Alex P.

Judging by other reviews, I think the freshness of food probably depends on where you live and how close you are to their distribution centers. For me, everything has been good to great in terms of freshness. I've tried almost all of the same type of service (Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, Sun Basket, Marley Spoon, Home Chef) and Plated is still the one that I think has the best recipes. When I say best recipes, it's in terms of a) how good the final result tastes, b) whether the ingredients/process is easily reproducible and c) how well the recipe is actually written in terms of time management/clarity. One giant caveat: Plated doesn't publish their recipes/you can't retrieve archived meals or the other meals in your delivery you didn't purchase.
I'd say 90% of the time, the meals turn out great. There was one or two that I questioned their choice (large pieces of eggplant in lo mein, not what I'd choose but hey) but overall, just fantastic. The instructions are also always very easy to follow, and any highlights are printed separately for you to keep note of. I've also cooked a dish or two I've loved again and they were also great. It's slightly pricier than some of the other choices, but I think it's worth it.

Note: this is a subscription service like any other type (handbags, shoes, etc). You will be charged recurring weeks unless you deactivate your account or skip a meal. It's sometimes difficult to remember, but I always skip all the meals for the upcoming month or so to be safe and then go back to unskip once I'm not as busy. I'm pretty sure this is outlined in the sign-up somewhere, so it's not a surprise.

As a Canadian, I'm pretty familiar with David's Tea. I've gotten tea both in store and online. They have a pretty good rewards ($100 gets you free 2Oz of tea - yes it's kind of a lot to spend, but it's over a year I think). They also run promos quite often, and rotate seasonal teas. The teas themselves are kind of similar in flavour to each other with similar ingredients but I love their Chocolate Pu-Erh tea which is only around for the winter season. They've always delivered packages to me quickly and they give you a free tin if you order over a certain amount. You can also pick free samples online. I've never had a bad experience and they also have some cute teaware (travel mugs, tea sets, etc).

I've been recently getting into drinking loose leaf teas and came across Adagio Teas, naturally. They're sort of like Teavana/David's Tea/etc with a similar type of assortment and appeal but what really got me interested was their custom fan blended teas you can order by pretty much any interest you can think of. The BBC Sherlock series interested me, as did Batman... and probably other ones. But you can also order simple blends like Pink Lemonade, or Strawberry Cupcake. I even tested their custom blend DIY feature and it's nifty, though you can only blend 3 types of teas + a scoop of something else which may or may not be limiting. For beginners, I suppose more than 3 might make the tea too disharmonious but I can see for example how chocolate, almond, cherry and a base black would be a good blend. At the time I ordered, I got a $5 off coupon for my first order. The items were shipped promptly and everything was correct. As for the teas themselves, I think that they're decent but I have had better (not a snob thing just honesty). However, I would definitely try some of their fan blends again and flavored blends.

I was really hankering for a tea fragrance one summer, and after a few misses from Anthropologie I found a minor brand (Jacomo) that was only available from a US store located in NYC or online and since I didn't want to spend I decided to wait until I had exhausted other tea options. I randomly googled the name of the frag and strawberryNET had a huge discount, about 40%. Fragantica members list them as a trusted source so I went ahead and ordered - accepting that at most I would be out about $35ish. They offered a free gift that I had to pick out of a lot of options (I'm a fan of choose between 3, not more items) so I picked a lipstick. The package arrived in about a week or so, the item was definitely authentic. The free gift was probably expired or old - lipstick was DRIED and had no pigment but free gifts for me are almost always crap. It was a great price and I had no issues with delivery, nor the need for their CS so I recommend it for fragrances.

I don't do outdoorsy things and their clothing (even petite) isn't cut well for my height/stature so I don't shop there normally but I needed waterproof gloves to potentially a) hack ice from the wind shield b) clear snow from the windows/roof and c) shovel snow! I have literally, child sized hands so it's hard for find adult gloves to fit me and not many come in xs. So, I came across a model on the ll bean site and it was on sale so I ordered it (free shipping). Alas, it was too big and bulky - even for normal female hands so I had to return it in store. Despite paying using PayPal, they were able to refund a credit card I had linked to PayPal. So in conclusion, although nothing fit properly buying online from them and returning an item was hassle free!

I cannot recommend another company more. Nordstrom has the best customer service ever. It's late and you wanted that color/size but it suddenly went out of stock? Try their online chat (they're up until 1amish I think) and you'll find the sweetest, most helpful people who will search stores for what you're looking for or recommend you alternatives. I've talked to them a few times because if there's one thing that I don't like about them, it's that they tend to stock items rarely and if it goes out of stock, it will FAST and for months. They also don't have coupons, only discounts but the quality of things they carry and the customer service more than makes up. They have reliable free shipping and free returns. They have a good return policy! (It's almost "none" but I hate the abuse of stores like this because there is no Nordstrom near me and I pretty much have to order online and go by reviews).
I also have to recommend them for sometimes unique items that aren't available elsewhere (scarves, jewelry, etc).

Zara's online shop launched in the US not too long ago. I used to love Zara but not living near one I decided to try their online shop. I did not order any clothing due to an aversion in needing to return items, but at time of review they offer free shipping in the US (with no minimum). I believe they offer free returns within 14 days as well but I did not deal with them in terms of returning items so I can't comment on how easy/hard it was. The item was shipped to me via Fed-Ex and it arrived very quickly. It was packaged very nicely and I was pleased!

Urban Decay is well known for its high(er) quality make-up with popular eye shadows and eye liners. I bought some stuff to try during their sale, their prices were really good on sale and at the time of review, they had free shipping over a certain amount (I think it was $50). The package was shipped very timely and arrived very quickly. It was packaged well. One of the eye liners was in a ziplock bag instead of the original box but it didn't look used. The rest were well packaged. There was an option to chose USPS priority or UPS Ground which I find helpful since for me, USPS is more convenient and comes earlier. Overall, I am impressed with their service and products!

It might seem odd to order tea online but when you can't find the brand you want, you have to try, right? I was introduced to Ahmad Tea a while ago and tried it a few times. I ended up really liking it but couldn't find it anywhere close by (for all I know it might be somewhere but I'm too lazy to call and ask x local stores). Enjoy Better Tea stocks Ahmad Tea along with some other brands and ships it to your home. The prices are reasonable from what I can tell and so is the shipping. The tea is packaged very well and it arrived in a timely way. Definitely a legitimate site for ordering tea online.

Chictweak is a scarf-centric online boutique that sells from brands like Bindya NY, Chan Luu, DvF and many others. They carry gorgeous multi-print, long scarves that are made from wool, silk or cashmere. I love that they have a sale section for scarves up to 70% off. Shipping is via UPS and at time of writing this review, is free for a limited time. The shipping was very quick, packaged well and the items looked very close to as photographed on the website. Very highly recommended! No more polyester scarves for me.

Another awesome yarn vendor that ships quickly with a gorgeous supply of yarn. As with any other vendor that relies on inconsistent supply (some of the yarn is independently dyed from overseas, for example) - some items can be out of stock for a few months but that's one of the main reasons to shop here: when it's in stock, be sure to grab it! Shipping is free over $75 and there's a reward system that's very handy.

Any establishment named Mr Yarn gets an auto plus in my book but really Mr Yarn is a great vendor for yarn! They stock Malabrigo and MadTosh with free shipping + a % discount. That's one of the most competitive prices today and unless you're hard pressed for another colorway they don't carry, there's no reason not to shop here :). I've ordered from them a few times and there was no problem with the transaction, shipping or otherwise. Plus you get a cool decal! Also their handy announcements for restocks of colors really helps out but also can be very tempting...

Fast and free shipping and easy returns, can't say a single bad thing about them!

I ordered a pair of Sennheiser headphones that were a lot cheaper from Juno Records than they were from other vendors - Amazon and others (new that is, as used and refurbished are cheaper of course) and although this vendor is based in England, there were mostly positive reviews so I took a chance. It took about 7 working days for it to arrive, it was packaged well and the item is new and works fine. They specialize in selling records and other pro-audio equipment. The shipping was very reasonable from England, though headphones aren't exactly that heavy and since my order was under $200 I didn't have to deal with customs fees. Overall, I would recommend them!

I ordered a pair of headphones that were an older model but didn't realize it until I had already placed the order. Then I saw the 15% restocking fee and cringed. Luckily, if you don't open the merchandise and either contact them in the request RMA or chat with them online, they will authorize the RMA with a full refund. That is very reasonable and rightly so but some retailers are mean. Newegg isn't!

Another cute little Japanese stationery retailer based in California. They offer free shipping for $25 and above within the US. I ordered notebooks but they carry pens, highlighters and an assortment of Japanese stationery. Their packaging is immaculate and the owners wrote a very polite thank you note on a pretty note card. Customer service like that always gets brownie points from me =). Highly recommended.

I'm a stationery junkie, with my specialty being notebooks, highlighters and gel/liquid ink pens but a friend got me into fountain pens recently and looking for fountain pen friendly notebooks led me to JetPens. They carry a huge variety of Japanese notebooks (Kokuyo, Maruman) and the beloved Rhodia brand as well as many beginner/student friendly priced fountain pens (Lamy, Pelikan and cheaper Sailors). There are also a ton of other items: pencil cases, inks, mechanical pencils and so forth. They offer free shipping above $25, which is so easy and tempting. The packaging is always fine, no ink bottles broken or notebooks scuffed. Many customers review the items making their product review system extra helpful.

I've recently become obsessed with Soia & Kyo (Montreal based outerwear designer, shout-out) coats - ranging from their trenches, wools, downs and everything in between. Their previous season's leftovers are on sale and this Quebec based store had a trench at a cheaper price with free shipping to the US so how could I say no? Very fast shipping (same day) WITH tracking number by Canada Post to the US. Packaging is very minimal - no plastic sheet or any other protection; it came in a bubble envelope but it arrived in less than a week! Highly recommended. They also accept PayPal in addition to credit cards. Also like many retailers, final sales ARE final but that's pretty common. They also carry other designers like Fred Perry, Matt & Nat, etc.

Like TN said, they have great shoe sales. Having bought a pair of shoes from endless that fit well, I found another of the same style but in different colours on dillards and ordered them. They charge about $8 shipping but if you're sure of the style and fit, it's a good deal. I had to change the address after the order was processed and usually I've never been able to have a retailer successfully do that, but dillards was able to. Very impressed! Their customer service was also extremely helpful and timely.

This is a great site for art supplies! Paint, canvases, paper - whatever kind of art you do. They ship quickly and everything is packaged nicely. Even if you don't do any "art" per se, there are probably useful items for other sorts of projects too. Price wise, they're significantly cheaper than my mortar and brick art supplies store (sadly...) so although they charge tax for my state, they often run free shipping specials for a minimum so it evens out.

Otherwise, the shipping is dependent on weight/price which can get kind of expensive so it's really the most economic to order a bunch of stuff you definitely need and might need :).