ASOS “fair use returns policy”

[creepywoman]

Did anyone else get this email from ASOS? Aibu to wonder whether they sent it to a select group of people?

I have the ASOS next day delivery service which has led to me ordering a lot from them. I’d say recently I’ve placed a few returns including a faulty item, so I wonder if I’ve flagged up.

No guilt whatsoever. Blame the shops for not stocking my size and the brands for their inconsistent sizing. Blame the companies not the customers. It’s a hassle returning stuff. I would rather the shops created consistent products with honest descriptions and measurements.

Yes exactly. You're telling me to make two separate orders and deliveries, multiplying the admin, postage, packaging, and delivery - up to several times 'trying something else'. Lots of waste.

I suggest trying both at once where there is a high chance of my guess at sizing being wrong, knowing I am limiting it to one return regardless of whether I keep one or none.

When you literally cannot buy a duplicate item without it being a different size from the one you already have, the chances that your best guess is going to fit are very small.

I do agree that people abuse the free shipping threshold by adding in items they have no intention of keeping. I don't know the best way around that. Personally I'd rather pay £4 than buy something knowing I'm going to have to have the faff of returning it.

I think Next must've had serious problems with tons of returns, as I had Next Unltd where you paid £20 for a year of free shipping and returns. The next year they had taken off the 'free returns' and you still had to pay a few quid. I think there was some penalty for returning an entire order, too. I didn't bother getting it again because their sizing and item information is so inconsistent/ non-existent, even a few returns a year would add up.

When I had the Next Unltd it was my first stop when looking for kids' clothes, my clothes, brands etc, so ordered a fair bit from them without looking elsewhere. I am more picky and shop around now!

@violetsparkle my choice of local shops is Next & M&S without travelling.

ASOS have the benefit of Topshop and other shops.

Do you own ASOS or have shares in it? You seem far too invested in this thread.

No personally I hate asos.

I like next and m&s

What does this even mean/suggest?

Sometimes I place big orders for choice, you never know the quality or fit until you receive it? Is this not allowed?! I don't understand!

OK, but if you previously spent money on buses and parking, you can presumably afford to spend some money on returns.

How often does the average human being actually need to buy clothes? I buy a few things a couple of times a year (not counting stuff like grabbing some extra knickers or socks from my local Muji or whatever when I need them). If it's online, I stick to one or two brands where I know the sizing is reliable.

If this was grocery shopping it would be one thing, but nobody needs to buy the amounts of clothes in the kinds of quantities and frequencies that a lot of posters on this thread appear to be purchasing.

Do you only ever buy things you absolutely need? Do you know that people have different interests?!

I love fashion so I do buy clothes I don’t need urgently but I wear them to death and they bring me lots of pleasure. I don’t drink so I don’t spend any money on alcohol. I have no interest in expensive cosmetics so only purchase Nivea cream, for example. Other people love cosmetics and spend lots of money on make up that they don’t actually need. That is fine by me.

You aren’t bothered about clothes and that’s okay too!

They’re going to be kicking themselves in the foot.

I work full time. Local city is dire, with extortionate parking, traffic and rubbish choice of shops. No way am I spending my Saturday trailing round there finding nothing.

So I shop online. I often return items that look awful on me,look different to pictures, won’t go with the item I want it to etc. So if I want jeans or trousers I’ll order several designs and keep one. Sometimes I’ll order differing leg lengths of the same item.Re school uniform I’d have to order a pile of trousers for my dc and just keep a couple. I’m not going to change and will only shop online in shops that facilitate that.

Marks and Spencer is now brilliant. They do click and collect near the out of town supermarket I go to and they now sell most other popular brands. So I’ll do free click and collect and pick up when shopping and free returns when I’m shopping. If I need something quick I’ll pay for delivery. They never quibble re me ordering several of one thing and have amazing check in screens. You just type in your name and postcode. Sit on a chair and 2 minutes later out your order comes. No packaging either( bring your own bag) so you save plastic. It’s brilliant!

Not goong to tolerate being told how to shop and will only use shops that enable me to shop how best suits me.

I actually do like clothes. That's the point. Nobody who isn't really wealthy is going to be able to buy good quality clothes in the sort of quantities being suggested by a lot of the posts on here. Over the last decade, the amount of clothes bought by the average woman has skyrocketed while the quality has really really gone down. These two facts are connected!

But this is Mumsnet, so every poster who shops like this will have a big tragic backstory about how they literally have no alternative other than to buy a stack of plasticky clothes every few weeks.

What sort of quantities are being suggested on here? I did not read any of these posts and assume anyone was buying "a stack of plasticky clothes every few weeks". It is absolutely wild that you did tbh...but as you say "this is mumsnet"

If you, like most people on the planet, are concerned about waste, then surely you cannot be in favour of people being encouraged to hang on to clothes they have no intention of wearing.

I order the majority of my clothes from ASOS and panicked when I couldn't find this email, but it was on the end of an email about my premier delivery!

How often does the average human being actually need to buy clothes? I buy a few things a couple of times a year (not counting stuff like grabbing some extra knickers or socks from my local Muji or whatever when I need them). If it's online, I stick to one or two brands where I know the sizing is reliable.

Sure. I don't buy things more often than you. However, I wouldn't say I have even one or two brands where I know the sizing is reliable. Even if I did, it wouldn't mean that I want to buy and wear just different things of the same type and style. Even if I buy a new top because one of mine is falling apart or no longer fits, I don't necessarily want what that shop is offering me now (usually getting a replacement of the original product is impossible).

The only reliable sizing I can think of is that I wear an S in most unisex/'male' t-shirt brands like Fruit of the Loom and Bella Canvas. Even in Levis', I have trousers of different 'widths' that fit me the same.

Buying things less often doesn't make you at all less likely to be returning some of what you order. Because you're ordering less overall than the "Hauler", there'll be fewer orders in volume throughout the year, I guess. But I recently tried to get a new swimming costume, made three orders, and you know what? I still don't have a new swimming costume. Problems with the fit on all of them. All I wanted was a legsuit as they weren't (to my knowledge) available when I was buying my swimming costume (in... maybe 2014-5?)

I order from Asos once in a blue moon (most recently some maternity T-shirts and leggings at the start of this year), rarely return anything because I can't be bothered and I got the email.

I'm sure I have more than one Asos account actually and I only got it to one of email addresses.

A lot of these problems such as excessive ordering, inconsistent sizing and multiple returns could be solved if people had basic sewing skills. This would in turn mean clothes also have to move away from cheap shitty thin fabric.

Common things like using darts to resize bust to waist ratios, shortening legs and letting things in/out don't even need a sewing machine (although they do make things like hemming much easier!) People don't even have to do it themselves, there are specialist tailors and even in places like dry cleaners. I'm not some old relic, I'm only in my 40s but I was luckily that my mum taught me these basics, and I love sewing. I've made sure to pass the basics on to all my DCs, I can remember taking a photo of my DS sewing a button on for those "what I did at the weekend" school books (we lead an exciting life!)

We need to buy better quality clothes and tailor them to us, instead of tailoring our shopping habits around stupid rules and fucked up fast fashion. Vinted and eBay and more specialist sites are so much better for this.

I won't be a hypocrite, I will admit have an ASOS account myself as my DCs use a student discount for cosmetics (and we do occasionally buy cheap shitty thin fabric clothes and a couple of my DC like particular popular brands like Nike...) But they do gradually do seem to be moving away from places like ASOS and PLT. Buying second hand doesn't solve the postage charge, but people seem to be selling bundles more which makes it more efficient if you buy multiples. And £2.99 postage for a £5 cotton good quality dress (which probably cost £50 originally) is better especially as you can alter it so it fits perfectly, and redo as needed.

I have visions of the future where drones deliver second hand good quality clothes and people can safely go near a naked flame

People can spend their money on whatever they like. You don’t get to dictate to them what is or isn’t acceptable to but, based on your own preferences.

I don’t go to the opera but I’m not about to scoff at those who do.

She's not making a monetary point, but an ecological one. It's about mass consumerism and fast fashion, all that plastic that ends up on landfill. Even worse, all those high levels of toxic chemicals and carcinogens, e.g. high levels of lead identified in tested Shein products. It's our shared planet and ecosystem.

Even I got this and have only ever bought one thing from ASOS, a present for DS which he kept. I googled about it as was interested what the policy was, in case it spread to other retailers and this thread came up.

I've had one of these emails today too. I ordered from them once. 7 years ago! And I kept the item.

Sorry wrong attachment on last post.

This is what I received just now... I'm in the ASOS Naughty corner!

Don't be naive, when you see people doing 'hauls' in their bedroom those items go back! It's only a small amount that gets frequently gifted

It's fair enough! Consistent ordering and returning is terrible for the environment. It skews their supply and demand meaning potentially a lot of wasted clothes, the plastic packaging, not to mention all the deliveries back and forth.

Yeah same. I am cancelling my annual subscription and will avoid asos now. To be honest I haven’t been impressed with them or the quality of their products anyway so it won’t impact me much.

I'm also in the naughty corner.

I had one order in the last 12 months for 'tall' trousers, none of the waists were the same, despite being the same sizes and the lengths had inches of difference from ankle swingers to dragging on the floor.

It's always been like that and there would sometimes be the odd one that actually fitted if I ordered different sizes/styles. That's the only reason I had to return most of them.

I won't bother buying from them anymore as it's too inconsistent.

They’re being funny about cancelling the subscription too.