Friday, November 11, 2011

The Best Online Deal Sites

Hello SASsy friends! With so many online flash deal sites it's hard to determine which one is right for you and has the best deals.  This week, I've reviewed my top 5 flash deal sites: Ruelala.com, Ideeli.com, Gilt.com, MyHabit.com and HauteLook.com.

Each site has been reviewed on site layout/user friendliness, variety of products, sale prices, shipping costs and return polices.

Ruelala.com


This is one of my personal favorite sites.  Once you purchase an item on the site, your shipping in free for the next 30 days  There is an excellent of products from both high end and regular mainstream designers at seriously discounted prices.  The site has a very clean and easy to navigate layout.

If an item you want has sold out, you are able to select the "still want it" option and if they find the item, they charge your card and send it to you. The return policy allows for either a site credit or full refund of the purchase price minus return shipping.

My favorite part of Ruelala.com, is the final sale.  I will block off my calendar so that when 11am EST comes, I can get first dibs on the designers I love at even lower prices. 

Typically this sale is is in 2 "acts" separated alphabetically. This time the designers were randomly selected with a poor selection of bags and shoes. Even worse, the first act usually stays up after the second act starts and this time it didn't.  I even got approval to purchase a handbag and couldn't find one I liked!  Hopefully the next one will be better.

Ideeli.com


This is another favorite of mine and I spend way too much money on this site.  Ideei has a wide variety of sales daily everything form Hemes bags to Puma workout gear.

The layout is user friendly and I love how they allow you to see a handbag on an actual person. Shipping on this site is $9.95 for your first order and all other orders on that same day ship for free.

If an item you are looking for has sold out, you can wait list it and will be notified if the item becomes available again.  They have awesome final "red" sales with a huge selection of items in a wide range of categories at well below retail prices.

The down side to this site is, unless you are a paid first row member, you don't get first dibs on deals and their customer service is very hard to contact and returns are for store credit only.  Also purchases can take a while to ship, however this has been improving as of late.

Gilt.com


This is one of the original deal sites and still one of the best. Gilt has an amazing selection of both high end and regular merchandise daily.

They even have dedicated shops for staples like work handbags, jewelry wardrobe pieces. The home site has tons of items that would make great gifts especially with the holiday right around the corner.

Final sales on this site are great as well and if the item you want is sold out, they will try to find it and allow you to purchase it.

Shipping is $5.95 for your first order and free for all order made in that same day. They have great customer service and the site is very user friendly.

MyHabit.com

This is one of the best laid out sites on the web. MyHabit.com has a great selection of mostly high end brands and even has videos of models wearing the garments.

Right now, they are offering 15% off purchases through the 18th for customer appreciation.  Additionally, they have an amazing selection of home and kitchen goods. They are my go to site for home goods.

Shipping on this site is free in the US and items arrive quickly. Refunds are provided in the form of Amazon.com (parent company) gift cards that can used on Amazon, My Habit or Endless.com.

HauteLook.com


HauteLook.com is owned by Nordstrom and is slightly cheaper than most deal sites. While, they may be slightly cheaper, the site is very cluttered and not user friendly.

They have a variety of brands daily, however very few high end brands . Shipping is $9.95 for the first purchase and all other purchases are free for the remainder of the day.

One of the biggest downside is that it takes a while for ordered items to come in.  Refunds are offered on returned items for either site credit or cash, minus a $5.95 shipping charge.



Each of these sites are great it just really depends on what you are shopping for. I've purchased a variety of products from all of them and overall have been satisfied with my purchases. If you would like more information on this sites or recommendations on which one is best for your needs, feel free to leave comments and I will respond quickly.

Have a great week SASsy friends!

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