The Latest Scam in #Fashion: Stitch Fix
UPDATE EIGHT YEARS LATER:
UPDATE:
I believe in being totally honest and fair. After posting this blog and posting along several social media channels, I heard from the CEO and Founder of Stitch Fix, Katrina Lake.
I had read on another blog that she had responded to this blogger’s complaints as well, so I was curious after my experience if I would hear from her. Especially since my post is way harsher than the other one. But I did hear from Ms. Lake and it was not a boilerplate “we’re so sorry” email, but rather one that reflected that she looked at everything that had happened- and she acknowledge that the series of emails I got were confusing and that I was also emailed too soon about the return. (Take that Lisa who commented below.)
Ms. Lake also responded to my separate email to my bank asking to please go ahead and release the funds to my account (I don’t play around when it comes to my money).
Over all, I am impressed with their customer service. It is a service I will use again? Probably not, but that’s because -for whatever reason- it’s hard for me to get to the post office. And I prefer human one on one interaction when I am shopping. I like having the salesperson tell me how I look in an outfit because many times we as women are our own worst critics. Is this service good for the woman who doesn’t like to shop? Sure I can see that. But I also know of many locally owned boutiques in our own communities which will provide the same service. I, for one, trust my local retailers to be honest with me about whether or not I look good in their items because they have been honest with me before.
I would also add, I believe Stitch Fix will be trying to work on their system of communicating with customers. Every company has moments when they need to grow and work out kinks, that is realistic, and the way their CEO responded to my concerns tells me they are heading in the right direction.
I’ll admit it- I forgot to put the items in the mail immediately after getting them.
In fairness to me, I got the email asking me did I like my items on the SAME DAY THEY ARRIVED IN THE MAIL. I should have emailed them at that time to let them know.
Oh wait- who am I talking about? The latest scam in fashion: Stitch Fix. They are this new thing that says they can create this style profile for you and they will ship you these great fantastic clothing items and it will be so easy. Right? Sounds great?
Honestly, not for me. But I got a free shipping thing from Klout so I figured I’d try it.
I really wasn’t impressed at all with the items they sent me. For one, I already had a lot of items like them. So I guess that means they “knew my style”. Sure whatever. The necklace was the same crap that every other fly by night “boutique” tries to sell at $50+ a pop that I know took maybe 50 cents to make. And it wasn’t even anything cute- it was all pewter. And not like it was handmade either.
Whatever so yeah, I forgot to put it back in the mail. But you can bet your behind when they emailed me saying they would charge me the nearly $300 total for all of the items if I didn’t put it back in the mail the next day- I damn sure did it. And STILL GOT CHARGED.
WHAAAAAT?! Oh you can bet I’m mad. So I tweet to them and they email me and I get this email back from Ellen saying they don’t know that the tracking number has been registered and once it comes back to the warehouse they will refund me. What a load of b.s., I say.
Here’s the thing- I might as well go to a local boutique, get cuter items, and try them on there. The thing Stitch Fix sells you on is the “ease” of trying on at home. Whatever dudes any boutique I know will let you take items out on approval with your credit card number put down in case of damage or you forget- same thing y’all do. Except without the hassle of getting to the post office. By driving to the post office hell I night as well go to the boutique and interact with actual people I see face to face who can help me pick out items that are “my style”.
And here’s the other thing about Stitch Fix- your “friends” who refer you to them get a bonus for referrals. Sounds great and all I guess but I don’t buy it. I’m not always a fan of these pyramid scheme type of things. Just give your customers a straight up reward.
Oh and ALSO I tried to go and delete my profile after I put those items in the mail and get my credit card off their file. Would it let me? NO! And it wasn’t until after I emailed them saying I wanted to cancel my membership that they emailed me TWO HOURS LATER saying they had charged me!!!! After I also went in my profile and made a note that I liked all of ZERO of the cheap junk they sent me and that I was sending it back.
The timing of it all is totally suspicious to me. I’m seriously considering filing a complaint with my bank, with the Better Business Bureau, AND you know what? I wonder if they violate the Interstate Commerce Act or the Federal Trade Commission. I’m sure as hell going to look in to it. They better refund me pretty damn soon. They just don’t realize that THIS fashion blogger once had aspirations of being a lawyer. Maybe next time I guest speak on The David Dorer Show we can tackle this b.s.
NOTE: “Ellen” just emailed me back a few minutes ago (8:59 pm) after I posted this post and scheduled all of the social media posts and tagged them in a number of the posts- both programmed and those sent instantly. She let me know they refunded me but of course it’ll take 3 days to post. And said they just thought I loved everything. I emailed her back a thank you but also told her I didn’t buy it and referenced the above emails and the times they were received. If you use them- proceed with caution. At least they refunded me.
Til next time
Love to all y’all EXCEPT STITCH FIX which doesn’t fix stitches but rips ’em apart…. yeah
Molly
You need to chill out, this is clearly your fault and you have no right to be hating on them for this. Stitchfix may not be for you, but it works for plenty of other women. This post is completely immature and unwarranted and I will no longer follow your blog.
That’s fine. I think the email chain shows otherwise. If I didn’t put the items back in the mail when reminded it would be different. For those that it works for good for them. Me? Not so much and I think the timing of when they charged me is highly suspicious.
I hate Stitchfix! The stuff they sent me not only did not match my style profile in any way but was also the quality of a Walmart clearance sale! Hated it!
Ugh I’m so sorry 🙁
Hey Lisa- know what’s funny? I don’t think you ever did follow my blog. I think you are a Stitch Fix troll. Why do I say this? Because my Facebook followers went up, my Twitter followers didn’t decrease AND I looked to see if you were a subscriber. And you aren’t. I’m not sure about Bloglovin’ cause they don’t show me everything. So out of the 300+ people who clicked this link one didn’t like it. And clearly you don’t read my blog a lot or you would know my snarky tone is something that occurs frequently. Good luck to you my dear.
I think you are right. Lisa sounds like a Stitchfix schill. Awful quality and the ugliest colors and style I have ever laid eyes on!
I had an almost identical experience with stitchfix! Aside from that, the amount they debited my checking was more than what the entire box of junky clothes was offered at.
I sent a nastygram also, and hopefully I will also receive a full refund. Molly- did you get refunded? How long did it take? 3 days as promised?
Hi, Sue! It’s been a couple of years now since I wrote this, I think they did their part immediately because I was so mad (and wrote this post) but because it was my debit card it took my bank some time to refund it. I’m sorry you had a bad experience also 🙁
Yeah, SF is for the fashionably & financially unsavvy. Very cheap, trendy stuff. Everything is boxy bohemian primary colors or chunky junky costume jewelry. And the prices are absurd. I type this as I await my second fix. Crossing my fingers for the second and last chance they have to do better. I got my first a few months ago that had a SINGLE item in it that I kept. With the $20 BS styling fee it was still $30. So they wanted $50 for a polyester sleeveless top. I mean if they were gonna charge me the $20 anyway might as well keep the top for another ten bucks. It was cute enough. But $50 polyester? I mean … please. Enough.
Honestly? Every local boutique in every town I know is willing to do the same thing. It’s called putting items on approval. I’d much rather support local business anyway. Thanks for stopping by! I do hope your second box is better.
I just received my first order and am so disappointed. I specified petites but only 2 of the items were petite. I specified no teal ( my olive skin tone makes me look jaundiced) but both tops were teal. I received a long sleeved white sweater to wear in the south in June. The only 2 petite items were an elastic waist skirt that I saw at Kohl’s at half the price and a pair of skin tight rayon/spandex blend pants (I’m over 60). For this poor job of shopping I have the privilege of paying $20. If they weren’t my style I could understand but it looks like my “personal shopper” was shopping for someone else! Don’t waste your money.
So sorry you had a bad experience 🙁
Hi Molly,
I googled “honest stitch fix reviews” because I wanted to see other reviews than the ones on their website. I received Fix #13 in the mail yesterday. After a love/”meh” relationship with the service, I can no longer justify using them. They say, “write your stylist a note!” I’ve written so many notes and only once received something that I asked for. I live in DC, where summers are hot. In June, I received a denim jacket, which I liked and kept, but won’t wear until at least October. Today, it’s 93 degrees outside, and I get a long sleeve blouse in my box. ???
Also, I have written to my stylist that I don’t want the clothes to be so baggy, re: my style profile, yet many things are still baggy. I say I love color: I get black and white. I say I don’t want brands I can find at Nordstrom Rack: this continues… (with prices higher than the Rack, too!). I constantly update my Pinterest style board, there’s no way it’s been looked at. It’s summer and I’ve asked for shorts three times, still no shorts. I got engaged and am attending a white picnic party in August, so asked for a white dress. NOPE. I don’t understand how it can be summer and there are no white dresses or shorts to be had.
I will say that their customer service has been pretty good, though. In the fall I was out of town and scheduled a fix for when I got home. However, they sent it early “due to the holidays”. Because they sent it early and no one was home to bring it inside, it was stolen off my porch. When I emailed, they promptly sent me another box and refunded my styling fee for that month. This was very nice of them (though it was their fault for sending the box earlier than I had specifically asked for).
Fact is: when I needed shorts and a white dress for summer, they couldn’t pull through. Now I still need shorts and a white dress and will have to go shopping for them.
Yours in Fix Frustration,
Courtney
Hi Courtney-
First, thanks for stopping by! I hope you come back. Secondly, I do hate seeing people having a bad experience. I think this is one of those things that with some tweaking could be a great product. For me, I would be more inclined to support them if they worked with local, small boutiques to help them grow. I’m a big fan of supporting small businesses. All ads on my site- aside from Google Ads- are for small businesses.
I agree with you that their customer service is pretty damn good, but the things that happened to you should have improved after you pointed out the issues. I’m so sorry you had those issues.
If you’re still looking for white outfits, may I suggest looking at some of the places I’ve reviewed? Not sure where you live but I’m happy to help you find something.
Molly
I got my first fix this week after thinking about joining stitch fix for about 5 months. It looked like cheap junk! Cheap material in the dress which was specifically not my style. There was only one item I liked and had I known it was $48 I wouldn’t have ripped the tag off and worn it that day. It was all just so cheap looking! Wet Seal & Charlotte Russe -type clothing yet more than double the price. Won’t bother to give them another chance. Oh and by the way… I’d love to hear stitch fix’s response to this: those red shorts in the I’m Breaking Up With Stitch Fix video were marked down, meaning it was done IN STORE. They don’t clearance items from the get-go. If they’ll lie about their sources they’ll lie about anything. And those “personal stylists” must not know how to read, pretending they actually exist. They sent me 4/5 things that were specifically not my style!
Ugh! I hate you had that experience. I’ve had friends use it here lately who enjoyed it, but I guess there are still issues.
I just got my first fix last week, and I bought three of the five items. I’m pretty happy about it all but I am concerned about a few loose threads on all the items. Overall I am glad I ordered, everything fit but the pants. I am a 24/00 and they only have 25/0. I have a bazillion pinterest boards and it seems as though she looked at them all and did a good job finding things I would like. I was VERY nervous
I’m glad to know it worked out for you! I have friends who used it recently and it did well for them.
My first stitch fix was great but I think as the company is growing they are losing their personal touch. they may be doing the demographics thing (why did I enter my true age?) , where they enter every one over 40 into the grandma style. Also assume everyone is overweight if they are older. I just cancelled when I received a computer generated email from them that had pictures of all larger women telling me about hiding my flaws! I liked the price point so I’m sad it didn’t work for means got worse after 10 fixes.
🙁 I’m sorry it turned out that way for you
You’d be hard-pressed to find truly honest reviews of stitchfix in the blogosphere. Want to know why? Just Google “stitchfix influencer program”. I have no doubt the vast majority of glowing, fawning blogger reviews benefit financially from this program.
I tried stitchfix and it is NOT like having a personal stylist like they advertise. They completely ignored my profile, sending me things I specifically said not to send, sent me clothes above the budget I set, and I’ll say it again because they did it again and again, sent me clothes I specifically said not to send me.
🙁 i’m so sorry
🙁 I thought I responded sooner- my bad. Ugh! I hate hearing that. I’ve done plenty of my shares of sponsored posts but I’m always up front and if I don’t like something they don’t get reviewed.
My friend talked me into getting Stitch Fix. The first box arrived and I was excited. Liked 3 of the 5 times they sent me, nearly dropped dead on the floor when I saw the prices. Sent everything back but one sweater. Got my second box, hate everything. As far as a “personal stylist”…it’s probably Customer Service reps that look at a guide and throw whatever is available in your box. I received white jean hammer pants after saying I don’t wear white jeans. It was fun for a minute but I’m ready to cancel the subscription.
🙁 Hate to hear that. I think it’s one of those things that’s a great concept- and I’ve had friends who use it and love it. But I was really impressed by their customer service afterwards, even if I did get one really angry message here from a follower lol whoops
Complete waste of time! Filled out all the info and they sent me nothing that fit my profile. Second fix was just as bad. When I said I was leaving they convinced me to stay and give them one more chance and asked me to write out a detailed description of my preferences. I did. The next fix was even worse! I’m convinced they just have a warehouse of styles they are trying to pawn off on people. They prices aren’t even that great and they clearly don’t try to personalize it AT ALL!! I’m done!
Ugh I’m so sorry, it’s been a couple of years since I wrote this and I’m still getting responses along these lines. It wouldn’t surprise me if that’s the case- the warehouse idea.
Thank you to all who posted here. I signed up, but was convinced by this post and your comments before I ordered that this was not a good idea. As a IT professional, I also noticed their website was horrible…and because they have no way for you to delete your account info, that’s just bad customer service. I’ve sent them an email asking them to delete all my account info and confirm with me when this has been done. I’ve tried various online clothing ordering over the years, and there is really no substitute to going to a store and trying on an item you can see and feel before you buy. $20 a shot and nothing works…they should flat out refund that $20 fee if you don’t like anything. Sad. Thanks all!
I’m sorry you had a bad experience! But as an IT professional I’m validated to see your comments. – Molly
Stitch fix is up prices their poor quality clothes, shoes and jewelry. I used to work their and they even put the clothes u send back out on the floor for another fix. Don’t waste ur money or time.