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.
this may not resonate w/ everyone, but I wish there was a Factory store anywhere in NYC. I am always so hesitant to buy with them b/c of this.
ReplyDeleteit's minor, but now I'm debating what to do with a ten dollar headband that I need to return. I got it for free shipping, but mailing it back would cost 5-6 dollars. If there was a store nearby, I'd return it there (and buy more stuff, obviously).
I am tired of seeing the same items 'lingering' in the sale section day after day. I wish they would just slash the prices and get the items off the website.
ReplyDeleteSamo, I am in NYC too and as you I rarely buy factory because of the return hassle. Also, it takes them forever to process returns (the last time it took at least three weeks). In the case of your headband I would send it back in an envelope by regular mail (ie without using the pre-paid label), it shouldn't cost more than $3 if it's less than one pound. HTH!
ReplyDeleteIsn't the point of factory outlets that they aren't part of the regular mall or right on a city street mixed in with regular retail? I like that they aren't in the city.
ReplyDeleteGood advice Ema- I never use the prepaid label for any return. all the co's use them but I find they are more expensive than if I sent it our myself, priority and with insurance. Sending the headband on your own will be so much less expensive. In addition, I find that process takes longer for a credit to appear on your cc
ReplyDeleteLadies there is a factory store at the Bergen Town Center in Paramus, not too far from the city, no tax. It just opened. I think you can get a bus there as well. Just remember we cant shop on Sunday here, there are some great stores in this mall as well. Come across the bridge and check it out!
ReplyDeletewe could have lunch
http://www.bergentowncenter.com/index.aspx
I have to vent just a tad about the Timex Traveler Watch. More specifically, about the strap. Unless there's something I'm missing, I'm finding it impossible to adjust properly on my wrist without the end of the strap overlapping the watch face! What am I doing wrong? I'm no skinny minnie but I guess you could say I have small wrists .... what the heck do skinny people do?
ReplyDeleteI'm very dismayed by this. If I tighten the strap enough so it doesn't fall down onto my hand, then the end of the watch strap is flapping over the watch face. if I loosen it, whereby there's still a very silly-looking piece of watchband flapping up toward the watch face, then it slides down and turns around on my wrist. Arrgghh.
And apparently these watch straps aren't exactly hardy stock. I slept in my new watch -- I never, ever take my watch off; I don't know why, I just never have, and it's already fuzzy-looking on the end of the strap. I guess it's good that I bought 4 extra straps during the last 30% off promo.
I also agree with FFM -- GET RID OF THE DEAD STOCK! omg! It's just craziness now.
I went to J Crew yesterday to purchase the Heart Me sweater for 30% off plus the additional 15% student discount. Well, I found one sweater and it happened to be my size so, I went to checkout and the sales associate said "this particular sweater is not part of the 30% off, we were told to move them off the sales floor until the sale is over"! I was so furious. Needless to say I left with the sweater and both discounts.
ReplyDeleteWhy would they put the "valentine" sweater out during the "holidays" with a sweater sale. Not cool J Crew!
just sick of seeing the same items in the SALE section too. I used to love picking up headbands, belts etc. and now, NOTHING that I would even pay sale price for. You get better selection when you wait for a 25% off promo and can snag some HOT ticket items.
ReplyDeleteAnd, I visited my local Factory Store yesterday and walked feeling BLAH. Wrinkle city, nothing really looked "holiday" or "new" and the same collection of check shirts (from the spring) is still lingering....
minniemousemiami- my store told me the same thing and now I am returning Heart Me Sweater. That is bull and I should not have bought it, but I thought it was so cute.
ReplyDeletePrickly shoulder pads attack again! This is the first time it happened to me, I was wearing my Majesty peacoat and and felt something poking me in the shoulder area. Sure enough, I turned the coat inside out and there are those needle-like things sticking out thru the lining. Wth???? For those of you that had that happening to you what did you do? Did J Crew paid for the repair? Or shoudl I just return the coat as defective? I do love the fit and fabric...
ReplyDeleteAnd another vent, I picked up my Hutton wool pants from hemming at the store and when I tried them on at home something did not look right. They are not even, one leg is slightly longer than the other. Not to make them even they may be too short. Hemming was free, what should I do? I don't trust them any more? Should I demand they pay my tailor? Or get a new pair of pants?
I am so frustrated, arghh :(
I really wish J. Crew had a new to sale/fresh cuts like Anthropologie does. Even if they choose to leave the old stock languishing at super high prices, at least make it easier to find newer items. I still want to spend money on certain items at J. Crew but not at the expense of the time it takes to comb through the sale section and keep a list of items I'm watching and waiting to see if they go on sale.
ReplyDeleteI finally bought the Metro coat in Heather Camel, after lusting after it for months, when the outerwear was on sale last week.
ReplyDeleteI could not be more disappointed. The color is not camel at all. A dark, warm pecan is more accurate. I definitely needed a neutral camel, and this is far too warm of a color for my skintone. I'm having a hard time describing it other than baby-diaper-after-eating-sweet potatoes. Awful.
The fit was all wrong, too. Size 6 fit perfectly through the arms and shoulders, but was HUGE through the body. If I was pregnant I would have kept it; it definitely could have made it around a baby bump. Not femininely fitted in the slightest. I'm glad I didn't wait until Christmas morning to open it. Off it goes with a return tag :(
Elaine, I have a J Crew Timex watch (the men's watch even though I'm a woman) and I "fold over" the end of the watchstrap into the last silver bracket/brace in order to keep the watchstrap from being too long. I don't think I'm explaining this very well, does this make sense?
ReplyDeleteNo, that makes sense, that's very helpful! Thanks! :)
ReplyDeleteElaine, I did the same thing as ginastorm with the watch (which I also just purchased). After a couple of days, the strap naturally will fold at the point where you want to put it under the little silver bracket.
ReplyDeleteajc--
ReplyDeletemy coat just started the shoulder pad thing too... but my coat's from last year. no offense to jcrew but i don't trust their tailors... i'm hoping to hold out till the end of the season and just take it to my own place to fix. but i can tell you that i had a previous problem with quality and i emailed CS right away. they offered to reimburse me for the cost of repairs. it's worth a shot.
ajc, I have recently experienced the prickly shoulder pad phenomenon with my three year-old Tuesday trench.
ReplyDeleteIt's very disconcerting because now I wonder if other coats will start to have the same problem after a certain amount of wear or if it is just random. I plan to have the offending pads replaced but wow, it was annoying when it started to happen and I was far from home so couldn't change to another jacket. It seriously felt like little pins.
Exactly xoxo, I am wondering about that too. I only own one other coat but I have several blazers and heraing from everybody I am thinking it is just a matter of time. Why would those things be there? It seems like they are around the edges of a shoulder pad. I cannot think of a purpose of them.
ReplyDeletenomoneyfun - I agree. A fresh cuts section would be handy. There are many website enhancements J Crew needs that are standard on so many retailers now. Anyway, if you didn't know, I make notes of price cuts in posts like this one. I have been able to update it every week and whenever I see price changes. I try to put note on there, like whether something was on promo and then went to sale (I.e. $79.50 to $79.99 happens). If I know the price is different in the store, I note that as well. Many don't want to pay more for something online if it's significantly less at the b&m.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to watch particular items/size/color, create a list on seesthesale.com. It's updated daily and quite quickly. I've noticed emails coming shortly after a site update. You get an email notification anytime there's a price change, if your item goes out of stock or pops back in stock.
@ema great idea!!! thank you
ReplyDeleteI called customer service last night to request a "we will find it for you" on a full priced coat that is no longer available online; received an email at 5 in the morning stating sorry...that they couldn't find it. This morning, I called my local store and they did a nationwide search. There were 8 stores that carried the size I needed in the coat. I called one of them up and they are shipping it to me today! I don't understand the purpose of the "we will find it for you" if they don't put in ANY effort whatsoever to find that item. Am I just one of the very few that this happened to??? So disappointed yet so happy that I found it on my own!
ReplyDeleteBeen there with several blazers and coats with the prickle shoulder pads. What a pain. I have to get some replaced by a tailor but have yet to find time to get there so they sit in my closet. I did not realize how crazy and often this is happening to others. So glad for this blog. Thought I just got a "badly made coat" but more and more I am finding this prickle thing happening to my coats and blazers from 2-4 years ago!!!
ReplyDeleteOn one of my collection cropped trench coats you could actually see the whole prickles in a semi circle! It was insane looking like burlap strips. The lining was partial and that is how I figured it out myself by turing the jacket inside out.
I ordered the Mayfair Top Coat with Thinsulate for my husband as a Christmas gift. When it shipped, I put it in the trunk of my car and just pulled it out since he wasn't around.
ReplyDeleteHow underwhelming! It feels so cheaply made and this coat wouldn't keep me warm when it was 30 degrees. It is very, very thin even with the thinsulate.
It's going back and I will spend my money somewhere with good quality and value for my money.
J Crew would you pul-lease create a mobile version of your website? I know it is asking a lot, since they don't believe in too much "techie" stuff lol
ReplyDeleteGigi,
ReplyDeleteThank you so, so much for the tips, especially seethesale. That's going to be a major upgrade from my usual way of keeping tabs on items I'm stalking. If only J. Crew would get with the upgrade program!
Th blue orange paisley pencil skirt from late summer popped back at 99.99, while the current season paisley is priced at 98 right now....
ReplyDelete