Wednesday, June 15, 2011

"Looking to VENT" with J.Crew

This is the weekly "Looking to VENT with J.Crew" post, a place to share our not-so-stellar experiences with J.Crew.

If you have recently experienced a frustrating situation with J.Crew, maybe you might be willing to share that information with us in this post.

Please feel free to share your story on almost any topic— including poor experiences with purchases & orders, promotions/ offers, in-store visits, transactions with store associates, etc.

26 comments:

  1. I hate it when J.Crew dumps my cart! Enough already...just give us a wishlist feature like Anthropologie and numerous other retailers!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm with you, FFM! I cannot fathom why JC hasn't given us a wish list yet -- or online reviewing! Their site is fast becoming a real dinosaur amongst competing retailers!

    ReplyDelete
  3. JCrew is so behind in their technology, it's becoming a nuisance shopping online with them.

    So I did a WWFIFY search on the Mirabel dress in Muslin Poppy over 10 days ago. I was so happy when I received the email saying they found it and it was being shipped the next day. 10 days later (the weekend was involved and UPS snail mail later) I receive the package and I received the other color (faded black). I was so furious since I had planned to wear it for my daughter's graduation this Friday. I called CS but told me it's sold out and can't do anything about it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've maybe worn my 2 Bettina tops 2 or 3 times at the most, and the front hem on the bottom of both shirts has come undone. Grrrrr.... I'd be fuming if i had paid more than the $19.99 I paid for them. Even at this price, they should be better made than that.

    ReplyDelete
  5. When trying to order a Saint James shirt for my boyfriend for his birthday (which they now only carry in XS and XXS in stores near me now, not helpful to men!!), I noticed that both JCrew and Madewell charge tax on the cost of items PLUS shipping! Charging tax on shipping? Are you kidding me!? Their shipping charges are already OUTRAGEOUS and now they want to charge me a couple bucks extra by taxing it too? Terrible. And I live in CA, so technically I shouldn't even be charged tax when ordering online. UGH.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sydney, most if not all states charge sales tax if there's at least one physical store in the state. Some states charge sales tax even if there's no physical store in the state.

    Does CA charge tax on shipping too? I wonder if Illinois does that too, I'll have to check, I recently placed an order for an item without using a free ship code.

    ReplyDelete
  7. OK, this is interesting. I live in Chicago and we have a 9.75% sales tax rate. There are B&M J Crews in Chicago and other places in Illinois. But I see from an order that I'm paying only the Illinois sales tax rate of 6.25%, not the Chicago tax rate. I guess the law is written that way.

    I did not, by the way, pay tax on the shipping too, just the purchased item.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I want to refine my prior post, it's not just having stores in a state, it's having a "physical presence" which I believe includes offices, distribution centers, and other employees or structures.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm with FFM - not only am I annoyed when JCrew dumps my cart, but I get super annoyed when they update the site and links I've bookmarked only take you to the homepage and *NOT* the item saved. I just don't understand why the bookmarked url to an item keeps getting corrupted. Yet another search, yet another bookmark, and when I'm finally ready to buy, yet another search . . .

    I totally agree that JCrew badly needs to invest in a technology upgrade. Seems to me they'd sell more inventory if people knew where to find said inventory :(

    ReplyDelete
  10. The zipper of my denim pencil skirt broke today as I was getting dressed for my out-of-town conference, and of course I only brought enough items for one outfit a day. I'd worn it once before!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Re: state and city sales taxes-- while each state, county or city enacts its own, and determines what's covered and what's exempt, most are a tax on goods and services. Delivery is a service.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I live in California and looked into the tax on shipping last year when I thought I was being overcharged. I learned that unless th retailer charges the customer what they actually paid to ship the item, the entire shipping fee is taxable. In our case with JC, they charge shipping based on total purchase so we get taxed. Unfortunately, JC is handling it correctly.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I also wish they would fix the website so that their products don't continue to go missing every time the website is updated with new arrivals. It has happened YET AGAIN this morning on several items. Give me a break! This is to the point of being way past ridiculous.

    ReplyDelete
  14. McShoppy: I just re-read your comment...it happened AGAIN this morning! The links are all messed up and taking you to the homepage when you click on certain items. Two of which I was planning to buy this morning and now I can't because they have disappeared from the website. It's just so absurd. Don't they want customers to buy their clothes?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sooo many hidden items in the sale section. UGH! Like the eyelet shorts, paisley bermuda shorts, lolli pants, suvi ruched bathing suit. WTH, J.Crew? I shouldn't have to google everything on my wishlist just to see if you're hiding it from me!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. As of today it's been 239 days since I put up a counter on my blog about a wishlist feature. Waiting to see juuuust how long it will take them to revamp the website. One excuse is the public to private transaction taking focus. However, I think there are NO excuses given where we are today in technology. Just ridiculous.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Yet one more complaint about the cart dumping. I very well might've bought something this morning, but since everything was dumped from my cart this morning, I won't. I simply don't have the time to comb through everything again.

    Seriously J Crew. EVERY OTHER RETAILER I shop online with either has a wishlist or let's items stay in your cart indefinitely (or until they sell out), or at the very least lets you know when they will be emptying. Get with the times already! This stuff is not hard to do!

    Also, I just ordered a pair of shoes from Madewell that fit so tiny it's kind of ridiculous. IF there had been a review feature, I would have know to size up and would not have to return these shoes. I can only deal with this at JC because of this blog and others who post reviews. ARGH.

    (I'm just hoping that JC reads this thread as we know they read so many others, and if they see this request over and over, they will finally listen.)

    ReplyDelete
  18. I refuse to buy anything online because there is no review feature. Refuse.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I just think it's bizarre because every other company I've shopped with online (Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, West Elm, etc etc etc) has NEVER charged tax on shipping, JCrew and Madewell are the only ones. On top of their outrageous shipping fees (topped only by West Elm's ridiculous shipping fees) they want to charge tax on it? It really makes me not want to shop online with them. I'm a penny pincher, I've just graduated college, I don't have much money, so every dollar counts, which is why this makes me so irritated.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I used to get my shopping card dumped as well but no longer do; all my items were still in it this morning. I don't know why. Maybe I complained enough and my IT hubby was able to fix it. I don't know but my card no longer gets dumped. Wondering if this is not a J.Crew problem but a personal setting or other problem??? I am not an IT person though....just wanted to share my experience in hopes maybe someone else can figure something else out with a tech savy friend.

    Also, went to wear my flora maxi skirt for the first time. I had tried it on but never worn it yet. I decided to iron it and low and behold. Yes, the dreaded hole in the fabric. So mad. Of course it was sold out AND this item was supposed to be checked for any defects before it was shipped to me. Great checking J.Crew!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Sydney, I think it's your state doing this to you. Here's a document with the explanation of the rules as they existed in 2007, there may have been changes. I have a feeling this rule applies:

    "Delivery-related charge is taxable when [...] You do not keep records that shoe the actual cost of the delivery. Many businesses charge standard amounts for shipping and do not track the cost of individual deliveries."

    For the record, Illinois doesn't do this.

    ReplyDelete
  22. @Sydney - whether a website charges tax on shipping has to do with state law. New York state for example requires the items and the shipping to be taxed. However, online companies do not have to charge tax in states where they do not have a physical presence... but J. Crew must be in almost every state... but this explains why some sites charge you tax and some don't.

    ReplyDelete

Dear J.Crew Aficionadas & Aficionados: Please feel free (and encouraged) to share your thoughts and opinions. :) However, please note that this is still a personal blog. So comments that are considered inappropriate (e.g. obscene, racist, homophobic, personal attacks, rude, and just plain mean) will be removed.

And now back to J.Crew! :)