Buying clothes online

Aldom

The first thing I do, if I see a beautiful garment for sale online, by an unknown company, is to read the reviews. 99% of the time the reviews are dire.

That's what I do Aldom.
From experience, don't but anything advertised on Facebook.

What I mean by that, any so called companies.

Chocolatelovinggran

I buy online from firms I know, where shops have all but disappeared.
I am bombarded with ads for attractive clothes from names unknown to me which I avoid.
I was told to look at the models in the pictures. If the models body only is shown, not the head/ face, it's been copied from somewhere else, and the garment you receive may near little resemblance to the one shown.
Have others found this to be true?

I also fell victim to one of these ‘unknown’ firms. Lately however, having wised up, i buy from reputable firms like Cotton traders and Lands end etc. They are quite pricy so now I buy regularly via Temu, (who do saturate you with email offers) but you have to look closely at what you are buying. Many of their items are identical to those on offer on Amazon, and ARE the same, but at 1/2 or less of the price charged by the Amazon seller. With clothes often the initial picture is enticing, but when you look at the ACTUAL Item it is a cheap copy ( enlarge the images, check the materials used) however quite often the item offered is pretty good and a near replica. I haven’t tried Ali Express or Shein, but I do find with a few exceptions TEMU is great value. They do offer refunds, and often if it’s an item under a certain value that wasn’t suitable or faulty, they just refund and say keep the item. I once bought a small self opening bathroom bin, but the ( UK) batteries wouldn’t fit…I complained …it was £11.99. They refunded immediately and I kept the bin, which is fine, just manual now! These other companies who have stunning LOOKING clothes on sale or show little old ladies closing down a business they have had for decades are pure scams, you either end up with nothing like the items shown or just nothing! Beware, but if used sensibly Temu is great! So cheap! For some items there is a long wait as they are shipped by sea. Nowadays they have UK warehouses they ship from and the items now arrive much more speedily.
My eldest son even complimented me on my outfit last time he visited… mostly Temu bought! I’m 80 next year.

Suelld don’t you ever think about the workers at Temu
Read up on it

Scotty16

I am usually very careful when I see goods advertised. A couple of weeks ago I saw a very nice dress advertised on Facebook, I took the precaution of going into the company's own website and was pleased it was a UK company. I ordered the dress at a cost of £29.95. It arrived yesterday and the dress is nothing more than tat. I wouldn't even pick it up at a jumble sale. It's badly made, cheap fabric and there was no returns slip enclosed. I emailed the company and they initially offered me a different garment at no extra cost to me. I refused and requested a returns address so I could get a refund. They came back offering 10% off. I refused. They came back offering 20% off, again I refused and they came back with their FINAL offer of 30% off. Again I refused and they have now told me I need to pay to ship it back to China (???) and pay for it to be tracked. I reminded them that their advert states they are based in Manchester and I'd pay to return it there. It seems I should've checked their terms and conditions. The company is called Milford UK.

Buyer beware of this awful company.

Milford Manchester are today advertising comfy looking slip on sneakers. Trust Pilot reviews are dreadful.

If you read their T & C they state you have 5 MINUTES to cancel your order. You pay to return items to China £25.

sunglow12

I find Pay Pal refund you if caught out by a scam like I have so pay that way now but avoid Chinese stuff as they seem to have taken over the world of shopping

Problem with that is their Facebook adverts look “British” and they use British cities or towns in their title, eg Milford Manchester.

Hidden away in their T and C on their website it will say they are in China. The good take weeks to arrive and will be cheap and nasty not like those pictured at all.

I buy a lot from Vinted - and they don’t just sell clothes, they sell books, tech, toys, all sorts! But I only buy clothes and I try to find things with free postage. I only buy at the cheaper end so if it doesn’t fit, I can pop it back on Vinted and haven’t wasted too much money. My best bargain to date was a beautiful cream Zara trench coat in near perfect condition for £8 ( plus £2.29 postage but that would have covered anything else I bought from that seller, I only buy items that can be collected from InPost lockers or parcel shops. )

I have never ordered clothing or shoes online. I like to see, feel and try on what I buy. In fact I have never ordered anything online. Am I unusual? Possibly, but I am ok with that.
I would miss high streets if they disappear.

Roman clothing is good for women's clothing, particularly their sale! I use Vinted quite a lot, selecting the quality brands I like, stipulate New With Tags, size etc. I always offer 20% less than asking price and 9 times out of 10 I get it. Postage to my local post office is just £2.29.

Whats wrong with viscose? It's breathable and a natural fibre.

Temu have UK warehouses now. I have never been disappointed with anything from there. They have a great returns policy which is free.

I ordered some bras online. They were never delivered and I tried to claim a refund but got absolutely nowhere. Even PayPal which I thought would help was useless. I am, however, slightly addicted to Shein.

silverlining48

I have never ordered clothing or shoes online. I like to see, feel and try on what I buy. In fact I have never ordered anything online. Am I unusual? Possibly, but I am ok with that.
I would miss high streets if they disappear.

I think that is unusual these days. I always buy from brands I trust, but online shopping is often the only way when I have seen something in the shops that I like, of getting what I want in my size. Online is also the best way of shopping in the sales. I have my eye on things I’ve seen, and wait until the sale to buy them - I bought a lovely cotton cardigan and a belt in Seasalt’s sale a couple of weeks ago, both exactly what I wanted.

Like many people have said I buy online from companies I’ve heard of and had good experiences with. One bad experience and never again. Benetton is an example. The item had to be returned to Italy so there was a lot of paperwork involved. Returns could only be made through a limited number of places. The one I had to use was quite a way from where I live. I should have read Trustpilot reviews first as everyone reported the same problems with returns.

Davida1968

Like others here I stick to reputable British traders. I like Seasalt, Cotton Traders, Hotter, and M&S (when the latter is available online!) Never had a problem with these.

John Lewis, Celtic and Co and Debenhams seem to be OK too.

I would add (American) Land's End and (French) La Redoute as being reliable although, of course, they are not British.

Royal-Professional is another one

Whilst I know Amazon are far from perfect if I’m going to buy from an unknown retailer online I will try to buy them through Amazon if at all possible as I’ve never had a problem returning an item to them and often get a full refund the same day

I usually stick to M/S easy returns!

That is the norm for China! Temu is fine..

Primrose53

Scotty16

I am usually very careful when I see goods advertised. A couple of weeks ago I saw a very nice dress advertised on Facebook, I took the precaution of going into the company's own website and was pleased it was a UK company. I ordered the dress at a cost of £29.95. It arrived yesterday and the dress is nothing more than tat. I wouldn't even pick it up at a jumble sale. It's badly made, cheap fabric and there was no returns slip enclosed. I emailed the company and they initially offered me a different garment at no extra cost to me. I refused and requested a returns address so I could get a refund. They came back offering 10% off. I refused. They came back offering 20% off, again I refused and they came back with their FINAL offer of 30% off. Again I refused and they have now told me I need to pay to ship it back to China (???) and pay for it to be tracked. I reminded them that their advert states they are based in Manchester and I'd pay to return it there. It seems I should've checked their terms and conditions. The company is called Milford UK.

Buyer beware of this awful company.

Milford Manchester are today advertising comfy looking slip on sneakers. Trust Pilot reviews are dreadful.

If you read their T & C they state you have 5 MINUTES to cancel your order. You pay to return items to China £25.

In the add above for the sneakers are £35.
A screen shot and search on Google images shows that Temu are selling them for £5.

milford-manchester.com/collections/womens-collection/products/macy

A lot of uk businesses are selling on Temu.

londonlovesbusiness.com/uk-sellers-flock-to-temu-as-platform-spurs-growth-and-jobs/

I buy a lot online, not so much clothes as other things, but I never buy anything without checking where the company actually is.

If there is not a postal address in my country, or in another European country I simply do not buy from them.

I do sometimes check Trust pilot, but it is actually not all that reliable.

Vinted is a very good second hand site to buy clothes on.
or to sell your clothes you don't wear anymore.
I'm in Ireland and for some reason we can only sell and buy from France.

Also do not trust Trustpilot ever.

BlueBelle

Suelld don’t you ever think about the workers at Temu
Read up on it

Yes, but Temu is a site like Amazon that sells other firms goods. Only if EVERYONE stops buying on Temu will it have an effect on the businesses that sell on there..and sadly that’s unlikely to happen. Also we all hear about ‘slave and child’ labour, but if we by some miracle close down all those firms who exploit workers… what are the workers going to do? China is huge and people fight for jobs normally even poorly paid ones! I am NOT advocating for slave labour, but if we all stop buying we may well cause more poverty than intended.
On another tack it also shows what huge profits many so called UK firms are making. I mentioned buying from Cotton Traders , etc, almost all of the clothes I buy from them are marked ‘Made in Bangladeshi/ China/ Vietnam, etc… just look at your labels. Maybe those firms have more control over who they buy from / quality control, but….???