STORE WARS: J. Crew Factory vs. Amazon
Starting March 19th and running through April 8th, Dappered.com is hosting a bracket based tournament with the purpose of eventually crowning the all around Affordable Men’s Style Retail Champ for 2013. For a full introduction see this post. The bracket on the right will be updated as the tournament progresses. Click on it for the full size. Make a case for your preferred competitor in the comments section, but don’t forget to vote at the bottom of each match up. On with today’s showdown:
Strengths: Easily could have been a #1 seed. Some have understandably questioned why J. Crew and J. Crew Factory are separate competitors. The price ranges and level of quality (most of the time) are different enough, plus J. Crew Factory has such a strong presence that with a different name, they could easily stand alone as their own brand (they’re almost Banana Republic’s GAP). They’ve been online for awhile now, and that means access for everyone to their flagship Thompson suit separates (in wool-blend, all wool, and cotton), their tweed-like winter blazers, and merino wool v-necks. Factory is also smart enough to not make their jacket sleeve buttons functional, or even throw any accent stitching around them… makes for easy tailoring. Lots of sales, so if you’re patient and play the code game, you can get some great looking stuff for an extremely reasonable price. Seems like they actually responded to requests by those of you who wear a 36R or 36S to start making their suit jackets and blazers in that size. $4.95 flat rate shipping is one of the lower shipping rates out there.
Weaknesses: They can sometimes miss on quality. For example, plenty reported not being happy (at all) with their herringbone wool blend blazer from this past fall, yet the grey tweed-like blazer was up to snuff. Some accessories like belts, sunglasses, and ties have also been disappointing to some leaving feedback in the comments. Not everyone is head over heels for the Thompson (it’s fused, and can be a little stiff at first in some fabrics).
Strengths: Remember when Amazon sold almost nothing but books? No? Well, remind this aging brain at a later date and you shall be regaled with tales of things called 56k Modems and Geocities. At hotbot. Do not forget hotbot. Where were we. Right. Watches, shoes, and a growing presence in clothing. Amazon Fashion
Weaknesses: When it comes to style, Amazon is a solid source for watches, shoes… and really that’s it. With as enormous as Amazon is (for crying out loud they’re now selling wine
Your votes determine who goes on to the next round. Cast your ballot below. Voting closes at midnight ET.
UPDATE: J. Crew Factory shrugs off Amazon with ease.
Store Wars: J. Crew Factory vs. Amazon
- J. Crew Factory (73%, 1,135 Votes)
- Amazon (27%, 424 Votes)
Total Voters: 1,557
Loading ...
J. Crew Factory is the king of discounted diffusion lines. And while I buy basically everything else on Amazon, a reigning men’s clothier it is not.
Except for my Skagen with blue hands, I can’t think of any other menswear items I’ve bought from Amazon. However, almost everything else I buy either comes from Amazon or I check the reviews there prior to making a purchase. It’s easily one of the most valuable resources I can think of and it’s saved me lots of money and frustration, but in terms of menswear, J. Crew Factory wins hands down.
I really like the concept for Store Wars, but I would suggest a different approach next year for the bracket assignments. Consider trying to pair more “like” retailers together in the first round. That way, the 2nd round is more about “best of breeds” competing against each other. For example, Nordstrom vs Ebay really are completely different models – why not Nordstrom vs Macys? J Crew vs Goodwill is another one that makes no sense to me. Why not BR vs J Crew, Ebay vs Goodwill? Suitsupply vs Brooks Brothers?
Just a suggestion. Thanks!
Pffft, HotBot sucked. It was all about Dogpile!
Anyway, I’m in for J. Crew Factory here. I’ve tried, many times, to find decent clothes on Amazon, and have always failed. Great for watches, okay for weird items (like the pair of moustachioed argyle socks I’m currently wearing), but J. Crew Factory easily wins this round, even if their quality is not always up to par.
YES!!! Suitsupply vs Indochino, Amazon vs Ebay, etc. Next year play match maker and pair like companies. Forget the idea of high seed vs low seed. It works for sports teams, not so well for retails stores. You could also try for similar matches in round two. JCF Jcrew BR and Gap could have faced off with the winners facing each other in round two. There will always be some odd matches. Your readers would get much more out of the comments comparing two similar companies.
So, I think all of the big match-ups are on the Western half of the bracket this year. Pretty sure BR/J Crew Factory will be the matchup that determines the winner. There’s nothing in the Eastern half of the bracket that can mount a challenge to either.
I picked up a pair of Allen Edmonds Park Avenues on amazon a few weeks ago that were already marked down 15% or so, plus another one time 20% off code for joining the amazon shoes mailing list. As Joe noted, if it’s shoes or mens accessories you’re looking for, amazon is pretty hard to beat. Plus no sales tax and no shipping charges if you go prime.
I know the Crew is winning this one and I think the stuff there is better, I can’t bring myself to buy from Factory. This past year I bought watches and boots and all sorts of shit off Amazon. Haven’t bought a thing from Factory. Regular J. Crew on the other hand has sucked my paychecks dry…
Thanks for the suggestion. Hear this every year, but in the end, there’d be odd matchups in the semis, etc… Still might give it a spin next year, but that means a first round match up of J. Crew and BR, which doesn’t really seem fair.
An easy way to think about this is “which one would I rather do without, when it comes to supplying my style?” Suitsupply, for example, while mainly a suit maker, might be at the top of someone’s list, because they love their suits THAT much. Make sense? Thanks for the comment.
I gotta agree with the Jcrew Factory in this match-up. Amazon has done me well for numerous home goods, proraso shave soap, DE blades, sunglasses, shoes, pants, camera equipment and tons of reviews. But for mens’ clothing outfitter- they don’t get my money nor are they a go-to store. No Tax, Free shipping and decent customer service are nice- but I just don’t see them getting it done- unless they bring the botique guys like Lucky, Bonobos and the rest under their umbrella.
JCP… with their style change and great prices… can’t do without them… they should’a won their match…
I was rooting for them myself.
Like joe has said, buying watches at amazon can never go wrong. But since I’m not a big watch person. My vote goes to jcrew factory. Bought a sports jacket in ludlow fit last year, and I was pleasantly surprised with the fit. The chest piece is a bit stiff, but for the low price, it’s worth it.
Yeah, I actually think you have it right Joe, with high-seed vs low-seed.
I’m sure what Geoff is recommending makes sense for some of the matchups, like how you pitted Target vs JCP. Those two are mor middle of the packers, so having them match up in the first round still makes sense. But really, like you said who wants to see two biggies battle it out right away? Not me. BR vs JC would not be a good way to start things off.
Slightly surprised Amazon doesn’t at least have a few more votes, given that they do watches and shoes so well. Then again, I find myself consistently shopping for shoes and watches, so I turn to Amazon first. I love the J. Crew Factory blazer I have, so no complaints there. I went with Amazon, but if I had more experience, it’d have to be J. Crew Factory probably.
Agreed, which is why amazon got my vote. I do have a shawl-neck cardigan from Factory, which is hands down the thing I wear the most in any given winter month. That said, I could not go without using amazon for 6 months, while I could easily live with skipping Factory and just waiting to catch a good sale at the regular Crew or BR.
I enjoy the way it is done as it provides a better overall voting experience and keeps it exciting.
I’m probably as big an Amazon whore as there is (my household has two Kindles and Prime and we spend a lot there annually thanks to the convenience and pricing), but the Amazon experience for clothing does truly suck. JCF by a mile.
I think target took it because of their basic essentials. I love their argyle socks for the price.
The worst thing that can happen in any tournament is to have an opening round match up by two of the most talented teams. Cheats everyone out of the final they really want to see.
No sales tax is not actually true — plenty of people pay sales tax on Amazon orders (people in WA, NY, and I think CA, at the very least, and surely people in states housing Amazon distribution centers).
Completely agree. I actually just got home from JCP and I love it even more now. I picked up a really nice well-fitting pair of light khaki colored corduroy’s (JCP brand) for THREE DOLLARS. They were marked $10 which was still an amazing price, but for $3..I felt like I was stealing them.
Also, picked up last season’s OCBD (the ones with the shoulder pleats instead of the center back pleat) in white for $14 even though it was marked $25. I’m blown away. Got an amazing outfit for about 18 bucks.
JCP for life.
what about a losers bracket? have two match-ups every day instead of one, and have it double elimination. not the same process as the NCAA, but we also don’t have 64 teams/stores and play 20+ games a day
Slim edge to Amazon here for me, as the only two items I’ve bought at J. Crew Factory were shoddy and I ended up driving 20m to return them in person.
On the other hand I’ve barely bought any clothing-related items from Amazon. Couple socks, a watch band. “Accessories”, I guess. But at least when I buy from them the quality is decent, shipping is fast (with Prime), and its backed with a reasonable return policy.
How did J Crew factory win this? It’s a factory store! The majority of their merchandise was made for the factory store, not closeouts from J. Crew itself. Not only can you find better apparel at similar prices when J. Crew has a sale, Amazon blows them out of the water for choice. Right now they’ve got great deals on the Pendleton Portland Collection for example, and it’s not some “final sale” either. Shocking that Amazon doesn’t take this.