As college students, we’re always looking for a good deal and a simple way to get it. Here is the short list of online shopping sites I created from personal experience to give you the low down of the pros and cons of shopping and ordering from each place:
1. SheIn (shein.com)
Pricing: Their prices are GREAT for a student on a budget and you can find similar pieces from other companies but for cheaper prices. They sell everything from trendy evening wear to business casual clothing. They also host many sales for SheIn members and often have site-wide free shipping and/or percent off the order.
Email: Being added to their email list is really nice to keep up with sales and trends. They don’t send out too many emails, but they notify you of new deals and member perks. It’s nice that they don’t flood your inbox, and you can also get some really great flash deals for a variety of products.
Extra Perks: On every product’s page, there is an opportunity to review the clothing or accessory. There are reviews and outfit suggestions (with pics) for each item which are written by fellow buyers, so you can see if the piece fits correctly, if it arrived in good condition, and much more. Saving things to your “wishlist” is an awesome bonus to keep track and save things that you like. Plus, their deliveries arrive within the time frame (which is about a week) and in good shape.
Negative Aspects: Sometimes their items sell out and they can take a while to restock. But to solve that, save the item to your wish list so you can easily find it again to purchase it when they restock.
Favorite Item I Purchased: Black and white checkered dress for $9
2. ASOS (asos.com)
Pricing: This site is pretty consistent about having decent prices for their products, although it is a range with some pricier brands. The items are of quality material and look very high end, especially for the low cost.
Email: While they do send frequent emails, they are effective in offering sales and special offers to its recipients. It can be worthwhile to subscribe to see what they’re offering. Plus, you can always unsubscribe.They also offer a student discount of 10% when you use an .edu email!
Extra Perks: ASOS is great for dress shopping, especially for events like prom and other dances. They have a vast selection of dresses of many different styles to choose from. Even though the other sites have comparable dresses, ASOS has a wider selection of specialty event dresses for their customers to choose from.
Negative Aspects: If you do order for an event, be sure to place your order early because it can take a up to or over a week to ship to your location. Also, the sizing is a bit weird so be sure to look over the reviews of the product. Although the site’s prices are not as cheap as others, they offer different inventory and some items of better quality.
Favorite Item I Purchased: Yellow checkered Vans hoodie for $38
3. Zaful (zaful.com)
Pricing: Similar to SheIn, Zaful provides a less pricey version of trendy clothing and accessories. The site also has a business casual section, variety of seasonal wear, bathing suits, and accessories. Sometimes there is different pricing on Zaful and SheIn for the same product depending on who is or isn’t having a sale.
Email: Becoming a member of this site is similar to SheIn. Both send amount the same amount of emails every couple of days. They mostly contain information about sales or deals they are having for the week or month as well as new styles they have added to the site.
Extra Perks: There is a chance to join their “community” of users who share their looks with other site users. This is a great way to see how other people are styling Zaful’s products as well as connect with other users. Like SheIn, Zaful has a great community base of customers that share their opinions and personal pictures of them in the item being sold in the review section for each product.
Negative Aspects: In my experience, it does take Zaful longer to ship compared to SheIn, but everything still arrives in good condition. Also, like SheIn, zippers can sometimes be iffy or the clothing could come with a couple loose strings.
Favorite Item I Purchased: Two-piece maroon crop top and shorts for $15
4. Groupon (groupon.com)
Pricing: I don’t know how Groupon does it, but they sell high quality items for such low prices. Sterling silver, rose gold, and gold jewelry can be purchased for as low as $5 and you can even get more of a discount if you purchase multiple. Be sure to be specific in your search and price range on Groupon because they have many items for sale and it can get overwhelming
Email: Groupon sends SO many emails each day so be careful what you agree to when you sign up as a member. However, being a member means they send you special coupons and discounts (i.e. $10 off, extra 15% off.)
Extra Perks: Not only does Groupon have great deals on jewelry and clothing, they have virtually any deal you could ever want. They also have a Groupon Student Program which offers 25% off for local deals during the first six months and as long as you’re a student, they continue to give members 15% off local deals.
Negative Aspects: The number of emails they send is a bit overwhelming and sometimes they have weird agreements with the company that the coupon is purchased for. With that said, be sure to read the terms of agreement prior to the purchase.
Favorite Item I Purchased: Mother daughter bracelet set for $20 for two
Happy shopping!
Photo credit: Flickr