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.
I should not have to explain to my mother and significant other to watch what they purchase from J Crew for my upcoming birthday and Christmas this year, but I did - because I do not care for Mercantile, do not own one piece, and do not have a store near me to make returns. In addition, the same J Crew website that sells it on their site does not does not take returns of those items in store (like they do for everything else they sell).
ReplyDeleteThey will both probably avoid J Crew altogether, which is truly a pity. Rant over.
You can return the factory items that you ordered from the retail site to a retail store.
DeleteThank you for letting us know this, Ina. Very helpful! :)
DeleteAgreed. Thanks, Ina!
DeleteThanks Ina!
DeleteThe J Crew gift card I received last Xmas...could only be used in store. I shop online 98% of the time.
ReplyDeleteagree with comment above. and why put factory in the sale section when its not on sale.
Factory was mixed in with the New Arrivals yesterday as well.
DeleteHey JCrew, instead of an ad campaign to cast IG-JCrew fans, how about one rollout with good quality, consistent fitting clothes in natural fibers, like you did in the past?
ReplyDeleteI completely agree! I love the Carrie cami, and almost bought it in the kaleidoscope star print, until I realized that it's no longer made in silk - its 100% poly! Honestly, I'm stalking Poshmark at this point for silk camis circa 2010/11/12 in great colors instead of shopping the retail site.
DeleteI’m so cheesed about the acrylic blend cosmic sweater, especially when they priced it like merino. I was planning to get it as I had a sun/moon/stars motif at my wedding so it has special meaning to me. But seriously, $110 for an acrylic blend? I just priced those little patches on eBay for ~$2-3, I’m seriously considering adding them to my current navy CASHMERE J.Crew cardi as even with the extra 30% off sale that acrylic-blend sweater was no bargain.
DeleteThat's what is sending me over the edge - ridiculous prices for cheesy fast fashion blends. I wanted the star print Harlow but won't buy it because of the blend. Don't call it a Harlow if it is 50% acrylic and don't price it the same as the other Harlow cardigans if it is essentially 50% LESS WOOL!
DeleteWhen I see the Mercantile merchandise on the J Crew site, I just stop looking. There is too much stuff that I'm not interested in scrolling through. If I wanted to shop Factory, I'd go to that site. It's ridiculous. I'm a long time, dedicated J Crew shopper. I get up very early to go to work and would ALWAYS check the site before getting in the shower. Not anymore. It makes me really sad that I can't find anything to spend my gift cards on. I'm worried my favorite store is going to go out of business.
ReplyDeleteMaybe that’s why Men’s designer- Frank, Jenna, and Somsack left (not laid-off) cos’ they know ship is sinking. We’d given them so many chances and yet they keep wanting to churn out low quality clothes as if they can compete with Zara & HM....
Delete@Shopalot-Ha! Sounds exactly like me. Would get up and check the website for new sale items or new promo or rollouts. Now I just don't bother. Looked at sale section today at work as it looked like a few things might have added then was overrun with Mercantile items and just closed out of the site. I give up!
DeleteSame as shopsalot and Jess. Would check soooo early in the morning before even getting out of bed, for YEARS. Now I do from the office and close when Mercantile pops up.
DeleteAs I type I am wearing a Fall '06 cashmere argyle 3/4 sleeve sweater and J Crew Metropolitan boots from 2010 that say "made in Italy" on the bottom.
Me too! I usually wake up early and with my coffee would stalk the sale section. Don't do it anymore. Yesterday when I logged in, I had 4 items that I had never placed in my checkout, and my entire wish-list was wiped out. I always save items in my wish-list, even if sold out, in case they pop back. This made me very mad!!
DeleteI did the same as well. Looking for popbacks with additional percentage off was my go to thing to thing in the early AM. Now with quality down and ridiculous promos, I've started working out instead of sitting in front of the computer. Makes for much better use of my time! Saved tons of money and feel stronger and healthier now!
DeleteMe too, I was a dedicated early morning sale section stalker. It's not so much the pricing that stopped me as it is that I don't see much that I like when it first rolls out so there's nothing I want to see pop up in sale. If their new offerings were better, then I'd stalk sale.
DeleteAnother member of the JCA Breakfast Club here - I haven't really browsed the sale section since they started adding the red "Savings Applied - No Code Needed" to everything. I'm sorry, but if you're going to have last season's merch at only 19% off (since you've so helpfully done the math for me), I'm gonna need a code.
DeleteSame here, I don’t have the patience or time to search through the mess of mercantile mixed with retail. I did email about that (among other things) but the reply didn’t specifically address my concern about mercantile. The only time I’ve looked at the sale section was during the 30%+10% off promo and I did buy some items then.
DeleteJ Crew! You're killing me! I have to agree with all the JCAs who are disheartened by the poor quality and plethora of trendy styles. And of course, the ONE thing I really want (the open-front sweater blazer) is never included in any promo (not even the student discount). Does anyone know if this will ever change? If I wait long enough will they eventually discount it, or should I bite the bullet and pay FP before it sells out?
ReplyDeleteConcerning student discount: it can only not be applied if there is a store wide (= global) promo. If there is not then it shouldnt be a problem to add it.
DeleteHTH
That is very helpful...I'll wait out the current promo on the website then. Thanks Ina!
DeleteIna, do you know anything about the 20% off for cardholders? They had a sign at perimeter but neither sales associate knew if it was good on everything (they knew nothing which is sad). TIA, Rina
DeleteHi Rina!!!
DeleteYes there is an extra 20% off for cardholders
hi, Ina, is that extra 20 just in stores?
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Delete@welfedfred i think it is in stores only
DeleteThanks Ina!
DeleteI can also confirm that I was offered 20% off on top of the 25% off regular price items in-store as a cardholder.
DeleteOT: I just received an email as an American Express Card Holder announcing a Black Friday early access promotion for American Express Cardholders. The event is from 6pm to 8pm on November 16 at the Vancouver Jcrew stores. The promo is "40% of select regular priced items."
ReplyDeleteI went to this last year in Ottawa, it was a complete waste of time. I fought rush-hour traffic to get there, only to find that there were barely any items at 40% off, and if I recall correctly, no % off sale. No wonder the store was basically empty. I slugged back a glass of sparkling wine, ate a cupcake, and was on my way within about 10 min. Maybe they'll do better this year, but I won't be going out of my way to find out.
DeleteThanks for that report. I will not waste my time either. I was suspicious when i saw the 40% applied to "select" items!
DeleteNot a rant, but an interview with my style icon Ms Jenna!
ReplyDeleteI agree, NO to a limp handshake
http://coveteur.com/2017/11/07/jenna-lyons-career-favorite-fashion-labels/?utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-coveteur&utm_content=later-367817&utm_medium=social&utm_source=instagram
❤️
DeleteI adore her, quirks and all. Jenna, Frank, Marissa, Gayle ... they had a point of view and they elevated the brand.
DeleteJust imagine the *eye rolls* and WTF over the new 50% acrylic sweaters getting churned out by the current geniuses.
I love Marissa’s new line, only wish I had more money and less “me.”
DeleteI confess that I was really not a Jenna fan, she was way too OTT for me but I also felt like she cared about the brand's image and would be appalled. Do you think that Marissa's current line reflects the quality of J Crew 8 or 10 years ago? If true, are those price points what it costs for a retailer to accomplish that level? For example I love Boden, but mostly can't afford it and it seems like their quality is very high. J Crew has way too high prices for acrylic blends but maybe it can't accept the fact it really is more Loft and less Brooks Brothers and that Factory and retail are in reality not very different. What's the difference between a Teddie Sweater and most new retail offerings? Not a criticism but another example of the various aspects of the brand's overall identify crisis.
DeleteHi TeriLynn13 - just to add to the identity crisis, a few weeks ago an SA at Factory mentioned to me that they would be selling "retail basics" in Factory stores next year. I was so confused by this - but you make a good point, if there's going to be no difference between a Jackie and a Clare/Caryn cardigan in terms of quality, then it doesn't really matter where they're selling them.
DeleteJSR thank you for sharing this interview. She and her team elevated the JCrew brand. Sad those day will not be back.
DeleteI received my holiday catalog today and it took me five minutes to look through it and then to the trash. I used to love perusing these catalogs. J Crew you have cheapened your brand - don't your realize that you are destroying the company month by month. At this rate, none of us will be buying anything at any price by spring!
ReplyDeleteI've never posted in the "vent" section before, but here goes: I hate having Mercantile items mixed in the regular online catalog. I assume these are the same as Factory, and since they started a separate line, I've always found the clothes to be of poorer quality fabrics and clumsily executed. Plus, they're no bargain, because the prices are only slightly lower than the regular line.
ReplyDelete