My great designer buys on eBay and my misses from J.Crew

Armed with the retailer of choice for First Lady-elect Michelle Obama, I attempted to be more recession-smart and try my hand at shopping online for a few deals.

I hit two major online retailers: eBay and J.Crew. This was my first time buying anything from either retailer and my experience was vastly different from one retailer to the other.

I’m a fairly small dress size, BUT I have long legs, I’m tall, I have a small waist, and I have curves. This makes buying a bit of a nightmare in many cases because it’s quite rare that I can buy something without trying it and I have to try-try-and-try again before finding items that fit because designers cut clothes that fit women who are short and who have the same hip-to-waist ratio.

That said, I was still willing to have an open mind about it all and see if I might be lucky with online shopping since I wasn’t finding the style/quality/price point I was looking for where I live!

Here’s my J.Crew experience:

I spent so much time on the J.Crew site that I almost knew the item codes by heart. I also ordered their catalogue in the hopes that it might be easier to evaluate if a particular style would suit me or not.

I found it was quite difficult to understand if items would fit me or not. It’s not because there is a lack of sizing measurement instructions, but it’s so two dimensional for me and I’m so used to looking at an item to know if it’s my size or not.

I’m also really particular when it comes to quality of fabrics, and here again looking at a computer screen or catalogue does little justice to the product you’ll receive by mail.

Although I had very little understanding of what I was going to get, I still ordered the following items from J.Crew:

1) One black merino cardigan

2) One light grey merino cardigan

3) One silver skirt made from Italian fabric

4) One J.Crew special edition t-shirts

>>>>>>>> Here’s what I thought of my items:

1) One black merino cardigan: I was very surprised at how thin the yarn was. It seems like it was only one ply of merino wool and J.Crew was selling it for $88 USD … that didn’t sit very well with me.

2) One light grey merino cardigan: The colour was difficult to evaluate online and in my catalogue. When I received it, I didn’t need to even open the package to know that the colour was sooooooooo wrong for me and it was going to wash me out terribly. Once again, I found the fabric very thin.

The colour of the sweater below had NOTHING to do with the colour of the sweater I received:

I usually opt for cashmere sweaters because I’m always cold and they keep me very warm, but when it comes to wool sweaters … I’ve been buying Banana Republic merino and I’ve always been impressed with the quality and durability. Banana Republic’s merino sweaters are nice and thick and they fit beautifully so you can imagine that the whole time I was trying on my J.Crew sweaters at $88 USD, I was comparing them in my head with my Banana sweaters that usually cost about $80 CAD.

3) One silver skirt made from Italian fabric: I had to order a size 4 and a size 6 to find out which would fit. The size 6 was way too big and the size 4 did fit, but it was really (REALLY) shiny and with my curves I felt the skirt spoke before I ever opened my mouth. It didn’t wow me one bit. Interestingly enough while watching “What Not to Wear” a few days after ordering my skirt, I noticed that Stacy London was wearing the same skirt and she had paired it with a purple silk shirt which was my plan as well. Truth be told, I was aiming for a look I had seen on Wendy on Lipstick Jungle (played by Brooke Shield). I thought the skirt was a bit pricey for what it was at $175 USD.

Here’s the Lipstick Jungle look I was aiming for … but with a silver skirt:

4) One J.Crew special edition t-shirts: The J.Crew t-shirt was my biggest disappointment because the fabric looked incredibly cheap and it was practically see-through. If I’m going to pay $55 USD for a t-shirt (and I don’t mind because I’ve done it before), it’s got to be a pretty good looking t-shirt and the fabric needs to look like it’s a quality t-shirt. If my H&M or Gap t-shirts look better than a $55 t-shirt … there is a problem. I was actually so insulted by the poor quality of the t-shirt that I sent J.Crew a note telling them as much.

The models in the J.Crew catalogue have no curves so it’s interesting to see how differently things fit on them. The silver skirt I bought sat on my hips like a fabric drapes a bottle of Coca Cola while the skirt on the J.Crew model sat on her like a skirt hangs on a hanger – not the same look.

I returned all of my J.Crew items about 4 days after receiving them and the cost of shipping them was pretty hefty at about $20 … after all I had already paid shipping and duty fees to receive them and nothing fit properly.

Note: You have 30 days after receipt to return them or else you get a J.Crew credit instead of a full refund … I wanted to make sure nothing delayed the return process so I rushed to the post office.

Once you’ve returned the items, you have to keep checking with J.Crew to ensure they’ve received them within the deadline and you then need to ensure that you receive your full credit. I had to call three times until I did receive all my credits. I should also point out that during my last conversation the overly polite J.Crew consultant, she started telling me that she didn’t see the two additional return item I was talking about and just hearing those words made my blood boil because all my five items had been returned in the same box at the same time and I had proof from the postal office that they had been received and signed for by J.Crew and this was my third call.

I considered trying to see what J.Crew’s cashmere sweaters looked like, but I thought about the ordeal of getting a super-thin sweater and having to return it because it wasn’t to my liking.

If I lived in proximity to a J.Crew store, I think the experience would be dramatically different because I’d be able to try the clothing and look at the pieces and evaluate the colours and not have to wait to receive the items at my home before being able to decide if I actually like what I see.

I’m sure this might only be bad luck on my part since J.Crew sells millions of dollar of clothing each month via catalogue and online, but I thought it was worth sharing with my readers!

Here’s my eBay shopping experience:

I decided to focus on accessories on eBay, since it was my first time and since a number of people I knew had warned me about authenticity and designer clothes on eBay. I thought that accessories would be a good place to try my hand at this before graduating to some more robust eBay shopping.

1) I spent an entire Saturday evening browsing the eBay site in an attempt to become a bit more familiar with the whole concept. I searched for all the designers I could think of and I was amazed at how many items were on sale. I was also quite amazed at how many new items were being sold and I was shocked at the condition of some of the used designer items and how many people were still willing to bid on these items.

2) The first item that had caught my eye was an YSL (Yves Saint Laurent) Muse bag in black patent that had a starting bid of about $300 USD. The regular price for this item is about $2195. I thought it was a steal and bid on it and found myself the highest bidder. I started hyperventilating because it was $425 and I realized I made the mistake after bidding of realizing that I had not physically seen the bag. Since this is eBay it took about five hours before someone else placed a higher bid.

3) The very next day, I ran to a luxury department store to check out the style, size and retail price of the YSL Muse handbag. It’s when I had the handbag in my hand that I realized how huge it was. Needless to say that I was grateful that someone had placed a higher bid on the YSL Muse because I no longer wanted it.

4) I still continued to watch the bid and in the end the YSL Muse handbag sold for about $685 USD. It’s only a fraction of the retail price and the bag was brand new.

5) After realizing that YSL Muse bags were a bit bigger than what I wanted, I turned my focus to Marc Jacobs (not Marc by Marc Jacobs, but the more expensive bags). I saw a number of great styles, but the one that I actually really wanted was not available in a colour of my choice … they only had it at the time in black. That said, I did continue to follow the bids of many other Marc Jacob bids and I was surprised at how high used bags could fetch.

6) I decided to change focus and look at cashmere scarves. I found a few pashminas that were 100% pashmina that sold for a very reasonable price and I did place a bid on three and bought them! When they arrived I ran to a few stores to compare the quality (since they were coming from China) and the quality was excellent. I decided to keep two of them and give one as a gift.

7) Armed with this victory, I went back to trying to find a handbag. After many searches, I decided to focus on a Valentino Histoire handbag because I loved the style.

#8) I did my research on this Valentino bag and while speaking to a number of sales people, I found out it was the last bag designed by the Italian virtuoso of fashion.

9) I find it important to go to stores to check out the current bags to be able to look at detailing, logo placement (on the outside and inside), finish and the look of the dust bag … all these elements will help ensure that you are buying a real designer handbag from eBay and not a fake.

10) At first, I bid and won a purple Valentino Histoire bag on eBay, but as I was ready to pay for my so called “new Valentino Histoire handbag”, I was told by the seller that it was not exactly all that new and it had been worn a few times and had a few wrinkles. Since we’re talking about patent leather, I felt that wrinkles were not acceptable and that new should mean “new”. The seller was amazing because she agreed to cancel the transaction because she didn’t want me to be disappointed.

Here’s Jennifer Gardner (aka Mrs. Ben Affleck) wearing her Valentino Histoire bag:

11) A few days later, I saw a black Valentino Histoire bag and since I had already done my research and I was certain I wanted to buy it, I decided to bid. After a few counter-bids, I did win that bag.

12) When you buy on eBay, you must be prepared to wait for your delivery if it’s coming overseas or abroad, and in my case it took 10 business days for my bag to come from California.

13) You also have to be prepared to pay country taxes and duty fees, but if you get the item at a rock-bottom-even-way-lower-than-wholesale then you are okay.

14) My bag did arrive and I was quite nervous before opening the bag. I took one look and I knew that I had been quite lucky in scoring a great bag at a ridiculously low price (and the bag was in fact new).

15) The style that I bought is still being sold currently in stores, but the black patent style is already a few seasons old and that’s why the seller was able to price it so low … since we’re talking black patent, it really doesn’t matter because it’s a classic.

16) A few weeks later, I attempted the same exercise for a Furla wallet. I’ve been buying Furla wallets for many (MANY) years now and I really like their design, but unless I get them in Italy I find that buying them locally is quite expensive.

17) I waited for five weeks of continual searches before eyeing a great new Furla wallet in a crocodile embossed style that sells for a few hundred dollars in stores.

18) My final bid was an incredible deal and it’s not only a Furla, but it’s a brand-new-never-been-used Furla wallet.

I was quite pleased with my eBay purchases and they prices I was able to get them at.

It’s true that you don’t get that instant gratification of buying an item and taking it home with you, but given the incredible savings, I’m quite happy to wait.

If I had to summarize 6 practical buying tips on eBay, I’d say:

1) Know your items before placing bids by doing a lot of research and make sure you see the physical item before bidding.

2) Don’t be hesitant to pose questions to the sellers.

3) Make sure that the photos show the items in as many angles as possible.

4) Know what your price ceiling is so you don’t get caught up in the bidding frenzy.

5) Don’t be afraid of walking away from the item … because there will be others.

6) You need to make sure you want the item before bidding on it because you don’t want to cause a seller to miss a sale because of your uncertainty.

I have to say that given my experience, I would have no problems buying again on eBay and I intend on checking a few more items.

If you’re looking for guidelines on buying on eBay, you’ll find them on either eBay or any country-specific site like eBay Canada and eBay UK and you can also read the posts I had written on the subject after meeting with Sandra Graham, eBay Jewelry & Celebrity Style Director:

1) Get the Film Festival look on a budget you can afford!

2) How to buy and sell designer clothing and accessories on eBay?

Intro photo by pandemia

All photos of clothing are from JCrew

Photo of all accessories from eBay