SmartBargains.com

Full review
SmartBargains.com is by no means a "cheap" website but they have great deals on designer and high end items and their sales are great. I joined their Smart Shoppers Club and am pleased with the service, quality, and returns process.

What the Site Sells

The site sells brand name men's, women's, and childrens' apparel, footwear, jewelry, handbags, accessories, home, bed, bath, and other categories of items at discounted prices. The brands are medium to high end and the discounts can be quite deep.

Navigation, Shipping, and Returns

Although this site is huge, it's set up well. You can find what you're looking for in just a few clicks of your mouse. There are brand names you can browse, a search box, category tabs, and other ways to start your search. Once you bring up results, you can quickly hone down those results by choosing different criteria like size, color, price range, and several other options. Then you can sort by price, newest arrivals, percentage off, best sellers, and items rated highest by consumers.

Finally you will get down to what you are looking for. Photos are good and they generally give you several views and the option to zoom in and see the product up close. Descriptions, too, are thorough and give all the info you may need. Short customer reviews help when making tough decisions.

When you find what you want, simply add it to your cart. Your shipping and total will appear for you to keep track of. Continue on and, when you're ready to check out, you will need to fill in the usual info and choose a password to check on orders.

Shipping is $9.95. The shipping chart says that each additional item is $1.00 but I don't recall ever being charged over $9.95 per order. Smart Shoppers Members pay $2.95 shipping per order. Again the chart says plus $1.00 each additional item but I have ordered more per order and was not charged any additional shipping.

Returns are accepted for up to 30 days after the day you receive the order. There is a final return date shown on your invoice. They include a shipping label which you can use or you can mail the item(s) back and pay upfront for return shipping. The shipping label allows you to send returns back and have SmartBargains.com deduct a "reduced postage rate" from your return. I don't like that I don't know upfront how much the shipping cost that they will be deducting is.

I sent back two pairs of jeans which were quite heavy and they deducted $9.95 which I thought was fair. I couldn't have sent the two for that amount of shipping.

They don't do exchanges. You must return your item and buy a different size, color, or whatever. That could be an issue is the item was on sale and now is no longer so as it was with the jeans I sent back.

Smart Shoppers Club

For $9.95 per year, you can join this club. You get shipping for $2.95 rather than $9.95 and you get 29% off new arrivals that the general public has no access to. You also get several kinds of special offers, sneak peaks of items, and special promotions. It's well worth the $9.95 even if you only shop twice in one year.

My Experience

I love designer jeans but the prices can be killer. Smart Bargains has many high end brand names for discounted prices. Some are so discounted that they sell out almost immediately which makes being a Smart Shopper member ... smart. I get to see the new jeans being sold before the general public and can snag a pair for 20% off their regular selling price which is already greatly discounted. Love that!

I have been shopping on SmartBargains.com for a long time. Because their prices are higher than a mass-market website, I generally try to catch a great sale or wait for a promotion. I recently saw several pairs of very high end jeans for amazingly low prices. I bought one pair, loved them, then joined the Smart Shoppers Club to save on shipping and to see the sales before the public.

I have since bought two more pairs of jeans, returned those and replaced them with the right size, bought some shoes, a watch, and several gifts.

When I order, I get a confirmation email immediately. I then get a shipping email with info on how to track my purchases. They always have arrived quickly.

The quality is great. These aren't seconds or overstocks but new, first quality items that are selling for a lot higher elsewhere.

I like that the site has very frequent percentage off and free shipping specials as well as other great promotions, not just for club members, but for everyone.

Checkout is painless. They accept major credit cards and Paypal for convenience. I am charged sales tax. I don't believe people from other states are. I have living in New York!

I have bought several items at a time and never paid over the base shipping rate which was either $9.95 before I joined the Smart Shoppers Club or $2.95 after.

My orders have always came quickly and as described.

I did order two pairs of jeans and one was too big and one was too small. Ugh. I debated for a while about keeping them and having them altered but then decided to return them instead. I sent them back using the SmartBargains.com shipping label and I could track them back to the site. They arrived quickly and I received an email that they had arrived and I would receive another email when my credit was processed. I did receive that email very quickly and was refunded promptly. The shipping I paid was not refunded of course.

I was charged $9.95 for the return via their label. As the jeans were both heavyweight, I don't think that amount was unfair. However, I do wish I new upfront how much will be deducted from my credit. I will probably send any future returns back on my own so I now right away how much I paid for the return.

Because the site doesn't allow exchanges, one pair of jeans that I bought were no longer on "new arrival 20% off sale" when I went to reorder them in my size. The price was STILL great so I went ahead and reordered and love them. They were a steal, really!

In all, I like SmartBargains.com and have had no major issues with them. I love the Smart Shoppers Club and the bargains really ARE bargains!

Conclusion

SmartBargains.com is a great site for higher end brands at discount prices. I have never had any major issues with the site, the quality, or customer service. Their prices are great for the high end brands they carry and sales and promotions make everything even more affordable. Still, you won't find a $1500.00 handbag on SmartBargains.com selling for $100.00. You will find it selling for half of what you could buy it for at some other sites though! I give the site 4 stars.