Frances B.

TheRealReal offers a good service, for a price. I used to sell my closet castoffs on Poshmark, but grew uncomfortable over shipping parcels with my home address on them. Also, even though no one ever returned anything I sold, I have read too many accounts of disputes over Poshmark buyer returns. I don't have time for that kind of hassle. So I switched to TRR for selling my designer items. They handle everything — soup to nuts — from authenticating, to photos, to listing, to shipping and taking back returns. The seller does pay a chunk of the profits for all that work, as TRR offers lower commissions than some resale sites, but it is worth it to me to not have to deal with buyers.

I don't give them full marks because their website has some avoidable glitches, and their customer service is not quick to act when there are issues. Also, you end up waiting about a month for your commission check, too, which is annoying. But overall I think TRR is efficient and easy. I will continue to send them consignments.

I ordered a speaker from the Sonos website a month before Christmas. As the weeks passed and no speaker arrived, I heard nothing from the company. So I contacted them and got a vague reply that it would ship soon. The speaker did finally ship, but on the day of delivery the truck driver could not find the parcel in his truck. I contacted Sonos (by email) to notify them that the parcel might be lost. This is an excerpt from their reply:

"As we state on our website, we unfortunately cannot take responsibility for any lost packages, however, if it is lost we can assess if there's a way to help you out."

Really? They ship an item out, it will take no responsibility if it is lost in transit? How is that even legal?

I will never order form this company again. Horrible people.

(update: Decided to phone Customer Service to request a return label a THIRD time. Was placed on hold for 20 minutes, at which point Prana's phone system informed me I was being disconnected. This company is unethical! They seem to have no real return process.)

I purchased two items — a zip jacket and some trousers described as "jeans" — that were not as described online. The jacket did not conform to the Prana size chart. The trousers (definitely not jeans) were more like super-thin pajama bottoms. Not what I believed I was purchasing. I want to return both items (Prana charges $8 for returns), but the Prana return process requires customers to request a return label. I have submitted two requests, over the span of about three weeks. I have not relieved a reply. So I am, at this moment, stuck with unwanted, unusable merchandise worth around $170. Never shopping here again.

(brief update: I disputed this purchase with PayPal — which is a princess similar to a ping pong game, with the back and forth requests from buyer and seller — and now Wayfair is saying that I have to arrange the return of this 115 pound, freight-rate item AT MY OWN EXPENSE. They refused to arrange the return earlier, and now they want to make it look like I am at fault for this thing not being sent back? F*ck them. Do not support his businesses! It is run by people with no ethics. They will screw you over in a heartbeat.)

Wayfair continues to disappoint me. I ordered a concrete birdbath (almost $400), which is an item made to order. It took three months for the item to arrive, and it was the wrong color! Wayfair tried to claim that it was just a matter of the color looking different in the Wayfair listing because of the photo, or that it could be due to my device screen, or whatever. I accepted a partial refund of 20 percent to not return the heavy item (not as genererous a settlement as it sounds, since the price had been reduced substantially since I ordered the thing... oof). But when I fully unpacked the item, I saw that it had a manufacturer's tag on it, with a "finish" code (color code) noted on there. I looked up the manufacturer's website and found the same birdbath that is listed on Wayfair, in the exact finish shown on their page (it is the same photo). I checked the listed finish code and name from the manufacturer's page, and saw that the finish code on my birdbath's tag was different. I contacted the manufacturer and asked for the color name corresponding to my item's product tag. Different color from that in the Wayfair listing! I sent proof of all this to Wayfair, and told them the 20 percent discount is not going to cover this error. I am still trying to work this out with them, and they are jerking me around terribly, for something that is their fault (or really the fault of their vendor). Right now I just want to return it and get a full refund, but it seems that isn't an option. Horrible customer service, not trusting the customer and not owning up to your company's mistakes.

My original review of Wayfair was five stars. Things have really gone downhill since then.

Another annoyance: I was prompted, by a pop-up window on the Wayfair website, to write reviews for two purchases, with the incentive of a $5 credit for each review. After writing each review, I got a confirmation message, in a pop-up window, saying I had earned my $5 credit. The credits never appeared in my Wayfair account, so I contacted customer service. They denied that the offer was on the website, then told me to send them screenshots of the messages. I told them that I could not replicate the process because I had no more items to review. They simply dropped the matter. Stopped responding. Unbelievably unprofessional, dishonest and rude.

(Update to update: Ended up canceling my order because HD kept dropping the ball. In the end, it seemed that all the "Resolutions" Department did was hand the matter back to Reddaway Trucking. And since the incompetence of the trucking company was the crux of the problem, nothing was done to resolve this. I waited a couple more weeks, made a few more calls to HD, and... nothing. I got a phone call today that was identified, by my Caller ID, as coming from the trucking company. But when I answered, the caller said nothing. Just breathed into the line. I phoned HD and asked for Resolutions. Was asked too many questions by the rude customer service rep before he would transfer me, even though I had a case number. And then he transferred me to a STORE, instead of Resolutions. I decided that I had truly entered one of the circles of Hell when I ordered from Home Depot, and that I might be drawn further toward the center if I continued with this. So I phone again and canceled the order. NEVER AGAIN! How in the wold does this company stay in business?)

(Update two days later: HD has not gotten back to me, and they PROMISED, and I am on endless hold waiting to speak to the Resolutions department. Unbelievable.)

Quel surprise: no one at Home Depot followed up on the promised "rescue" of my shipment from the evil trucking company that has it and refuses to deliver it. So I had to waste more time phoning HD Resolutions Department. The short story is that no one knows for sure where my shipment is. I might still be with Reddaway. Probably. HD assumes that it is. But I won't find out until tomorrow. And then I'll have to wait for what, another week? Until another trucking company can go and pick it up from Reddaway and then bring it to me. Eventually. Maybe. I hope.

Adding insult to injury, when the the HD employee phoned me back, after phoning Reddaway, he told me the call was being recorded. He over explained everything, during the call, and was OTT nice, so the recording was obviously for their legal protection. Bunch of scoundrels! They are well aware of their company's poor performance on residential deliveries. Yet they act like this mess is an exception. Look at all the one-star the reviews, HD!

I've purchased luxury linens from this company for many years, mostly buying items during white sales or things on close-out. It used to be an actual brick and mortar business, with stock on hand, and most orders were filled promptly. Sometimes if you purchased a brand that was offered on a manufacturer's promotion, or a retired pattern, an item would not be available or would have to be procured from the manufacturer, and that sometimes resulted in a long delay. But the contact person I dealt with, in past years, was always nice and very personable. I liked the fact that I was buying from an independent business, with a real store. I don't know what happened whether the business was sold, or something but now FLandB seems to have morphed into a purely procurement-on-order service. Everything is on a shipping delay. I see that they are now marketing themselves as an "in-store shopping experience online." But a store has stock on hand, so that characterization is not quite correct. I'm not sure this company is right for me, now. I don't need to go through a middleman, when I can buy most linens directly through the company websites. I don't need the fabric swatches they offer. I think FLandB may be courting a different kind of customer now (they have a banner on their home page saying, "Supporting estate, house and yacht managers worldwide"). I don't have an estate or a yacht, or a property manager. I am not a designer (they have always offered a designer to-the-trade program). I just like luxury linens, and I splurge once or twice a year. I hope FLandB doesn't forget their "smaller" customers, like me, while aiming for the custom of the super wealthy.

Is this even a legit company? I ordered garden bulbs from them, and received an emailed order confirmation. When many weeks passed and no bulbs arrived, I went to their website to track my order. It was still listed as "new order." The website lists no phone number and has no chat option, so I filled out the contact form, asking them when my bulbs would ship. I got not reply. I tried emailing them directly, but still did not get a reply. I opened a dispute on PayPal, waited another week or so, and then escalated it to a claim. In all those weeks I heard nothing from Edens Blooms. PayPal just closed the case and refunded my money because Edens Blooms did not respond to their enquiries, either. Very strange. Their website is still active. Is this a scam?

Purchased a five gallon tree and several perennials. Tree was okay quality but was not the selection I ordered, and the perennials were some of the worst collection of plant stock that I have ever received. I reported the poorest specimens (one was blackened, soft and rotting) to customer service, and was reimbursed. But that is not enough to make up for the fact that they sent out plants that should never have left the growing grounds. The plants even come complete with wood lice! Their prices are on the high side, too. Furthermore, they have no information on their website on plant culture, placement, water needs, etc. The only reason I ordered from them is that I needed that tree and could not find it locally. And then they sent the wrong tree! Wasted my money on the perennials, and I have a mature tree I never wanted. Do not recommend.

I have purchased plants online for as long as that was an option. Before that I bought them over the phone. I have been gardening seriously for 40 years. The trees I have received from Trees of Antiquity are among the best bare root specimens I have ever purchased. The send out large-caliper, well branched trees with well developed roots. I have approximately 20 TOA fruit trees in the ground at the moment. Most of those trees produced fruit their second year. I recommend this business without reservation.

(I discovered, in corresponding with customer service, that these jeans shipped much later than I thought. I order a lot of jeans from Madewell, hence my confusion. So this order was backordered for six months! Awful!)

I recently contacted customer service about a defective pair of jeans that I received in the spring. Because the jeans had been on a long backorder (really common with Madewell), they arrived at the beginning of the hot season, and I had not worn them all summer. I first wore my new jeans in the cool fall weather. It was only then that I noticed that they were deformed in the way they were sewn, which was something that was not evident on initial try on. So I contacted Madewell with a complaint. I stated in the email that I knew the item fell outside of return guidelines, but they need to know about this quality control problem. They emailed me back saying that yes, the return requirements dictate that the item be unworn and no more than 30 days in hand, but that they might have "other options" to explore. They asked for more information. I provided it, and then got a reply saying that the jeans fell outside of their return window, so there was nothing they "could" (would) do. This was something that I had acknowledged up front. So why bother saying there might be some remedy? Awful customer service. I'm over Madewell.

Update: had to get my refund through PayPal dispute, escalated to claim.

Current and Elliott used to make really good tee shirts that fit well and lasted for ages. I recently purchased two online, though, and one arrived with a large hole in the collar binding. The hole was front and center on the shirt, and fully visible inside the clear plastic bag the shirt was packaged in. Yet the warehouse sent it out anyway. The company sent me a return label when I reported the problem, and I mailed the defective tee back to them. Most reliable, ethical companies would have either requested a photo of the damaged shirt, and refund me up front, or would have refunded me when the return package was scanned. Not Current and Elliott. After two weeks had elapsed with no word on my refund, I emailed them. They replied with a confirmation that they'd received my returned item, and they stated the standard "allow 7-10 business days for processing your refund." But they had already had either nine or 11 business days to process it, depending on how you count business days days. And the refund was for defective merchandise they sent out. So there is no justification for making me wait so long for my money. These are $90 tees shirts, by the way. It's a good chunk of change they are holding. Do not recommend this company!

I am a fan of R&B clothing, particularly their jeans. I usually buy their goods from Nordstrom, but have recently made a few purchases directly from the R&B website. On one order, the shoes I received were made of a very different finish of leather than was shown or described online, and I thought they were ghastly. I'd purchased them as final sale because they were at deep discount. I contacted R&B and they did take the shoes back, even paying for return shipping. On the next order, my jeans arrived in a beautiful gift box, but I was charged for that gift box and had not ordered it! They did refund my money for the box, but didn't apologize, which is annoying and a bit insulting. I mean... it was their mistake. I might stick with ordering their stuff from Nordstrom instead.