Nordstrom: Sale prices can be great but watch out for poor quality and site flaws.
Written: Mar 26 '04 (Updated Apr 27 '04)
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I had purchased a few items at Nordstrom.com years ago and found that the items I received were overpriced and poor quality. Expensive skirts were not lined, many items had visible threads hanging, fabric was thin and the overall experience was disappointing. Now that I am pregnant - I found a Japanese Weekend sweater on the site marked down from $88 to $24 and I couldn't resist. I also ordered a two piece baby outfit for $9 and a pair of Cole Haan shoes for $34. The prices were great - although similar deep discounts are available at Macy's and Filene's after season sales in my area. In any case, for the price of shipping, I didn't have to drive to the store or wait in line which was worthwhile to me.
PROBLEMS WITH MY ORDER
The first major problem is that I was charged sales tax on my order. Since I live in Massachusetts and clothes are not taxed in Massachusetts, I should not have been charged. Plus, there are no Nordstroms in my area and my order reflected an out of state shipment.
The second problem is that only one of the four items I ordered actually shipped. The other three items were canceled four days after I placed my order. According to the email I received, they no longer had the items in stock. Apparently, the web site does not have good tracking on its inventory.
MERCHANDISE
Nordstrom's is an upscale department store. I have been to the stores in Virginia and California and each seem to carry different kinds of clothing - much more funky in California than Virginia. In any case, the online store seems to carry a mix of clothing, some brand names you know plus a lot of funkier fashion items. Additionally, Nordstrom carries a wide variety of shoes in lots of sizes. The vast majority of clothing is for women although they also carry small amounts of merchandise for men, infants, children and maternity.
WEB SITE
The web site is very easy to shop with lots of menus. It is also easy to find matching items and pages load quickly.
STEALS AND DEALS
The regular prices on Nordstrom's merchandise are quite high and I won't pay those prices, especially because my local department stores carry identical or similar items cheaper. Additionally, as I mentioned before, I don't like the quality of a lot of Nordstrom's clothing.
However, there is a very big sale section on the site with items marked down regularly. This is definitely the place to cruise and newer markdowns often have a range of sizes available. Some of the markdowns here offer great deals. However, my recent experience with the sale portion of the site is that my order was processed and it turned out only 1 of the 4 sale items I ordered was actually available.
Occasionally, Nordstrom's will offer free shipping if you buy a full-price pair of shoes. I don't think this is a great offer but it may work for some folks.
Nordstrom offers a rebate through Upromise.com but you have to be a member of that site and there are some significant hoops to jump through before you get your rebate.
PACKAGING
Packaging from Nordstrom has always been fine. I have never had a problem. Items come individually wrapped in a secure paper box or strong paper envelope.
SHIPPING
There is usually a delay between placing your order and when they ship your order. My most recent order was placed Friday morning and it shipped on the following Tuesday. I received it the following Friday - seven days from when I placed my order.
Shipping costs are high compared to other sites.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
I got an email confirming my order and an email when my order shipped.
RETURNS
My sweater was shipped in a strong blue paper envelope. The envelope could be resealed so it could be used for a return package. I also got a preprinted return label with prepaid shipping. If you use the prepaid shipping label, Nordstrom will deduct $4.95 from your credit. I have never returned anything to Nordstrom so I am not sure how well the process works.
FINAL RECOMMENDATION
I am going to recommend Nordstrom only for their sale merchandise. I am going to give it two stars because the site incorrectly charged me tax and they only had one of my four items in stock. I also have to reiterate my warning on the quality of their clothes - if you are not familiar with the brand, carefully read the description. A lot of items have not met my expectations based on Nordstrom's price and limited description.
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; Gymboree.
Clothing and Home Goods: Land’s End; Bluefly; Soft Surroundings; Garnet Hill; Sundance; L.L. Bean.
Home and Garden: Smith & Noble; Restoration Hardware; Gardener’s Supply Company; Unicahome; Homeclick; FaucetDirect; Gardens Alive; West Elm.
Books and Magazines: Amazon.com; ValueMags; Magazine Values; Dover Publications.
Office Supplies, Furniture and Services: Staples; Officemax; Topdeq; Efax.
Electronics: HP Shopping; Buy.com.
Travel: Amtrak; Hotwire; Orbitz; Hotels.com.
Discount: Overstock.com.
Miscellaneous: Babystyle; Shutterfly; 1-800 contacts.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? maternity sweater, baby outfit, shoes
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