Shopping Tip for Madewell Customers!

A big "thanks!" to JRSConifer (in this post) who shared the following news with us:

OT a little. Just a comment on the % off at Madewell. I know I read it here from a much wiser JCA, I certainly am not that smart. But if you have a store locally, go in and ask them to put you on their mailing list for in-store events. I did that at both of my local stores and have been invited to two events, one for new arrivals and another for a jewelry show with a local vendor and they both included a 20% off $125 purchase. The times were off for me, I work full-time but if there was something I was really looking for I would have made it work. HTH ...

This is a great shopping tip for all J.Crew Aficionadas shopping at Madewell, but also J.Crew too. (J.Crew often hold similar events at their stores.)

So make sure you sign up with your local J.Crew and Madewell stores to be included in their local events!

J.Crew's Countdown to Memorial Day Weekend with... 25% Off Packing Picks

"Thanks!" to  many of you, including August, as well as The American Observer (in this post), who shared the following email & promotion from J.Crew.

J.Crew is offering 25% off select regular merchandise with promotional code PACKME. This offer expires May 24, 2014. The fine print includes:

Offer only valid on purchases of styles marked "25% off with code PACKME" at jcrew.com from May 16, 2014, 12:01am ET through May 24, 2014, 11:59pm ET. Offer not valid in J.Crew or J.Crew Factory stores, at jcrewfactory.com or on phone orders. Offer cannot be applied to previous purchases or the purchase of gift cards and cannot be redeemed for cash or used in combination with any other offer. To redeem, enter code PACKME in the promo code box at checkout. Limit one promotional code per order. Offer valid in the U.S. and Canada only. Terms of offer are subject to change.

As many of you have noticed and commented, J.Crew stores are also offering an additional 40% off their Final Sale.

 "Thanks!" to August, who also shared the following shopping tips:

PACKME (25% off) discount... 25% off "Packing styles". Remember you can always stack promos in store like student teacher but they will take off 25% first then 15% off the remaining amount. You also get free standard s/h in store using the red phone and you can request expedited or overnight if you say it's for an event or special occasion or event...

Good stuff to know when shopping at J.Crew stores! I did not know about requesting expedited shipping for an event.

Will you be taking advantage of this promotion? If so, please share!

J.Crew Student Discount: Upgrade & Downgrade

A big "thanks!" to Blumre, who let us know about another email from J.Crew that reminds students about getting 15% off in-stores. (Again, I did not get this email. So I really appreciate Blumre letting us know about this.)

Upgrade: that students are receiving 15% off instead of 10%.

Downgrade: the fine print (which is shown below) that indicates there is a change in policy.
Apparently the student and teacher's discount won't be honored over the phone or online any more. It also sounds like they cannot be applied with any other offer or promotions in-stores either. :( I have to be honest- this upsets me a bit. I have always been able to purchase more (and I mean much more) when I am able to justify buying items on sale with an additional percent off AND my educator's discount.

Update: A big "thanks!" to Anon at 10:55 PM, who is a J.Crew employee, that let us know the following great news:

Hello aficionadas! I work at the J.Crew call center and PLEASE PLEASE know, we DO still honor the 15% discount. What is required to have this discount added is either a) your student email address or b) your email address from the school you teach. You can also email this information to contactus@jcrew.com and have your discount applied after your order has been placed. Please know the full price of the order will be authorized to your card, and then after your order has been shipped, the 15% discount will then be deducted and issued as a credit to your card/ gift card. If you do not have an email address from the school, faxing us your ID will suffice. I really hope that this helps you all out. We here at J.Crew LOVE your blog. Please also know, it is not just used to fix any bugs in our systems. It is also used to see what our customers are saying about us, and for us to learn how we may improve on our customer service. This blog is very well written, and a wonderful way to read. Thank you all so much for your loyal dedication to the J.Crew brand! Happy Shopping!

I am very happy to hear from this J.Crew Employee (which "thank you so much!" for letting us know too.) :)

What do you think of the fine print of this email? What do you think it means (maybe I am interpreting this wrong)? Do you think the policy has changed for the worse or for the better?

Shopping Tip: Red Phone & Sale Orders

"Thanks!" to beachbum in the post "In-Store Sale On Some New Fall Merchandise" who let us know the following:

Shipping on your red phone order is no longer free if you order both full-price items and sale items. Shipping is only free for the full-price items, and you have to pay for shipping on the sale items. I learned this the hard way (although they did refund my shipping since the sales associate specifically told me that I would get free shipping if I ordered a full-price item). This is a result of their system update - they've updated red phone shipping fees, too.

What do you think of the new red phone policy change? Do you think the new policy is fair or unfair?

Educator & Student Discount: Shopper's Tip

Anonymous at 9:13 PM shared with us a great tip in the "J.Crew Comments on Current Situation" post. J.Crew offers an educator's discount (of 15%) and a student discount (of 10%) on any order. I thought that this was only possible at their brick & mortar stores (either at the counter or using the red phone) because an associate had to verify your status and check the school ID. Well, Anonymous at 9:13 PM let us know that it applies to orders over the phone from home (or the office, car, anywhere besides the J.Crew red phone). All you have to do is tell them that you are an educator or a student, then provide them with your email address (that will act as a verification of your status).

There have been a few other members of the blog who said that they have been able to do this as well. There have also been others who said that this was not true.

Well, when I called J.Crew about my order from last Friday, I thought to ask the customer service representative if I could indeed, apply my educator's discount over the phone from home- and she confirmed that this was true!!!

You can apply the discounts for online orders too! Just call after the recent online purchase to confirm the discount (and school email address) with the customer service rep. Moreover, Mad about madras let us know (in this post) that you can also send an e-mail (from the school email address) with the online order number for J.Crew to apply the discount.

Are you excited that you can apply the discount from calling in anywhere ? Are you thinking about all those orders you made in the past few weeks, that you could have applied the discounts to. [I know I am! :) But I am really just happy to know that we are able to use the discounts over the phone from anywhere!!!] Thanks again Anonymous at 9:13 PM!

J.Crew Stores: Final Sale Tip

Since many J.Crew stores are carrying "final sales," Jacquie shared with us a great tip to know (in case you aren't sure about keeping the item):

During the final sales in the stores let's say you want to purchase an item as a gift, but have some second thoughts about doing so because it is FINAL SALE. Well, my Sales Associate told me that you can purchase it the items without the additional off and if you decide to keep the item, bring the receipt back in and they will adjust the price to reflect the additional percentage off!!!!! I thought it was something my SA was just doing for me, but then I heard a manager tell another customer the same thing.

"Thanks!" again to Jacquie who shared with us! :)

J. Crew Sizing: Do you have it down?

One of the topics that a commenter wanted to discuss on this blog relates to J.Crew sizes. I am fortunate enough to know (after all these years) which size I am, depending on the clothing item (top versus bottom, shirt versus dress). Which makes ordering online a lot easier for me.

I have come across a few personal observations, which I have listed below. These are just my opinions when it comes to sizes and should not be taken for actual measurement specifications! Obviously, if you are unsure about sizing, you should try on the clothes to see how they actually fit.

1. SHOES: The flats tend to run true to size. However, sandals, peep toe shoes, and wedges run 1/2 size too big.
   
   
2. TOPS: The t-shirts tend to run true to American measurements. [Which basically means that American size charts are "bigger" than its European or Asian counterparts. If you don't understand what I mean, then I refer to H&M clothes. Haven't you ever notice that if you are a "extra small" with J. Crew (which is a 0-2 in size), you are a "small" with H&M (which is a 4-6 in size).]
   
   However, when it comes to button down work shirts and blouses, the shirts run a 1/2 to a whole size bigger. (For example, I am a size 2 in tops, but I order a size 0 when it comes to button down shirts.)
   
   
3. PANTS: Again, these run true to American size for the most part. (I have found it is similar to GAP's sizing.) However, when ordering matchstick jeans or capris (in other words, tight/ fitted pants), then order a size up (as they tend to run a bit small).
   
   
4. DRESSES: For the most part, the size chart is true to their sizing. However, once in awhile I will notice that some dresses run either too big or too small. I blame those hiccups in sizing on the different manufacturer of clothes that J. Crew relies on.
   
   
5. JACKETS & OUTTERWEAR: My mother use to tell me to order a size up when it comes to jackets. This is not true when it comes to J.Crew. Whatever size top you normally are (again, for me it is a size 2), then that is most likely the size you should get for your jacket.

What are some of your own personal experiences with sizes? Do you disagree with me on any of the points I listed above? Do you have any of your own that you would like to share?

P.S. If you were curious about the item in the picture, that is J. Crew's Jelly Ballet Flats (Item 91531). I actually own the black pair. They are very nice to wear when its raining, but have absolutely no support for your feet (I mean none!) I ended up having to purchase an insole to make these shoes comfortable to walk in.

Tips on having a great J.Crew shopping day!

I have come across, through my many years of purchasing at J.Crew, that there are a few tips that all J.Crew (devoted) shoppers should know about!

1. First and foremost: J.Crew's customer service is one of the best in the business. So never hesitate to give them a call (800-562-0258) about any issues you might be having. (I have their phone number stored on my cell-phone for easy dialing access!)
   
   
2. If you are a student, show your student ID and J.Crew will give you a student discount of 15% in their stores. That discount applies to just regular items. (It use to apply to sale items too, but those days are over.)
   
   
3. If you are a teacher, show them some form of proof and J.Crew will give you an educator's discount of 15%! (I just found out about this juicy tidbit this weekend!)
   
   
4. Don't hesitate to return "final sales" items if the merchandise is defective. I ordered the beautiful Jeweled-buckle grosgrain belt in black (Item No. 90865) to find one of the jeweled pieces missing and the other one completely off. I called J.Crew immediately and they mailed me a new one.
   
   
5. There is a red-phone in all stores that allows customers to place store & catalog orders for regular priced items. This is especially great for items not available in the stores since J.Crew provides free shipping. Alas, the free shipping offer via red phone offer does not apply to sale merchandise. (Again, I know this for sure because I tried). HOWEVER, your student and educators discounts do apply over the red phone (so do not forget to mention them when placing an order!)
   
   
6. If you are looking for a regular priced item and it's out of stock online, call J.Crew and ask to perform a "store search". Essentially, J.Crew associates will check the stock of that item in all of their stores. When they find the product you want (both size & color), they will mail it to you. Sadly, this service is not applicable to sales items. (They use to offer it for sale items and it was great too! But J.Crew probably recognized it wasn't cost effective for them.)
   
   
7. UPDATE: I completely forgot to include something about "waitlisted" items. If you are waitlisted for a particular item and that item goes on sale for a lesser amount (this includes the item being a part of the 20-30% off temporary sale section), make sure you call J.Crew for a price adjustment. They will always honor the lowest price before the item is shipped out. Unfortunately, they don't update the lowest price automatically- so you do have to keep track of prices. (I have called about price adjustments numerous times in the past and J.Crew has always been accommodating. It has saved me a bunch of money that I used towards other purchases too!)
   
   
8. If you "sign up" your email for new arrivals and promotions (through the website,) J.Crew will email you a welcome offer that usually consists of a free shipping code. (Gotta love that!)
   

What are some of your "tips" for J.Crew shoppers? I would love to hear what you have found with your experiences with the store.