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.
A vent that's not really a vent ... I've wanted three different items in the past week that have been sold out in my size. I don't remember that happening in quite a while! My PS is looking for me and I'm trolling for pop backs.
ReplyDeleteBad for me, good for J Crew. I'm so happy to see some momentum in the right direction!
Ruffles, I'm in the same boat. I guess I've got to break out of the habit of waiting for super sales.
DeleteI'm in the same boat. I was dragging my feet on purchasing the Boyfriend Shirt in Vintage Red Plaid and now it's gone. Then I missed snagging one I found on Ebay. I feel crazy searching for it to popback several times a day. Oy!
DeleteI have noticed this with not only JCrew but with a lot of other retailers as well - GAP, Zara, Banana, Madewell. Glad business is booming but I get that pouty look on my face when I see something I want and can't have (waaaahhhh!)
DeleteHave an order I placed on the 24th still sitting in "released," sigh. I guess I should be happy that this means that the order has in fact been filled & will eventually ship?
ReplyDeleteI do, too, I know we talked about this earlier this week. Part of my order from the 24th has one item (out of 7) that has officially shipped, while my order from the 23rd also simply says, 'Released', yet no official shipping notice. When I click on it, it says the items should be delivered by Dec. 6th. As Tom Petty says, 'the waiting is the hardest part!' 😋 Fingers crossed that all our orders get shipped! 😀
DeleteTaylor in my experience this does not mean the order has been filled. It just means released to be filled. I had an order that said released for over a week recently and then was cancelled. Sorry for the bad news. Doesn't mean it won't ship either. I would hold out hope until you receive notification one way or the other.
DeleteAnd soon, I meant to add! I guess they're just swamped. My biggest fear is getting one of those 'Wish we had more' sold out emails, but so far that hasn't been the case, at least. Hoping it stays that way!
DeleteYes, like JessF stated, release doesn't mean that it will actually ship (sadly). I really hope it does though! I feel like everybody has been slow with their shipping lately. I'm sure they are bogged down with all the holiday shopping. Fingers crossed!
DeleteOh, bummer... I hope my items ship! I placed a Factory order yesterday & it's showing "released" as well. Thanks for the info, ladies!
DeleteAs a practical matter, "Released" means only that your credit card was valid when you placed the order.
Delete@WFF, thanks for the info about what 'Released' meant in terms of order status. Good to know!
DeleteFYI, my order placed on 11/20 was "Released" status up until yesterday, when I finally had to Tweet @jcrew_help to find out what was going on (I was worried my cashmere cape was going to disappear!). They DM'd me within 5 minutes, fulfilled the order and gave free overnight shipping. Try Twitter, ladies! Best J.Crew customer service I've enjoyed in a loooooong time!
DeleteFactory order placed Monday, 11/28 still says "released". Really? All of my other orders from various retailers placed on 11/28 have already arrived. What is taking so long??!!
DeleteI don't like how j. Crew's navy is often so dark you can't tell whether it is navy or black. I have a polka silk cotton button down on today and thought it was navy at home but it looks black at work. The good news is my boss said I look like I match. I guess it is so dark that no one else will notice the difference but it bugs me. More of a peeve than a vent I guess.
ReplyDeleteDoes it really do J Crew well...to do hundreds of sales one week and none the next week?to have people waiting on knowing if items are coming or not! promos and...the sale section lacking this week.
ReplyDeleteTheir seems to be a refresh of stock (like the stars Tippi and the sequin and leather earrings for example) if you missed out on anything during the last promo. Might want to check...
ReplyDeleteThere are a bunch of items that seem to be back on the website some in full size runs. I think they are terribly overwhelmed with orders and are having a hard time getting them shipped out from the distribution center and from stores. I wonder if the items that the stores are suppose to ship don't get pulled in time, they show back up on the website for someone else to order? Does that make sense? OT, the terrible wildfires here in Tennessee and North Carolina are just a stone's throw from where I live (20 miles) and from the Clearance/Distribution Center (50 miles) in Arden. It has really been devastating the way that Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and surrounding areas have been impacted. We now have heavy rain, Praise the Lord!!!
ReplyDeleteOh gosh DD, we were poring over the news yesterday @ work - a lot of people here vacation regularly in Gatlinburg (I have been several times myself) & it is just tragic! Everything is packed so densely there. I really hope they get the fires under control ASAP.
DeleteThank goodness for that rain. Stay safe.
DeleteNarvar -- which not just JC but SO many retailers are using now. My packages never seem to arrive when Narvar says they will. Sometimes they arrive sooner, sometimes later, and at least one seems to be perpetually stuck in New Jersey. Makes me miss the old SmartPost tracking!
ReplyDeleteUgh Narvar - I have to copy the tracking number, remove all text & code except the actual number, copy & paste that into the tracking box on the real carrier's site.... all to find out that in fact the item hasn't shipped, it's still waiting to be picked up by the carrier.
Deletethis isn't a vent, but a question: has anyone washed their minnie pants in the washing machine? the tag says dry clean only, but I'm looking to cut down on my dry cleaning bill, so I'm wondering if I can cold water wash them and line dry, etc, without ruining them?
ReplyDeleteI have washed both my cotton and wool Minnies in cold water on delicate and have had no issues.
DeleteHi stripedsocks! I have, on cold, delicate cycle & lay flat to dry. I didn't wash after every wear to prevent fading but mine bounced back post-iron!
Deleteyesss thank you Taylor! I'm going to do it!
Deleteand thank you Anne!
DeleteThis drives me crazy with Madewell, especially, but also J.Crew. When an item is listed on the website, the color name should really be descriptive, and if an item is plaid or striped or has tipping, its helpful if the color name has the secondary colors in it. I've bought shirts from Madewell that had some weird color name and weren't as expected. With J.crew, sometimes it's impossible to tell an accent color online.
ReplyDeleteI personally love that Madewell's blackwatch plaid colorway is named "grandpa". Makes me chuckle every time. But I could see how the lack of descriptors could be frustrating in other circumstances.
DeleteI enjoy the names for their creativity, but they don't really tell me what color they are, lol.
DeleteThis is a question rather than vent: do JCrew returns by mail take about the same time (total) as made well returns?
ReplyDeleteI haven't noticed much difference, and I think JC and MW returns are processed at the same center. They might be slower at this time of year -- I just today received confirmation of a MW refund for items I sent in via UPS 10 days ago. I do always send returns back by UPS rather than USPS -- it seems to speed things up by a day or two.
DeleteThanks, cobalt! Fingers crossed!
DeleteOT- There is a cashmere/mohair sweater f7064 that is $500....are they crazy? While I can appreciate the collection product as being extra special and sub-designer, but seriously?
ReplyDeleteWow. The selection of clothing has never been worse. Everything is so boring. The few things I do like (the skinny cargo, the sequin pencil skirt) are either backordered or sold out completely. Why do they keep sold out items up on their website, by the way? I have a rewards card plus they have the cardholder sale going on now but I can't find anything to spend my money on. It's all a little too preppy/cutesy- no edge anymore at all. Very disappointing.
ReplyDeleteI think it was a perfect storm - new holiday merch, great promo, big shopping weekend, 2 free shipping days - and they hadn't anticipated the enthusiastic response. When the dust settles and returns start coming back, we'll see how successful the weekend was. I hope they finish in the black.
DeleteExactly what @wellfedfred said! I'm sure many people ordered multiple sizes to try in various items so I hope they still do well after those sizes that didn't work get returned. having 60 days to return items means they could be waiting a while to see how successful their sale was.
Delete@Jan and WFF, agree with both of you, sincerely hope this sale works out for both consumers and JC. I don't love every single one of the styles or patterns on offer, but I still find plenty to love! (As evidenced by my CC bill, hahaha!)
DeleteRead the figures from one uk women's clothing retailer. Their experience is that 50-60% of Black Friday / cyber Monday clothing purchases get returned for refund with 2-3 weeks after the sale. Wonder if this stat also holds true in North America. If so watch the stores and clearance centres for return treasures. Though obviously bad for the retailer in the push for moving inventory at decent markups to hit year end sales targets.
ReplyDeleteHuh. I always thought black Friday was a thanksgiving-related -- and thus, US-only -- event.
DeleteAnyone else get her holiday gift from J.Crew yet? I wish they would just send a pair of socks or something.
ReplyDeleteI got two decks of cards in a nice box.
DeleteMe too. They are the nicer quality plastic (or coated) type -- I love those! I just don't understand why they are green (with black) -- not very holiday unless you are thinking Halloween. Green is my 12 year old's favorite color though, and he was super happy to get them.
DeleteI loved it. I love functional gifts. The year they sent me a candle, it smelled great but the wick fell out before I could even light it once. The note pads were nice another year, but I never really used them. I know I'll use the cards, and they are a good brand and good quality.
DeleteI pulled out one of my thicker knit cashmere sweaters today from fall 2024 (name of the sweater is escaping me) and there are two huge tears in the seam. Not that I can't stitch them up but... Still. Very sad, the sweater is literally coming apart at the seams.
ReplyDeleteha, that should be fall 2014. It's not a sweater from the future.
DeleteHaha, Mickey Drexler might be interested in seeing his future design! :) That's too bad the seam is undone already, the sweater is not that old.
DeleteI'm annoyed with their Billie demi-boot jeans. The sale racks are full of them. I wish they'd made them with a lower rise. The rise listed is 10 3/4", more than the Lookout high-rise denim. I know they work for some people, but apparently not for many because of all the extra inventory hanging around.
ReplyDeleteThis
DeleteI placed an order Saturday afternoon and am still waiting on shipment notification. I even paid the 5 bucks bc it was under $150! I noticed one item is now sold out, hmmm.
ReplyDeleteWhy can't we just have consistent sizing? When and MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHY DID IT STOP? I'm in VA, ITS TOO COLD for ankle length pants, remember when the khaki pants were great, AND full length? My jewelry falls apart AND the clothes NEVER FIT, AND THEY FALL APART TOO! What clothing company ON EARTH HAS THRIVED WITH MISS SIZED EVERYTHING? Pls, give me the logic?
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ReplyDeleteOk, so I have had J. Crew send me the wrong items TWICE in two days. The first were the lace pants from J. crew - ordered in a 12, they sent an 8.
ReplyDeleteThe second was the plaid skirt from J. crew factory. They not only sent the wrong item, the sent it in a ZERO instead of a 12! This is kind of ridiculous. They obviously can't handle the shipping - they need to hire more staff, or take a longer time to make sure people are receiving the right items. Having to go out of my way to send these things back and wait for the new items is just a ridiculous waste of my time!