So I thought it would be best to address it: I do not post about or endorse any third party websites, research groups, or marketing firms, on the JCA Blog that helps them make money by using the JCAs as a free marketing tool. (I even removed the ShopItToMe badge a long time ago for that reason.)
I have been contacted by at least three different individual companies over the past two years who have started sites that claim they can notify JCAs when items are on sale, to provide online reviews, and create wishlists in exchange for JCAs to test it or to sign up for it. Frankly, I do not know if these individuals/companies are legit or not. (And I am uncomfortable with the idea of a random person/ company trying to use the community as an information resource and to make money off of.)
Lastly, I am always a bit irked when I see the emails from these individual companies with terminology that this blog's community specifically uses (like "JCA", "J.Crew Aficionadas", or even "drinking the crewlade"). Only because it comes across as though they are some how endorsed or related to this blog. (It is kind of sneaky on their part.) Let me make it clear, they are *not* endorsed by the J.Crew Aficionada blog. However, I totally get the confusion and why so many JCAs sent me emails to inquire about it.
I hope everyone can understand my position about this. And for the companies trying to pursue this community, I hope you can respect that I prefer to not be used (even indirectly by using the JCA/J.Crew Aficionada term) for your profitable endeavors.
P.S. I never give out any JCA's personal information, including email addresses, away. NEVER. So if you get an individual/company randomly reaching out to you today (or any day) who sounds like they might be affiliated with the J.Crew Aficionada blog, please know it was not supported by me and to proceed with care.
P.S.S. I have heard from several JCAs that an email sent today from one particular site/company sounds like it is from an official J.Crew affiliated site. I can assure you, J.Crew will never use the terms "JCA", "J.Crew Aficionadas", and the like, for any public related material/sites as J.Crew likes to ignore this site altogether. ;)
Thanks for this Alexis. I just got one of these emails and will ignore.
ReplyDeleteHi Liza, thank you for being so understanding! :)
DeleteThanks for the PSA, Alexis. Keep up the amazing work!
ReplyDeletePS: My word verification is DADADA, which my little one just starting saying nonstop. Ha!
Thanks Silver_Lining! Also that is pretty funny about the word verification! ;)
DeleteThanks for posting this, Alexis. I got one of those emails this morning (just forwarded it to you now) and I wasn't going to sign up for it in any event. What riles me is that they wrote it to make it sound like they are part of this community.
ReplyDeleteJust emailed you back Louise! :) And I totally agree with your last point. That really riles me up to. :(
DeleteYes I did wonder "but who are you? when I received that email.
DeleteTabitha: Exactly! ;)
DeleteAlexis if someone is claiming to be affiliated with you and is not, you can send them a DMCA complaint or file a CAN-SPAM complaint with the FTC.
ReplyDeleteI'm sad that someone would take advantage of the community by claiming affiliation if they're not a partner. Very lame.
Hey Roxy, the wording is kind of sneaky. It never comes out and says it is not affiliated with the JCA blog (or J.Crew even). But it heavily uses certain phrases to make it sound like they are "fellow JCAs", just one of the community of J.Crew Aficionadas. And so there lies the confusion. (Even I looked at it twice and thought, wait a minute!) ;)
DeleteThanks for posting, Alexis, and perfect timing. I've received some and just got one this morning that sounded so ... real. ;)
ReplyDeleteHey Tiffany Rose! I totally know what you mean, even I gave it a double look this morning.
DeleteI agree about the sneaky wording. You are not sure at first if it is a company affiliated with J. Crew, or someone affiliated with JCA, or what else.
ReplyDeleteRose, you were not the only one! So many (including myself for awhile) said the same thing to me- they thought it was related to J.Crew and then the JCA blog.
DeleteThanks for this post, Alexis! I always feel like everything on the JCA blog is on the up-and-up, and it is much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I see random embarassing comments on JCA that include link-bait for items that people are trying to sell like "DiscountCashmere!!!", and all I can hear in my head is Damien from Mean Girls shouting: "SHE DOESN'T EVEN GO HERE!" ;)
Thanks Whitney! And I totally hate the link-bait comments too!!! I always make it a point to delete them- all of them too! One time, a SPAM-bot left 500 link bait comments on the blog in various posts. I was so furious, that for the following 3 hours, I went through each comment to delete them. I would hate for a JCA to accidentally click on the link and land on some virus-filled website.
DeleteThanks for the warning. I received the email and responded asking them to remove me from their mailing list. Also, I moved the email to my 'junk' folder, and hopefully it is where future emails from this company will land!
ReplyDeleteJustVisiting, I am so surprised how many JCAs have been emailed by them! They really did their research. Simultaneously scary and impressive. ;)
DeleteThanks Alexis for always looking out for us!
ReplyDeleteThanks patmosjd! :)
DeleteThank you for the heads up, Alexis. And a big thank you for all of the amazing work that you do for this blog!
ReplyDeleteThank you Jan- so sweet of you! :)
DeleteI got the email too but I did not even look wince I saw this post first. Alexis, I am so grateful to you for maintaining this blog the way you do. I don't think there is something wrong with advertising but it is definitely better without it.
ReplyDeleteThanks ajc! I appreciate the nice words. :)
DeleteI recvd the email & immediately knew they were baiting with language we use here. Visa's RightCliq never took off & I imagine they put millions into it. I'll be curious to see what happens with this company.
ReplyDeleteRight Gigi, the language is totally in line with the JCA community!
DeleteLove your blog, but we really need more J. Crew male reviews!
ReplyDeleteI agree- more male reviews! That is why I am thrilled that J.Crew Guy In Canada is offering to review once a week for us. He has a gift for writing and a wonderful sense of style. J.Crew is lucky to have him wear their clothes! :)
DeleteAlexis, you're far too kind. Writing for your blog is quite a treat for me; just getting started on the wish list post.
DeleteJCrew Guy In Canada: You are too kind! You also need to start your own blog. But until then, I will happily post your reviews here. :)
DeleteI traced the e-mails to Paula Broadwell. I've asked my FBI buddy to look into it. Hopefully they'll stop soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks Barbabelle for the support, although I am not sure that is necessary. In all honesty, all I can think about is that the FBI has a lot going on thanks to the CIA/Petraeus scandal. ;)
DeleteLOL
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAlexis, I just wanted to take an opportunity to tell you how much we appreciate your hard work overseeing this site. You have always been transparent about your relationship with J. Crew and this community and it's so appreciated! It's nice to know there are pockets of "neutral zones" where one can come and have real discourse (the good *and* the bad) about J. Crew/Madewell products and styling. I can see why marketers would want to target you and your audience…there is a lot of "consumer power" in this and related blogs. I imagine harnessing it would be a dream come true for many of the shadier marketers!
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work and again, your site is amaze-balls! :)
Thanks audball for the super nice words. I do appreciate. I love that our community "keeps it real" when it comes to our opinions on J.Crew (we drink the crewlade, but we also know when it tastes weird) and I like to stay that way. :)
DeleteI would like to second Audball's sentiments and words. Thank you so much Alexis for all that you do and for being your wonderful and diplomatic self. I think we all truly appreciate you.
DeleteAA
Thank you for clearing this up...it did seem a little fishy. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteThanks Chic Coastal Living, hope you have a great weekend too! :)
DeleteHi – I wanted to sincerely apologize for any confusion our Priview invitation email may have caused members of the JCA community. For the record, Priview is not affiliated with this blog or with J.Crew. I have been a member of this community for some time and created Priview as a supplemental tool to view and post product reviews.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate clearing up that this blog (and J.Crew even) is *not* affiliated with your site. It is unfortunate that there was so much confusion surrounding the wording. :(
DeleteI really try to distance myself from "offers" or companies that try to exploit the JCA community.
So after all the private emails I received about the confusion, I was both upset and sad that it somehow seemed like I was personally supporting your tool and/or that I gave away people's email addresses.
Honestly, I did not want to post this. However, the situation forced me to clear up the confusion. It's too bad that this could not have been avoided. :(
Alexis, I also got the email, and so appreciate your making this post today. It totally seemed fishy to me and I was about to post and ask about it, when you posted your warning. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jruby18 for understanding! :)
DeleteOT Alexis, but did you see this? It was on the Yahoo front page today.
ReplyDeletehttp://shine.yahoo.com/fashion/j-crew-8217-jenna-lyons-thanks-girlfriend-8220-184600053.html
and look, she's wearing my pajama pants from the Anthro markdown rack last summer!
DeleteOn a more serious note, Alexis, I'm late to the party, but wanted to add that you've accomplished amazing things with the blog, not the least of which is preserving its integrity and independence, and you deserve our applause and support.
Bravo.
DeleteI feel like they were trying "too hard" to use the JCA language. I didn't appreciate being solicited with a tool that overlaps with JCA so much (reviews, etc.) because I felt they were trying to overshadow all your hard work, Alexis. And with that said, you have facilitated a very special forum here, so it was only a matter of time until someone tried to capitalize on your efforts. But don't worry, we got your back! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI got that email too and I just ignored it as a blatant rip-off and e-commerce sludge.
ReplyDeleteThanks Alexis for maintaining such high standards in a greedy world.
LOL your last P.S.S. was hilarious! I'm so glad that you publish this blog, even if J.Crew likes to pretend you don't exist ^_^
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