18 East

[kjb]

Hima sweater. Took a minute to get used to the fit but really dig it now.

 

[nedrog]

Um...so according to the website, all returns are for store credit only now?

RETURN POLICY - Updated 12.21.18

We hope you'll be completely happy with your purchase, but we'll gladly accept exchanges or returns on all items (except those marked "Final Sale") for store credit only within 14 DAYS from the time of delivery.

• Goods must be received unworn and in original condition with tags attached. We encourage you to inspect your order as soon as your package arrives to ensure everything is in good condition.
• We reserve the right to refuse returns on items that have been worn, soiled, laundered or altered in any way.
• We will not accept items marked FINAL SALE .
• We cannot refund original shipping charges.

 

[bry2000]

That is a garbage return policy for full price goods. I don’t care if you are a small operation or the size of Yoox-NAP.

 

[bm93]

Um...so according to the website, all returns are for store credit only now?

Yup, just found that out the hard way when I asked to return the tweed jacket.

 

[justridiculous]

Again, if anyone bought a hoodie in a size large (maybe an XL, depending on the measurements), and it didn't work, I'll buy it from you.

 

[bry2000]

Edited out my comment for the time being.

 

[NickPollica]

There's no liquidity crunch. We have a drop based model and our updated return policy is very common among similarly modeled brands. Look at Aime Leon Dore, Supreme, FA, Standard Issue, etc. We've added measurements and we do our best to answer everyones' questions. As for a place to try things on, that's coming. Hopefully we should have a permanent NYC home by the spring.

 

[bry2000]

Ok, I look forward to seeing your future drops at your prospective new location.

 

[dalevy]

Huh. I probably wouldn’t have bought anything with that return policy unless I could have tried it on in person in SF. I was able to for some pieces but only after purchasing everything online. I did need to return something.

But I’ll keep buying stuff I like now that I know what the sizing and fit is like sort of although with the store credit policy I probably wouldn’t buy a whole bunch of stuff at once and likely miss out on something I might like better in person than online.

I also don’t look at any of those other brands.

Just some facts and data points, not really saying this as positive or negative, I’m sure the brand will do what it has to do.

 

[slimster]

It’s like everything is done exactly opposite of what is expected in this day and age of a mainly online retailer. This wouldn’t even be legal in the EU.

 

[letsgofire]

This return policy sort of makes sense to me. They are not making a lot of these items and probably don’t have much in the way of retail infrastructure yet. Each return is therefore ‘expensive’ on a marginal cost basis. I would also imagine there is a big advantage of fully securing revenue for a young brand.

The most challenging part for me is the ‘slouchy fit’ of the items. There have been a lot of questions about sizing in this Forum. If you buy what you think is your correct size and later find out the better size is sold out AND can only get a store credit, that is reasonably frustrating for sure.

 

[CPAJay1221]

I’m of the belief it hurts a young brand. I’m a newcomer to the brand and bought three items late in the season. I had to return all three. Two due to sizing issues and the last because it didn’t really fit into my waredrobe as expected. I wanted to try the items out and see what I thought. Had I not been able to return them for other than store credit, I don’t believe I ever would have bought them in the first place. I’m a fan of the brand, but just haven’t been able to find something that works specifically for me yet.

 

[Patrick R]

I’m of the belief it hurts a young brand. I’m a newcomer to the brand and bought three items late in the season. I had to return all three. Two due to sizing issues and the last because it didn’t really fit into my waredrobe as expected. I wanted to try the items out and see what I thought. Had I not been able to return them for other than store credit, I don’t believe I ever would have bought them in the first place. I’m a fan of the brand, but just haven’t been able to find something that works specifically for me yet.

Your returns hurt a young brand far more tangibly than a potential lost sale.

 

[NickPollica]

It’s like everything is done exactly opposite of what is expected in this day and age of a mainly online retailer.

In some ways you are correct. There's the dirth of "disruptor" brands - founded mostly by MBAs with no experience actually developing product - that make something unremarkable as cheaply as they can and bend over backwards with gimmicky advertising and promotions to get as many people as possible to put their generic product in their closets. Then there are many multi-brand retailers that basically have identical rosters of overly distributed wholesale brands. In order to compete, they have to offer gratuitous shipping and return policies. It's important to note that nothing is free and the brands they sell are forced to make these losses up on the front end with increased initial MSRPs. There is a very real margin-eating cost that threatens the viability of brands making genuinely interesting product that also care about value.

I want to offer truly special pieces to you all under market value from the get go. The way we can do that is by protecting our distribution and charging a shipping rate that actually covers our cost. We raised our flat rate shipping from $10 to $15 because I haven't seen a package go out our door that cost less that $14 since we brought shipping in-house. As for our return policy in general, if you look at the many of the brands that we look to and are inspired by (Aime Leon Dore, Bode, Visvim, Standard Issue, Online Ceramics, Supreme, even Nepenthes), you'll find that what we are doing is nothing new and all stems from the same idea.

 

[CPAJay1221]

Your returns hurt a young brand far more tangibly than a potential lost sale.

Trust me I get it. I believe that’s part of the game with online shopping though. Size guides and product stories help, but nothing can compare to having the pieces in hand and trying them on in person. With a limited number of SKUs and releases I would be worried that my store credit would sit on deposit. Not a terribly big problem with a $150 hoodie, but if I’m dropping $500 on a coat that’s an issue for me.