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Original poster

Paying just to try on...

63 replies

Pheasantlysurprised · 08/11/2021 00:15

I know that's how it is now, as more and more high street stores close (not surprisingly), and how there is more choice and better fabrics online.
However, apart from having a credit card attached to Amazon, there is no way to try before you buy.

How do you feel about this? I cant quite get used to it.. I see many people on this forum talking about ordering something to 'try on', but considering most things that we used to try on in stores prior to internet shopping didnt qualify actual purchasing, does anyone else feel less inclined to do it?
I find myself buying less over all, now. I wont be as quick to 'try' something, knowing that the money will leave my account just to do so.It is often quite arsey to do returns, too.

I think online suppliers need to offer us the choice to try before paying, to be honest.

OP posts:
MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 08/11/2021 00:23

It's never been easier to return online purchases. Amazon do Amazon wardrobe now. I love it.

Original poster
Pheasantlysurprised · 08/11/2021 00:31

not what I've found, I have to pay, try on, repackage, print out, or present a QR code. Then go thorough the time to receive a return to my bank account. Not quite so easy as trying on, not liking, then slapping on a rack outside the changing room.

OP posts:
MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 08/11/2021 00:55

You can still go shopping if that's what you prefer.

MintJulia · 08/11/2021 01:02

This is why I think we'll see some shops returning to the high street.

Especially those targeted at teenage/twenties. We've lost that social side of going out as a group of teens and trying stuff on together. We already have a new Next, opened last month.

Oddbutnotodd · 08/11/2021 01:04

If you buy with a credit card you don’t actually pay there and then. It’s also takes time and money to physically go shopping. Choose online retailers with free returns.

Mosaic123 · 08/11/2021 01:07

I want to buy a smart new coat. I don't want to buy four coats online. I will probably have to send them all back and would worry they won't get back and I'll be charged.

On the other hand I don't really want to go into shops. Well I do, I'd love to, but I don't think it's wise at the moment. This = no coat.

purpleme12 · 08/11/2021 01:12

Yes I do buy less cos I never ever would have clothes shopped online before. But I would tried it on in the shops and bought it.
But now I don't have that option as my shop has closed so I'm forced to do it online. Which means i buy less

thedevilinablackdress · 08/11/2021 07:36

You can use a credit card for every other online site I've used (including PayPal) - not just Amazon.
Returns are a PITA though, agreed.
I never used to shop online much, apart from eBay, pre-pandemic, but now there are a few online retailers that I use and will continue to because I like the quality.

AuntieMarys · 08/11/2021 07:40

Try being tall...you have to buy everything online.

Lochroy · 08/11/2021 07:44

I would much rather try on in the comfort of my own home and don't mind the repack, show QR code and drop off at a newsagent or off licence which is open late after I finish work.

Far preferable than having to repeatedly take all my clothes on and off in grotty changing room after grotty changing room.

Can't imagine try before paying would work particularly well Hmm

CinnamonJellyBeans · 08/11/2021 07:58

Cheaper and less time-consuming than parking/public transport.

Aderyn21 · 08/11/2021 08:01

I also like proper physical shopping. Online puts me at the mercy of Hermes!

Battendownthesnacks · 08/11/2021 08:30

Totally agree, OP. I've been trying to find a dress for an occasion I've got coming up. The good department stores in my town have now closed and I've ordered loads of stuff online. The fabrics are never quite what I expect and if I'd seen them in a shop, I wouldn't have looked twice at them. That's before not knowing what size you need, how things will fit, etc.

Also, some shops are quick and efficient when it comes to refunds but others aren't, eg I had a nightmare with Asos recently. So you have to make sure you keep your postage receipt and then chasing then up becomes an extra admin task.

SummaLuvin · 08/11/2021 11:23

We are so used to delivery and returns being free that we no longer attach any value to those services, and I am guilty of that too sometimes. But it is is service with many associated costs for the business, so I don't have an issue with the charges.

I get that it is annoying when the item doesn't work out and you are out of pocket but have nothing to show for it, but had you driven to your closest town, paid for parking, and tried it on in store you would be down money wise there also.

goose1964 · 08/11/2021 13:46

I can't afford to buy several things to try on so I end up buying from brands that I know will fit.I don't have a credit card so I have to pay out of my account then and there.

Original poster
Pheasantlysurprised · 08/11/2021 13:49

True, tying before paying would wind up subject to abuse, I can see how that might go wrong.
I use a debit card so that explains my problem! Grin

And to the poster who suggested I could easily shop in store, how utterly profound, I hadn't thought of that! It might be a tad difficult with 90% of the stores I prefer being over 120 miles away or don't use brick and mortar. What a puzzler.

OP posts:
Original poster
Pheasantlysurprised · 08/11/2021 13:50

@goose1964

I can't afford to buy several things to try on so I end up buying from brands that I know will fit.I don't have a credit card so I have to pay out of my account then and there.
Me too, it has certainly reduced my spending so that's a plus I suppose.
OP posts:
Floisme · 08/11/2021 14:40

I agree with you op. If I try something on in a real shop and the fit or fabric or colour isn't right, I'm unlikely to bother queuing up at a till to hand over my money for it. If I've ordered it online and it's not quite right, I'm more likely to think, 'Oh well, it'll do'. Retailers know that and I think it lets them off the hook and disincentivizes them from trying to improve their product.

It also makes me think twice about experimenting with a different style or an unfamiliar brand because I can't be arsed trying to guess the fit and sizing. So I get into a rut.

Even when online shopping works out, I find it a totally joyless transaction.

But I can't see any way back for the high street round here so the option to go shopping instead is vanishing before my eyes,

MoltonSilver · 08/11/2021 15:32

To get one pair of trousers recently from next I had to buy 4 - two sizes in two lengths. It's a total pain but they have very little stock in the local shop. I'd much rather have gone in to the shop, tried on 4 pairs and bought 1 instead of buying 4 and returning 3. I like ordering online but it's difficult in brands that have very inconsistent sizing.

NadiaVulvokov · 08/11/2021 15:37

Some retailers offer a PayPal Pay Later option. You link your bank account to PayPal and the money isn’t debited until 14 days later. That’s a bit tight for some returns but often it works.

Whilst Klarna is pretty similar to paying by credit card, as it gives you 30 days to pay, there is also the option to “pause” payments whilst returns are in progress so the money never leaves your account.

Then there are things like PayPal Pay in Three, or Clearpay etc which you make a smaller payment initially and pay the balance in instalments later.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 08/11/2021 15:39

@AuntieMarys

Try being tall...you have to buy everything online.
I hear you!
Mabelface · 08/11/2021 15:40

Amazon prime wardrobe is great. You do try before you buy and return what you don't want, only passing for what you keep. Repackaging is simple as is returning.

JackieChiles · 08/11/2021 15:54

OP it sounds like you’ve chosen to live quite out of the way. In most areas in the UK there are shops within a 30-minute drive. Some have closed but there are hundreds still open. YABU to expect businesses to lend you clothing for free and cross their fingers that you will send it back.

I am forever ordering £400-500 of stuff knowing that I will keep at most £150 worth. Returns are easy, sometimes I don’t even have to print a label and I can often schedule a home pickup. Certainly it takes a LOT less time than going to the shops in person. I’ve done this probably 50 times from places like Biden, John Lewis, and Next and I’ve never once had a problem with not getting the refund credited to my account. You should be using a credit card for stuff like this anyway because of the protections available if there is an issue.

Floisme · 08/11/2021 15:57

OP it sounds like you’ve chosen to live quite out of the way.
I am not the op but may I just say, what the fuck?

countrygirl99 · 08/11/2021 16:21

I live 8 miles from my nearest largish town but there are very few decent shops left. Next, Primark and a lot of charity shops and poundshops. I love a rummage in a charity shop but the town seems to get the runt end of the stock - well worn supermarket brands and primark at nearly new prices. So no, you don't have to live in the back of beyond to have to trek to decent shops.