Scamming the Customer

Online shopping is a guilty pleasure of many young women in today’s technological and slightly lazy times. Shopping from the comfort of your own home. Scoring major deals. Choosing between endless options. What could possibly go wrong? A lot…

If you’re a female Facebook user between the ages of 18 and 25, you’ve most likely seen the sponsored advertisements for online clothing stores like SheIn or Romwe. And of course you clicked on the link and browsed the site a bit because who doesn’t want a dress for $9.74? You slowly but surely filled up your cart with $6 shirts and $13 sweaters. You hesitated before hitting the ‘confirm order’ button thinking, “this has to be too good to be true.”

22-year-old student Maddie Porter knew the outcome of ordering from SheIn was unlikely to be a positive one, but she tried her luck and confirmed her order anyway.

“Boy, was that a mistake,” Porter said. “I almost want to make a PSA so no one else orders from these sites ever again.”

Nearly two months after placing her order, Porter received her items – two dresses and one shirt, all in a size large. The reason behind the cheap pricing was painfully obvious.

“I understand if something doesn’t look exactly the same in person as it does online, but this was just awful,” she said. “Everything was a completely different color, fabric, and size from what I ordered.”

Instead of the clothes resembling the photos on the website, they seemed to be more of an interpretation of the items. One dress described on the site as wine red, loose fitting, and casual with quarter length sleeves was delivered as a bright red, tight fitting dress with short sleeves. There was no way that the fabric in front of Porter was the same as the fabric of the dress pictured online. Not to mention, it was sized for a young child.

How is it possible for an online clothing store to conduct business in this way? Perhaps it was a fluke. Maybe it was just this one website. With little research it is evident that this order was a result of neither possibility. SheIn, Romwe, Rose Gal, and Sammy Dress are just a few of the most recent online clothing stores advertising on Facebook and seeking to scam unsuspecting consumers.

Let’s take a closer look at Romwe. Simply from viewing the homepage, a consumer can see that the website is professionally made and for the most part, quite aesthetic. Equipped with “Holiday Gift Ideas” and a “Bestsellers” list, you become somewhat at ease. Perhaps the site’s “About Us” section could give you a bit more insight into the retailer.

Romwe begins by labeling itself “From Runway to Realway.” Sure, sounds catchy enough. As you keep reading the retailer’s description of the company, your suspicions rise to new levels.

“While now, “E” gets more attention, even though the world outside needs to be concerned. Sometimes we might desire a moment of peace while concerning the outside world. Back to “ME” is all about finding your fashion.”

Huh? Wait, it gets better.

“There’s too many tags – “rebellious”, “egotistical”, “ignorant” in China. Also “pirating”, “suspicious” and “shy” throughout the world. Sometimes you just gotta play your cards – be they good or bad. Now it’s our time to play. But we wonder… How’s this game played?”

What on earth did you just read? Sure, you could make up the confusion to simple translation error since it is a Chinese-owned retailer. Or you could call it for what it is – nonsense. The site’s information is just as thrown together as its style selection. It isn’t until you venture into the separate clothing categories such as “Fashion Dresses” that you realize this site is just plain absurd.

Well-made and (for the most part) fashionable dresses one would assume to cost upward of at least $40 are being sold for a mere $11.99. Photos of the dresses are inconsistent – the styling, models, and locations are all different from one another. There are even a few mirror selfies taken with an iPhone thrown into the mix. Didn’t you see that same exact dress and model on Nasty Gal’s website?

Now there is a fine line between taking inspiration from similar retailers and a plain knockoff. Not to mention, the copyright infringements upon using other retailers’ product photography. Surprisingly, retailers are aware of the problem, but there isn’t much they can do. Gaelle Drevet, co-owner of online retailer Pixie Market, stated to Refinery29 that her company has been one of many companies to have their photos stolen.

“Yes, we are aware of this, and yes, this is our photo,” she said. “[The websites] definitely don't ask for permission, and we spend a lot of time and money in the styling and models for our exclusive products, so this is definitely a problem.”

The only possible aspect saving the company from a complete retail copyright lawsuit is the fact that the clothes produced by the online retailer look nothing like those pictured. If you take a gander at the site’s “Terms & Conditions,” which let’s be honest, no one ever does, you’ll quickly see an unheard of loophole:

“Substitution - our company reserves the right, without prior notification, to substitute an alternative product of like kind, quality and function. If the buyer will not accept a substitute, the buyer must specifically declare that no substitution is allowed when the buyer requests a quote, if such request for quote is made, or, if no request for quote was made, when placing an order with the our company. “

That’s right, they can send you whatever piece of crap clothing they feel like making!

“Is that even legal?” questioned Beth Anderson, an avid online shopper and associate of local retailer White Rabbit. “If we ever sold B.S. items like that, we would immediately go out of business.”

Anderson compared the methods of websites such as Romwe to letting customers try on clothes in the store and then sending them home with something she sewed together herself. “The only difference is that it takes a lot longer for the customer to find out after buying online, and I’m sure it’s a lot harder to return those items,” said Anderson.

Just ask Porter about how fun it was to attempt receiving a refund for her purchases from SheIn. “I sent back the clothes probably a month ago and I’m still waiting for my refund,” she said.

Aside from paying for shipping all the way back to China, in order to receive a refund, customers need to jump through endless hoops. First, the customer must create a “ticket” for their order and describe why they would like a refund. Only then will you receive a message in poorly translated English with a list of more directions.

“Customer service simply does not exist with this site,” said Porter.

It wasn’t until Porter sent another message concerning her refund that she was told her money would be placed into the site’s “My Wallet” feature so that she could spend the amount on her next purchase. Because who wouldn’t want to buy more junk? Fortunately, after a few more aggressive exchanges with a “customer service representative,” Porter was allowed to withdraw her money once it was placed back into the account.

It has become quite clear how these sketchy companies have been operating, but how they have remained in business or how they haven’t been busted is a complete mystery. Absolutely no information can be found about the overarching companies in which these sites operate under.

Unexpectedly, SheIn and Romwe are owned by the same corporation – Shein Group UK Limited. It is unclear why a company would need two separate retailers selling the exact same rip-off clothes – perhaps if one is shut down? Supposedly based in London, but operates from China, the company remains an enigma.

On the other hand, the owner of similar site Sammy Dress, Shenzhen Global Egrow Ecommerce Co Ltd., has an entire website. Not only do they sell apparel, but the company has a whole other website entitled GearBest dedicated to selling toys, gadgets, and technology. Hopefully the company isn’t producing their own interpretations of cell phones and tablets as well…

With poor quality, misleading ads, and no customer service, it is only time before the bad reviews catch up to the “fashion” sites. That is, unless the company remains on top of removing those unfortunate reviews from their pages. According to other angry customers, sites like SheIn don’t post any review that has rated the retailer with less than three stars. Who knows if the positive reviews are those from legitimately satisfied customers or from the company themselves.

The bottom line is: research before you hit ‘place order’ on some random online store. If all your heart desires is super cheap clothing, then by all means go for it. But, if quality and honesty are your top priority, perhaps your money would be better spent elsewhere.