Wednesday, December 13, 2017

"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.

47 comments:

  1. Hmm trying to place a purchase online right now and it won't let me stack the 40% off and the 15% student discount (whereas before it did...)

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  2. The red tippi is on the website, but cannot add to shopping bag!!!

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  3. I want my order delivered! So tired of waiting for things from Black Friday to ship. If they are in the store, why am I waitlisted?!!!

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    1. There are three items that say "waitlisted" even though they are now available online and also in the store. The Champagne tee used to say delivery by 12/12 and now it says in process. Needless to say, I didn't receive it yesterday (12/12) and still no shipping notice today. I want this festive holiday stuff now, not two weeks from now when the holidays are over. Honestly this is the first time I've had issues like this with J Crew and I've been a customer for a long, long time. It is just so sad.

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    2. the item i'm considering cancelling is the sequin tee because i probably won't get it in time for any parties. assuming it actually fits.

      i want to give jcrew the benefit of the doubt... there's going to be some bumps along the way as the new management finds it's footing... but... how long do i wait? i've already started buying more from other companies and just cutting my overall clothing spending down A LOT since last year.

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    3. Miss JR, the sequin tee is showing up as available at my store (North Michigan Ave., Chicago). I don't think the 12/26 date is accurate. I'm trying to find some time to get to the store before the end of the week. I'll let you know if it is out. That is one of the holiday items I want before Christmas/New Year's Eve.

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    4. Sequin tee review: Stopped by North Michigan Ave. this afternoon. They have a full size run. I should have known by the description that this is a very short tee. It's good quality gray heather cotton and the sequins appeared secure. Unfortunately it will be a return for me when I finally receive it as it is very nearly cropped on my long torso. Hope it works for someone else as I liked it a lot.

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    5. hmmm... i was worried about the length as well... maybe i'll just cancel the order.

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    6. It doesn't appear horribly short on the model; that's why I took a chance and ordered it. I think the length is listed as 22 1/2 inches. Just a bit longer and it would have been perfect. :(

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    7. that's another vent in itself... the model shots... i'm 5'4" and some things are cropped on me but look normal on the model... and there's no way the model is shorter than me.

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    8. I'm still waiting on the rose tee to ship from my 11/26 order. It was backordered until 12/19, but now I see it's in stock yet my tee has yet to ship. Also noticed AFTER I tried to put it in my cart that it's excluded from all promos.

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    9. eeps, same here. Whole stack of rose tees at the store I visited yesterday, yet I'm still waiting for my Black Friday shipment. Also pretty sure the rose tee is included in the 40% off sale, as there was a sign on the table.

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    10. It's a system issue about how they do wait lists and it's frustrating because they know about it, but won't change it. If an item comes into stock in a retail store it doesn't update the wait list because it's different inventory. CS can cancel the wait list though and order it with hopefully free, faster shipping.

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    12. I called CS and they cancelled my waitlisted order, placed a new order for the rose tee and waived overnight shipping. It’s due to arrive December 21. They said if I continue to wait for it to come off the waitlist, I’d get it well after Christmas even if it was due to ship Dec. 19.

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  4. I know I complain about this every year...how JCREW's quality keeps going down but every year I still manage to find something I can tolerate to buy. This maybe the FIRST year, in my 20+ year of buying JCREW since my college days that I didn't end up buying or returning everything I purchased from them.

    Usually every winter, at a minimum I am able to find a few coats in awesome colors that I purchase from JCREW but man this year, all the coats are in such poor quality, I felt like I was getting coats from fast fashion stores such as H&M or GAP, whom by the way HAD actually stepped up their games over the years and their coats aren't $400 a pop for the same quality.

    And girls, please don't even get me started with the sweaters....the fit is horrible, even if you can get past all the massive pilling issues.

    Sure, one can tell me there is always the Tippi. But seriously, how many tippi do we need, I have a rainbow color collection of Tippi sweaters over the year and frankly I am getting bored wearing them. They are great work stables. But JCREW I expected more fun and creative designs. The past year just seems to boring and blah.

    I think this is it for me. I am finally parting ways with JCREW. And that makes me sad.

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    1. Oh Couture, I so hear you. I'd probably spent over $100 this year in return shipping fees before finally giving up this holiday season. The reviews of a lot of the items were enough to convince me not to waste my time/money. JC's not even trying to be accurate with their item descriptions and I think it's really going to bite them.

      That's not to say I'm not purchasing ANY 'Crew... it's just past season via Poshmark, ThredUp, eBay. It's worked out a lot better for me and my closet.

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    2. My sentiments as well. over priced for quailty.
      my fun pass time of checking out the sale section is long over now.
      I believe we are leaving in droves now after the new guy took over. very sad. miss the old days...like last year even.

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    3. i went back and checked my orders. i ordered 12 items total... 9 were returned. i kept only 2 and 1 is STILL backordered and i'm considering just canceling it.

      that's some kind of record.

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    4. I track my yearly spending in a spreadsheet and it is way down this year. There is just nothing that grabs me anymore. Too many trends not enough classics with a twist, Very few interesting vibrant prints, shoddy quality and terrible blends, inaccurate product descriptions on the web, too many website issues, % off sale gone. Sigh. I feel like I am done as well. I used to be a vigilant shopper. Checked website every morning, Now I barely look two or three times a week. I will say I have not really found a great substitute but am instead shopping my closet and picking up odds and ends on the cheap at outlets/ factory stores as the quality and blends of those pieces really is not much better or worse than some retail stores at this point.

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    5. Within the past 2 years I have changed my spending habits considerably. I am of the exact opposite mindset of the fast fashion crowd they seem to be pursuing now and am firmly following the "fewer but better" motto. I recently cancelled my JC and Ann Taylor credit cards. Both of these stores used to be my wardrobe staples plus fun pieces. Now I am just cleaning out my closet of numerous purses, shoes, novelty items, and buying a few designer investment purses and wardrobe pieces that will last for years and still retail resale value on consignment when/if I tire of them. It's also more attainable than ever to get quality designer pieces with the rise of sites like Gilt, dept store outlets like Saks Off 5th, or designer resale sites like the Real Real. It's also so much less stressful to get dresses when my closet is not overflowing with items.

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  5. sweaters at 21' inches. blends...no purses or bags to drool over. true..I guess my love for J Crew is waning as well.

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  6. Do I order a Med, large or x large ? It was bad enough when I had to order two sizes...now three ? forget it. and although CS is helpful ...I really need to try the on.

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  7. The Gemma shoes in Drake's Bird of Paradise... They felt so lovely... I went to put them on for *maybe* the 10th time and found that the upper had split from the sole 1-2 inches. 10 days of light wear (I work at a pool and don't wear them in! ;)) shouldn't mean they're falling apart. I am sorry I spent the money on them.

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    1. I’d send some photos to CS, they should refund you.

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    2. Thank you, shopgrrrl. I'm not sure I have the heart to tell them about another defective, low-quality item...

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  8. I wonder what is going on with the orders, as some of us are waiting weeks, whereas I get mine shipped the next day, even using free shipping. I hope those JCAs waiting for theirs get them in time to use well. I'm on the patient side and am surprised mine get sent so quickly. Alternatively, an item I really wanted for my son was cancelled. I dislike the inventory glitches. When I went back to order my second choice, it was sold out, too.

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  9. I wanted to give a heads up about The Red Tippi Sweater with the "Snow Mountain Scene" (from Ina and Tara's Instagram on Tuesday). The item# is H449A. The cost is $89.50 - I hope that helps someone!

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  10. Posted two more reviews of Madewell pants in the reviews. One sizing issue (possibly mismarked) but the other positive.
    But my vent—madewells site is so buggy for me. I'm on an iPad and half the time I can't see the product images, they're cropped. I think the mobile site has problems but I can't figure out how to use the desktop site. Unlike at some other sites there's no text I can find that says "use desktop site." If anyone knows something I can't seem to figure Out, please post!

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    1. Which browser are you using? I don't have any problems with Safari or Chrome on iPhone.

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    2. Sorry don't have a fix for you. I see that the pictures jump around a bit, but they are not cropped for me.

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    3. Hey Suz! From Safari on the iPad (and iPhone), you can tap the share icon and scroll through the options to find one that says something to the effect of Request Desktop Site. I have no idea why it's nested under the share icon, but that's not my job to know anymore :-)

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    4. Interesting! I'll see if I can even find the share icon and report back!

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    5. @monica Bonica do you mean the share icon under the product description? I see share and then icons for Facebook' Pinterest, etc but nothing that says desktop site,

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    6. @suzhas, she’s talking about the icon at the top of the page that you click on to share (example: text, email, bookmark). It looks like a square with an arrow pointing straight up out of it.

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    7. Thank you Lauren, I tried that initially but will try again!

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  11. Has anyone had luck with popbacks? I'm stalking a few items and it seems to be more difficult than usual.

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    1. No luck. I think their inventory is not updated. I've seen lots of items marked sold out online but readily available in stores.

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  12. I’ve just completely lost interest in much of anything at J Crew in the past few months. There is just nothing unique or special about it any longer and if you look around, in just about every category, you can find equivalent or better options - either better quality or less $ for similar. It used to be that certain categories - coats, for example - were superb. Not any more, and it’s well known among long-time customers AND industry experts. The retail industry press has been quite critical. I used to be proud to say my outfit was “J Crew” but the brand simply doesn’t have the same level of respect and equity any longer.

    As someone whose entire wardrobe has been 95% J Crew for two decades, I haven’t found a good substitute. I’m buying a very few designer pieces, a few reliable high quality classic brands like LL Bean and Frye, and filling in w a few disposable, trendy pieces from discount and fast fashion brands, which J Crew has become.

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  13. Received an email this morning for 40% off sale in store only. Gee thanks. I get it is meant to drive foot traffic in to stores this time of year but in store only promos don't help me much as my stores are not super close and I can't just stop in on a whim.

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    1. If you call OR EMAIL CS and say your store was offering 40% off sale they may honor the promo.
      I can see why they want to draw people to the stores. I've been to the mall twice over the past week and there aren't many people shopping. Pics with Santa were crowded but other than that...notmuch goingon.
      My husband (who probably hasn't been to a mall in a decade) went yesterday after work and said it was empty too.

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    2. Went in store...40 off sale but nothing to buy! Lots of old junk just hanging around. I don't even want it for 40 off

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  14. I got a shipping notice yesterday and I thought "I don't have anything coming"....it had been so long since I ordered the item, I totally forgot! Reminds me to cancel that blouse that I ordered months ago and now is backordered until February. Ridiculous.

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