SHEIN is a Chinese online fast-fashion retailer serving America, Australia, the Middle East, and Europe. SHEIN.com is one of those sites, at least for me, that seemed to appear overnight. One day I knew nothing of its existence and the next, every Influencer, YouTuber, and friend were raving about them.
So, me being me, I had to try it out.
I downloaded the app and immediately became immersed in trendy fashion with prices that seemed too good to be true. Before I knew it, my cart was at $500+, and I found myself debating on if I really needed to have that car payment in on time ….the answer, of course, was yes, I did, and I decided to save some things for later – and I’m glad I did.
When my first batch of clothing arrived, I literally squealed with excitement and ripped into the box. The first thing I noticed was the quality- a lot of the pieces were made from thinner fabrics than I expected – no one mentioned this. Next, the sizing was widely inconsistent. Some items looked larger than others even though they were the same size. The kicker for me was 90% of the clothing looked horrible on. I was honestly underwhelmed with my first purchase and couldn’t figure out why so many people had such good things to say about SHEIN. I realized I had to be a bit more strategic when shopping at SHEIN or any online retailer, quite frankly. My strategy began to look a little like this:
- Read the Reviews
As soon as I found something that made my heart flutter on my next haul, I looked at the reviews. Before getting overly excited, I needed to see what people were saying before adding the item to my cart. I specifically looked for the reviews with pictures! This was a game-changer. Looking at women similar in size and shape wearing the piece in interest allowed me to form an educated opinion of the piece.
- Check the Size Chart
This one should have been a no-brainer for me, but it wasn’t. I quickly chose sizes according to my in-store experience – which is all standard American sizing. No thought, just clicking. SHEIN offers a size chart underneath each piece, so it’s super convenient to take a look before adding the piece to your cart. They also share what size the pictured model is wearing. Before my next haul, I quickly measured myself, so I had my measurements handy.
- Set Your Expectations
SHEIN’s affordability does come at a price. They are geared towards budget-friendly clothing meaning most pieces aren’t suitable for everyday wear and tear, nor will they last a lifetime. This isn’t a bad thing, considering how quickly styles and opinions change. Once I realized I wasn’t purchasing timeless pieces, I became a lot happier with my purchases. I enjoyed being able to find unique pieces without breaking the bank. While most of the clothing would fall into the previously described category, I have been surprised by some of my pieces in terms of quality and sustainability. SHEIN also offers a premium selection of clothing. These items can bit pricier but seem to be of higher quality.
- Return Policy
Familiarize yourself with their return policy prior to checkout. I LOVE that SHEIN offers free shipping on your first return of each order. This means as soon as your pieces come in – try them on. Don’t wait. This way, you know immediately what you are keeping and what you want to exchange/return. Their policy really reassured me before making my first purchase.
- Take Your Time During Checkout
So often, we fill up our carts, glance over them once, and checkout. With SHEIN, I’ve noticed that I have to take my time at checkout for various reasons. For one, SHEIN ALWAYS offers promo codes. Take time to ensure that you always add a code before checking out. Next, toggle the shipping insurance to on. I highly recommend the shipping insurance as we all know anything can happen with international shipping. Lastly, I always use Paypal when shopping online. This gives me peace of mind as so many cyber breaches occur daily.
That’s it! Those are my super simple suggestions to ensure you have a smooth online shopping experience with SHEIN. I can honestly say that my experience with SHEIN improved 100% once I implemented these simple steps. SO much that I achieved the highest level of their VIP status on my very next purchase…..
XOXO JD
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