Why I Will Never Buy a Shabby Apple Product
I have considered writing this post for some time and not done so because I didn’t want to seem ungrateful for my mom’s lovely and generous gift, but. . . now I’m just too angry not to say something about it, and I would really like to keep someone else from having the same terrible experience I had.
The short story is: Shabby Apple makes poor-quality items and doesn’t stand behind them.
The long story? Well, buckle your seat belts. Because I am filled with indignation.
For Christmas, my mom bought all three of us girls dresses from Shabby Apple. Mine was this one:
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Lovely, isn’t it? My mom has good taste and always has (I do not joke when I say that every time I get compliments on an item of clothing I’m wearing it is always something my mom has purchased for me).
The thing was, at Christmas I was still nursing. A lot. And continued to for many months afterward, so wearing a dress wasn’t really an option for me. So the dress hung, unworn, tags still on, in my closet for quite a few months.
Finally, when nursing had tapered off to the point where I could make it through three hours of church, I pulled the dress out of my closet, and with anticipation, slid it on.
And. . .then I realized I couldn’t zip it up. Keep in mind that the website states that this dress is “fits generously.” I am not sure what universe it is where a “generously” fitting dress will not zip over my sub-100 lb body, but it is NOT this universe.
And the top gaped like crazy.
Oh, and the top? Was white. And sheer. And unlined. So the whole premise of Shabby Apple, which is “A return to what dresses were always meant to be—a one piece outfit. No need to add anything…no tank tops, no cardigans, nothing,” is blatantly untrue.
Also, it hit me mid-calf, rather than at the knee, which was quite unflattering.
We were starting to get dangerously near running late, which I loathe, so I quickly changed into something else and we went to church.
The dress still had the tags on it and I’d worn it for a total of 2 minutes in front of my bedroom mirror.
After church, I looked up the dress on Shabby Apple and it said, “Sizing concern? Not the right dress for you? Return your dress and Shabby Apple will ship you a new dress for FREE!”
Perfect. This would be an easily solved problem (my present self is laughing at this). Plus, the dress was still being sold at full-price, so I figured they’d let me ship it back and send me off another one. I’d pick a less expensive dress!
I called in to Shabby Apple the next morning and explained the situation. “Was it ordered more than 30 days ago?” the rep asked. “Then I’m sorry, there is nothing we can do.” (I loathe this answer so much because that is NOT true. They are choosing to do nothing about it). Basically, I was stuck with a brand-new, non-fitting, poorly made $100 dress.
I emailed a long description of the scenario to Shabby Apple (recap: 6 month old dress, never worn, still for sale at full price, tags still on). I was upfront about the fact that I knew I was outside the return window.
They emailed back saying how sorry they were and could I give them some info about the purchase so they could see what they could do.
My heart soared.
Only to crash when they quickly responded saying, “Unfortunately we wouldn’t be able to make an exchange for your dress whereas your item was purchased in December. We understand and are flexible when the purchase is given as a gift but we do strongly advise that you try on your items as soon as possible to receiving them so that any exchange/return can be placed within our 30day exchange/return policy. I am sorry for any inconvenience that this may be for you and that the dress didn’t work out for you.”
I’m not sure what their definition of “flexible” is, but it’s clearly FAR different from mine. Also, why did they suggest they could do something about it when I told them the dress was purchased many months ago, but then when they saw the actual date, they suddenly couldn’t do anything?
I went back and looked at some of the reviews of the dress again. One reviewer, who gave the dress 4 stars, said “The only problem is that the top is completely see-through. You can’t really wear an undershirt because the skirt is so tight that you would see a line. So you would have to sew a lining in the top. The quality doesn’t reflect the high price.”
Okay, so I wasn’t alone in this sheer problem. (Why you would still give it 4 stars is beyond me, but whatever).
Another commenter, giving it three stars said, “VERY LONG SKIRT. I’m 5’4″ and rather petite. I ordered this dress in a Med, because another dress that I ordered very similar to this one was a Small was too tight. I have to return the dress because it sits WELL BELOW THE KNEE, as in mid calf. And overall it was just too big, which could have been the Med instead of the Small, but the length was just silly. I looked like I was wearing my big sisters dress. ha. No lining in the skirt, and it felt rather thin. I wish it had fit as it is a cute style! But the pics on this website show the blonde girl with the dress at her knee, ya-no way.”
Again, why three stars? But I digress.
Another FIVE star review said, “This dress is not lined and is a bit of a struggle to get on and off. I did manage to zip it up and down on my own, but it took a good five minutes each time and I feared tearing the dress.”Â
I guarantee you that the people who are giving these high star ratings with complaints like this are the people who give a standing ovation to every performance they attend.
As I looked through reviews of other dresses, I noticed the same sorts of comments again and again: cheap fabric, unlined, fit not as shown, poor sizing.
I know Shabby Apple has a good reputation. They take gorgeous pictures, they have lovely models, and their selection is wide. They heavily promote their brand in the blogosphere, giving away many many dresses. But their dresses are poorly made, don’t fit well, and the photographs are terribly misleading. They are low quality products that are horrendously overpriced.
And their customer service is seriously lacking.
Compare this with my experience yesterday with Lands’ End Canvas. I ordered a swimsuit a couple of weeks ago and it didn’t show up. I had recently ordered another swimsuit and a shirt for Bart for Father’s Day (Lands’ End makes excellent, excellent dress shirts) and they’d both shown up within a week of ordering. I knew from my order that it’d arrived two days after shipping at the post office sorting center. But then the post office appeared to have lost it.
Twelve days went by.
I hopped on their website, clicked the “Chat Now” button and within seconds was chatting with Megan. I gave her my order number and told her the situation. Two minutes later, she was verifying my address and said a new swimsuit would arrive at my doorstep on Thursday, via UPS. No hassle, no waiting, not even a phone call.
And THAT is why I love Lands End. When they say “Guaranteed. Period.” they mean it. That’s why I buy my swimsuits there, and why Bart wears a Lands End shirt to work 80% of the time.
They know what good customer service means.
Last week, my mom emailed Merrick and me to ask if we’d like new black dresses for Landen’s upcoming wedding. She suggested that Shabby Apple had a very cute line of black dresses.
Both of us emailed her back separately that we would love a new dress, but would she mind if we purchased them from somewhere else?
I ordered this one from eShakti. Their return policy? You can get a full refund or you can get a gift card back in the amount of your order PLUS 20%. Why? Â
* A way for us to show higher responsibility in not meeting your expectations.
* To give you the opportunity to order again so that we can try and delight you, the next time round!
That’s a return policy I can get behind.
If you’re considering buying a dress from Shabby Apple, I would strongly encourage you to think again. You can get a better dress somewhere else. A less expensive dress. A dress that isn’t sheer, sized incorrectly, and unlined.
And perhaps, if you buy that other dress, if you need to return it, you’ll get a better answer than, “Sorry it didn’t work out for you.”
(You can read my follow-up post about my Shabby Apple experience here. Spoiler: They never did responded at all. Updated 5/2012: They finally did respond and exchange my dress. Not that after this whole thing I’m at all convinced their dresses are worth spending actual money on).Â
I have always admired their dresses but the price and concerns about fit have always swayed me. After reading your review, and others, about the lacking construction and poor fabric quality, I will never buy from them. Sadly, I rarely buy clothing online anymore for various reasons and experiences. Also, it seems that many of these companies create clothing meant for one body type. (Not for tall people.) Sorry for the horrible experience.
I hate poor customer service, especially when you are paying that price. And from a wholesale/retailer {this not only was this a small part of my major but I have had several jobs working in production and wholesale} this return wouldn't be a loose. They still have the product in their warehouse along with the other items you would have wanted to exchange it for. The only loose in the whole thing was them loosing a customer. I know they are run out of Utah where I know customers here can push and push and push for a hard bargain which can leave the business feeling stubborn however Nordstroms should be every business competition considering they will return every thing… EVERYTHING, even a tire {do you know this story? I will tell it to you if you are interested}. I am seriously blown away with their return policy {actually I have heard horror stories} because it wasn't like you were asking for a full refund. Usually most stores will let you exchange because in reality they aren't loosing anything… no money, no product, no customers. Seriously they can take the loose of one dress no problem, especially if they still have plenty of inventory of it. Shame on them! Seriously, they should know better then this. OHHH and one more thing…. if they don't return/exchange your dress in just a dress that is wound up in a thrift store or ebay being sold new and cheaper then what they are selling for it. It is literally a wasted piece of fabric with their brand on it. Not good on any angle you look at it. Shabby Apple would actually be doing them self a favor by accepting the return rather then being stubborn. I can't believe they would rather you toss it out or re-sell it then do a return. That is just insane! I mean if they didn't care about loosing a customer {which clearly they don't} then at least care about being green, or your own label! I mean Volcom Stone will give away their items that didn't sell during a season to children in orphanages. I am sure Shabby Apple could find a use of their over stock items, if that is what they were truly concerned about. I have a shabby apple gown, and my experience has been a little different. I found in in a store and was able to try on several of their items, however every single one of them were absolutely ginormous. Their XS was still draping on me like some fabric was just thrown on top of me. The girls in the store ensured me that Shabby Apple just runs big…. NOPE they run HUUUUUUUUUUGE! That is why I am shocked that you are saying it was tight. Every style I tried on was seriously 3x to big. I actually know the woman who does their patterns and I couldn't help but think of her while trying these dresses on and being extremely disappointed. I too agree they are way too over priced, especially for being manufactured in China. They need to lower their prices and change their return and customer service policies. Maybe their mission statement. OOOOORRRRR just get better quality items along with better quality employees and policies. Ok sorry for the long novel of a comment. I hope it makes sense. I hope I was able to make my point have it come across correctly.PS what did you ever end up doing with the dress? I still cant believe that was $100 lost. Seriously, what a freaking joke!
So glad you posted this. I have one dress from Shabby Apple and while it's quite darling, it's just really poorly made. If I spend close to $100 on a dress, it had better have more than 3-4 wears in it!
So weird… My sister and I had bridesmaid dresses for our other sister's wedding last week from Eshakti. It took them 2 months to get the dresses to us and then after countless emails and phone calls would only give us a 10% discount. We definitely will not be giving them our business again! I guess we all have bad experiences with online companies!
I wasn't overly impressed with the dress I bought a couple years ago (the Antiquated). The XS was too loose, but the XXS was too tight in the hips. The side zipper did not lay flat (I had it altered), and the outer lace layer rides up over the acetate lining. Frustrating! I still have the dress, but I'm thinking of selling it on Ebay one of these days.
I think the problem with SA is that they come out with these gorgeous, unique designs…and rest on their laurels right there. The dresses appear to be more about the design than the quality, fit, etc.
Also, I get annoyed by the fact that they do so many giveaways. Despite being a brilliant marketing strategy (hundreds of popular bloggers raving about their dresses, since they get one for free!), this leads to hundreds of very biased online reviews. It's refreshing to see one that isn't gushing with adoration.
Oh, yes. After seeing them all over blog land I was excited to try and order from them!!! I ordered two dresses from Shabby Apple. One of them I really liked and everything fit well except the neck was weird in the back- I had it altered for $15 and always, always, get compliments on the dress.The other dress didn't fit- way too tight. I exchanged it for the next size up, which also didn't fit (the body was better but the top was WAY too big). So, I exchanged it for another dress. I wanted to like that dress but the seam was sewn crooked so the bottom pulled weird (you couldn't tell looking at it, but it felt awful) and it looked kind of cheap- the construction was definitely poor. In a last ditch effort to like Shabby Apple I exchanged that dress for one more very casual dress which miraculously fit and looks cute- but it is a casual dress and not worth the price I paid- especially considering all the return shipping I paid.The worst part- when I exchanged for a more expensive dress they charged my card the two extra dollars. But when I exchanged for a less expensive dress- there wasn't any refund!! This post just reminded me that I need to call them about that, although I'm skeptical that their customer service department is going to care!! I'm definitely not planning on ordering from them in the future. Their dresses are sized awfully and made out of cheap fabrics.
Yikes, what a terrible customer service experience. It's pretty infuriating to hear that someone is "sorry you feel that way," when they do have the power to correct things. The only Shabby Apple product I own was won in a giveaway– and, while it's lovely, I've basically resigned myself to having to have it altered, both for length and to give it a waist. It's crazy that people who were dissatisfied with their purchases would be giving such high ratings, too…that's why I ALWAYS read (and more highly value) the narrative parts of reviews, rather than relying on the stars or whatever.
Thank you so much for this post! I've actually been going between Shabby Apple and eShakti looking for dresses for an upcoming wedding. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE post or email me when you get your eShakti dress and let me know what your experience is because I know now I won't be going through Shabby Apple (I also like the styles and the options you get with eShakti, not to mention the prices).
I completely agree! My sister loved one of their dresses for the brides maids in her wedding, but after ordering one (and then returning it due to poor fit and quality) my mom ended up sewing identical dresses, but that actually fit and are from nice fabric!
I've never purchased anything from Shabby Apple because I've never seen anything I loved enough to spend a MILLION dollars on. Plus, I think they look cheap in the pictures itself. AND I had heard a similar story to yours from another friend, so yeah – they're just out for me. Too bad too, because their ideology is brilliant – I wish all dresses were modest and didn't require an undershirt. However, if you look, and as you proved, you can totally find modest dresses all over the place. Have you ever made a return to Nordstrom? It's like a DREAMBOAT. You don't even need a receipt, no questions asked. Everyone needs to take lessons from them. Their company makes millions while STILL returning anything and providing fantastic service. People are loyal to them because of it. I shop there all the time, in the BP (less expensive) section. I also love Forever 21, who's return policy is pretty bad, but their clothes are inexpensive enough that I don't mind. And I've still made many successful returns there. Boo – I'm so sorry for your experience.
I agree with this completely, I have a Shabby Apple dress that fits all sorts of wonky, nothing hangs right, the chest fits poorly, the hips fit worse, the length is weird. And I've had similarly poor experience with their customer service. And now I have a dress hanging in my closet that is a lovely color, tags still on, never worn. Sigh.
xox
Just to add another perspective, I got a dress from Shabby Apple, also as a gift, that had been purchased three months before I opened it. When I tried it on, I noticed that some of the buttons were barely attached. When I called customer service about it, they offered to exchange the dress (citing the "flexible for gifts" policy they mentioned to you)or offered to refund a percentage of the cost for the trouble of having to resew buttons. I thought it was pretty reasonable at the time, but maybe we just got different customer service reps, or their flexibility expires at three months 🙂 Either way, it's a bummer that your dress didn't work out–it looks gorgeous in the pictures!
I am also a big (BIG) fan of Land's End. I want more or less everything from their Canvas line. I've learned that if you order something online you can return it to Sears (as long as its a Sears that carries LE stuff. Apparently some don't) which makes me inexplicably happy to not have to bother with return shipping.
I like posts like this. I think it's helpful to hear why people were unhappy with one customer service or another. I had an awful experience with Cache once and I can't even write about it because I still get so irritated thinking about the whole thing. And it all happened 5 years ago!!
"the people who are giving these high star ratings with complaints like this are the people who give a standing ovation to every performance they attend."HAHAHA! Those people drive me crazy!I hope the people at Shabby Apple read this…then maybe you will get some better customer service.
Your post reminded me that I scrimped my pennies for a Shabby Apple dress about 4 years ago, when they were pretty new. I had my heart set on this dress and I remember when it came I was really surprised at the material. It looked so sturdy on the website but in actuality was flimsy and it wrinkled SO easy. I was so disappointed that I never ordered from them again because I didn't think it was worth the money.
Wow- this post garnered a lot of attention!
I can understand your negative experience…but this seems pretty harsh from your experience with one dress.
I have one Shabby Apple dress that fits me pretty well and I like a lot. The material is great, the top is a little big, but I'm a size 2/A on top and 4-6 on the bottom, so I expected that.
I just ordered a couple new things from them and we'll see how it works out, but that is disappointing about the return. (mental note to check return policies immediately after purchasing/receiving new clothes!)
Thank you for posting this – I recently discovered Shabby Apple, but hadn't made a purchase as it's not always easy for me to order dresses online, and I wasn't sure if the (very high) cost would be worth it. Based on your review, I think I'll look elsewhere. I'd love to hear about your experience with eShakti, especially if you have the dress customized at all. Another great online shop to try is ModCloth – their dresses/skirts are so vintagey and cute, and the customer service is excellent from what I've experienced thus far. Hope your new dress works out better for you!
Let me just include my resounding AMEN! I coveted and scrimped for a Shabby Apple dress earlier this year. The first one came and was too big in the chest and too small in the hips (umm, that is the exact opposite of my normal proportions), I hesitantly exchanged it for a size smaller (herein lies another complaint with SA: SURE you can return it within 30 days, but the return shipping is out of your own pocket), after emailing my measurements to a rep who assured me that a XS would fit perfectly. When the new dress came, you guessed it, WAY too small. Blergh. In a last ditch effort, I sent it back again (another five bucks lost) for a different style. When that dress came it was awful quality, though it did fit. I felt like I was wearing a dress made out of scrubs. So. Sigh. I returned that one (another five dollars lost) for a full refund and put the money toward a thirty dollar DownEast Basic dress that I love and love and love. I still lament the twenty dollars or so that I lost in return shipping.
Also, worth mentioning, one of my dear friends also bought a SA dress at the same time I did. She tried three different dresses as well and returned every one of them for different reasons: one was way too small (if you knew this friend, you would know that there really shouldn't be an adult dress that would ever be too small for her. She's a stick!), one was the scrub material, and one was completely sheer.
Anyway, the point of the story is: there you have it, six different shabby apple dresses between my friend and me and all of them were absolute trash. I'll never buy another one again.
I won a dress from there for Katherine, and it's ok, but I was sort of surprised at it. Let's just say I would never have paid their prices for the quality of fabric and construction. It looks very home made and it's TINY. However, I'm also not allowed to order anything else online after having to return endless orders for the last few months. BUT I still want to know how you like your dress from EShakti. Their stuff is so pretty!.