Nelly A.

THIS IS THE 2ND ATTEMPT AT SHIPPING MY SISTER'S BIRTHDAY GIFT. BOTH TIMES MY ORDER WAS CANCELLED DUE TO CREDIT CARD PROCESSING ORDERS.

THE 1ST TIME IT HAPPENED, I THOUGHT MAYBE IT WAS MY CLERICAL MISTAKE, EVEN THOUGH THE EMAIL HAD ALL THE CORRECT BILLING INFO.

THE 2ND TIME IT HAPPENED, I KNOW THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH WALMART'S BACKEND, AS I CALLED AMEX TO ENSURE THERE WAS NO GLITCH. MIND YOU, I'VE NEVER HAD PROBLEMS PLACING ONLINE ORDERS WITH THIS CARD.

WALMART JUST KEPT BLAMING MY DATA INPUT. WHEN I CONFIRMED MY INPUT WAS CORRECT, THEY THEN BLAMED THE FACT THAT I CHECKED OUT AS A GUEST. THEN THEY SAID IT WAS BECAUSE I USED A "DIFFERENT IP ADDRESS AS A PREVIOUS ORDER."... I LIVE IN NYC ---- SO BASICALLY IF I MOVE, I CAN'T PLACE ORDERS? IF I PURCHASE AT WORK, I CAN'T PLACE ORDERS? SOUNDS A LOT LIKE THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT OR WHY ORDERS DON'T GO THROUGH.

PLEASE FIX YOUR BACK-END. I JUST PLACED MY FAIRLY LARGE ORDER WITH YOUR COMPETITOR.

Hold on - before I get dirty looks for giving a bad review for a site that seemingly hands out free money, hear me out!

I've been using ebates for about a year now and thought it was like a gift from heaven. And they have honored the free $10 gift card and all cash back promises.

HOWEVER -- DO NOT USE THIS SITE FOR LESSER KNOWN WEBSITES! My friend alerted me to the fact that there are MANY stores on ebates where, if you click through ebates, you're getting a much higher starting price--hence you actually don't save (sometimes even pay more!).

I looked at sites like dog.com and wag.com just to test this theory out. I went directly to one of the sites, and found a product, saw it marked for $6.99 msrp. I then went through ebates and found the SAME product by SKU and saw it was listed as $8.99. I did this test across MULTIPLE PRODUCTS and MULTIPLE SITES and was shocked to learn what the hell they have been doing!

Sites like macys.com and other bigger, more well-known vendors, do not seem to employ this, so I would make sure you CHECK before using a lesser known site with the promises of xxx% cash back!

So deceiving...

Honestly? There are bound to be mishaps with businesses - many, I'm sure, post these deals without proper resources to actually fulfill orders. But when sh-t happens, Groupon is actually really dependable where it concerns prompt replies and refunds.

I've had several experiences where vendors will cancel last minute or not honor a coupon. And the incidence rate is much lower than sh-t sites like KGB Deals, Lifebooker Loot, and the like.

For me, two thumbs up.

This review is for LIFEBOOKER LOOT, not lifebooker the online spa reservation system. The reservation system is great, undoubtedly.

For LIFEBOOKER LOOT I'd say only buy what you KNOW will be a good deal with a service or establishment you already TRUST. Getting refunds are only done via the owner of the establishment.

I, myself, just dealt with possibly the WORST cleaning service: My Smartest Choice (ny nj cleaning service). They not only didn't confirm, they cancelled my precious Saturday appointment (which I had to wait over a month for). They came the next day 2.5 hours late and without cleaning supplies. I said I would eat the cost of 1 and refund 5 full vouchers. They only refunded 3?

Once Lifebooker sells a deal it is up to the owner of the establishment to issue any refunds--Lifebooker has absolutely no weight in this process. And I am not sure how they choose these clients but there should be a better review process for choosing clients that are fair and equitable, as well as providing acceptable level of service.

Although Lifebooker Loot has been nice as far as customer service goes, they don't really fight for their customers.

When I've gone through Groupon, The Dealist, and other myriad deal sites (except KGB which doesn't respond to inquiries), I've never had a problem when I've had issues with their merchants. But Lifebooker Loot needs to change their model so that ultimately THEIR customers and not merchants can have a fair say when unjust business practices occur.

Doesn't get ANY worse than this. I bought several 3-hour cleaning vouchers through a deal site. I booked for the next available sat, which was a little over a month later. They didn't even call me the day or days prior to confirm my appointment so I had a sinking feeling they were going to cancel in favor of a customer who is offering the regular price. I even called them to confirm but no answer.

Sure enough an hour and a half prior they text msged me saying they can't come and to reschedule with a free 2hour voucher. I was pretty upset already, but we worked it out so the next day they'd come in.

Firstly, they called 30min prior saying they stepped on glass and they'd be an hour late. EVEN THEN I was amenable. They didn't show up until 1130 (meanwhile their cell phones just went straight to voicemail). They didn't come with cleaning supplies. The cleaning service didn't come with supplies.

They said the voucher clearly states I need to request. Is that standard practice for cleaning supplies to not ask you about supplying your own when you make the appointment? I guess for MY SMARTEST CHOICE that is. So they came here, 2.5 hours late, and no service was done.

When I asked them for a refund for 4 of the 5 services, they said they are only willing to give me 3. REALLY?

Not only were they in the wrong, but were extremely rude. I would urge you all to never ever deal with them -- I've dealt with many cleaning services and this was by far the worst ever.

PROS: Same pros as any other sample sale site - there are deals.

CONS: BE A SMART SHOPPER. On a few occasions, I have noticed that they'd OVERSTATE what the retail price would be. For instance, I remember shopping a particular brand of which I own many pieces. One shirt showed an MSRP much higher than the company's website, as well as every other legitimate boutique site online (like shopbop, revolve, etc.).

While the discounts are definitely under retail price, it might not be as big a discount as you may think.

PROS: I mean, they've got a user-friendly site, I like the product -- who doesn't own something from vickys?

CONS: The shipping and handling is just WRONG. PLAIN WRONG. The other day, I put a bunch of bathing suits into my basket and one dress. The shipping and handling charges came out to about $22! In what world does it cost THAT MUCH to ship domestically to NY--GROUND SHIPPING no less! There were absolutely NO bulk items (like overcoats, boots, handbags or any others) that could possibly have contributed to an astronomical charge as that.

I decided to forego $200 worth of bathing suits and took my business to another site.

PROS:
Shopbop is another great site for contemporary clothing and accessories, no question. They have great variety, great buyers, fair return policy and good customer
Service.

CONS:
Offers and coupon codes are extremely rare. If they knew the amount of business they routinely lost to competitor sites (like revolveclothing, for one) because all the other sites offer more frequent deals and better sales, I think they'd change their sales cycles. From personal experience, I always have some coupon code to revolve and other like boutiques with the same designers. I will always choose other sites over shopbop's.

Would also love it if all accessories had photo options of a model wearing the items.

I do frequent shopbop for their lookbooks to then purchase on other sites, and will buy from shopbop only when there is a particular item that is exclusively carried there.