Amazon is our go-to for everything lately, including clothes! Today I’m sharing everything I’ve learned about how to shop for clothes on Amazon successfully and without a lot of hassle!
Ohhhhh Amazon… how do I love thee. Let me count the ways! Your prime shipping fills my “need it now” desire, your variety of offering literally anything I need day or night makes me so happy, and my husband loves your television shows. Never leave me Amazon. Please.
After a few years of consistently shopping Amazon for everything under the sun, but mostly clothing, I’ve learned a few lessons along the way that have helped me order clothing with confidence. Whether it is the sizing, the fabric, the quality, or the seller, it can all seem very vague or ambiguous on an Amazon listing. So today I wanted to share some of my tips with you guys so you can shop confidently on Amazon too!
How to Shop for Clothes on Amazon
Before I dive in though, I wanted to share a recent experience I had that showed me maybe I didn’t know as much as I thought I did! I found and shared a really awesome pair of jeans and the next day, literally the next day, the price was marked down from an already low $21.05 to just $10.99. This was too good of a deal to pass up sharing with my ladies so I immediately got on Instagram and Facebook to spread the news!
Then, one of my wonderful IG followers pointed out to me that the seller for this discounted listing had “just launched” and that she had had a bad experience with this kind of thing before – where a new seller would mark down something by a large discount, sell a lot of the product, and then close up the shop without shipping or refunding anything.
So, immediately I shared this on my Instagram and Facebook accounts (after having almost 1000 people already click on the link….) to make sure people knew this and encourage them to request a cancellation of their order if they could so that they didn’t potentially get scammed. Could it be a real deal sale? Sure! But I was so freaked out by the fact that so many people had been interested in them at such a good price that might lose their money that I wanted to give people a fair warning!
The next day, I went back to see if the sale was still one and, no surprise here, that listing no longer existed and that seller no longer existed. Consider that a lesson learned! So that leads me to my first tip for you:
How to Vet Amazon Sellers
I think this might be one of the most important lessons I have learned so far: know your Amazon sellers. There are thousands and thousands of them out there. So how do you “know” these sellers?? There is no way you can memorize who the best ones are or know just by looking at them, so here are a few ways to distinguish the best from the rest!
I generally try to stick with items that are shipped from and sold by Amazon.com. It doesn’t 100% guarantee the product’s quality, but I’ll share more about how to tell the difference there later.
Some items will show as Sold By XYZ Brand, and fulfilled by Amazon. I have also had success shopping products through sellers like this! What I like about this is you can click on the brand’s name and be taken to their Amazon page, which includes their reviews (more on this below). I never shop from anyone that does not have at least 98% positive reviews. There are basically too many sellers on Amazon that sell the exact same item for me to go with one that has any lower of a score than that!
The basic idea to keep in mind here is to only use sellers or brands that have positive reviews as a brand on the platform and have a track record of positive interactions with customers.
In the same vein as the story I shared earlier, I would steer clear of “just launched” or brand new sellers on Amazon who have not been around enough to get any reviews. I know they are not all bad, but that entire situation left a bad taste in my mouth!
Additionally – I would look for the seller to be named on the product page! Once you put in your size and pick a color, it will show up where I’ve circled it below (or under the “add to cart” button on the mobile app). If there is not a seller there, then I would click where it says “available from other sellers” to see who is selling the product. From there you can check the brand’s name, track record, and reviews if they exist! Keep an eye out for this – this is how I missed the entire problem with the jeans and it felt very misleading by Amazon.
How to tell the quality of an Amazon item
This is where things can get very tricky and nuanced. Honestly, sometimes you just have to take a risk and see how it turns out. But I have found a few ways to gauge the quality of an item before ordering it that works about 95% of the time!
Look at the listing photos. Yes, this feels obvious. But want I want you to look for is mainly one thing: is the model in the photo actually wearing the item listed? Most of the time, the answer is yes. But, sometimes the answer is a hard no. Like in the photo above – that is one photo that has been photoshopped into different colors of the same item. It is quite obvious because she is in the exact same position in each photo, holding the same items in the same positions… Sometimes they are pretty obvious to spot. However, just because this is the case, doesn’t mean that it is a crappy item or a fraudulent seller. It is just one of the signs that it might be and something to keep in mind while you’re browsing.
(Also, this happens to be Leanne Barlow – who writes at Elle Appearel – and an Amazon shop stole her photo to use for this listing. Another thing to be wary of!)
I prefer to buy from sellers that have a model in the clothing and in different positions, so you can tell they are actually modeling them. As you can see here, she is standing in different positions, has a hand in a pocket, a slight front tuck – so you can tell she is actually wearing the clothes. Most of the time this signifies a better quality product and a higher rated seller as well.
Interpreting Reviews and the Sizing Chart
I cannot stress this enough – read the reviews!! Here is what you need to look for!
I always read the reviews and I try to read a few reviews in each star rating. I always always read the three star review – I feel like those are the most informative and authentic from the buyers. A lot of the time, one star reviews are heated and have a lot of emotion in them, meaning they might be slanted or skewed. Three star reviews seem to be more level headed and informative, with a tempered look at the product and seller, vs an “in the moment” reaction from someone who feels they’ve been wronged in some way.
I also always look for reviews with photos – these are SO HELPFUL! Photos are usually listed at the top of the reviews so they are easy to find. I try to find the ones that order the size I plan to order to see how it fits on them.
Finally, I scroll through and read a lot of the reviews from people who bought it in my size or the size I think I need. If you look underneath the title and star rating, it will show the size and color it was purchased in. These are really helpful and I use them along with the sizing tool to determine which size I need.
So let’s talk about this sizing tool. Here is what I have found to be true. If over 80% of the people who have given a review say that it is true to size and “fits as expected” I will order my true size (size L) and almost 100% of the time that has been true for me.
If more than 25% of people review it as being too small, I will always size up and that has never failed me. Not once! Additionally, if more than 10-15% of people review it as being too big, I’ll order my true size (not a size down), and it almost always works out for me.
I use this tool, along with the reviews, to determine my size the first time I order and I would say 95-98% of the time I get the right size on the first go at it. So for an example, in this particular tank top, I’ve got it in my cart in a size XL, based on the reviews and the sizing tool. This is so so helpful for me as someone who typically falls in between sizes!
Finally -if you ever have any doubt about a seller – make sure you read the reviews here too! I always look for a high rating within the last 12 months (over 98%!). The time is relevant because it shows that they are an active seller who has current transactions they are processing. I will not buy from a seller that has not had a review in the current month. As you can see, this seller has lots of great reviews already in February – so I feel safe getting this product.
You can also from this page see their policies on returns, refunds, and shipping. Always make sure you’re ordering a product that has free returns – always always always! It should be the seller’s responsibility all of the time and should not include any kind of restocking fee! (That is an opinion, not a fact, and I stand by it!)
Use all of these tools TOGETHER!
Now that I’ve shared some of my secrets here with you, I want to encourage you to go one step further and use all of these things together when you’re making a purchase of any kind from Amazon! As you can see in the tank top listing above – it doesn’t fall into the category where every photo is in a different position – meaning that the tank top is most definitely photoshopped onto the model. HOWEVER, the reviews and customer photos somewhat negate that fact, so I still feel confident purchasing it!
If you have any tools or tips for shopping Amazon with confidence, share them with me below! If this post was helpful for you, I would love if it you pinned it to your favorite Pinterest board or shared it on Facebook and Twitter.
