I'm Mad As Hell And I'm Not Gonna Take It Anymore

March 2, 2006 5:05 PM

Victoria's Secret is running a racket and I want out.

I just spent $15 on shipping, handling, and tax for an online Victoria's Secret purchase of one teeny, tiny bathing suit. I never want to pay that much for shipping again.

I really like the style of Victoria's Secret's bathing suits and underwear and I like ordering online. I do NOT like the way they price shipping by how much the items you purchased cost rather than how much it will cost them to ship the item, and I do not like the way that VS seems to be using cheaper and cheaper materials for their products every year. I know that VS can charge me whatever they want for shipping as long as I'm willing to pay it. I'm not willing to pay it anymore.

Any suggestions for other relatively "classy" online lingerie companies that don't gauge you for shipping? I've seen these two threads on lingerie shopping. I am looking for specific feedback on successful shipping experiences with other companies like VS.

posted by Crushinator to shopping (23 comments total)

Did you check for online promotions, like free shipping? And even without a free shipping, did you try the $10 off of $50 or $20 off of $100 deal in their latest email? Sometimes, when you Google "Victoria's Secret Promotion Codes" helpful discounts pop up.
posted by MeetMegan at 5:16 PM on March 2, 2006

Here, f'rinstance.
posted by Kwantsar at 5:17 PM on March 2, 2006

I did see those promotions (which basically only cover shipping). My point is more that I want to use the free market to send a message to VS that they need to reduce their ludicrous shipping costs by buying from someone else.
posted by Crushinator at 5:25 PM on March 2, 2006

Have you considered that the shipping fee may have been reasonable? How far did the package travel, and how fast? What % of the purchase price does the shipping represent?

VS is a boutique brand, and I'm assuming that they're protecting their reputation by aiming to provide a quick and painless shipment method.

At any rate, a standard shipping fee is pretty common among on-line sellers, and while you might get punished for only buying one small item, you might have got a great deal on shipping if you'd bought more or heavier stuff.

Personally, I don't think it's any company's responsibility to create a low-financial-impact solution for people who want to buy a single item - after all, they have to do (practically)the same amount of work to process your a small order as a big order.
posted by chudmonkey at 5:37 PM on March 2, 2006

Have you considered that the shipping fee may have been reasonable? How far did the package travel, and how fast? What % of the purchase price does the shipping represent?

I dunno; when you consider that Amazon is willing to waive shipping fees entirely on almost any purchase of more than $25, it makes one wonder about such things.
posted by Gator at 5:43 PM on March 2, 2006

Have you considered that the shipping fee may have been reasonable?

Heck no! I worked for a company in the shipping department- using UPS software to calculate postage for packages containing heavy tableware (placemats, etc). $15 goes a loooooong way.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 5:47 PM on March 2, 2006 [1 favorite]

Why don't you just go to the Victoria's Secret store and avoid the shipping altogether? There's one in the Ashville Mall. Of course, if you don't like to shop in their stores in person, I'll understand, since I don't particularly like going in there, either. They called me a jive turkey once, and I still haven't got over it ;-)
posted by JekPorkins at 5:52 PM on March 2, 2006

Jek, the VS stores don't generally carry clothing items like swimsuits and jeans and the like -- you can only get them through the catalog.
posted by Gator at 5:54 PM on March 2, 2006

Or, er, online.
posted by Gator at 5:57 PM on March 2, 2006

Victoria's Secret has a hell of a monopoly on the US lingerie market. Aside from the terrible quality stuff at department stores, where would you look at the mall for lingerie? VS. I'm rather discriminating when it comes to lingerie, and I buy my favorite European brands from a small boutique, and occasionally from Saks or NM. VS's lingerie is so generic-suburban...I don't like feeling like every woman I pass on the street is wearing the exact same bra as I am.

But I feel your pain when it comes to their swimsuits. I used to wear nothing but the miracle bra bikinis -- it was like there was nothing that fit me better. But I recently found a godsend of a brand, Moontide. They sell tops and bottoms separately, and each piece is reversible. The cut is so forgiving to any figure, and their D/DD cup actually fits and supports a larger bust very well.


But that's not answering your question....as for upscale online lingerie retailers, try

FigLeaves.com
$3 shipping and free returns

and

LingerieStudio.com
FREE shipping!
posted by saffron at 7:17 PM on March 2, 2006 [1 favorite]

Shipping and handling rates from victoriassecret.com

MERCHANDISE SUBTOTAL VIA SURFACE
$ 0.00 - 25.00 $ 4.95
25.01 - 40.00 6.95
40.01 - 55.00 8.95
55.01 - 75.00 10.95
75.01 - 100.00 13.95
100.01 - 125.00 15.95
125.01 - 150.00 17.95
150.01 - 250.00 18.95
250.01 - 400.00 19.95
Over $400.00 5.5% of merchandise subtotal

If I buy a $76 swim suit, it costs $13.96 to ship. If that same suit goes on sale and I pay $75 instead, it costs $10.95 to ship. This is nonsense.

Is there a better alternative?

[On preview: Thanks saffron!]
posted by Crushinator at 7:37 PM on March 2, 2006

They called me a jive turkey once, and I still haven't got over it ;-)

Zing!
posted by Who_Am_I at 7:39 PM on March 2, 2006

They called me a jive turkey once, and I still haven't got over it ;-)

I'll never hear the end of this ;)
posted by Crushinator at 7:42 PM on March 2, 2006

Designer Intimates has reasonable shipping, great customer service and good prices on good brands. I highly recommend checking out the La Felina lingerie.
posted by fshgrl at 7:45 PM on March 2, 2006

I personally think JCrew has great swimsuits.
posted by radioamy at 8:23 PM on March 2, 2006

I don't think any of us can judge either way until we see pics of said teeny, tiny bathing suit.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 9:57 PM on March 2, 2006

Have you voiced your complaint through a mailed letter to them? (Not email. Real letters really will get better results.)

Ask them for an explanation, and provide them with your own explanation as to why you believe it is overpriced. Might not get you anything, but then again it might get you more detail as to why they do it the way they do it.

(They aren't the only ones that do that. I've ran across a few places that charge for shipping based on cost not weight.)
posted by smallerdemon at 11:15 PM on March 2, 2006

That Designer Intimates site looks great- Thanks for the tip! I wish I'd known about them years ago.
posted by small_ruminant at 11:42 PM on March 2, 2006

I've been happy with the range and service at Bare Necessities. I also dislike the VS shipping charges, and frankly I'm bored of their endless black/pink cheesy offerings.
posted by Joh at 12:03 AM on March 3, 2006

Just want to tack on that I'm also done with Vicky's. The store and online. The shipping is outrageous and their quality and service has plummeted.
posted by lampoil at 6:54 AM on March 3, 2006

Crushinator writes "If I buy a $76 swim suit, it costs $13.96 to ship. If that same suit goes on sale and I pay $75 instead, it costs $10.95 to ship. This is nonsense."

Though I can see where it's upsetting this is a very common method of computing shipping charges. It's easy for the customer to compute their shipping when shopping by mail and usually averages out to not being a rip off.

Hey at least you aren't screwed out of the free shipping offers just because you aren't in the US. We can't even bypass shipping by shopping the stores :(.
posted by Mitheral at 7:09 AM on March 3, 2006

La Senza is great and very affordable, but it's Canadian, so you might have to pay duty charges. I've ordered from there a few times and I really like their lingerie though. Oooh, and they have free shipping for anything over $39 (i think that's canadian $39, not sure what the exchange rate is right now).
posted by echo0720 at 7:48 AM on March 3, 2006

La petite coquette.

More expensive than VS, but MUCH Better Stuff. I have bought gifts there before and the giftees were appreciative.
posted by lalochezia at 9:23 PM on March 3, 2006 [1 favorite]