Wednesday, May 8, 2013

"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.

30 comments:

  1. Not on topic at all - but the new items for roll out have been online tonight, and I am on the East coast! Some tempting items....those rewards are going to go fast, lol.

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    1. They seem to pop up under the "New Arrivals" section only for now (or at least until they finish coding the site).

      -For instance, the Whale Tippi (item #51452) can't be found in a site search for "tippi" or the item number. http://www.jcrew.com/womens_feature/NewArrivals/sweaters/PRDOVR~51452/51452.jsp

      -Ditto for the new invitation clutch in diamond raffia (item #55464)
      http://www.jcrew.com/womens_feature/NewArrivals/bags/PRDOVR~55464/55464.jsp

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    2. Mel - I noticed that too. Also, there is supposed to be information coming about the Vogue Design winners - Elder Statesman sweaters, etc. - something about signing up for info on the pieces? It was still a surprise to see them early - my VPS told me they'd be there tomorrow, so I figured it would be in the morning.

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  2. In case you are as much of a sucker as I am . . . J. Crew's " made in Italy" propaganda does not apply to all shoes. The description "imported" means "China," not Italy. I was taken in by the "designed in New York, made in Italy" campaign, but evidently that applies only to select models.

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    1. Propaganda indeed! Where a shoe is made is much less important than whether the shoes have leather linings and soles, and whether there are cost-saving (but ugly) seams on the inside arch. "Made in Italy" used to be shorthand for the higher quality details above, but not anymore.

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    2. 'Made In Italy' to me meant a completely different last (the basic shape/ curve of the the sole) than what you get with most other US or asian made shoes. It meant they actually fit my high arched narrow foot.

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  3. A hole that mysteriously appeared in my 3 month old Tippi cardigan, grrrrr

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  4. I received a linen top (pop-back) that had no tags and was badly torn all around the cuff. It's annoying that somebody returned this and didn't tell J. Crew it was damaged (I could tell it had been worn). And anything that is returned to J. Crew without tags on it should be subject to extra scrutiny before being sold again. This wasn't something just badly sewn, it was really ripped. Someone should have caught this.

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  5. OT--quite a few new arrivals online today. Also, punk floral styles and linen embroidered tops are back. You can also sign up for early access on the cfda items!! Quite a few cute dresses and tops today!

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  6. OT, but that "Sunshine" code appears to give free shipping. I just bought a single item on promo (boy shirt in oversized paisley) and it came to $54.60 with the extra 30% off and no shipping charged.

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    1. Free shipping because you bought an item that is within the "Mother's Day" shop, and it happens to be on sale, too, hence the 30% off. :) Nice deal!

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  7. I have J Crew sweaters that have had mysterious holes appear in them as well. I take great care of my clothes and the holes appear more in merino wool items in weird places not having to do with wear

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    1. It's probably moths or carpet beetles. :( They LOVE my J Crew merino and always pick the oddest places -- not where would get the most where or would be most dirty.

      I had similar problems, which subsided after I cleaned all my sweaters at the same time, vacuumed and wiped out my drawers, and have been more vigilant about vacuuming dust. I also take care to wash my sweaters more often and treat them with the J Crew Laundress Cedar spray if putting them back in the sweater drawer without washing.

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  8. I had a terrible experience returning an online order at my local b&m. I was returning a few items, all from different orders and everything went smoothly until the SA tried to pull up an order that said "No items available to return". Instead of immediately calling the catalog, she asked me if I had already returned the item and was trying to return it again using the same receipt! She looked me dead in the eye and accused me of committing fraud!

    I most certainly was no committing fraud and even if she suspected me of doing something shady, it's not her place to make accusations like that. She should call a manager! I calmly suggested the order was shipped in batches and because some of the items were backordered, that's why she was having a hard time pulling the order up. I also asked her to call the catalog. She first insisted I give her my e-mail address so she could look up my account history which made me feel further accused of wrong-doing! Argh. She eventually called catalog and they straightened the whole thing out but I did not like being accused of being a thief. It put a bad taste in my mouth and made me want to lay off J. Crew for awhile. Train your Sales Associates better!!!

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    1. Oh no, that is so rude! Something like this happened to me at The Limited 10+ years ago and I haven't shopped there since!

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  9. I bought another pair of their matchstick jeans a few months back and one of the knees is already wearing out and a small thread-patch has formed. My old pairs of matchsticks have lasted years and are still going strong -- no sign of any patches or anything. Is the quality of their denim going downhill too??

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  10. OT: If anyone is looking for the Swoop Dress in Punk Floral, send me an email. I saw several of them in a store yesterday.

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  11. I put the brand new Collection Safari Sweater in my basket at 10:00 am and now it is "sold out." What kind of sick game is this?

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    1. I would try calling a store and ask them to look up other store inventories.

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  12. I bought two of the new No.2 Pencil Skirts in double-serge cotton last month. As some aficionadas have commented, they do run a bit tighter than last year. Either way, i still liked them... until they went to my dry-cleaners. After i got them back, they'd shrunk so much i can't wear them in public - too indecent! And worse, the lining now hangs out half an inch. I don't think this is an issue with my dry-cleaner because when I emailed J.Crew, they immediately agreed to take them back... but has anyone else had this issue?

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  14. So annoyed...I bought the 3" chino short in navy in size 2 and they fit perfectly. So then I decided to order the khaki, lavendar, and mint, also in size 2 and guess what, they are at least 1/2 inch too small in the waist. What gives? I hate inconsistent sizing.

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    1. I had a similar experience. I ordered the 3" chino short in chili and khaki, both in size 2. The khaki fit perfectly and the chili was 1/2" larger than the khaki. Customers should be able to rely on consistent sizing, especially when ordering online.

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    2. Exact same thing happened to me, except I bought the 4" shorts in chili, navy and mint. Chili and navy fit great --- mint made me feel like I was wearing a sausage casing! I've reordered the mint because I love the color so much --- really hoping it's the correct size this time!

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    3. Re:  4" Chino Short item 82043 
      For me, Chili, Rich Scarlett and Stone run tts, and Bright Indigo ran a full half an inch smaller.  I found the colors Chili and Bright Indigo harsh on the eyes, and Rich Scarlett felt more like a fall color, although it would go well with navy.  Also, I decided to get the 5" chino shorts since the 4" shorts appeared to be a bit longer in the back than the front.  Something just looked amiss about them.  The 5" pair can be cuffed one time and look 4" w/a balanced visual.
      Also, I wish JCrew would bring back double bar closures on the shorts.

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    4. I had the same problem with the Scout chinos. The "midnight" ones fit perfectly, so I ordered 2 other colors, and they were both too small.

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    5. Cafe capri sizing is inconsistent by color too. The vintage burgundy ones I ordered fit perfectly in my usual size. However, when I went to the store and tried on several sale colors, each and every one fit differently. Some were huge in my usual size; others were skin tight. Just another example of why I don't buy pants on final sale. Too risky!

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  15. I received a used purse: fabric enclosed security tag cut, gum wrapper in zipper compartment, pocket hem unravelled (which may have been reason for return of used merchandise), crusty white stuff stuck to both sides of interior pocket, store security sensor on it (why? it has an obvious unravelled interior pocket seam, they put it back out fir sale in the store??)
    My senses were on to it. The purse just looks worn anyway. This is a first for me and I'm kind of grossed out. :(

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  16. Every time I read these Vent threads, I am totally grossed out by all the stuff they're sending you all from their warehouse, and I find it a wonder that any of you still shop there after these experiences! I want to boycott them after reading these horror stories!

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    1. That is exactly why I went from receiving huge rewards card to now getting MAYBE one a year if that. I just couldn't put up with it anymore! Lesson learned. I want to enjoy shopping not be worried about what the company is sending me! I ordered a full priced, expensive Liberty jacket and the pilling and poor quality fabric (blue one) was appalling!

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Dear J.Crew Aficionadas & Aficionados: Please feel free (and encouraged) to share your thoughts and opinions. :) However, please note that this is still a personal blog. So comments that are considered inappropriate (e.g. obscene, racist, homophobic, personal attacks, rude, and just plain mean) will be removed.

And now back to J.Crew! :)