(REVIEW) & (MINE) Nordstrom

I ordered 4 items from Nordstrom in August.

The international shipping fee is crazy!

(I did a research and people were comparing Nordstrom with Bloomingdales and most of them claimed that Bloomingdales's shipping fees are way more expensive. Which is untrue because Bloomingdales are cheaper-did a recent purchase with them in Nov and Nordstrom shipping fees are not cheap at all. Borderfree is in charge of the shipping.)

Initially I intend to get only 3 items.

1) Dogeared Necklace

2) Tennis Bracelet

3) Knit Sweater

and to my horror,the shipping fees add up to be about USD40(~SGD50)

Everyone should know how teeny weeny dogeared items are. Tennis bracelet, another tiny one. Knit Sweater can be folded.

SO HOW DOES IT END UP TO BE USD40?!

Oh Lord!

Maybe because I was so used to having free shipping(OHILOVETHEMSOMUCH!) or a flat rate shipping fee from other websites. But, the shipping fees are calculated based on the number and type(and maybe weight?) of items, so it makes no sense why such small items have such high shipping fees. If you calculate it per item(USD40/3= USD13.3 per item) which means there is a shipping fee of SGD17 per item.

So I decided to add in another item, a bracelet to 'justify' the expensive fees and the total shipping fees add up to be USD44.37(~SG56).

I placed the order on 4th August 2013 and received a confirmation mail on the 5th. They sent me an order shipment confirmation mail on the 8th (Shipping fee: USD21.67) with only 2 of the items and another shipment confirmation mail on the 9th for the remaining 2 items (Shipping fee: USD22.70).

Emails state that there are no additional shipping charges..

The 2 parcels

 The 1st parcel: Sweater and Bracelet

2nd parcel: Necklace and Bracelet 

I don't get it. They could have place all the items in one package. I wonder is it because of this that's why the shipping fee is not cheap. (Because the shipping fees are sometime based on volumetric weight which is the volume or space of the parcel. Thus it is not worth it if you ship something very light in a big box.)

All the items are carefully packed and sealed in plastic with labels(details of the item) on it.

Nicely packed in Nordstrom box is the...

Vince Camuto 'Call of the Wild' Chevron bracelet

Tildon Cable Knit Sweater

Packed in a plastic cover with 2 hangers.

 Dogeared Necklace

Nordstrom Tennis Bracelet

Will I ever go back to Nordstrom?

It really depends.

The prices are decent. The processing of the order is fast. The packaging is good. The items are fine,no defects or anything. The shipping time is all right.

I am quite satisfied overall.

But the shipping fee...

(REVIEW) Zalora

Rewind 2 years back and you most probably wouldn't even know Zalora. (because it doesn't exists!) 

Whenever a company just set up, the growth tends to be extremely slow, now why did they managed to have so many customers in such a short time?
Answer: Their incredibly aggressive marketing strategy (Their ads are on almost every website I went to, annoying! and they even have a television commercial. The TVC is cute though.) It goes to show that the aggressive marketing works.
Now, why do I start with the "Marketing" aspects of this particular company instead of introducing this company? Ok, I gotta tell you what it is first. It's an e-shop in Singapore(they have other regions too, but I only focus on SG) that sells multiple brands.

Now, back to the question. Because, despite being very well known and having so many good terms (Eg. Fast delivery, Able to pay cash on delivery as an option.), they seems like they are unable to deliver what they promised.

I bought it without reading any reviews and when I decided to research on the reviews 2 months AFTER I bought my stuff, I was surprised! I'm one of the lucky minority!
I bought a pair of nude pumps because I need a pair of nice formal shoes for an event that I'm hosting (but I ended up not using it, because the requirements stated black shoes after that, Damn!)

I count myself very lucky because
1) I received my stuff within 2 days.
2) Item is received in a good condition. (Though I wish they could have handle the shoes more carefully because there's a bit of flaws due to slight mishandling on the packaging part I guess?)
3) Size is rather accurate (Got a pair of shoes)
4) It comes with free AngBao packets. (I bought it in Jan, Chinese New Year is coming, that's why)

You must be thinking it's pretty much the normal outcome of online shopping(except for the AngBao part), why am I even lucky?
Cause you haven't heard the horror stories of  them not receiving their products after months of waiting and others (I shall not elaborate much about that).

Though I pretty much have a positive review of this, but looking at other bad reviews have made me think twice before making my next purchase.



Note: I am in no way affiliated to Zalora. NOBODY asked me to write about them and I gain absolute nothing good in return for this post. I shall remain objective and neutral towards this company due to the positive review I had and considering other negative reviews.
All I can say is it's best to do some research before you do online shopping.