Abby Lauren
The Trials and Tribulations of Buying Chinese Clothes Online
If you’re like me, you very easily are influenced to try to buy women’s clothes online because the manufacturers are abundant, the clothes look absolutely gorgeous, they carry your size, and the prices are quite reasonable. In addition, you don’t have to chance meeting anyone you know (as a male) as you might in a dress shop or at a mall. If you’re not at all like me, I really don’t understand how you’ve avoided this. So, I am offering to share with you what my experiences have been like and learn from what I’ve learned from purchasing Chinese clothes online.
- I) Are all the manufacturers reputable? No, they all aren’t. Some standby their goods and some don’t – i.e. some will refund your money if the clothes are less than you expected them to be, and some won’t. I wish I could tell which manufacturers or sellers of the clothing reputable and which ones are not, but my experience with these manufacturers or sellers is not so vast and thorough. There are just so many Chinese sellers of clothing out there, there’s no way anyone could cover the reviews and recommendations for them all!
2) Are the sizes accurate if they say they are USA compatible sizes? Most of them are, but that too varies a bit. Usually, if anything, they are undersized and you need to look at the meaning of the sizes (therefore, read what the size means in the Size Key – don’t merely expect the size to be a USA XL). If you must make a guess, go for one size larger than you think you need.
3) Are the prices accurate and affordable? For the most part, they are. They’re not steals but they are affordable.
4) Are the dresses pretty and wear well? For the most part they are gorgeous and very wearable.
5) How reliable are the dates given for shipment? Not very reliable. There are 2 parts to the shipment, usually: The first part is the processing part and that can vary across the board. The second part is the actual shipping time and that can add weeks or months to the actual delivery. YOU MUST LEAVE EXTRA TIME TO RECEIVE YOUR PACKAGE. I do a lot of traveling and have missed several deliveries. The saving grace is that you usually will finally be given tracking information AFTER the package is already scheduled to be shipped (not processed).
6) I usually order dresses and have gotten many compliments in their responses to the clothing I’ve purchased from Chinese sellers. All in all, counting the clothes that NEVER appeared, I think I’m still way ahead money wise.
7) Can I suggest any manufacturer who I’ve generally been satisfied with? This is not meant to be a whole-hearted recommendation, but I’ve found Rotita to be the best Chinese manufacturer in terms of reliability and quality.
Good luck to all of you all with your overseas purchases!
Now girls, if you would, share some of your own experiences with me and the rest of our CDH readers as far as your luck purchasing from Chinese sellers or manufacturers.
What advice, other than what I’ve offered up, would you add to the list of questions and answers I’ve provided above? Especially if you’ve had some super luck with one or two specific sellers of Chinese made clothing you would definitely recommend to others.
I’m looking forward to your responses and let’s share our experiences with the other CDH girls who may be tentative about purchasing clothing from overseas.
Love
Abby Lauren
Thanks you for your post Abby, It inspired me to write. I too have been ordering clothes from overseas, from W**h, don’t know if I’m allowed to say or not. I haven’t yet had clothes not show up, but I’m willing to take that risk. I have a few rules about what I see and what I order, so I will pass along to help others, although maybe they are not great revelations. 1. If the pictures don’t all show the same product, skip it. 2. If the sizes are too confusing, such as starting at 5x, and the measurements… Read more »
Thanks for your considered input. I very much appreciated it.
I’ve ordered a number of garments and CD accessories through Alibaba, a sort of Amazon for Chinese vendors. I’ve had good luck and bad. The prices are wholesale low. But customer service can be a challenge. Sizing tends to be smaller than standard- except for the time I bought a pocket bra for breast forms that was supposed to be DD but arrived with cups big enough for soccer balls. Ordered a pair of silicone breast forms – only one form arrived. The language in the ad was ambiguous but the photo clearly showed a pair. But some things are… Read more »
Misha……….Almost all of them, you can direct contact for clarification and do love to chat to us are quite quick to make amends. Dame Veronica
Your experience is a lot better than mine. What’s your secret?
Thanks, Misha, for your great insights.
Hugs
Abby
I’ve never gotten some of the stuff I ordered and some were below inferior. If I had more courage, I would buy them in person and try them on first.
A topic “close to home". Except for a couple of shapewear items, I haven’t bought anything from China…but my wife has been on a buying binge, with shoes, purses and clothing. This is what we have learned: FIRST read all of the fine print before ordering; most everything is in Asian, not US sizing, and you will probably be advised to order one or two sizes larger than usual.(one size larger for shoes). You can probably get the correct size in dresses and pant suits, but tops are another matter. I have recently “Inherited" several camis and tops, which, despite… Read more »
Hi Bettylou,
I was happy just shopping for feminine items. Sometimes, I didn’t get items I ordered because I travel a lot and the items came when i was no longer there and were sent back to China- ie. a total loss for me.
Hugs
Abby
Hi Girls. I have ordered plenty of things from Alibaba from a variety of places, I have only had problems once on size. Sure, we may not be speaking top of the line quality but price on undies and shape-wear….cannot be beat. Shipping-wise….some things take a while, some are very quick.
Over-all………I am happy with their products and services. Your major brand stores all get their things from China…..why not cut out the wholesaler/retailer excessive profits and you keep them. These big stores are mostly foreign owed so no worry about cutting out you countries work force.
Dame Veronica.
Girls……I have found that 2x to 3x in dresses would be close to our 16-18. Shoes….take male foot size add 2 sizes and go with Wide width
DVG
Dear DVG
Thanks so much for your input.
Hugs
Abby
An absolutely accurate report, Abby!! I’ve bought from several Chinese Manufacturers, and I too can say the quality and service are all over the board. The advice about going one or two sizes up is excellent, as I bought a blouse online that gave my measurements in Inches, but the size i received was anything but close!! It took me three tries to get one even close to my size. Online, I tend to go with Domestic Sellers, and most of my clothes are bought in Brick and Mortar Stores, but Ladies wishing to buy clothes and Heels online, need… Read more »
Thanks so much, Dawnie. I appreciated your comments.
Hugs
Abby
In the UK Amazon sells a lot of chinese brands. If you want a return policy and fast delivery go for brands that are “dispatched by by Amazon". Often you can have delivery to a pick up point in a store , or an amazon locker if privacy is a concern. I use “Amazon free UK delivery" or Prime (when i get offered a free trial). A very good Amazon brand is Oodji. They have a good range and are quite cheap. Quality is good. Most dresses only go up to a UK size 14 though there are an increasing… Read more »
Hi Steph
Amazon does not deliver where I live half the year. But, in general, it’s a great place tp order. Thanks for your input.
Hugs
Abby
I have found that most suppliers out of the country their sizes run VERY SMALL, even looking at their size charts to determine correct size still is not correct. I have gotten to the point of not using foreign clothes suppliers. Venus is a great option that has some very good quality clothes for the price! And easy to return if necessary.
Hi Leah
Thanks for the suggestion of Venus.
Hugs
Abby
you are welcome, watch for their sales! Yandy has some nice options as well.
well we had a girls day out and worked the discount racks in the mall. the GG’s didn’t seem to notice or mind. You can always drive to a mall an hAr away or something if you are worried about a local one. I’ve had mixed results with online shoes and clothes. domestic sellers tend to get sizing right. last pair of shoes I bought, they said add 1/2 size as they tend to run narrow, well what I got had to be 2 sizes large. price was cheap, shipping was slow, but I think I may retire this pair… Read more »
Buying domestically is a good idea if you are unafraid.
Hugs
Abby
Great post Abby. As one who has a ridiculously large volume of clothes in my wardrobe(aka Narnia) I have purchased items in person and online and from both US sellers and direct from Chinese. A few additional notes: 1) NEVER NEVER trust the generic Amazon size chart without first scrolling through the ENTIRE LISTING for a “seller specific “ size chart! There is really NO consistency between overseas manufacturers/sellers. I wear a size 16-18 dress and XL tops generally if I buy in a brick and mortar store or someone like Charlotte Russe or Old Navy etc. But I’m Asian… Read more »
Forgot to add-be aware that even though it might not say so on the listing, SOME of the companies from China send stuff and it needs to be signed for at the post office. The first time I got a notice or “registered mail” for an order it freaked me out a bit; but not to worry, the ones that do this usually stuff the item into a white plastic shrink wrapped package and the sender/company info is usually in chinese so it’s not like the postal clerk is going to be thinking “oh this guy is picking up a… Read more »
Dear Cyn
Excellent comments. Thanks.
Hugs
Abby
I live in Israel 1/2 a year each year and my Chinese clothing has lots of Chinese written on them BUT the articles are described in ENGLISH, believe it or not. the last time I picked up something, the postal clerk asked me who was picking them up and I said, unabashedly, “me". She didn’t respond but it shows that this isn’t as carefree as one would expect. I think they have to write the item description to pass customs.