Online Shopping: Beyond the Rack

I recently had a phase where I was online shopping kind of excessively. Very excessively. Don't judge, okay? Anyways, I placed orders off of two sites, beyondtherack.com and shop.ca. I figured since I had a hard time finding places to online shop in Canada that didn't have ridiculous shipping rates I'd let you guys know my experiences/opinions.

First, Beyond the Rack (BTR). I ordered four items from them on July 10th. Their site is set up with events filled with clothing or other items that only stay for a few days, so if you want something, you have to order immediately. That kind of sucks, but it does mean they have constantly changing and updated products, which is a bonus. Overall though I wish the events would last longer. Their prices are reasonable but not amazing, though they do have higher quality products which makes a difference. One of the things I really disliked about this site was that they charged you $11.95 for shipping even though they are based in Canada! They also make you pay for shipping if you return something, or so they say on their website, though I did return two things and I wasn't charged, so I'm not sure what was up with that. Another thing against BTR is that if you return something, you don't get cash, you only get an account credit. 

I received my first package from BTR on August 1, three weeks after I'd placed the order, which is a long time. The shoes I ordered were very cute and as pictured, but they didn't fit. The dress, however, felt cheap and the stitching was off-center and it gave me underwear lines. So that was not a go. Returning was easy because they put a label in the bag and I got full account credit. And the best part was that I got some awesome free samples that I had no idea about—a full size Olay CC cream which retails for over $15 and mini shampoo, conditioner, and hair thickener which I would never use because I need hair thinner, but it's the thought that counts. Also, travel size shampoo and conditioner and coupons for Crest whitening products. It was a jackpot, and it made me fairly happy.

 But then the days passed with not a hint of the other two items I'd ordered. Finally my shirt shipped on August 13th but they cancelled my skirt, refunding me cash as well as a $10 gift card. I also got a $10 gift card for my returned items. I was mad that the items took SO long and that they cancelled my skirt, but I was left with $43 in my account to use, so I bought a pair of boots and two necklaces. To my surprise the boots shipped almost immediately and they fit and I absolutely love them. 

So my overall experience? Very mixed. Their shipping rates are awful, but their rewards program is pretty good. Most of their products are pretty good quality but you never know. I would order from here again only if I wanted to buy something very expensive that was cheaper online so it would be worth the shipping cost. 

Let me know if you guys appreciate this or if it's incredibly boring. If you like I'll tell you how I felt about Shop.ca:)