Have you ever found the cutest or sexiest lingerie at a killer price only to find out shipping is more or close to the same amount as the item costs? You are not alone; there are many lingerie sites online that lure people in with great prices only to tack it on at the end when you are ready to check out.
Not only is this a major let down, it is also a big waste of time.
So the big question is: Why do websites do that? You may know the obvious reason, to make money, but what you may not realize is that they are a dropshipper.
If not familiar with what a lingerie dropshipper is, it is basically a site that does not carry inventory and relies on another company/warehouse to fulfill its orders.
In a perfect world this would be a great deal for the business owner and not affect the lingerie recipient, but unfortunately this is not a perfect world and there are some major drawbacks when ordering from a company that dropships.
Outside of the obvious five dollar dropship fee that they tack on to the product when you are about to check out in the shopping cart which hikes up the shipping astronomically, there are other reasons why shopping with a dropshipper is not a great idea for the customer.
Problems You Can Incur If Ordering From a Lingerie Dropshipper The most common problem that customers run into when ordering lingerie from a site that dropships is the fact that they might be ordering a product that is actually out of stock.
Although some dropshippers have a feed that comes into their store, this is not always 100% reliable.
Information is only as good as what is put into it; the company still relies on another to fulfill orders.
This is a major hassle, especially when you were counting on the lingerie for a special event such as a birthday, Valentine's Day, Christmas and more.
One of the most annoying and costly problems that customers run into is when they have to return a lingerie product.
When ordering from a lingerie dropship company, the site you ordered from needs to request an RMA number to return the lingerie item.
After that, they contact the customer, the customer sends the package back (typically at their own expense) to the warehouse where it came from.
Most of the time refunds get placed on the back burner and takes a while to process.
Sometimes the warehouse will refuse to give a refund and hold the order until a replacement comes in (for the times when the item was damaged).
Waiting for items to get back in stock at a warehouse is also a lengthy wait more times than not.
If ordering from a lingerie store that actually carries inventory, you do not have to worry about the middle man and deal straight with the source.
Another problem with returning or exchanging an item is the restocking fee.
How else do you think that the lingerie website will be able to get that other item out to you and still not lose in shipping charges and more? Dealing with a lingerie store that carries inventory will usually never charge a restocking fee.
Overall, it is best to deal with a lingerie site that has been around for years, offers good prices and fair shipping rates.
You will receive better customer service, faster shipping and direct answers to your questions.