• American Apparel

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Overview

American Apparel has a rating of 1.75 stars from 24 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about American Apparel most frequently mention customer service problems. American Apparel ranks 798th among Men's Clothing sites.

  • Service
    2
  • Value
    2
  • Shipping
    2
  • Returns
    2

What reviewers want you to know

Positive highlights

No positive highlights yet

Critical highlights

  • Reached out to customer service and was told that the items I was waiting for weren't in stock.
  • Items took 2 weeks to arrive, return took nearly 4 weeks to process.
How would you rate American Apparel?
Top Positive Review

“Great quality and great clothing.”

Jessica M.
1/4/18

Honestly love this store it hurts my heart to know its gone out of canada, hope it returns one day! I search endlessly to find their peices i didnt get a chance to get before they closed down! With good luck. Their clothes are beautiful and great quality with decent prices. Highly reccomend

Top Critical Review

“DONT DO IT”

Tamar a.
12/16/19

American apparel=SCAM American apparel is a SCAM. There "customer Service department" = a SCAM. Don't not buy from this website, there is a reason why the went bankrupt. There size chart is another scam, i ordered my first pair of jeans from there website following there size chart. My sister who's a Taylor took my measurements and I went off American apparels size chart and the jeans where 3 sizes to big when I recived them. So already there size chart is a scam. Next, my order did not come with an invoice, so I email the company to give them a heads up that I want to return my order but I do not have an invoice, and I wanted to hear back from them to see if there was anything I'm supposed to do on my end before I send a package with no invoice back to them. Well that was two weeks ago And there "customer service" department never got back to me. So I called them and guess what, there customer service number went straight to voicemail... I left two messages and that was three days ago. There Customer service number does not work, Don't believe me? Call them and see what happens. I will never order from them ever again and I highly reccomend that you don't order from them either. In my opinion a company's customer service team is a huge part of the company's success, if that area is deficient the company will suffer.

Reviews (24)

Rating

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Reviews that mention popular keywords

customer service (6) 2 weeks (2) order (11)
Thumbnail of user tamara6
1 review
3 helpful votes
December 16th, 2019

American apparel=SCAM
American apparel is a SCAM. There "customer Service department" = a SCAM. Don't not buy from this website, there is a reason why the went bankrupt. There size chart is another scam, i ordered my first pair of jeans from there website following there size chart. My sister who's a Taylor took my measurements and I went off American apparels size chart and the jeans where 3 sizes to big when I recived them. So already there size chart is a scam. Next, my order did not come with an invoice, so I email the company to give them a heads up that I want to return my order but I do not have an invoice, and I wanted to hear back from them to see if there was anything I'm supposed to do on my end before I send a package with no invoice back to them. Well that was two weeks ago And there "customer service" department never got back to me. So I called them and guess what, there customer service number went straight to voicemail... I left two messages and that was three days ago. There Customer service number does not work, Don't believe me? Call them and see what happens. I will never order from them ever again and I highly reccomend that you don't order from them either. In my opinion a company's customer service team is a huge part of the company's success, if that area is deficient the company will suffer.

Thumbnail of user karene121
2 reviews
2 helpful votes
April 3rd, 2018

Without a doubt this has to be the worst excuse for a fashion website on the web. Slovenly models and poor presentation of shabby clothing does not inspire me to purchase!

Thumbnail of user dharlam
1 review
0 helpful votes
July 13th, 2018

I ordered over 100$ worth of clothing from their website on July 4th 2018 my order never shipped so I emailed them asking about the shipping status of my order and I got a response saying everything I ordered is not in stock.
When I checked online it said everything was in stock? Also if you happen to order stuff and it's out of stock don't expect an email notifying you because they won't bother contacting to notify you... you will have to contact them...

Thumbnail of user sadef2
1 review
1 helpful vote
January 2nd, 2019

Horrible customer service received an email to verify my order I called verified they said they would realeade my order the days late I get an email my order is cancelled like why would u cancel my order after I called and verified. Called back they said the person said I never called when I did please do better with customer this is unacceptable.

Thumbnail of user courtneyp40
1 review
1 helpful vote
October 6th, 2017

I was given the wrong tracking number initially, but when I received the correct one I was mortified. It took 10 DAYS for my package to make its way down to the Southeast. AA was my favorite, but Im not so sure anymore. That is ridiculous.

Thumbnail of user jessicam337
8 reviews
1 helpful vote
January 4th, 2018

Honestly love this store it hurts my heart to know its gone out of canada, hope it returns one day! I search endlessly to find their peices i didnt get a chance to get before they closed down! With good luck. Their clothes are beautiful and great quality with decent prices. Highly reccomend

Thumbnail of user richardg552
1 review
1 helpful vote
November 26th, 2018

Just received my dozen medium size American Apparel T-shirts which looked like the extra large size made of a cotton so rough that as dust rags, they would scratch the furniture! While the tag reads American Apparel, the tag underneath reads Gildan, made in Honduras. Good-buy American Apparel, you've cooked your own goose, unfit to consume!

Thumbnail of user paulr109
2 reviews
2 helpful votes
March 31st, 2015

I ordered apparels with americanapparel.net. Got what i was looking for. I am well convinced that it works!
Thanks americanapparel.net
They are recommendable

Thumbnail of user thomasj218
1 review
2 helpful votes
February 15th, 2019

Items took 2 weeks to arrive, return took nearly 4 weeks to process. They charged me for an item they shouldn't have and I never got that refund. They told me that they couldn't refund the credit card I paid with so they'd mail it to me (never got it). No body knows anything on the phone, they wont answer emails. When they do refund you, they don't refund the tax you paid (this has got to be illegal). DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY. This company is the absolute worst and I will go out of my way to make sure everyone knows. They will steal your money.

Thumbnail of user bonniel102
1 review
2 helpful votes
July 7th, 2018

Every single time I buy something from American Apparel it always come apart. Super cheap quality. Will never buy from there again

Thumbnail of user jinnyh
1 review
2 helpful votes
May 31st, 2016

They sent my order fedex sans signature confirmation. I live in an apt in Seattle in a high traffic area. Of course the package was stolen as fedex didn't bother to even knock. Did American Apparel care? Nope, they refused to reship using a more secure shipping method such as USPS or UPS. I was a loyal and frequent customer. They lost my business over this. They didn't even bother to respond to my email.

Thumbnail of user ambera109
1 review
2 helpful votes
March 30th, 2019

THEIFS & SCAM ARTISTS

Bought a handful of items for Christmas presents. Only 2 of them arrived before Christmas they were not the AA quality I had come to know. They were CHEAP quality and the sizing was off.

Waited another 3 weeks for the remaining items and still nothing. Reached out to customer service and was told that the items I was waiting for weren't in stock.

There was absolutely no callout of this on their website and no one thought to notify me that they actually didn't have the items they were selling and left me sitting there for weeks until I chose to reach out. I have read other reviews from people who have experienced the same thing. So when shopping there, there's a pretty good chance you're just PLAYING PRETEND.

On top of all that ridiculousness I checked my bank account and I was actually CHARGED FOR THE ITEMS I DIDN'T RECIEVE.

Customer service refused to believe me despite providing bank statements. Instead they alerted me that it was simply appearing on my bank statement as a record but I was actually charged for the items I recieved on another date. And they were right I was CHARGED TWICE. I reached out to my bank and they confirmed that no credit was put back on to my account and that in both transactions I was charged.

Customer service REFUSED TO REFUND me. Refused to believe me despite the proof I provided.

As far as I'm concerned they have STOLEN $160 dollars from me. Absolute SCAM artists using the brand reputation AA has built with their old brick and mortar as a disguise.

I sincerely hope anyone reading this avoids any interaction with this brand.

In my opinion what they're doing is illegal and they deserve to crash and burn.

Thumbnail of user amyr81
3 reviews
37 helpful votes
August 11th, 2016

I have loved and worn AA since about 2007. Recently I placed an online order. I was extremely pleased that everything was included and in the correct size/color. The problem came when I started to try stuff on.

I opened up the small pouch that contained my sheer jersey extreme deep v in truffle ($24). It had an extremely obvious rust orange discoloration where it had been folded around the cardboard insert in the pouch. Oh no!

I contacted customer service via email explaining what happened. Within 24 hours, a representative named Emily had written me back with a prepaid label attached to her message. I wrote her back a couple times to ask questions about the process and was promptly responded to the same day.

This was probably one of the best customer service experiences I've had. Not only are their clothes of the highest quality, but they're customer service is on point. I couldn't be happier to be a customer.

Tip for consumers:
Don't scoff at the higher price tag for their items. Remember they're made in the states and an amazing quality. I still have items from the late 00's. If you've never felt AA cotton, you are in for a treat. I recommend their zip up flex fleece hoodie (black and cranberry are my favorite!).

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user moonlightl
1 review
1 helpful vote
June 17th, 2016

These people TOTALLY misrepresent the "size" of their products. I am a medium sized woman who ordered two simple ladies body suits. When they arrived, the size was "so small" I had to blink twice. I doubt seriously that a two year old toddler could fit into these pathetic garments. I was so livid I didn't even want a refund or a replacement, I simply gave the items to the local thrift store in the hope that some poor child could benefit from this mistake. Do NOT do business with these people. They have no comprehension of SIZE. I will never do business with these people again, and encourage others not to bother.

Thumbnail of user maryl283
1 review
0 helpful votes
November 6th, 2016

My son saved and bought a pair of blue jeans as he approved of company ethos. He has long legs of 34 inches. We followed laundry instructions carefully. Despite that the leg length shrunk to 31 inches and he could not longer wear them. Very disappointed and a big waste of money.

Thumbnail of user keithr39
2 reviews
10 helpful votes
October 7th, 2016

Cancelled my express order without properly notifying me. Countless phone calls and email later they said they would fix it all but ended up canceling again. Since this was a purchase for a birthday they completely ruined it. Will never shop from them again.

Thumbnail of user helens107
1 review
1 helpful vote
June 28th, 2016

Purchased lots of tops in the sale to a value of £66. Returned around half of these tops totalling £39. Their returns form only has enough space to list around 2 items so I was told to photocopy the returns form a few times and put the extra items on the other pages. I did this and returned by Royal Mail. 3.5 weeks later and no email or refund from American Apparel. Chased them up. 24hrs later they refunded me £17 and insisted that I only sent back a few tops. They refused to refund the remaining £22 insisting they never received the top. Took 3 or 4 days to reply to 1 email. Unhelpful on the phone. I supplied proof of postage with the parcel's weight proving I had sent back more tops than they had refunded for. Still waiting for a response and have a feeling I will get nowhere with them. A complete scam and a disgrace. DO NOT BUY!

Thumbnail of user lisam157
3 reviews
27 helpful votes
May 21st, 2015

One of the most basic qualities a business should have is consistency, and they are nowhere near consistent in my opinion. I have ordered from their website multiple times, they took over two months to ship some of my "backordered" items, so I waited, and waited, and waited. Then, after over two months of waiting and receiving multiple emails about my back order, they email me saying my order was cancelled and they gave me some lame 20% off coupon. After this I never want to shop from here again. I wouldn't have been so mad about the cancellation if they had told me right from the beginning that they cancelled my item instead of emailing me for two months straight saying it will be shipped later. Also, their customer service team sucks, haven't heard back from them through email. Plus in one of my shipments one of the items I received had a freaking censor tag on it, I called them about this, waited over half an hour to speak to someone, asked for a new item without a censor, she said they would email me with a shipping label to return it, and I never received that email so I had to manually take the censor off myself. After all these horrible experiences I will never be shopping here again. Waste of my time and money, not to mention confusing and horrible customer service.

Tip for consumers:
If you do order from their website, make sure you call their customer service team and ask about your order, because they screwed me over multiples times.

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user jennyg22
1 review
2 helpful votes
November 21st, 2015

During one of their sales online, between the time I added an item to my cart and payed for it, the item went off sale. I contacted customer support once I received their purchase information email, and they refused to refund me the difference. As soon as I received the item I shipped it back to them. A month later I got the item back, completely covered in black stains! They refused to refund me because the item was damaged. I contacted customer support again, explaining that I sent the item in perfect condition, and that I kept it in its original packaging since the moment I got it. They told me, once again, that they could not refund a damaged item, and gave me a 30% off coupon that expired in one month, to be used on full price items. I tried washing out the stains from the item but absolutely nothing worked and it shrunk TWO sizes in the wash. I ended up throwing it out without even wearing it. $42 spent on trash.

Thumbnail of user jessicas120
2 reviews
31 helpful votes
November 25th, 2015

I ordered pants from here on November 9th... I heard absolutely NOTHING from them for 2 WEEKS and never received my pants. The website said it may take 5-7 days to ship out because it was shipping out from a retail store. I finally called them after 2 weeks of waiting and they call the store to make sure they send the order out. I get an e-mail saying that the order shipped out on the 20th sched. Delivery for the 24th of Nove. I call today, the 24th of November and they say the order has not even been picked up from the store at all! WTF?! I told them to cancel the order and refund my money because I needed them for tomorrow! YOU SUCK. DO NOT ORDER ANYTHING FROM THEM!

Thumbnail of user kevinn
2 reviews
5 helpful votes
November 11th, 2008

American Apparel's anti-sweatshop message is just marketing BS (but I like their tshirts) - I really hate companies that pretend to be all "green" or "sweatshop free" and make it seem like they are super ethical. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy they are. But I could do without the overt marketing of it. American Apparel is a great example of this. I heard their dirt-bag CEO Dove Charney and he admitted that the real reason they manfacture their clothes in the US is because it's actually cheaper (easier to manage, shorter market lead times, and no shipping costs).

That said, I do like my American Apparel light jackets and tshirts. They fit pretty well. Can't beat em, join em.

Thumbnail of user sailorc
5 reviews
23 helpful votes
December 20th, 2010

Ahh! Horrible! All I wanted to do was find leggings and I get a picture of a girl holding her hand over her naked exposed breasts! All the women are in whore poses! For all the good things that MAY be said about the clothes they sell, who wants to see this? Its unfortunate that they sell their clothes through sites like amazon and I am sometimes forced to see them if I am looking for something.

Blah! My disgust urged me to write this review.

Thumbnail of user lindal77
7 reviews
20 helpful votes
August 10th, 2014

Personally, i think there is nothing wrong with their clothing. However, the pics they use are just horrifying. The models are half naked and in very weird poses. Something is wrong with their branding, i suppose. I bought from them before, but i really would not like to browse their website now.

Thumbnail of user janetc15
106 reviews
427 helpful votes
February 10th, 2014

Edited Dec 2015:

Clothing quality hit or miss. Do yourself a favor and save yourself the headache. I was such a loyal customer and have spent thousands of dollars on them the last two years. I order from their website and shop at their store. For most pants, try them on in store because all the sizes are inconsistent and vary so much that a size 25 and 29 could be the same thing. Check for stains and holes because they sometimes send me damaged products, products with no tags, or products with censor tag pointy backings! It stabbed into my hand when I didn't know it was in the pocket.

Their return and exchange policy is ridiculous. An exchange of the same item in different size, they would charge you the difference of the promo code you used. For returns, in store means store credit only. Only online purchases mailed back will get your money back. Sale items cannot be returned which is reasonable but no exchanges either?!

On top of that, they discontinued so many staple products I loved like the Riding Pant. Also, I have purchased three separate things the last three months that claim it will ship from retail store, but it was backordered and I waited for over a month. I cannot wait for one as Christmas is coming soon and the item still wasn't shipped out. Backorder is NOT the same as "ship from retail store", quit wasting your customers' time! I cancelled all three orders when weeks passed with no shipment date.

Customer service through e-mail never replies. Their phone customer service is ok; I wouldn't rely on them for everything, just a warning. I used to love American Apparel and I always forgave their mistakes, but all these backorders for items clearly posted for sale on their website is really annoying.

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