Retailers you used to frequent or really like but now hardly buy from

[PoodlesRUs]

For me it's Amazon, Etsy, Next and Fat Face. Amazon and Etsy are filled with so much poor quality crap, stuff that bends or breaks after a few uses or electrical items without certifications and cosmetic and cleaning products without labels. I'm never sure if I'm buying 10 year old stock of a well-known brand, a fake or the real deal. Their pricing and "discounts" are wild too and so rarely are they as they appear. When it comes to Etsy it is swimming with mass-produced crap being resold by small businesses. Or should that be "small businesses". Handmade must be one of the most frequent mislabellings on that site. It's a shame because it used to have interesting products

Next is often way down my list of places to check when I'm searching for something as their prices have increased whilst their quality has dropped. They always had somewhat inconsistent sizing but now it's even worse. Boden and Fat Face are no longer high on my list of places to shop for the same reasons.

Which places have you moved on from?

The thing is the internet has broken clothes shopping, and lately mass manufacturers in China have broken the internet.
I haven’t used Amazon for years on principle but all online shops seem to be going the same way. They are not shops anymore, they all seem to function as dropshippers.
I’m currently recycling a lot of very old things (often from “ cheap” high st retailers in the 00s) and only replacing cotton t shirts and shirts.
I like the idea of those small uk companies that make you something to order, wouldn’t mind recommendations?
I’d rather pay £££ for a really great pair of trousers in a natural fabric that fits well and just wear them for years, than buy polyester shite.
I miss old H&M, Zara, Oasis, TopShop Whistles though.

Boden bc my dc grew up and I have a large chest!

Amazon bc it is no longer a cheaper option.

Plus a myriad of other UK shops bc of Brexit making delivery expensive and a big faff.

Next and MS still good for me bc they have EU hubs.

I just buy less generally because on-line shipping has become such a hassle!

Also, my experience of postal deliveries was so poor last Christmas, with packages going astray, or left out in the rain, that I am determined to shop in person for presents throughout 2025 instead.

Well said.
Also, Topshop in it’s prime was BRILLIANT. I still miss Kookai 😊

Whitestuff and Joules. They used to have lovely stuff. But now it’s awful and so overpriced.

Boden, Hush, Jigsaw, Mint Velvet, Whistles. All now seem to offer a poor trade off between price and quality.

John Lewis - 5/6 of my last orders have been lost or damaged and therefore not delivered as promised. I checked back and I had spent £1.2k with them in the past 12 months both in store and online. Awful customer service.

Borden have priced themselves out of the market for the quality of the clothes. Same with Fatface.

Etsy seems to sell from anyone now. I go direct to reputable and well reviewed suppliers via instagram now.

Next - I still buy casual clothes there but not office or more formal wear, the styles are awful and a lot of polyester. I often get compliments on Next casual tops.

Joe Browns - stopped years ago, it was all very samey, bright patterns, wonky hems.

Lush - there are one or two things I haven't found alternatives to but agree about the political side, I have considerably reduced my spend.

Lakeland - I have so much ancient Lakeland stuff in my kitchen that goes on and on and on, still tend to buy small appliances there because they often have voucher codes and have excellent customer service. I rarely buy small stuff now though because you can get similar everywhere else and cheaper. They lost me a bit with so many gimicky appliances plastered all over their catalogues, cake pop maker anyone?

Etsy, full of imported manufactured rubbish now. H&M, used to be a safe bet as consistent sizing but all over the place and terribly slow returns and refund process, weeks!

I’m so glad I’ve held onto a few of my older clothes.
The quality (and prices!) nowadays are shocking…

River Island.
My teenage daughter and I went in just before Christmas last year and her first words upon entering were “what in the Moira Rose is going on in here!”

Out of interest is the bad customer service for John Lewis in store or when calling?

If in store have you reported directly to the store?

Oh my his this!!!! The website is unusable because of this! Just show me what’s in the shop ffs! Superdrug is going the same way.

I miss Kookai too! And I miss Topshop glory days ☹️

Fat face as well.

they’ve gone from a laid back surfy style to a middle aged Boden mummy.

sweaty betty as well. They were my go to in 2005 for post pregnancy loose fit trousers and other bits- prices were reasonable as well. Now it’s eye wateringly expensive and all gymbunny leggings and sports bras for teens.

Amazon , Next, ASOS, tbh l buy a lot of mine from Charity shops, TU , Tesco , George and Marks.

John Lewis fashion - full of synthetic tat
Mango - full of synthetic tat
H&M - full of synthetic tat
Zara - just full of tat
Jigsaw - silly prices for boring designs
Toast - wildly expensive
All Saints - terribly synthetic tat now

Used to love shopping - but the high st is now monopolised by tat retailers. Very little choice. Even on trips to London I find little.

I miss the High St heyday of the 1990’s!

@Stellaris22for me it was once recently in store, the sales assistant didn’t say a single word through the transaction with the exception of ‘cash or card?’. I asked her how much it was after she had rung up 4or 5 items and she replied ‘on the screen’. I had to ask for a bag, all items left on counter. I didn’t complain as there were several staff members there and no one seemed to think her behaviour was abnormal, one was talking to her.

Online lack of delivery, unreliable, poor service ‘you need to wait until after 6pm to ensure it’s lost’ when due by 3pm day before, call back after 6pm it’s too late for next day delivery or out of stock etc.

JL Leeds white goods - you have been warned

DP used to shop there a lot when it was on the high street but haven't since it went online. Next I used to buy all my work wear from as I could pick up a machine washable suit in my size in petite and it always fit and washed well. Then I started finding all the dresses were too short (I'm 5ft so no excuse) and stopped going. Now I never bother going in and I hate the website.
Amazon as others have said seems to be the same as cheap crap on ebay so I don't bother, i find everywhere is selling the same plastic tat but if I'm getting it I'd rather go into town and pay a bit more to buy from a store on the High Street. Echo what others have said about etsy, I still use it but only for exceptional gifts when I have time to put into searching.
Conversely I've reverted to my teenhood and now use new look all the time. Website works well, great changing rooms to try on free click and collect, there's one in my town and the staff are all my age and very helpful and professional, I know the clothes are mixed quality but ive tried all over and found that's the same whatever you pay now.
Still a regular at M&S but they're moving away from our high street so that'll be no more for me sadly, I like to be able to return in store even if I order online.

Top Shop - used to be full of great things to wear, loved their Oxford Street store - now its overpriced cheap crap only available online.
Habitat - ditto, used to be cool, now its something that is sold in Sainsbury's.
Urban Outfitters - who wears the shit they are selling now? I used to buy so many things from there, now I cant see anything in there that is wearable.

Amazon.
B&Q (cheap shite that falls apart).
Burger King. I used to love their burgers but no more.
Etsy too. Can't be arsed to sift.
Next. To long & skinny!
Sea salt Cornwall. Drab, dreary sludgy patterns. They should take a leaf out of Lucy & Yak. I don't want to look like a piece of seaweed, thanks.
H&M Home.
Primark.

Urban Outfitters feels to me, how I remember TopShop BEFORE they upped their game: thin, flimsy, manmade fabric, overpriced stuff that could actually have been recently fished out of a 1990s TopShop bargain bin.
Which, of course, means my kids and their mates LOVE it.

Tu (Sainsbury's) goes up to size 24 in most things if not everything?

I find their clothing really good quality that lasts. I don't wear pyjamas but I've bought them for other people and your 'pair a week' doesn't seem right to me. Are you sure it was Sainsbury's that you actually went to?

I wouldn’t mind paying higher prices for the kind of good quality items in natural fibres that you could get on the high street in the 2000s. But I definitely won’t pay them for cheap and poorly made synthetics.

you wonder who all these retailers think is their target market if they aren’t able to appeal to the average MN poster, who is presumably one of the few clothes consumers left who can just about afford the prices? Who’s left to buy stuff in Boden, LK Bennett, Hobbs, Jigsaw, Mint Velvet, Monsoon and all the other similar ones if we aren’t?

Just trying to think where I last bought clothes, and the only places really were Tu, Uniqlo and things from Hush but new with tags on eBay for a fraction of the price rather than their current range. A lot of the time eBay finds from earlier eras are better ways of shopping those brands, and when you get the items you wonder again why they can’t do decent clothes any more even for higher prices.

Most low cost clothing shops like H&M, Zara etc. quality is crap now.