business logo of Hot Topic
hottopic.com
streetwear, grunge & punk men, womenAge 13-18, 19-25, 26-45
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About the Business

Hot Topic is a retail chain based in California, specializing in alternative fashion and pop culture merchandise since 1988. With around 700 stores across the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico, the company offers a diverse range of unique clothing, accessories, and licensed merchandise, catering to teenagers and young adults.


hottopic.com
+1 800-892-8674
USA
Hot Topic is part of Sycamore Partners
Founded in 1988
Clothing item from Hot TopicFashion apparel by Hot TopicMerchandise from Hot Topic clothing lineHot Topic fashion product

Business Highlights

General

Parent Company: Sycamore Partners
Year Founded: 1988
Target Gender: men, women

Shipping

Shipping Cost: $6.99
Free Shipping: no
Shipped From: USA

Returns

Return Policy: free
Return Instructions: items must be in good condition
Restocking Fees: no

Sustainability

Sustainability Score: We avoid
Recycling Program: no

Product

Style: streetwear, grunge & punk
Body Fit: regular, plus size
Available Sizes: Men's (XS, S, M, L, XL, 1X, 2X, 3X), Women's (XS, S, M, L, XL, 1X, 2X, 3X)

Customer Service

Support Channels: chat, phone, contact form
Support Phone: +1 800-892-8674

Payment Options

Payment Methods: card payments, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, financing
Buy Now Pay Later: Klarna

Membership Programs

Rewards Program: TopCashback, Rakuten, Mr. Rebates

How would you rate Hot Topic?
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Reviews Summary

Hot Topic has a rating of 1.6 stars from 191 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers dissatisfied with Hot Topic most frequently mention customer service, credit card and free shipping. Hot Topic ranks 359th among General Apparel sites.

service
49
value
45
shipping
41
returns
32
quality
40
California
1 review
2 helpful votes
Follow Nikki M.
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I ordered a Archie comics Sabrina printed shirt and it was delivered today, only it was a blank black Gildan t-shirt. Really confused of it was coming from a print on demand company that Hot Topic works with, and maybe they forgot to print the graphic? After reading these reviews about them "losing it in the mail", going to try and return it to a store tomorrow.

Date of experience: August 29, 2020
Florida
1 review
0 helpful votes
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Bullcrap
July 16, 2021

Be careful! I ordered stuff and updated my address but it only updated my billing not my shipping. Okay well I realized it immediately and called support and they said they can't change the address because it's already shipped, but also said when it ships I can contact the carrier to try and change the address…. Hm but I thought it already shipped? The guy I spoke to was rude and sounded like he hated his job. Plus hot topics items are honesty a poor quality half the time. I only ordered stuff for a gift. But whatever hot topic can refund me for what i bought when I don't receive my order.

Date of experience: July 16, 2021
Texas
4 reviews
0 helpful votes
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Fave
November 11, 2017

This was and can sometimes be my favorite spot to shop at when I am looking for geeky stuff. They often have a great selection of shirts and other niche items. I guess my only complain is the fact that their accessories are overpriced because they are not of good quality.

Date of experience: November 9, 2017
New York
2 reviews
1 helpful vote
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Tried to place an order 2 1/2 weeks ago. They were having some good deals, but as soon as I entered more than $30 worth of merchandise into my cart, the deals were wiped out $15 was deducted from my total. I did not enter any promo codes. Called customer service. They were absolutely useless and very frustrating. Ended up having to split my order in 2, losing my HotCash. A week later, I received 2 emails stating my orders had shipped. The next day, I received an email saying that one of my orders was ready for pickup. No word on the other order. I have called twice now to see what is going on with the second order. The 1st time, they told me it should be in the store the next day. I called again today (6 days later) and they said they have no tracking and cannot tell me when the order will arrive. I would suggest that if you need to receive something within a reasonable amount of time, avoid HotTopic.com. Go to the physical store or order it elsewhere.

Date of experience: July 19, 2017
Ohio
1 review
2 helpful votes
Follow Maddy G.
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I ordered some items from Hot Topic online back in mid-September and it is now the end of October and I have not received the order. I called and was told the packed got sent to a completely wrong address in NY, while I live in OH! My credit card was charged but STILL I have not received my order. I'm currently on hold with Customer Service... going on ten minutes now with no response. The online service is inexcusably bad. Do not order from Hot Topic! It will be an absolute nightmare.

Date of experience: October 29, 2015
New York
3 reviews
22 helpful votes
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Rip off
November 29, 2020

They created a label for shipment and it never shipped. The worst customer service ever. Then they said the partial order was not refundable. They sick as much as Box lunch their sister company. Never ordering from them. Beware before ordering

Date of experience: November 29, 2020
Kansas
8 reviews
25 helpful votes
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Great!
November 16, 2017

I've ordered from their website and shopped in-store many times. My local store is always organized and has polite, helpful employees. I find it very easy to shop there. I've had a similar experience with them online, but I have experienced problems with a few orders. However, everything's always been taken care of and corrected. HotTopic constantly has a large variety of products, including many things I couldn't find anywhere else. They also have deals frequently, and their prices are reasonable. I think it's a great place to shop!

Date of experience: November 15, 2017
Canada
1 review
3 helpful votes
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Absolute worst!
October 2, 2018

They have been giving me the run around for over a month. Charged me, sent a tracking number that doesn't work. Now a month later they have decided my order is lost, but they can't issue a refund until the store marks it as "picked up"? Hands down the absolute worst service I have encountered.

Date of experience: October 2, 2018
Kansas
1 review
2 helpful votes
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Online store has sales for items they do not have. Even though the site showed in stock I got an email notice removing this item from my order and shipping the rest. I did not get a chance to cancel the rest of the order and customer support refused to refund the shipping cost. Not a reputable online seller. Email correspondence was slow, when they responded.

Date of experience: June 13, 2015
New York
38 reviews
173 helpful votes
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I've ordered A LOT from hottopic.com
When there was an issue, their customer serious fixed it right away.
The reason for 4 stars and not 5, their email customer service is non-existent. I emailed three times and got no response so I had to call. Thankfully they're West coast timezone like me so I was able to get a hold of someone.
Great shipping rates, quick shipping times, pricing is good, promos available online and in the store. Membership is linked to online and store.
I like that.

Date of experience: May 7, 2013
Tennessee
18 reviews
15 helpful votes
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I had trouble making a payment online through checkout (page wouldn't accept any payment and just kept refreshing) so I called customer service. Maxwell was extremely kind, polite, and helpful and helped me make my order over the phone. Thank you so much for being so understanding!

Date of experience: September 2, 2020
California
1 review
0 helpful votes
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Ordered a Christmas gift on December 12 and was charged the same day. Website said 4-10 day delivery so I figured my purchase would arrive by Christmas. A whole week went by and I was never sent a tracking code. I sent an email and received a reply 3 days later which read.

"Your order has been canceled – either due to your request (which kinda bums us out), or because we currently have no inventory (in which case we're super sorry.)
Hey! Your account or credit card will not be charged. Yay. Credit card refunds will be based on your bank's policy."

I never cancelled and if they were sold out why the HELL would they sell it to me and why charge me the same day! Now I have no gift and Christmas is less than a week away. What a nightmare.

Don't buy online, instead go to the store. Never Never Never again will I buy online with Hot Topic.

Date of experience: December 19, 2015
New Jersey
1 review
9 helpful votes
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Great customer service
December 15, 2016

I bought three tee shirts and a vest the other day from Hot Topic. A few hours later I ran back to exchange the tees for smaller sizes (vest was unchanged). The cashier asked if I wanted the original receipt back and, like a dummy, I said no.

Later on I started worrying about whether the vest would need to be returned... and the fact I'd have to take a store credit since I no longer had the original receipt. I went to the store, explained my situation, and the two girls were very helpful. They went into the back room and found my original receipt, and also printed out a duplicate receipt for me. They were extremely polite, didn't get annoyed at having to do a few minutes of looking around, etc.

Figured I'd write something positive on their behalf.

Date of experience: December 15, 2016
Arizona
2 reviews
5 helpful votes
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If you want horrible customer service Hot Topic is the store for you! An hour on hold only to be hung up on, twice! Order promised to be there before Christmas, because you ordered it on Dec 2nd, well within the "guaranteed before Christmas" time frame and then when it finally shipped they choose the slowest possible option. Blame put everywhere, but on them. If these are qualities you look for when shopping. This is your store!

Date of experience: December 19, 2020
New York
1 review
4 helpful votes
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I made a purchase on July 2 and until today they have sent me the shipment, when one could order, one hopes to receive it on time since it was for a special occasion, they never gave me discounts or sent me the merchandise quickly, but I never buy from such an irresponsible company

Date of experience: July 14, 2020
Australia
1 review
4 helpful votes
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Horrible
December 29, 2017

Overcharged. Paid $45 for shipping only for it to take 5 weeks for half my order to arrive, the other half never arrived and was lost. One of the shirts that did arrive came with a big hole in the seam. Will never shop here again

Date of experience: December 29, 2017
Washington
1 review
0 helpful votes
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Horrible experience
December 24, 2021

Shopping at hot topic on Christmas Eve the cashier told me I had to get in line and she said the line was down the center store and to the right there was no line but one lady waiting behind me so I just put my items down and left then my son tried to buy something and they wouldn't ring it up for him because he didn't have a phone number and he's 12 years old so he put his items down and left. What a joke of a store we wont be back.

Date of experience: December 24, 2021
Washington
1 review
0 helpful votes
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Ordered two items on Sept. 9th. I was only shipped one item with the packing list indicating my order had two items in it. Called to get it replaced and was surprised how fast the new order was created for me, only for them to take a week to even begin my 2nd shipment. Now from original order to delivery it will be a total of 20 days to get my whole order of 2 sweatshirts. Obviously not staffing there order fulfillment well enough to handle a basic order. And did nothing to rebuild trust with their consumers after they screw up the process in the first place.

Date of experience: September 23, 2022
New York
1 review
4 helpful votes
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This sucks.
September 8, 2015

The store is great. Merch is great. My package got sent back from the place I sent it too - long story - and I can't get it resent. The customer service is HORRIBLE. The people tell you what you already know and don't help at all. I wasted 23 dollars here and am not buying anything online from them ever again.

Date of experience: September 8, 2015
Tennessee
1 review
1 helpful vote
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Never purchase anything from them online. I recently purchased items online. AFTER the order they starting emailing me that things were out of stock. I called to cancel but they refused and LIED to me saying they eventually cancelled it. They never did. There is no manager or loyalty department to help you. NEVER AGAIN!

Date of experience: January 13, 2017