Stories from readers 47

hey.. here's my stories:

Also about photography!! :)

I TOTALLY DISAGREE on CANDY TREATS photography is excellent!.(as written by Reader

There's once I wanted to buy a dress from her, (checkered dress) ALL HER PHOTO is like PHOTOSHOP!!

Dark, Poor lighting, stretch (that's the point), is not good..

Okay, back to point!! Why do i said her pictures are all photoshop? as i compared the dress from DRESSING LAB, the colours are totally different..

I wanted to find back the picture, but she has deleted the post..

But as for now, the pictures has improved though. So keep it up, dont photoshop....

I DISAGREE on STOP.SHOP.SLURPE is LOUSY!!!

How dare u say she's lousy?

I DISAGREE on DAINTY DRESSER & TICTACTOE's photography is only focus on the face!!?

Their pretty and friendly looking face doesnt mean that they only wana focus on their face..

Dainty dresser has good photography because she always smiling and this attracts me.. very friendly looking :)

Tictactoe has good phtography because they know how to carry n bring different2 style to show us on how to wear the clothing... very cool :)

I disagree on CLOTHES FOR FUN's photography is excellent!!

As the previous reader (reader 40) said, her lips, I dono why, I felt that she's unfriendly posting her face on that way..

She looks like she was being forced or relunctant to take the pictures...

The face looks very unfriendly.. thats why u need smile like Dainty Dresser or Stop.stop.Slurpe or Boucing banana.

For me.. Blogshops with excellent photos:

Pumpkin(I think is a Pro Photographer), somehow for some reason i like shopaholic Unite, rainbowmallow, The closette, tictactoe28, Dressing lab, A model studio, Marshmallow, Bunny noo, Danity dresser, The envelopes (interesting!!), your mom's fashion and the like....

Stories from readers 46

from the author of Diary of an e-shopaholic

Hi, there! :)
First off, hats off to you for starting Fashion-Truth and the guts to pull it off. ;)


Here's my two cents:

Starting off with, I have only shopped in 5 online boutiques so far.
My 'regular' would be: ClothesBucket--excellent service, great descriptions, great photography. 5 stars. :)
The other four would be A Model Studio, Midnight Glam, My Closet Giggles and Bimbs Wardrobe. Yeap. I try not to shop online too much =p
Also StitchProject for those innovative badges.
(To clarify, never shopped with Rainbowmallows and i don't personally know her as well).
Have always maintained a good correspondence with all blog shop owners via e-mail. Never came across any 'rude' ones either. =)

On to Pricing:
Personally, this is how i online shop =
Shorts : +/- RM 30 (max RM 35)
Dresses : +/- RM 40 (max RM 50)
Tops : +/- RM 30 (max RM 40)
Plain spags/tank tops : ideally < style="font-style: italic;">[although granted, if all blog owners think on the same wavelength price difference should only be less than RM 5 difference].

However, if you do notice that on average, a particular online shop is at least < style="font-weight: bold;">Mechanisms of the Diary:
The way i revew items is unlike other review sites (as you would have noticed).
Details are emphasized, price, and sometimes if it's important sizes/colours are given as well.
As there is a given blog list, there will be occassions where i don't review every blog shop which have been updated for the day, especially if the blog list already shows that the particular blogshop has been updated. However, if time permits, i do try to review all the blog shops (like A Shopaholic's Den).
Unfortunately as this is a review site, i have to talk about items which i like, no? Most of the time the items i review are the items which i would wear--or which are currently 'in demand', or which have their own unique flair to it [eg. Gossip Girl headbands, pleated mini's, boyfriend Tees, interesting kimono/maxi's, glads, pumps, etc] It would be a lil' bit hard to review something which i don't like, right?
Most of the time, i do go according to theme (basics, dinner/clubbing dresses, plaids, etc) as well--which is when there is no personal bias. :)

Granted, there were a few readers who did say that i feature alot of the 'same sites' [eg. Pumpkin], hence lately i have been featuring a variety of sites, and not just the so-called 'popular ones'. Possibly it just so happens that those popular ones have items which catch my eye. =P

Any feedback on any way to improve the site is much appreciated and will be employed if reasonable. =)

Miscellaneous:
As a reader of Fashion Truth pointed out before--COD charges.
I believe that an owner has the right to charge for COD if the place is not convenient. However, to me, any charge more than RM 3 isn't worth it =p (unless that item you're paying foris really really worth it!)

Also pointed out was the fact that if the owner is meeting a total of 5 customers, this would definitely cover up petrol costs, no?

But, we should always remember that it is the seller's prerogative to do whatever she sees fit.
Any customer wouldn't mind paying if the rate is reasonable. :)

Ending Note:
Online shopping is a great joy. :)
Just becareful of the risks to it and don't expect much.
I actually do support this blog as i believe in freedom of speech or rather constructive freedom of speech. :P

Xash.

stories from sellers 45

I personally think that doing a price comparison for a same item is alright n reasonable, provided (A) the 2 items are being brought in at the same particular period of time n (B) All the colours being brought in are the same.

(A) As everyone know, blog owners always do have several ways of clearing their stocks after sometime, through either offering at a lower price, give discount up to XX% etc. So do the suppliers whom provide goods to blog owners. They give a marked down price more than how blog owners offer the end customers, simply bcause they kept stocks > the blog owners. Thus, it is not surprising to see a price diff of > RM6 or even RM10, especially the time they brought in the same item is like a month away.

Sometimes, cost for blog owner A n B for the same item may be differ in just a week time. To shoppers, “is silly, supplier willing to clear new stocks out in just a week with lower price? Bull shit” But remember, to shoppers, anything that has not gain exposure in the market/e-market is considering NEW, but it might not be a new item to blog owners. If supplier planning to clear the item on 31/oct with lower price, blog owners (lucky gal) who got it on/after 31/oct will have advantages in terms of price, comparing to blog B owners who just took the item on 26/oct, (bad luck)

(b) Shoppers using the same colour n same design of the item to compare the price are not accurate enough. Are all the colours being brought in fr the 2 blog owners the same. Y? As sometimes, supplier will offer a lower price to blog owners for the “last 2 pieces, or last 3 pieces left”. Now, even all the colours are the same, the supplier whom the blog owners deal with might be different. Just like how suppliers deal with their diff manufacturer in China.(eg yoco, Tokyo fashion co, candy shop etc) And rem, diff manufacturer offers diff price, so it leads to suppliers offering diff price, n so, the blog owners offering diff price.

Shoppers don’t feel frustrated if u’ve bought an item which u realise u can get them cheaper at another blog later. At least, u got to wear/use them earlier than others? Or, b4 it goes out of fashion? “) Buy it when u feel it’s worth buying it. To me, I believe that somehow, some of the shoppers out there are loyal customers to some blog shops, they do not haggle bout price or being too calculative bout pricing, they will rather care about service , friendliness, the way blog owners present their clothes, n the most important thing, the blog owner’s personal sense n style.

stories from readers 44

Photography
Not everyone are good photographers and not all can afford good cameras.

As for CandyTreats, I think her photos are excellent.
Clear. Sharp. Huge enough for our eyes to feast on the items.
It may sometimes be distorted or whatsoever you girls call it.
But from what I see, their photos are getting better and better.
(That's if you've seen their first batch of photos when they first appeared!!)
And her photos aren't stretched. They are the way it is.
As you can see, when taken nearer, you can see the item better.
When it's taken further, you'll have to click on image to enlarge it.
For CandyTreats, taken nearer is better however blogger's so called "Large" button made it looked stretched out.
So, it's not all their fault.


Now for Kiss and Tell,
if I'm not wrong, she's running the shop alone.
Therefore, she has to model up the items herself.
Yes, she has a very petite frame but least she tries her best to model them up.
With her as a model, there're dissatisfaction.
With her mannequin, dissatisfaction as well.
What do you expect her to do?

Clothesbucket
I think her photos are awesome! Especially with a lot of it being uploaded.
But I think she should upload photos with different pairings instead of one.

Clothes For Fun
Her pouting lips may be distracting.
But are you purchasing her or the item she's selling?
(Sentence bit offensive, but true, no?)

The Closette
I don't think she's revealling those cleavege on purpose.
You can blame those who have huge assets.
Sometimes, the clothes just happened to be low-cut just like the photo Reader 40 posted.

Dainty Dresser
Her clothes are gorgeous. Her photos are lovely.
But I think the photographer focused more on her face rather than the clothes.

Now, quoted from Reader 39:
3. Pose - Photos should not be over-posed to a point where it is difficult to tell what it looks like. Poses like sitting down, lying on the ground, body tilted sideways make it hard for us to see what it looks like. The best way to model the clothes is to stand upright and keep the hand gestures and hip swivels to a minimum. And don't forget to keep that long hair out of the way.

My two cents:
Do you get annoyed looking at magazines like CLEO, MNG catalogs, Padini Catalogs, etc?
If those models you see in catalogs and what not, stands straight in every single photos, will you be attracted or will you get bored looking at them?
It's just a way of those blogshop models to get attention from us, buyers.

Blogshops with excellent photos:

1. Clothes for Fun
2. CandyTreats
3. Shopaholics Unite
4. Clothes Bucket
5. A Model Studio
6. Kocek Clothings
7. Behind the seams
8. Bunny Noo
9. Milk Cottage


Blogshops with lousy photos:

1. D Looking Glass (Sometimes, her items are really NOT CLEAR!)
2. Blossom Boutique
3. TicTacToe (Sometimes, I really wonder if TicTacToe is focusing on her face or her stocks)
4. Stop. Shop. Splurge.
5. A Fashion Obsession (Bad lighting!!)
(There are more but I forgot the names)

Blogshops with average photos:

1. Dainty Dresser (too much focus on face but the colours and sharpness is better compared to TicTacToes)
2. Dressing Lab (Mirror image but never fail to show the whole outfit)
3. Oh! Popsicles (Sometimes her photo is bit dull looking)
4. Bouncing Bananas
5. Bummerbeebuzz (Bit too small, her photos)
6. The Envolopes (Same, bit too small)
7. Clothesville (Too much background colour)
8. The Colour Theory
9. The Colour Theory

Price Wars
And I see a lot of buyers complaining about pricing.
My thoughts, there'll always be different prices when it comes to same item.
If it's between RM1 - RM9 difference, we shouldn't make much noise.
I'm saying this because sellers may get different rates from suppliers.
(Some maybe the same supplier, some different)
And late comers always get lower cost price as they wanna clear off their old stocks
(I think)
But for those that's RM10 and above, that is just wayy too much!
That price difference, I'll never agree with.
We love to shop but at the same time, we love buying them at lower rates.
(If it's of similar item and quality)

Blogshops that has good pricing:

1. Kisssss and Tell
2. CandyTreats
3. Clothes for Fun
4. Clothes Bucket
5. Fashion Obsession
6. Clothesville
7. White Label
8. Bouncing Bananas
9. Divas Fashionista

Blogshops that is over charging:

1. LunaLola (Crazily over charged!)
2. TicTacToe (I once found out that one of her item cost only RM12 but she sold it at RM45?!)
3. DaintyDresser (Yes, her biz is picking up. But it's bit too much for a sudden jump in her pricing, no?)
4. Velvet Ribbon

Blogshops that is charging at average prices:

1. Milk Cottage (Ancient Orchid is selling "Ballooned" at RM38 when Milk Cottage is selling at RM50!!)
2. Bunny Noo
3. Toots
4. Ancient Orchids
5. Oh! Popsicles
6. Enchanting Hearts

Stories from Readers 43

i recently started shopping online and i have to say, reading this blog really got me 2 realize how bad my 1st purchase was.
it was from picklewrinkle [http://www.picklewrinkle.blogspot.com/]
and, being the newbie i was, i was totally mistreated.
all thanks to fashion truth, i now know my rights to buying online.

well, let me say my 1st purchase was the combination of all "bad services".

i noticed a vest offered by the blog and immediately sent in and sms stating my interested as well as inquiries if it was adjustable. she replied in less than 3 hours and mentioned that it was. so we were in the midst of discussing bank-in/poslaju details when she mentioned it's be better it it were COD. i personally didn't mind as she said that anywhere is fine with her.

as it was the weekend, we set COD on a weekday of the following week and confirmed the time and location, she did mention that she would text me if there were to be any changes.
the day before COD i texted her to confirm the time for the next day and she asked if i would be fine with that night itself instead. after rescheduling COD, i asked to reconfirm the price and she requested for an additional RM5. i was pretty curious on why but i figured it was COD surcharge [which after reading this blog, i realized that COD charges don't apply].

so after meeting her and collecting the item, i briefly checked my purchase and figured that it was alright. it was my fault too that i didn't notice until i got home, that the vest was sewn inside out on the other side. i am really disappointed and felt cheated in a sense that she failed to mention it on her blog and that she didn't even mention it during COD. also, it is stated on the blog that she doesn't charge even for delivery. =.="

reading the blog again, it's the last shop anyone would purchase anything from.
-pictures are poorly taken.
-unsuitable model.
-garments not properly ironed before display.
-lousy service.
-cheats a newbie. [totally personal]

Stories from Readers 42

Hi,

I just want to voice out something about ethical qualities in online arena like honesty and genuine-selling.

I am very sure that I have seen Velvet-Ribbon selling this Black Satin Skirt back in her very previous post (do check it out yourself if time permits you at velvet-ribbon.blogspot.com). What I found was, after viewing I've Got OCD (http://missocdinshopping.blogspot.com/) latest bunch of new arrivals, they are currently selling the satin skirt the same Black one, however, this pair of skirt comes with a FREE BELT.

The exact belt that Velvet Ribbon is selling for a a price to pay instead of giving it away when you purchase the skirt.

My point is, i highly suspect Velvet Ribbon actually sell the belt separately and "claimed" it as a two-pieces items that "do not" comes together with the skirt itself.

I may be wrong, who knows that her supplier charged her for the belt separately from the skirt so she published in her blog the sale of two separate items.

Or I've Got OCD who is kind enough to offer us free belts for the skirts. Either..or.. No one knows.

Just my two cents of observations. Thanks.

Stories from Readers 41

Hello there,how are you? =)

Here I would like to tell everyone in here about my experience in
online shopping.

I give 4 stars to Pinkgincu with their quick reply when I intend to
buy a bag from them and I've got the bag in less than 24 hours with
COD service. Congratulation.

I give 4.9 ( its not 5 because nobody is perfect =D ) stars to A Chic
Store for their dedication in doing business, plus their customer
service. The items was neatly covered with a plastic, but I dont
really care when I already satisfied with their service. She told me
that she was sick, yet she still went out and post the parcel. Thank
you, as a customer, I feel honored.

And I give nothing for Bebel Nina, not a single positive feedback for
them, as I didn't treat as I am supposed to be treated as a customer.
they took so long to reply the email, but very quick when I asked
about the payment. They also didnt let me know about the status
whether the parcel is already post or not. Instead, I have to ask
them. What service is that?no courtesy. To make it worse, the parcel
that I received was in a plastic, was not very neat, and the quality
is not like a 60ringgit dress.

Sorry babe, I will not recommend you to my friends. Maybe you think
that losing one customer is nothing because you treat your customers
badly, but for other sellers, they treat us like precious diamonds, so
they will fell very bad when they lose 1 customer.

For A Chic Store and Pinkgincu, keep up the best customer service.
However if someone is not satisfied with your service, take it as
guide in the next time.

Anyway, thank you for reading.

Stories from Readers 40

i really really like what Reader 39 wrote about.
suggesting good ways in taking photographs!

i would like to comment on certain blogshops which catches my eye and my thoughts on certain of them..

here goes!!

Ministry of Clothes

their photos are really clear and sharp.
i can easily judge the colour of the piece based on the pictures. as it's taken outdoor with natural lightings..


Dainty Dresser

love her pictures. consistent. and she's always smiling!! attracts buyers like me.
sharp clear nice pictures.


Ancient Orchids

alot of her photos are taken based on her reflection on the mirror.
i'm not a fan of her photos. coz she seems to pose in a very odd manner. it's like her body is slanted towards one angle. also, i can't see the bottom of the dress.


Vibrant Swirls

i understand not everyone is able to find another photographer to take their pictures. so the next alternative is, taking photo of yourself! Vibrant Swirls photos are pretty good.
the left one: can see the colour of the dress properly. sharp
the right one: obviously better la hahaha the model must have worn that dress to a function
but again, it's an outdoor shot and these shots usually turn out nicer


Kiss and tell


i dont know why she blur out the picture. it's so blur and i can hardly see the piece clearly!!
and i think she's a little petite. thus, not a very good model. gives people the wrong idea of the dress!
but now she's using mannequin, which.. not to my liking



D Looking Glass

lousy lighting!!
i can hardly see the real colours of the dress!
but pictures are clear

Clothesville

outdoor shots, with greenary as well!
nice. it's really colourful and the pictures are attractive.


too lazy to find more pictures!!
but as far as i remember,
i dont quite like the layout of Clothesbucket, alot of people like it but i find it very complicating. maybe it's because there are too many pictures for one item and the pictures are very big and not very organize (but more pictures are good too, probably the arrangement of the pictures need to be reconsidered)

Clothes For Fun - the model, i dont know why she pouts her mouth that way. a little bit distracting for me. otherwise, not bad!

Dressing Lab - she bends her body too much! but it's ok, apart from that.

The Closette - too much cleavage!! kinda sends the wrong message across

Rainbowmallows - her photos quite bright.

Candy treats - her photos abit distorted. stretched a bit. there may be some errors when uploading or transfering/compressing the photos...

Goddess City - photos super attractive! the way they model, its like the model is some successful business lady.

Stories from Readers 39

HOW TO TAKE A GOOD PHOTO!! - from the view of a buyer

(really useful!! )
---------------------------------------------

I can't speak anything for their service or products, but some blogshops deserve props for their efforts in taking good photographs of their items. I think a lot of us overlook the fact that photographs are a form of service provided to buyers, and so blogshops with well-taken photographs should be given brownie points :)

My idea of a "good photo":

1. Lighting - I personally believe that natural sunlight is the best lighting for photos. It gives the least distortion of colour and reduces the graininess of the image, so we get a good representation of what the item is really like.

2. Angle - Where you position your camera really matters. Photos shouldn't be taken from an elevated or lower level than the body, because it makes it difficult for us to tell what the proportions of the clothes look like. We should be able to see from neck to thigh (for short tops), from neck to shin (for mid-length dresses), from neck to ground (for long dresses), from waist to thigh (for shorts/short skirts), or from waist to ground (for trousers/long skirts).

For this, it is best to get someone to take the photo for you, or use a tripod/something tall to prop the camera up. Some of the worst photos are those taken by posing in front of a mirror, with a camera in hand. The angle is sometimes terrible and the camera blocks the view of the item.

3. Pose - Photos should not be over-posed to a point where it is difficult to tell what it looks like. Poses like sitting down, lying on the ground, body tilted sideways make it hard for us to see what it looks like. The best way to model the clothes is to stand upright and keep the hand gestures and hip swivels to a minimum. And don't forget to keep that long hair out of the way.

4. Camera - The quality of your camera does matter. This is not to say that everyone needs to use a SLR or 10 megapixel camera. Even phone cameras can take decent photos (though I would not recommend anything less than a 3 megapixel camera). Grainy and blurred images make it difficult to make out the detail on the item.

5. Size - It's okay to put up minimised photos to reduce the load time, but always provide links to larger, higher resolutioned photos. Sometimes we need bigger, clearer photos to see certain details, especially on dark-coloured items.

6. Additional detail - If a particular item has anything worth noting (e.g. patterns, ruffles, lace, special collars, buttons, ribbons, zips) it would be good if a seller could provide close-ups so we can get a good look at it. Just switch your camera onto Macro mode and take a nice close-up.

My picks for the best-taken photos:
Shopaholics Unite!, Oh popsicles!, Fashion Gossips, Clothes Bucket, A Model Studio, Trendy Confessions.

price comparisons 58

left to right:

Velvet Ribbon
RM49

Toots
RM28

price comparisons

from a reader

left to right:

Clothes Bucket
RM35 for 1
RM66 for 2

Velvet Ribbon
RM49

from a reader

left to right:

Toots
RM35

Milky Cottage
RM39

Clothesville
RM33

from a reader..

left to right:

Chubby A Bit
RM45

Like Seriously
RM53

stories from sellers 5

Hi!

First of all, thank god for having this blog. Haha. It somehow works like a online blog meter where buyers can see both positive and negative sides of blog shops. I'm pretty surprised that there is really one who is as courageously as you to open up this blog! And I think this is really working; more than the surveys and feedback pages does. Most of the time i think buyers will not voice out anything is no one starts it first like you. Haha yes, I'm also a online shopaholic!

However, I did not found out this page in a very pleasant way. To be honest, I was pretty pissed of by how I found out this blog. Someone without name actually left a message in The Envelopes' tagboard writting, "DONT BUY DONT BUY! SUPER X!!! GO TO http://fashion-truth.blogspot.com". I'm sorry but I had to delete that message as I think its unfair to my blog shop. Who ever who posted that, you should be sorry as well. Doing that does not bring advantage to any sides.

And then, I found another offensive message in Diary of an E-Shopaholic saying, "The Envelopes are money suckers.. They are only 18.. Aih...". Thank god someone helped us out in the tagboard as I found the message out much later. To the person who wrote this offensive message, I think you should be shameful to framing us up. First of all, we are not 18. Please get your information correct before you really want to get us. Secondly, we are not money suckers. Yes true, some of our clothes maybe slightly higher than the other blog shops. Very true and its something hard to avoid as we may be posting that items with that price not knowing others' prices. Plus, the price of clothes bought from the wholesales may vary from time to time. I totally agree to Phasionology based on her entry in this blog. Just like any other sales, the price will be reduced after 1-2 weeks. Late comers usually get them in cheaper prices but lesser variety of colours of a design.

Besides that, another pricing issues would be the in stock and pre-order items. Their prices varies too. Not a lot though. For how one shop to set the price, it also depends on a lot of factors. One of it maybe the location of the goods. One can be buying the stocks locally and another can be buying from overseas. From what I understand, clothes you buy from oversea's wholesales or factory is usually cheaper than the stocks in Malaysia. But one can buy special designs of clothings in different places of another country, which may not be cheap anymore after all the sum up to air ticket and stuffs.

We may have unethical sellers here but do not forget about buyers. We have came across various of buyers. From fast and good buyers to back-out-without-informing customers. To buyers out there, whether to my blog shop or not, you should really think twice before buying and making an order. As it will not only affect yourselves and the sellers but also the other interested buyers. Really. For example, a girl may be interested in item A and made an order for it while it is available. And so, blog B reserved the item for her. Then, more people came after the same item but the blog have already reserved for the first girl and had to push away other orders for her. And guess what? The girl later withdraw or either came back with no replies of the order. I think that is pretty unfair to the other customers more than to the shop itself. I guess most of the shops have encountered this. People who send in orders and then kept quiet when asking for payment is not a good example to be. Seriously. Therefore, think twice.

And also, we kindly recommend potential buyers to browse through the terms and condition before buying too. Not all blog shops have the same although most of them are. And I believe most of the blog will have this tag, "Fixed price. Price is non negotiable". Why did we have that? Well, we just want to be fair to the buyers. We cannot be selling the same item with different prices to different buyers (unless stock cleareance or sales). It would be very unfair therefore most of the price are fixed. My blog shop have encounter once or twice where customer wants to lower down the price. Usually we allow only by changing the postage ways (from pos laju to pos express) eventhough we do not encourage it as usually pos express are stuffed into your mini mailbox and it might harm the items. Sometimes, the envelopes are opened before you can even open it yourselves as the envelopes are designed for flat documents and not clothes. Pos laju is better to me as they delivery right to your doorstep. Think of the service! :)

And my not-so-good experience with a customer was that she was trying to bargain. I totally understand her as a buyer but logically we wont due to factors mentioned. We really wont mark up very high, we are students and shopaholics too. We want to serve the way we want to be served as well. Back to the customer, and because I dint agree on the bargain, she came back with bad comments :(

Changing my perspective to a buyer, I seriously think that some of the blog shops owner needs to be prompt in replies because that is what makes online business an online business. If you are busy or away, kindly make a note.

Whether you believe or not, I've bought something that is totally different from the picture itself!! Ii almost fainted when i open the package and never worn the item before. I could not remember the blog shop but I'm pretty sure its a pre oder item. Then now, I only support in stocks as only they can provide us the real pictures! Haha. And as a buyer, so far my buying experiences was all good except for a few which either delivers different quality of items or delay of items.

And I think that is all.! Continue to have fun shopping. Be wise too.


Sincerely,
Vvens @ The Envelopes
http://the-envelopes.blogspot.com

stories from sellers 4

From Autumn Closet

Dearest to all Shoppers,

First & foremost, I would like to thank all the readers who had wrote in and gave us an abundance of compliments and also to Autumn Closet’s lovely customers, thank you for believing in us and the service we can offer to you. You guys made my day & we hope to cater to you the best you can possibly allow us….

To Reader 38, our deepest apologies if we had ever disappointed you in anyways, we didn’t know the impact of our delivery charges would upset you in such dreadful manner.. Sincere apologies…. We try our very best to accommodate all requests we receives from our shoppers.

Like for your instance, once we knew you would need to wear the dress to Melaka the very next day, we had rushed to the post office early morning even though there were no orders that particular day to make sure you will receive your parcel in time. Also at the same time, we did what you have told us to do, to make the delivery via pos express which we do not offer and had never done it before. Only when we reached the pos office and insisted on parcel post express, we were informed by the post office it is not possible to send parcel via post express. Hence we had no choice but to refund you as you have instructed us. Thus, we had tried everything we could.

On second issue in regards to pricing, as much as we hope to, I will definitely not be able to match the other Bloggers who are charging it at a lower price. We as owners go to different source of suppliers for clothes selection and quote differently, especially to people like me who take in such small quantity, the cost definitely varies. I can only strive for better fashion selection; best customer service to offer to my shoppers & greater experience on my blog, when customers pay us a visit will feel good after browsing thru our site.

I guess also speaking on behalf of the rest of the Bloggers, the good ones I mean J J we really do try our best to help as much as we can with all your purchases. Items that we can exchange, we will definitely try to accommodate if there is no stains or damaged like some of the Bloggers mentioned. We will also best advice if the sizes fits and will definitely not recommend you to buy if it doesn’t match. But let’s look at this in a win win situation. At the end of the day, the only reason for most of us to continue this online shopping is when our shoppers do like the choices of selection I have got on my site and happy with the end purchase.

There are many online blogs that is up right now with greater choices for shoppers for you and me ( I buy on online too hehee). Let’s all shop smart and do some homework on other sites if you like yah.

As Autumn Closet’s tagline, Shopping Should be Fun, And it Should Always Stay That Way!

Ps: Thank you Fashion Truth, I didn’t know this site existed until my friend mentioned this to me, there’s many lessons learnt today which has given me a better perspective from the customer’s point of view

Love,

Autumn Closet

http://autumncloset.blogspot.com

from two readers..

left to right:

Triple Heart
RM35 (after discount)
RM42 (before discount)

White Label Closet
RM30

Ancient Orchids
RM48

from a reader..

left to right:

Oh Popsicles
RM60

Laces and Vintage
RM45

Stories from Readers 38

hi fashion.truth.

i recently laid my eyes on a dress in autumn closet.
http://autumncloset.blogspot.com/2008/10/summer-love.html
dress is called SWEET ANGEL
selling for RM 50.

Enchanting Hearts is selling for RM 48 only...
http://enchanting-hearts.blogspot.com/2008/10/my-dolly-dress.html

i actually have no problems with their attitude as they are very nice.

well, my point is, the unfair postage fees charged by autumn closet.

i made payment to autume closet on wednesday midnite. asking for her to send it out on thurs so that i can receive on fri, using post express. cuz there is nobody at home during daytime and its easier for me so that i don't need to go post office and collect cuz i need the dress on sat morning.

as u know, post express is only RM 4.

but, this is wat autumn closet replied me.

Morning babe,

We will send it out by today for u so u can look lovely lovely in Melaka :)

As the policy highlights RM7 for postal delivery, all postal for express, laju or registered will be charged RM7 ya. Otherwise, many customers will come back and dispute on postal delivery, we would only want 1 standard cost as our focus is more of bringing in more clothes for you all :)))

But for this time we will go with the RM4 as you have suggested :)

Love,
Autumn Closet


Well, i think its quite unfair. she stated that post express also she will charge RM 7. and, i believe, the clothes is only 500gm and below. i don't think she need to charge me RM 7 even for pos laju. and registered mail is only RM 3-4. and she is charging everybody a flat rate of RM 7.

not to mention she priced her dress higher than enchanting hearts.

in the end, deal was not completed but money was refund to me as she said post office only allow documents to be posted by post express.(which is true)
and in the future, if she still does not change her so called "policy" for postage, i will not buy from her anymore.

thanks fashion.truth. for doing this wonderful thing for online shoppers!

Stories from Readers 37

Hello fashion truth~

Before i share my experience in on9 shopping, i would like to list down four e-shops i have deal with them before and i am very happy with their goods and services =D So far,I am very satisfy with all of the clothes or dresses i bought from them.

Attire Attic
Devilish Bunnies
Rainbowmallows
Vibrant Swirls

Now i begin my story...
2 months ago, i was a new and innocent e-shopper. I have been looking to buy myself an accessories doll hanger. I search many of the shopping mall, but all the design of this kind of doll doesn't satisfy me. Here comes Sugar Dressing. I am so glad that i have found the design which satisfy me =) I sms-ed the seller about the details of the doll and she replied me. After that, i said i would like to think about which design i would like to buy (there are 3 design for me to choose). She told me that :" Can u pls faster tell me which one u want? There is another buyer want to buy too, but since u come 1st, i let u choose". Well, i have to admit that i am abit "kiasu" that time, i eventually decide to buy 2 design. So i request for little discount, but she refuse!

We agreed to COD on the coming Monday at our study place. On sunday night, i realize that i wouldnt need two accessories hanger, one is good enough for me. So i sms-ed her, politely tell her that can i buy only one? She replied :" No u can't babe! I ady reserved for u! Can't anymore." So in the end i bought both of them because i have my own principal that i shouldn't back-out.

Now, i browse thru Sugar Dressing, i saw that she had reduce the price!!! I am so upset because i asked for little discount, only RM4 discount, she refused ! Now i can guarantee that when i sms-ed her during that time, there wasn't any buyer except me! Because no one buy from her and that's why she was so demanding towards me. And she stated at her blog: NO BACK-OUT, KINDLY INFORM ME IF U NOT INTERESTED TO BUY THAT ITEM. I am not consider backing-out right? I sms-ed her the day b4 we COD, and i am not completely not buying, instead i buy one.

What i want to tell to all seller is, don't be too demanding selling your items, the customers have the right to consider what to buy. And i know all the seller ady earn much profit, a little discount is good to give to keep your customers. Now i swear i won't buy any of the items from Sugar Dressing! Even if i love the items very much or is cheaper than other e-shop! And also, i came across Clothesville last month if i am not mistaken, she selling even nicer design and much cheaper accessories hanger!

Stories from Readers 36

First of all, thumbs up for your blog. It really is an eye opener for us, buyers. I've had my experiences with sellers whom I thought are genuinely good and that they are selling their items at reasonable prices until I found out other blogshops were selling the same items at MUCH LOWER prices :(

I used to love tictactoe28, but not anymore when I found out what a ___ they are. They wouldn't even allow a discount of RM3-5, claiming that it was hard work to look for the bags. But guess what? clothesforfun brought in the same bag and selling them at RM15 LESS than the price of tictactoe. Doesn't clothesforfun need to hunt for the bags too? Is it not hard work for her too? *roll eyes* You can imagine how much tictactoe is ripping us off.

RM85 (tictactoe): http://tictactoe28.blogspot.com/2008/08/in-love-with-bags.html
RM70 (clothesforfun): http://clothesforfun.blogspot.com/2008/09/quilt-essential-fashionista.html

There are also a few boutiques which are selling this same dress. But I forgot the other boutiques' name. I particularly remember this eshop because she is selling the dress at a very low price, and quality looks good, just the same as the other blogshops. I saw one boutique (long time ago) which sold this dress at RM55 O.O
RM29 (atenderwhisper): http://atenderwhisper.blogspot.com/2008/09/autumn-leaves.html

Apparently atenderwhisper is a sister blog of crazysundaycloset, and I must say they are really friendly. She actually help me kept a dress for almost a month, until I got my pay *blush*

I also love daintydresser and dressinglab, but I don't buy from them anymore seeing that they have raised their prices so much now that they are doing well. They offered better price last time *sigh*

Princessboutique? One word. NOT POLITE at all.

Rainbowmallows? I think she's actually quite a nice girl.

Attires'attic: I am disappointed with her as she did not give a correct description and measurement to me. She claimed the model to be tall, hence the dress look short. but will definitely be longer on me (after I gave her my height measurement). But guess what? When I tried it on, I can see my butt peeping out. Instead of wearing it as a dress, I can only wear it as a top now.

Cottoncandy: I bought a pair of shoes from her and I met up with her friend to pass me the shoes. The shoes have a defect and she claimed there was none when she checked. it was so obvious >/ If it was by postage, I can understand if she blame it on delivery damage. But I COD with her friend. How can she explain that?

ancient orchids: She was actually a very nice person to deal with until lately when I found that she can be rude. I guess her business is picking up so she doesn't have to really be nice to her customers anymore. I bought A LOT of srazy Sunday Closet, Dainty Dresser, Dressing Lab, Princess Boutique, Rainbowmallows, Dressing Attic, Cotton Candy, Ancient Orchid stuffs from her and there was one time when I asked for free postage (seeing that I've bought so many items previously). And she replied back rudely and I was so disappointed, though in the end she agreed to give me free pos express postage.

There are a few more which I have had my fair share of experience, be they good or bad. One word of advice for those whose business is picking up: we, customers, do notice the huge jump of prices. so please don't think of us as stupid that you can rip us off once you finally have a loyal fan base. coz sooner or later you will lose your fan base when they find another blogshop offering them better prices :)

*signing off*

Stories from sellers 3

from Phasionology

--------------------------------------
Hey babe, we've noticed your post on our price regarding one of our maxi dresses.

http://fashion-truth.blogspot.com/search/label/Phasionology

Just wanted to make some clarification here, the prices or value of each garment from suppliers decrease with time.You know like how new arrivals are priced higher? Today the item might be priced at a certain amount but within weeks it could go down to about the half the original price (we've encountered this so many times!).

Hence, before scrutinizing our prices (same goes for other blogs) we hope shoppers could take note on the time in which we've posted our dress as compared to the other blogs who have posted theirs (i think it was probably a month apart).

Besides that, i believe there are also slight variations in terms of the design between their dress and ours, ours is halter and purely barebacked while theirs, if i've not mistaken is criss-crossed.

We hope shoppers could compare also some of the first few blogs that brought in this piece (eg myclosetgiggles). Our price and theirs for this item did not vary much as we would have probably gotten this piece when it was still considered "new arrival".

Hope we could help clear things out for ourselves and also other blogs

Thanks! btw loving the site =)

Cheers!
Phasionology
http://phasionology.blogspot.com

Stories from Readers 35

"This is NOT how I thought the dress would be like!"

I have had this statement implanted in my head a couple of times upon receiving my purchase.
It is very upsetting, but it is honestly inevitable.

First of all, these blogshops do intend to sell.
And in order for that to happen, the garments has to fall nicely on them.
This is where good poses and photoshopping comes about... but who can blame these shops?
I have had times where I think, "Yeah, I'll probably look good in it" but then it turns out I do not, plus I already agreed to the "No Refund" policy.

The story that I am about to share happened to me two/ three months ago:

I spotted a tunic in The Attires Attic that I was really interested in and informed the owner, Geraldine that I wanted it.
She instantly replies to my messages and we agreed to a COD.
Upon receiving my tunic, I realised it was too big but I believe I should not mention anything about a refund or whatever because like I said, I do not think it was any of their fault.
But I messaged her, to ask how I can go about altering it to make it smaller.
Instead of shunning me or replying with a blatant "I don't know", Geraldine actually responded that she was not sure about alterations because it could be tricky... she apologised and even offered to meet up to take the tunic back and help me go back to her tailor to see if she could fix it for me.

That has got to be like the ultimate customer's service for me, I would say.
I have gone through Fashion Truth and most of these posts bombard bad services and what not... but I believe there are blogs out there who are actually passionate and believe that every customer counts.
I believe that this owner is also one person who is very patient. She comes back to me instantaneously when I inquire and there was once we kept messaging each other, and she still kept replying to me. She also puts away that "Customer-Seller" approach and comes up with very quirky jokes with me as well.

I keep track and actually place this blog under one of My Favourites.
I have shopped in TAA a couple of times now and I believe the service is just top notch.
Even when I first became their customer, the service has been the same till now.
Very impressed, btw Geraldine- my first EVER online purchase was from TAA, just to let you know.

Also I wonder, the blogs that get good comments on this site... will it garner some sort of boost for their reputation?
People who read these posts are surely gonna get influenced by other reader's and their comments upon a certain blog.

I strongly believe that maintaining service and efficiency is vital.
Blogs like TAA, Buckle Buckle, Vibrant Swirls, Tic Tac Toe, Fashion Attic and D'Boolat offer awesome customer service and their clothes aren't of bad quality either.
It's not that they will only attend to you just because they think you're gonna get that garment you're inquiring about, it is because you are their customer- no matter you buy or not.
Which actually persuades me to buy from them even more! Haha

Stories from Readers 34

Dear Fashion Truth,

I'd like to congratulate you for coming up with the concept behind Fashion Truth and I honestly think it is a great idea! Keep the effort going even though certain people might put you down for now.

From MY two different perspectives:

As a blogshop owner:

• I want to get back my cost price at least, if not profit.
  
• Does business based on TRUST
• Price my items at a price that I myself would buy
• Makes me happy when the buyer is satisfied with the item.
  

And because of these reasons I do not mind (or should I say, all shop owners would not mind) all the hassle in bringing the clothes in, advertising, COD-ing and whatnot.

It isn't easy but hey, nothing is easy.

As an online shopper:

• Hopes to purchase quality goods at a good price
• Expect good customer service
• Discounts if possible :D

So far, I've had relatively good experiences with my buyers and hopefully never to have any major bad experiences :)

Just one point I would like to make here to the buyers: Could you reply e-mails or text messages even though you do not want the item anymore? As in even though you were just inquiring, I would prefer if you make an effort to at least tell me you aren't interested anymore.

This is because (I don't know is it just me or what) I sort of reserve the item for you just in case it is non-restockable and you might want it.
So if anyone asks about it I would try sending another e-mail but no response from the inquirer.
24 hours after the e-mail, I would let it go.

Is this something I should do or not?

Stories from Readers 33

Hi all! I recently found out about online shopping and at first I was quite hesitant as I thought about the risks that I would be taking. However, looking at all the nice clothes on the blogs was something I couldn't resist. Started shopping I did and it has been a great experience so far, I have had buys where I regretted as it didn't turn out as I expected but my good experiences far exceeded the bad ones. =)

From my experience, I think that Goddess City has very good service, she replied my emails promptly and when I inquired about the sizes she helped me out a lot and even advised me on which would be better for me =) I was really impressed by her service. We did COD and I was running late, I reached about 20 minutes late (I know its my fault, I felt really bad) but she didn't complain at all! Not a single word.. She was really understanding and friendly. Appreciated it a lot. =D

I also think Tic Tac Toe has good service, she was easy to deal with and very friendly when I inquired. We confirmed COD immediately and when I got it from her she was friendly and nice. I loved my purchase! Definitely left a happy customer =)

I think Dainty Dresser has excellent service as well =) The item I purchased from her was slightly pricier compared to other blogshops who sold almost similar items, but I knew that the quality was excellent and it was worth my money. I didn't hesitate and placed my order, COD was arranged for the next day and she was punctual and friendly =)

I also decided to try and purchase something from a relatively small and unknown blog, Violetpots, recently. I felt that their prices were really reasonable and they had pretty stuff. So I inquired and was really impressed by their promptness and friendlyness. This time I opted for postage as I wanted to post it to my friend's house as a surprise present. =) They were really helpful and posted out the item on the day I made my payment, they provided me with the tracking number right away through sms and even helped me track it. When they knew that it had reached my friend's place, they texted me right away and confirmed it with me. It was really nice of them =D Needless to say, my friend was very happy with her present.

So there it is, my good experiences! =)) I will definitely purchase more items in the future from these blogshops (whether big or small), I really am impressed by their excellent service. So I hope all of you will have yours too! =)

Stories from Readers 32

hello there,i've been reading your blog since the rage started.

For me,the best ever online shopping experience was with Rockstar Chic.she's the best seller i've ever meet (since im an avid online shopper).The story goes like this.One Saturday morning,I woke up early at 12pm switched on my laptop and check on Rockstar Chic for updates,I really like a satin top and quickly sms her,she replied shortly and we arranged for cod (since we're both staying at the same area) . At 2pm (within 2 hours) the top was in my hands! . Imagine my satisfaction!.talk about good service! she's also very friendly and lovely,regularly sms me for updates and even hari raya wishes! love the blog! keep up the good work.

thanks !

requiring the participation of eshop owners!!!

we would like to do a "scenario analysis".
do tell us how would u all (eshop owners) react based on the following situations
(these situations are problems commonly faced by buyers)

1. How would u react, when a buyer comes complaining to you saying that the dress/top is different compared to what was written in the descriptions??
For e.g., the dress is not white (pale yellowish, creamish), but in the description it is written as "white". [some errors with the descriptions] and the buyer is clearly unhappy about the piece and is very disappointed at the purchase.. How would u react? give her a compensation? reinforce the 'no refund' policy'? or other ways??

(u may say that the customer should look at the picture properly since the picture is provided, but as we all can see, some sites photoshopped their pictures quite a lot. thus, it is not very accurate)

2. How would u react, if the buyer complains about the poor quality of the piece? the quality of an item may not be that obvious through pictures on the internet, the buyers usually discovers the type of quality after the piece is bought. How would u react?


-------------------------------------

to get the ball rolling,

here's an issue brought up by a customer:

A customer bought a piece from Stop Shop Splurge. but when she got the piece, the piece was quite different compared to what was written on the website. The buyer brought this issue to the owner of the eshop...
the owner of the eshop offered a full refund. quote the buyer "i thought that was nice la that she offered to take it back and stuff. i guess its was how she handled the problem. thats why i still shop from her. u should try her stuff out."


i've asked Stop Shop Splurge to have her say in this issue:

"hi fashion truth

yes, there was such an incident unfortunately. we brought in this item and seeing we were still pretty new then, we had lack of experience when it comes to describing the item in hopes that customers get the best idea of how it is. it was totally unintentional that we described it rather inaccurately.

the customer came back to us stating that the item received was different from what was stated. we were really sorry about that. we apologised of course, but we felt that it wasnt enough as we are also shoppers ourselves and had much experience with good and bad deals online. we offered her a full refund for the item (despite the whole no refund policy) seeing as it was out fault. i mean, to us, we would like customers to keep coming back kinda thing, so we take feedback like this as a good way to improve ourselves.

thankfully, the first bad transaction did not turn into a bad first impression. the customer still buys goods from us :) "

--------------------------------

An another example from 1 Babe Shop,
when asked how would she react in this case, she said:

"Hi there,

Actually we don't think we should be speaking for all shop owners la. Some have their reasons why they do not want a return or exchange. If you read some seller stories before, there are cases where a minor group of "bad customers" who return their goods but purposely leave a stain on it. We think that is why some sellers do nto accept returns. Not sure what other reason though.

For our shop right, we accept exchanges, returns and refunds but with certain conditions. If a customer not happy with the stock, we refund fully for the item but they need to inform us within 3 days, and also the item must be returned in mint condition. Else we will cancel the refund. So far we have a few returns and refund done before. Mainly it's due to the size/colour and buyer thinks the actual item do not suit her.

And also, the colour issue right, we personally tried to take items as what they actually look like, but the digital camera likes to project in different colour, we are not experts you see... but we do agree that some ppl really overdo it in photoshopping la..."

from a reader..



left to right:

A Fitting Room
RM49

Dressing Lab
RM55

Oh, Popsicles!
RM55

Stories from Readers 31

first off,
i would like to congratulate fashion truth for having the guts to put this up as
i noe tht she will for sure have gotten many rude n unfriendly emails from many eshop owners.
i have been an avid online shopper for many months now and i have some good experiences as well as some bad ones.

GOOD EXPERIENCES:
-from debutante avenue. i ordered a 2 high waisted skirt n she gave me an rm10 discount!
not onli that, the quality of the skirts were jus lovely! i was very very happy with wad i purchased. she even wore and took countless pics for me to make sure that measurements were wad i wanted!

-from ABLINC. i ordered the miu miu and vintage handbag from her n she gave me rm15 discount! n her service was lovely. she cod with me at 11pm at night because that was the only time that i could meet up with her. i had her waiting for 1 hour and when i finally arrived, she still gave me such a sweet smile and so i knew she wasnt mad with me.

-from Doublewoot. i have to say, this is reli one sweet patient gal! very prompt replies n deliveries! quality is no doubt good.

-from RAINBOWMALLOWS. joanne, i reli love ya! haha.. always sweet with her replies,
and she even reserve up till a month for me! very accomodating to all my enquiries! look forward to meeting u this sat babe!

-from A FITTING ROOM. this gal is always giving me discounts and letting me reserve till i can get the cash to pay her. LOVE YA BABE!!!

-KISS AND TELL. babe. ur service is very lovely! n i love ur stuff! ;p

so far, these are the few boutiques of which i am a regular customer of, n will continue to be.
however, there are a few that i have had bad experiences with.

BAD EXPERIENCES:

-CLOTHESBUCKET. i ordered from her, and the item which i received was not the right size and also, the color is not as seen in d pic. i even asked her whether it was of the same color,
and she said yes. not onli that, she may be all honey here and there, but she likes to rush the cods. if i said i want it next week, she would try to push it up earlier! wad kinda service is that?
and if i said i wanna meet at one place, she would say to meet at another place which i s quite far from the intended place. SERVICE MY ASS.

-SWEET INNOCENCE. i am very disappointed with this blog's service.
the item which i bought from them was not onli of super lousy quality, the color was also very faded. n this was not how they described the item in their blog. they even put their reputation on the line for this piece in their blog! well to me, their reputation is down the drain!

needless to say, i will definately never shop with these 2 blogs again.

Stories from Readers 30

Hi There Fashion truth,

they (A Shopaholics Den, Diaryofane-shopaholic, My Basic Fashion Folder) do feature stories from buyers and sellers on their dissastisfaction and frustration. Fashionably Addicted seems more like a site where the site owner publishes whatever clothes she likes, just my two cents. But none of them go until doing price comparisons though.

That's where your blog comes in to be the center focus on price comparisons, online purchase horror stories and yet also giving credit to good shops who actually make an effort to serve customers well. I believe that a good shopping experience do not consist on getting the best deals alone, although that will really give the buyer a satisfaction by able to do that, haha. It also boils down to good rapport between seller and buyer, going the extra mile to provide a good service, finding out whether the seller has a bad deal history before, this is what business is all about, the whole package!

Reviewing and comparing prices is normal for everyone, but if a buyer who do not did a good homework on comparing before buying, and thus get a higher price, the blame should not go to anyone, not even the seller, because whether you want to buy or not to buy something is totally up to you. The unfortunate buyer can make a note that this seller like to sell higher and be aware next time. Well I think informing others about it is ok, particularly friends, which I can understand the feeling afterall, and it's a freedom of speech. But then, this is the internet afterall, personally I'd like to maintain a clear head before buying anything. Sometimes stories might not be entirely true, even on both seller and customer side, because we cannot verify the source somehow. But I am thankful that all these bad stories do make me think twice of buying from a shop, because at least I am sure the price comparison part is authentic, it's like becoming a personal guide to me already :)

Lastly, syabas for doing a good job on enlightening customers, especially on this regression period. Spending money wisely is the major focus now, what with all the prices rising and stuff. Maybe someone should do a prices comparison blog on food and public transportation as well, especially the buses in PUDU! Really a ripoff and the services are really just so-so. Sorry that I'm off topic a bit for this. I definitely do not want to offend anyone, I'm just voicing out my comments.

--
Regards