free through fashion. First, the online fashion retailer is legit and safe. FreePeople is one of the oldest fashion retailers in the business, and they are still fulfilling orders, and also using industry-standard measures to ensure a secure buying environment.

That said, the company does have the styles to help you break the shackles and live free. As a women specialist brand; they have a wide product range that covers every women’s clothing, accessories, shoes and beauty products. They cherish creativity in design, and you’ll see that reflected in their right-for-the-occasion clothing which invokes attributes of femininity as well as fire. The quality is also top-notch. However, you’ll find that their prices are not always “just-right”. This is where promotional offers will be appreciated, but FreePeople is not as vocal as we’ll like about discounts and promos.

However, there are more reasons to head to FreePeople for your online shopping than there are for not heading there.

Cons

• Free shipping to every location, both domestic addresses and international addresses
• Allows exchanges
• Offers an interest-free 6 weeks financing plan
• Has a price adjustment program that allows you to get merchandise for lower than its listed price at the time of payment
• 24/ 7 customer support via email, telephone and live chat

Pros

• Limited payment options
• Prices are on the high side
• Payment of additional charges upon receipt of the package
• No information on promotional offers
• Relatively long returns and refund processing time (can take up to 2 weeks)
• Support only one currency (US Dollars)

Do you have any experience with Free People? If yes, kindly use the review section below to give us your brief Free People review.