GILT changes their return & shipping policy. Drastically.

 The shipping and return policies are not the reason I never bought anything from Gilt. The reason I never bought anything is because they never sold anything I found interesting at a price point I found tempting. I can virtually always find items of comparable quality at lower prices if I’m willing to overlook a little brand snobbery.

 @fe348f353f151e6135ffb12cf2c96311:disqus  Daniel Gaston… I am wondering the same too. Many US retailers seem to treat Canada as some third world backwater country by not shipping their merchandise up north of the 49th parallel. Coming back to Gilt, I feel this policy is consistent across the board (i.e. including Canada) except the shipping charges are probably more quadruple of the US flat rate shipping. I have always been disappointed by Gilt’s selection…here is the proof http://worstofgilt.com/ 

I would like to give some props to GILT. A few weeks ago I bought a really nice John Varvatos suit from them which, owing to the fact that apparently I’m a lot smaller than I thought I was, fit me terribly. I sent it back and was kind of bummed that I now had a large amount of money tied up in store credit, yet still needed to buy a suit, presumably from somewhere I could try it on first (ie: not GILT). When I heard they changed their refund policy I contacted them and, even though their policy was store credit when I bought the suit, they just let me know that they’d change my credit to a full refund. I thought that was awfully classy of them.

I think the option for “I’m over it. Too many disappointing sales.” shows a big misunderstanding of what flash sale sites like Gilt are about.

Gilt owes you nothing.  They don’t charge a monthly membership.  They don’t require that you visit or buy often to retain access.  And while it is in their interest to offer stuff people will buy, then are not obligated in any way to offer only the stuff you want.

The only burden is for you go visit the site and sift through the sales, separating the wheat from the chaff.  This is no different than combing the clearance rack at your local department store – 90% of the time the stuff will be on clearance for a reason – because it’s horrid – or if they do have decent items you’re not likely to find it in your size.

But oh man, when you find that great motorcycle jacket or a great pair of jeans or a pile of pocket squares nobody wanted, and they’re marked down by 60% or more, it’s totally worth it.

Same goes for Gilt – sure you can check the sales every day for a month and only find one thing you want but… why is this not expected?  If you want to find something every time or even ever third time you go shopping, then maybe stop shopping *only* the clearance rack.

I get what you’re saying completely.  But you have to admit there has been a drastic, drastic shift towards “well that sucked” in the last year or so with Gilt.  They used to have tons of sizes, selection, etc… not so anymore.  Take a look at the Bonobos sale.  Probably 30 items or so.  Three pants with actual sizes?  They sorta over promise and under deliver compared to a year or so ago.

The general reaction (and I’m including myself here) was that at one point it was worth keeping an eye on it.  Now it’s just… kinda not.  Of course GILT owes me nothing.  Never said they did.  But if they want those of us who wear size medium, 10.5 shoes, etc… to pay attention, which we once did and for good reason, then something on their end has to change.  No skin off my nose at all.

Could be part of my perspective, Joe.  I only joined Gilt myself within the last 6 months.  I don’t have a frame of reference for what it was like a year ago.

I agree with your sentiment, but it’s not 100% of the story. To put “my money where my mouth is”, here’s a screenshot of my last two orders

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/180411/gilt_orders.png

Jeans, a gray v-neck, a gingham tie, and a read cardigan.  Nothing here outside the realm of stuff that “a normal human being would wear”. 

And the prices?  The Varvatos jeans were $50.  That red cardigan? $64. Finding similar quality items at my nearest mall (http://www.northparkcenter.com/) “for half the price” just isn’t possible.

Theses are all “good” deals, bar none.  What I think you’re after are “cheaper” deals.

If low price is your only metric for what makes determines the quality of a deal, then I see where you’re coming from.

For me, it’s all about overall value. The price, style, and *quality* of the garment should be assessed in aggregate to determine value.

To focus so much on price is to miss part of the picture, IMO.

Okay, but how long do these fancy new returns take to process? I ordered a dress that showed up with pulls in the fabric, mailed it back the next day, and 11 days later it still says “pending”….