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.
My complaint is with J.Crew's inability to protect its trademarks. I missed out on a necklace from J.Crew a few seasons ago and finally found one on eBay; it looked authentic in the photos and the price was just slightly below retail; the seller had 100% positive feedback and advertised the item as "auth J.Crew" (note that he or she didn't write "authentic" - sneaky!). I purchased the item and when it arrived, it was a fake. Most surprisingly, it had a black cardboard J.Crew jewelry tag attached and both the round J.Crew brass tag and the small rhinestone tag near the clasp (this wasn't a GroopDealz "inspired by" piece). However, the ox-plated brass was very dinged up and super lightweight, some of the stones were crookedly set, and the colors weren't right (among several other issues). I confirmed with a friend who owns the necklace that the item was fake. I immediately filed a complaint with eBay and was able to get a full refund after a week; the counterfeit item went into the trash. This is the second time I've purchased a fake J.Crew item on eBay (the other item was also a necklace, about 3 years ago). A search for any J.Crew jewelry on eBay brings up tons of fakes. I wish J.Crew would do more to keep such pieces out of the marketplace; a trademark may become abandoned if a trademark owner fails to monitor its use by others.
ReplyDeleteAs long as J. Crew keeps making their jewelry in China there will be fakes.
DeleteI kind of wish eBay had a checkbox for when an item is listed: authentic or reproduction. It might force a seller to disclose.
DeleteI bought a J. Crew necklace off of eBay a couple of years ago. I have never seen it anywhere else, ever. It's a pendant style with a 1" round locket. The outside of the locket has crystals inside of a basket weave. I like it, but I don't think it's really J. Crew. The tag on it says it is, but I don't think so.
Yeah, the fakes are so rampant on ebay it has scared me off from buying J.Crew jewelry from there. There are also tons of "inspired by" blatant reproductions on Etsy, but at least they're priced far lower to compensate.
DeleteYeah, the fakes are so rampant on ebay it has scared me off from buying J.Crew jewelry from there. There are also tons of "inspired by" blatant reproductions on Etsy, but at least they're priced far lower to compensate.
DeleteWhenever I do buy "J.Crew jewelry" on ebay, which is rare, I do so under the assumption that it is fake and I set my high bid accordingly.
DeleteI won't buy "J Crew" jewelry on eBay anymore. If I am going to buy a knock off which I am assuming most on eBay are, I'll buy from Etsy, Groopdealz, Ily Couture (love their bubble necklaces), Bauble Bar, etc.
DeleteI'm honestly surprised you're blaming J.Crew for something you did outside of their website and company. Companies like J.Crew will always have imitators, especially when they're the ones starting the trend. Purchasing outside J.Crew doesn't give you any assurance in quality or authenticity, so that's your bad - nobody elses.
DeleteTired of feeling like a whale every time I visit my B &M store.. Looking for pants 0,0,0,0,2,2,2,8...um do you have a 10 in the back? Looking for a sweater xxs,xs,xs,xs,s,s,s...um do you have a medium in the back?
ReplyDeleteImagine the feeling when looking for size 12, 14 (although so rare in-store but possibly a return), L or XL when in the B&M stores. Those are usually not in the back because there were very few sent to the stores in the first place!! I just keep pushing when it is something that I must have.
DeleteMy store (Columbus Circle, NYC) *always* has a full run of sizes out. I wonder if it is a store-by-store thing?
DeleteI look at it this way: There are so many people who are size 10 that they bought them all up. I'm always going straight to the bottom of the sweater piles to find the M or L.
DeleteI'm in this club, too! I share Cate's pespective ;) Though I also feel like a whale when perusing the JCA Exchange listings--there are some mighty tiny JCA's out there :)
DeleteI feel that most stores are always out if the mid range sizes like small/ medium and 6/8. Of course I am sure everyone feels that their size is out because you tend to notice it more when it's your size:) haha
DeleteNever any 10s or 12s for me. I used to wear 8s but everything is cut smaller than it used to be. I can wear my size 8 blouses from 2004-7 just fine but need a 12 now for no gap.
DeleteMy store in SLC always has a lot of XXS and XS and usually some L and even XL if they have it. The sizes that go fast are small and medium -- the two sizes that I wear, of course.
ReplyDeleteOne guy in my store always assumes I'm a size 2 and he argues with me. While it's nice that someone thinks I'm smaller than I am, it's kind of annoying. I know what size I am. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThere's no copyright protection in fashion, from what I understand. I am with D*ska and assume that I am buying a "reproduction." I have stayed away from Ebay for knockoffs. Groopdealz and other sites are selling the jewelry, disclosed for what it is, without having a bidding war.
ReplyDeleteThe prices....ever higher....why $228 for a tee simply because it has tiny flowers made of leather?
ReplyDeleteI bought the baguette necklace as a present for someone today. By the time I got it home from the store, one of the jewels had fallen out. Ridiculous! Good thing I looked at it before I wrapped it up. J. Crew needs to work on their quality control.
ReplyDeleteoh, JCrew, why do you think people north of the US border are idiots? So, JCrew no longer lists prices in Canadian dollars. Ok. The prices on the Canadian website are still higher - I mean, way higher - but there's duty, etc (and a little skim off the top). Ok. BUT THEN... I go to check out and my C$93.50 heathered fleece zip-up hoodie (79.50 in the US) has duty added to it. US$12.63. ??##!! Which JCrew then subtracts as, I kid you not, "Just for you, Canada" Really? Just for ME? Thanks, JCrew. But see, I thought that duty was *already in my hyper inflated price* And no, I don't feel special now. Obviously, this is just a rant. No harm, no foul and I didn't get anything more or less than I expected. But still...
ReplyDeleteI just bought a new pair of matchstick jeans from the 25 percent off sale. This was my first new pair in two years (the last pair were fantastic, I loved them to death) and I'm shocked at the quality now. So thin. And the sizing is crazy. I have always been a 27 s. I have recently lost some weight, so I tried a 26s. They are HUGE and gappy all over. UGH. If I want paper thin jeans with a so-so fit, I'll get $30 jeans at the Loft.
ReplyDeleteHi Beth,
DeleteJ.Crew knows their jeans are an issue. My VPS told me that there have been so many customer complaints over the last few years about the thin material and overall quality of their jeans (lots of worn/ripped seams, blown-out knees, etc). They are redesigning their denim and are planning on rolling out the new jeans relatively soon. For now, I avoid their jeans entirely, but hopefully that will change soon.