Old Pueblo Traders -- Fashions Online in Small and Large Sizes
Written: May 20, 2006
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My mother enjoys certain styles of clothing, which makes shopping for her a challenge. One of the places where I’ve had shopping success is Old Pueblo Traders. They have been in business since 1946, and sell a variety of clothing, accessories and shoes. A terrific feature of this company is that they offer both small and larger sizes. There are even petite fashions.
Navigating the Website
The home page opens with a variety of links across the top and left of the site. Prominently shown in the middle and toward the right of the page are images of fashion offerings. If I were shopping for myself, one look at the clothing would have me switching to another website. I like the look of the classic pumps shown in a variety of shoe colors for $39.99. However, the main graphic is of a woman sporting an outlandish hat and a matching lilac colored suit. A smaller photo shows the same outfit in a coral color, the suit selling for $69.99 and the hat $49.99. I personally don’t know anyone who would wear such an outfit unless invited to a tea party. Don’t let this fashion statement scare you away from the home page though. This site offers a variety of clothing, including everyday classic styles.
The website address is: www.shopopt.com or www.oldpueblotraders.com
At the Top
There are five small text links at the top of the page: About (the company), Customer Service, Privacy & Security, Contact Us, FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). Beneath these links are button links with larger print: Home, Request a Catalog, Check Order Status, AMO Credit Inquiry, Size Chart, Online Outlet, Shopping Cart, Check Out. There is also an area to sign up for the e-mail list.
To the Left
There is a button labeled “Catalog Quick Order” to use if you have an Old Pueblo Traders print catalog,. Click the button to open a page where you can type in the catalog item number and quantity. There is also a space to enter the catalog code so that you receive any discounts offered in that particular catalog.
Below the search box are a series of links: New Items, Dresses, Jacket Dresses, House Dresses, Sun Dresses, Suits, Pants Sets, Outerwear, Tops, Jackets & Vests, Plants & Playwear, Skirts & Split Skirts, Coordinates, Fashion Accessories, Swimwear, Intimate, Loungewear, Footwear. There is also a link to apply for the AMO/Old Pueblo Traders credit card.
At the Bottom
There are more links across the bottom of the page: Home, About (the company), Catalog Quick Order, Customer Service, Size Chart, Catalog Request, FAQ, Contact Us, Your Privacy Rights, Terms of Use, Check Out.
Searching the Site
A search box allows one to search for particular items. The results open on a separate page that shows 12 items per page with the small word “next” at the bottom to view more results.
Since I was interested in purchasing shirts, I typed in the phrase “short sleeve shirt”, which produced zero results. I then typed in “t-shirt” and the search results came back with eight options ... none of them t-shirts. There was a short-sleeve dress, a sleeveless dress, several pants suits, a camp shirt, and a pair of capri pants. I tried just typing in “shirt” and received ten results, which included two dresses, a shirt jacket, sleepshirts as well as the capri pants, camp shirt and pants suits. What about searching the word “blouse”? This brought 15 results, but not the style shirt I needed. So I typed in the word “tunic”. Success! The word “tunic” produced three results: a crinkled-cotton tunic, a knit t-top, and a pants suit. The knit t-top is what my mother wanted.
Shopping
It is easy to travel the website using the category links along the left of each page. For instance, clicking on the Fashion Accessories link shows 61 items on six pages. There are hair combs, gloves, handbags, hats, pins, shawls. The Footwear link offers 210 items with subcategories of: Pumps, Sandals & Slides, Casual, Slippers.
Clicking on the Tops link shows 84 items with subcategories of: T-Tops, Blouses and Sweaters. Since I was interested in T-Tops, I clicked on that link, which showed 31 items. The top my mother wanted was on the second page of items. The top cost $19.99 for Misses sizes Small to X-Large, or $22.99 for Women’s sizes from 1X to 6X. I also had a choice of six colors and chose two different colors.
Each item page features a photograph of the item, which can be clicked on to enlarge the picture. A description of the item includes the material it is made from, how long the item is (if applicable), as well as washing instructions and where the item was manufactured. There are drop down menus to select color, size and quantity. Once the selection is made, click “Add to Cart”. There is also a button to view the entire cart’s contents. To know whether the item is in stock, click the “View Cart” button. From this page you can also remove items from the cart or adjust information about the item such as color, size and quantity.
Since I like some of the Easy Spirit shoe styles, I have ordered shoes from Old Pueblo Traders. One great feature is that they sell shoes in hard-to-find sizes. The problem with searching the website for shoes is that you cannot search by brand name. Browsing by subcategory is not much help either since each shoe picture is accompanied by the name of the shoe but not the brand. For instance, under casual shoes are the names: Checker, Spring, Tango and Stability Walker to name a few. Clicking on the image opens the item page where the brand name is listed in the description. Old Pueblo Traders often has shoe sales, too. For instance, I can often buy the shoes I like for $10 less than either the Easy Spirit website or my local store. The downside to purchasing shoes from this company is that the shoe boxes come plastered with large labels.
In case you are wondering, Old Pueblo Traders carries a large variety of shoe brand names. Here are some of them: Amanda, Annie, Beacon, Clarks, Daniel Green, Dexter, Easy Spirit, Easy Street, G. Wiz, Grasshoppers, Hush Puppies, J. Renee, Jubilee, Keds, Life Stride, Naturalizer, Pierre, Propet, Ros Hommerson, Soft Spots, Tic Tac Toes. Some of the shoe styles even have matching handbags.
Payment & Shipping
Checkout is easy. After providing shipping and billing information, you can choose Standard Delivery or Express Delivery for an additional charge of $7.95. There is also an option of purchasing “Protection Plus” for $1.00, which will expedite replacement of items lost in transit. Arizona residents have to pay sales tax.
They only ship to destinations within the United States. Shipping and Handling is as follows:
buy up to $20.00 – $4.99 shipping
$20.01 – $40.00 – $6.99
$40.01 – $70.00 – $8.99
$70.01 – $100.00 – $10.99
$100.01 – $150.00 – $11.99
Over $150.00 – $12.99
Old Pueblo Traders accepts Check or Money Order. They also take these credit cards: AMO, Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, Discover, American Express.
Confirmation & Delivery
It wasn’t long after placing the order that I received an e-mail confirmation. The e-mail included the order number and a summary of my order. The same day (the order was placed in the morning on a Wednesday), I received shipment notification stating that my order had gone out via Parcel Post (I chose Standard Delivery). I received e-mails for each item I ordered.
Within a week, the package arrived. The shirts were individually plastic-wrapped and placed in a sturdy polybag for shipment. Everything was in excellent condition.
Maybe I forgot to uncheck the option of receiving e-mails from Old Pueblo Traders ... but since placing the order, I have been receiving sales notifications every few days via e-mail. One of the messages advertised free shipping. The latest message notified me of a 20% off shoe sale.
Summary
Old Pueblo Traders offers a variety of clothing and shoes from small to larger sizes. Even though I consider many of the styles reminiscent of days gone by, Old Pueblo also sells classic styles that never fade from fashion. Their shoe selection is impressive, too. I can see where this website will not appeal to all tastes; however, it’s worth a browse for yourself or someone you know.
I hope that you have found this review useful.
Enjoy your day,
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com
Please read my other reviews:
Lane Bryant Online Store
Kohl’s Online Store
Just My Size Online Store
Best Buy Online Store
Buy.com Online Store
Staples Online Store
Harry and David Online and at the Mall
Cooking.com Online Store
The Republic of Tea Online Store
Keepsake Quilting Online Store
Joann.com Online Store
Writer’s Digest Book Club
Pogo.com Online Games
Copyright 2006 Dawn L. Stewart
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? clothing
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About the Author
Location: Massachusetts -- USA
Reviews written: 1784
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About Me: Always looking for quality at bargain prices. Author of: Mist-Seer and Harriet's Horrible Hair Day.
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