I have a love\hate relationship with Amazon for a variety of reasons. I regularly share some great finds and deals that I’ve scored, and occasionally I’ll share some fails. I’ve found that I’ve gotten pretty good at sorting through the site and finding the best stuff so I’m rarely having to return anything these days. On a site that has thousands upon thousands of products to pick from, how do you find the winners? I’m sharing my tips and tricks for making sure you don’t end up with a stack of fails to return.
Look for reviews. Pictures are even better.
When I find an article of clothing I’m interested in I immediately scroll down to read the reviews and look at customer photos. I look for comments about quality, sizing and fit. Pictures are great because you’re able to see how the fit is on different body types and it also allows you to zoom in and take a good look at the fabric. Zoom in girl!
Read the description thoroughly
Photos posted by sellers on Amazon can often be misleading and occasionally aren’t even of the exact item you’ll be receiving. If the photo looks like it’s made of 100% cotton, scroll down to the description just to be sure. Often, you’ll find that the fabric listed is clearly not the same type of fabric used in the photo meaning the product pictured isn’t exactly what you’ll be getting in the mail.
Sizing Charts aren’t always accurate
I take the sizing charts of items on Amazon with a grain of salt. Instead I head to the reviews and compare comments and photos of people who have purchased to help me order the right size. This works for me the majority of the time! There is also a small notation near the product description that will tell you if it is true to size based on reviews.
Beware the ol Bait and Switch Scheme
Sometimes sellers will take a product that already is popular and has a lot of reviews and they will switch it with a lesser quality product. When I go to the reviews I am always sure to change the order of appearance from “Recommended” to “Most Recent” so that I can be sure that the people who most recently bought the product are matching up with older reviews. Sometimes you’ll see a product that has 200 five star reviews from two years ago, but suddenly in the last two months they have started to receive many one star reviews. This is a red flag and is a product I would avoid.
Make sure it is Fulfilled by Amazon
I try to only purchase directly through Amazon. This means that Amazon is the company that will ship the product from their warehouse and Amazon is who you will deal with if you need to return the product. This just makes the process so much easier and ensures that I won’t have any issues. It also means you will not have to pay additional shipping fees directly to the company who sells the product and you’ll likely receive your order more quickly.
I must say, occasionally, my method does still fail me. This happens especially on new products that don’t yet have reviews or photos, but the return policy and process is just so darn easy that I don’t even mind. And I kind of get a thrill with the process of trying and testing that a fail is kind of exciting and good information to share with you guys. It’s all in the name of…. uh science?
