- Report: #1129081
Complaint Review: Zulily - Seattle Washington
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Author Confirmed
Why?
Zulily
2200 First Ave. South Sealttle, Washington Seattle, 98134 Washington, USA
Phone:
1-877-779-5614
Web:
www.zulily.com
Categories:
Business Rating:
(0)
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ZULILY ZULILY - NOT WORTH THE COST SAVINGS Seattle Washington
I was an excited consumer to find what I thought was an online retail store that offered great savings. After having come across Zulily online, I decided to visit. It appeared to be a store offering special deals in a variety of areas, such as: Womens; Kids; Babies; Home Decor and some products for Men.
As it happened, I knew I had a Baby shower coming up, so I decided to look in the baby section. I found some nicely priced Baby "Onesies" and added 2 to my shopping cart. I continued shopping and added a headband & baby booties. I totaled my shopping cart & used my credit card to purchase the Baby Gift. The order was made on Feb. 13, 2014.
Four days later on Feb. 17, 2014, I receive an email explaining their ordering process. What I learned is that Zulily acts as a distributor of products. They offer a 2-3 sales event. At the completion of that event, Zulily sends the various manufacturers involved the orders that Zulily receives. Zulily then waits to receive those orders & then re-packages and ships them to the customer.
When on the ordering page, it appears that the shippers that Zulily uses are UPS & FedEx and it states that the standard shipping rate is usually $5.95.
It all seemed to be the same process that I and most customers are used to when ordering online products from retailers.
I waited and waited and finally called on Feb.28th when I had not received my order yet and it was starting to get closer to the date in which I needed the baby gift for. The representative told me that the order had come in from the manufacturer (not manufacturers plural) & was shipped to me via FedEx. When I reviewed the order invoice, it indicated with red letters, that all items had been shipped. I was told to expect my order on March 4th.
As the baby shower I am attening is (as I write - is tomorrow on March 8th), I continue to keep trying to follow the tracking number I was given. At this point, I became very confused. My tracker indicated that Fed Ex had turned my package over to the United States Post Office. When I called Zulily Customer Service I was told that they use a program called Smart Post and Sure Posts. I told the representative that I had no idea that a third party shipping/delivery company was being used & this was not indicated to me when I made the purchase. She informed me that this information is in the FAQ.
After driving to two separate post offices to try to track my package down, I arrived the post office & tried to explain my situation. I was first told by the Post Office Manager that they are having loads of unhappy Zullily customers dealing with the same situation. The manager was able to find my package. After arriving back at my office and opening the box, it is not complete!!! Two of the four items I ordered are not in the box.
I called Zulily understandably upset. I explained the situation to the representative. She explained that they use a shipping program called Smart Post & Sure Post involving the post office. I told her that at no time had I been informed that a third party shipper would be involved further delaying my package. I was told that the information is in the FAQ section of the Zulily website. I told her that my order was incomplete, only to learn that all of the products in my order were sent in separate orders on different dates. The representative told me that it does say that I can get my packages in mulitple orders... if I read the FAQ. I had previously been sent a copy of my order indicating that all items had already been shipped. Today in looking at the same order form, it now indicates that the item is being prepared for shipping. I will now be forced to pay for shipping again to send the items out of state to the recipient, if I ever get them.
I told her that it is very misleading to not let customers know that Zulily is acting as a distributor to several manufacturers (again, I was told that the information is in the FAQ section).
Zulily is clearly misleading it's customers and potential customers. I and other consumers have the expectation that our orders will be delivered in a timely manner (as we are typically used to) with UPS and FedEx (since Zulily has listed them as the shippers they use). A person visiting the Zulily site for the first time, does not expect any different type of shopping experience than most, if not all customers are accustomed to. Meaning that all customers are not informed on the front page of the Zulily web site that their shopping experience will be by way of ordering through Zulily who is acting as a distributor, sending the order in, and waiting for the packages from the manufacturer (an extra delay) and then further delaying the delivery by using more that one shipper without informing the customer(s) up front.
As a business owner, I would go out of business if we treated our customers this way. I will no longer be a customer. And the cost savings is surely not worth what the customer is put through to get it. Surely, there must be a regulatory agency that follows this type of sub-standard practice.
