Susan M.

I placed an order with Talbots and returned two items that did not fit properly and I returned them within the return time frame in their return policy. They told me they were not returned in time and gave a store credit for $120 less than I had paid. Not only that, but I sent back another order for $78 and they returned only $60 explaining that they charged me $18 for return postage. For a envelope containing a thin cashmere sweater? There is no way postage cost $18 for a package weighing less than a pound and my return to them was in my home state so they ripped me off for postage, too. While it used to be that you could find quality in Talbots, the quality of their clothes now is terrible - lightweight cashmere you can see through, scratchy synthetics, old styles that are not trendy, shoes with a ridiculous mark up that you can find on Amazon or Zappo for less. I will claim my store credit then I'm done with them after 30 years of shopping there. Good riddance.

When Etsy first began I watched for a few years to assess if they would be a venue I'd like to advertise my merchandise with. They seemed so very responsive to sellers and their needs. After I joined, they went "public" appearing on the stock market. I knew they will become investor-oriented, not seller/buyer oriented. Historically going public means a business would be charging more fees for everything. Sure enough, first they raised selling fees, then they began taking a cut of the shipping fees and passed along the increase in cost to the seller. Add to that an increase of transaction fees, advertising fees, venue fees of 3.5%+ then forcing people to advertise and just deducting the money from their account whether they agree to the advertising or not. Many of the sellers are otherwise unemployed, stay-at-home moms, talented and able to make something someone wants to buy, but there is a tipping point at which the small business owner/operator can't make any money because all their venue costs continually rise, so they must raise their prices. Then customers say "enough with the raises in prices!" and stop buying. Etsy did something they said they would never do - they invited in global manufacturers, including the huge factories of China and sellers had to pay more for advertisement competing against conglomerates with large advertising budgets. Their listings pushed the listings of individual sellers out of view, but did Etsy care? Not at all. Also, they began to sell a search program that went to the highest bidder pitting small shops against each other and the little shops lost again. Sellers were making less and less and the expense of doing business went higher as Etsy greedily took more fees from the sellers to make the investing public THINK they were actually earning more money by shifting numbers around. Now Etsy's latest thing is forcing people to give free shipping at the expense of the seller or their listings will not receive priority placement. They lie and say it should only cost a certain amount to mail but let's face it, items are mailed by weight and distance and there is no such thing as a single formula that is going to fit everyone. I've watched talented sellers drop out one by one. I hate that Etsy gave in to corporate greed and sold out their original mission. Last, they no longer give sellers or buyers easy access to customer service, in fact, customer service is virtually non-existent. They used to have a in-listing way to report violations of Truth In Advertising but they took that away. Now questionable sellers claim that their items are authentic this or that or actual vintage or antique when in fact they are not. Some are reproductions but Etsy does not care about anything but their bottom line, making the money whichever way they can. So buyer beware, read and ask questions, pointed questions because if you don't look out for yourself, Etsy sure won't do it for you. For most people with small owner-run shops on Etsy they make less than minimum wage no matter how hard they work. It just does not pay.

While Zulily is great for quality children's clothing/shoes and handbags, it is terrible for adult clothing. I was embarrassed to find things I bought for Christmas and had sent directly to gift recipients were all low quality beginning with use of cheap fabric from China and poor construction/sewing. Fabric was 95% polyester/5% Spandex. They were sold under the labels of Reborn and Lbisse and many others. The same companies sell under different labels on Amazon. If it looks like a deal and is from China, it probably isn't. There is no way I would wear this stuff. When I go to department stores I always choose by style, color, quality of fabric, quality of construction. Sometimes I buy 95% polyester/5% synthetic but it is a heavier weave - you can't see through it, the clothing hangs better, has a better "hand" (feel) and drapes beautifully. Not like the fabric sold to me on Zulily.

The problem with all these clothing manufacturers in China is they cut every possible corner in all areas except for style and color. They can make clothing look good so that it sells but things fall apart quickly after laundering. While China produces fabric for top design and fashion houses, the fabric they use in cheaper products is poor quality. Often it is transparent, so thin it does not keep its shape after wearing, sitting and moving around, laundering or dry cleaning. China takes advantage of unsuspecting American customers with alluring low prices and Zulily helps perpetuate this fakery.

If there was a way to demonstrate the shortcomings via a photo I would be happy to post several but you can't see the movement of the fabric or the light showing through that screams CHEAP FABRIC HERE. Construction is usually sufficient until you launder the thing then you find strings of hemming coming undone, mismatched seams. My advice is if you care and want to make an investment in the quality of your clothing buy elsewhere or even go to the second hand stores and you will sometimes find better quality there. No more buying online unless I can return for free for a full refund, not a store credit.