Sundance Catalog: Awaken Your Inner Cowgirl
Written: Nov 18, 2003 (Updated Dec 20, 2004)
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Sundance Catalog has an eclectic mix of jewelery, clothing and home goods including furniture, rugs and decorative items. Many of the items have a western theme.
THE MERCHANDISE
The merchandise on this site is really unique. There is quite a bit of women's apparel including dresses, shirts, skirts, pants, cowgirl boots and leather jackets. Most of it has a western theme and some of it appears to be either exclusive to the site or hard to find elsewhere.
The other thing this site has is lots of jewelery. The styles won't appeal to everyone because it is artsy and contemporary jewelery - there are no diamond studs or pearl necklaces. Some of the jewelery is exclusive the site and a lot of it is quite expensive for such trendy stuff. Many necklaces with semi-precious stones are $200 and up.
Sundance has a lot of items for the home including bedding, some furniture, rugs, lighting, accessories and other odds and ends. Again, a lot of it has a western theme and much of it is handcrafted and exclusive to the site.
In addition to the above, there are lots of odds and ends including baby gift items, lotions and one-of-a-kind art.
MY ONE COMPLAINT
I ordered a sweater and it was delightful when it came - the knit was heavier and more detailed than the picture on the web site. However, the sweater had a really strong chemical smell that was probably some kind of dry cleaning or fabric finishing chemical. After I aired it out for a while, the smell diminished but it was pretty nasty when I opened it and I definitely could not have worn the sweater immediately upon receipt.
SUPPORTING ARTISTS
Sundance sells a lot of unique hand-crafted items. The company supports the arts and allows artists to make a living by giving them an outlet for their goods. They even highlight many of the artists on the web site.
FAMOUS OWNER
Robert Redford founded the Sundance Catalog and stores although I believe there are several other partners and investors. I was originally under the impression that the proceeds of the catalog went to charity but, upon exploring the site, I find no mention of charitable donations. I guess I confused Robert Redford with another old white male actor, Paul Newman.
THE WEB SITE
Not too long ago, the web site was one of the worst I ever encountered. The pages loaded painfully slowly and it was incredibly hard to navigate. It seems they have given the site a complete overhaul and it is now very easy to search and get around.
THE CATALOG
Sundance will mail a free catalog. You can order one on the site. However, the merchandise varies between the web and the catalog. Some items on the web are not in every catalog.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
I got an email acknowledging my order and another email when my items shipped.
SHIPPING
Here are the shipping costs from the web site:
Standard Delivery (continental USA only)
If Your Order Totals_____________________Add
Up to $15.99_____________________________$ 5.95
$16.00 to $24.99_________________________$ 6.95
$25.00 to $44.99_________________________$ 7.95
$45.00 to $64.99_________________________$ 9.95
$65.00 to $99.99_________________________$11.95
$100.00 to $124.99_______________________$13.95
$125.00 to $174.99_______________________$15.95
$175.00 to $199.99_______________________$18.95
$200.00 to $249.99_______________________$21.95
$250.00 and over_________________________$26.95
Large items are shipped by freight and the shipping costs are determined individually. Priority and Overnight delivery are also offered.
My items arrived one day earlier than promised and it took about a week from the time I ordered until the time I received my items.
PACKAGING
I ordered a sweater that came in a plastic bag and earrings that were packed in cotton in a sturdy cardboard box. Both items were then packed in another sturdy cardboard box. The packing was perfect.
RETURNS
The return policy from the site states, "If for any reason you feel that our product has not worn well, aged gracefully, or lived up to your expectations, feel free to return it to us for an exchange or refund.
They included a return packing slip with the merchandise. The customer has to pay return shipping costs.
PRICES
The prices for items are high. Some items are original artwork and some pieces of jewelery are exclusive to the catalog so I can understand high prices for unique items. However, the apparel is quite high too. There is an outlet portion of the site which marks the items down significantly.
STEALS AND DEALS
I don't think there are any steals and deals. I signed up for the email promotions over a year ago and I have never gotten a discount code. I looked on the internet and wasn't able to find any codes there either. Sundance also does not seem to particpate in the rebate sites such as Upromise.com or erebates.com.
FINAL RECOMMENDATION
I really like the Sundance merchandise - even up here in the very non-cowgirlish North East. My experience with the catalog has been pretty good so I would order again. My only gripes are the high prices of the merchandise and that unpleasant toxic smell on my sweater.
DO YOU LIKE TO SHOP ON THE INTERNET? HERE ARE SOME MORE REVIEWS OF WEB STORES:
Clothing and Accessories: Talbots; The Gap; CWD Kids; Hanna Andersson; J. Jill; Tote Le Monde ; Blu Pyxie ; Miniboden; One Hanes Place; Nordstrom; Gymboree; Simple Shoes; Sierra Blue; Ebags.
Clothing and Home Goods: Lands End; Bluefly; Soft Surroundings; Garnet Hill; L.L. Bean.
Home and Garden: Smith & Noble; Restoration Hardware; Gardeners Supply Company; Unicahome; Homeclick; FaucetDirect; Gardens Alive; West Elm; Crate & Barrel; MyKnobs; CB2.
Books and Magazines: Amazon.com; ValueMags; Magazine Values; Dover Publications.
Office Supplies, Furniture and Services: Staples; Officemax; Topdeq; Efax.
Electronics: HP Shopping; Buy.com; ABT Electronics.
Travel: Amtrak; Hotwire; Orbitz; Hotels.com.
Discount: Overstock.com; Target.
Photo Developing: Shutterfly; Snapfish.
Baby Stuff: Babystyle; Babys Here Birth Announcements; Baby Universe; SoZo; Baby Center; Baby Age.
Miscellaneous: 1-800 contacts; Movie Tickets.com; Drugstore.com.
Rebate Sites: Upromise; Ebates.
Before you start shopping, check out my tips on how to save money by shopping on the internet . I have also included some coupon codes and plan to add more as I find them.
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Location: Basking in the Sun
Reviews written: 504
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About Me: Can anyone recommend a western family dude ranch for a vacation this summer?
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