03.Clothes, shoes and accessories
About 26% of our survey respondents bought products from this category in the last six months. The most commonly used site for fashion shopping was eBay, followed by catalogue company EziBuy, a New Zealand clothing and home decor retailer that has had a following in Australia since 1992. Good and bad points of the EziBuy website:
- Has a large range of women’s clothing, as well as more eclectic items such as bedsheets, golf balls and bean bags.
- Each year, more than 40 shopping catalogues – accessible on EziBuy – are mailed to more than half a million people in NZ and Australia.
- High delivery and return postage costs – $9.90 for purchases up to $200. If you spend more than $200, you still pay $9.90 but receive your purchases faster with priority mail.
- Clothing sizes were inconsistent. “The only problem I’ve had with Ezibuy is that their clothing sizes are all over the place, despite having a sizing guide,” said one survey respondent. While you don’t have to pay postage if you’re exchanging an item for a different size or colour, a $9.90 postage charge applies for all other returns or reorders. Customers must bear the cost of sending items to EziBuy’s mail order department in NSW; a costly exercise if you have multiple items (more parcel weight) and live in another state.
Other sites and notable points:
- There's a flat $7.95 delivery fee if you buy children’s clothing online from Pumpkin Patch. The return postage is capped at $3.50 if you’re seeking a refund, or $7.95 for an exchange. You can also exchange goods in person at any Pumpkin Patch store as long as the items are still in season.
- Pumpkin Patch and Rivers received higher satisfaction ratings than eBay and Deals Direct, possibly due to their massive online discounts.
- Pumpkin Patch’s online store offers discounts of between 40% and 50% for selected sale items.
- Rivers’ e-store offers discounts of up to 70% off the ticket prices at its retail stores for men’s, women’s and children’s clothing and footwear.