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Online Store Reviews

Valerian's picture
Submitted by Valerian on

We all know that you take a bit of a risk when shopping online, so I'd like posters in this topic to share their experiences and spread the good (or bad) word about the online shops they've had first-hand experience with. The shop could be located anywhere, but it must be online and be at least somewhat Gothic related.

This is not an opportunity for shops to advertise their wares! This topic is for customers to rate and discuss their experiences ONLY. Spam posts will be removed.

To keep posts easy to read, please follow this format as best you can:

Shop name: [store name]
URL: [store link]
Ships from: [store location e.g. UK]
Rating: [give a rating out of 5, 5 being the best]

Comments:
Describe the items you bought, quality, shipping time, customer service, your overall impressions, etc.

Shop name: Heavy Red
URL: http://heavyred.com/
Ships from: Los Angeles, California
Rating: 4

Comments:
I bought an underbust corset and some gloves. The corset was very nice, although cut with less of an hourglass shape than I wanted. Basically if you like the way corsets look, want pretty ones with good waist constriction, but do not waisttrain, this is a good place to buy them.
The gloves were also quite nice; I've had them four years, wear them at least four times a month, and they haven't broken in any real way (except for where the thread pulled when I caught them on some unvarnished wood).
One of my friends bought a dress from here as well, and the quality of the stitching was also very good. It was lined nicely too. For some reason the serged edges were not folded back, which I did not like.

I had e-mailed them a few times to ask about sizes of a skirt and they never got back to me. Hopefully this has changed, but I was displeased with that aspect of their service.

The shipping was about average.

The email issue might not necessarily be their fault... one thing I have discovered is that Hotmail is really, REALLY bad for flagging emails as spam (or suddenly flagging previously fine emails as spam), and bouncing emails when your inbox is almost full. Yahoo is pretty bad as well. Basically, if you use either of those you have to check all your folders and delete messages frequently or else some things just aren't going to get through.

If anyone happen to use those, switch to Gmail instead when you interact with businesses online, their software seems to be a bit "smarter" when it comes to filtering messages. I dread answering emails from customers who use Hotmail & Yahoo because I know that there's a really good chance they're not going to receive it, and probably think I've ignored them.

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Art of Adornment ~ Victorian Gothic Jewelry & Accessories

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Art of Adornment ~ Victorian Gothic Jewelry & Accessories

Shop name: Artifice Clothing
URL: www.artificeclothing.com
Ships from: Toronto, Canada
Rating: Five.

I bought a bunch of skirts, which are excellent. Swift response to questions, and the sizing is accurate. Their corsets are also quite nice although not for tightlacing. The quality of the clothing is excellent, and it holds up quite well to general use. The vinyl is vibrant, and nice and thick.

Regrettably, not able to do custom work.

Shop name: Unique Vintage
URL: http://www.unique-vintage.com
Ships from: USA
Rating: 4/5

Comments:
Since I love vintage 1920's style gowns I couldn't resist shopping here; their selection of modern and vintage styles from 1920-1960 is to die for. They have lots of great stuff in black, and plus sizes are available on most designs. Many gowns are quite pricey but considering the quality and detailing on the dress I bought, it was worth it. Size chart is very accurate, shipping was quick but also on the expensive side. They only offer $42 for USPS Express, and so not offering anything else (like USPS Priority for $33 even) really annoyed me. I'd have gladly given 5/5 if not for that.

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Art of Adornment ~ Victorian Gothic Accessories

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Art of Adornment ~ Victorian Gothic Jewelry & Accessories

Shop name: Rock n Goth Shop
URL: http://www.rockngothshop.com
Ships from: USA (Texas)
Rating: 5/5

Comments:
Great source of Alchemy Jewellery and other Alchemy products. Found a bunch of pendants I was looking for and it was shipped immediately. Fast delivery, having the package arrived within the 2nd week. The pricing is okay. A bit pricey on some but then again, we're not talking about cheap jewellery here. Orders ship to Canada are charged at a flat-rate of $30, so try to make it worth while.

I only bought from them the one time but I'd very much like to go back and purchase some more(once my bank stops laughing at me whenever I buy something)

Shop name: Dysfunctional Doll
URLs: http://dysfunctionaldoll.net
http://stores.ebay.ca/dysfunctionaldollclothing
Ships from: Portland, Oregon
Rating: 4/5

Comments:
The website is updated well enough but be sure to check out the eBay store page as well. Sometimes they'll have more on the eBay page than what's offered in the webstore (and vice-versa)

Bought Alchemy necklaces, bracelets, socks, cheap Manic Panic makeup(but we all know how great their makeup products are), a nice Nightmare Before Christmas bag(for books and laptop) and some shirts. All in reasonable prices and decent quality.

Shipping is okay and varies in time. I've had shipments coming within 2 weeks and others on a 3rd week. Reasonable when you factor in that it's coming from the US(most of my US deliveries takes 3 weeks) and depends on the post office(slow vs busy days)

Overall, I had no problems. Great selection of accessories. Customer service is friendly and very speedy.

EDIT: Added a link to the eBay store as well since I couldn't find one on their actual web store.

To get the ball rolling, I'll start.

Shop name: ChicStar
URL: http://www.chicstar.com
Ships from: China
Rating: 5/5

Comments:
Although not officially a Gothic store they sell a LOT of women's Goth-friendly clothing, and CHEAP. To date I have purchased three coats from them and have been very pleased with the quality of each. Shipping cost to Canada was also very reaasonable ($8-$10) and was quite fast considering they're overseas, about 1 1/2 weeks. The only thing to keep in mind is sizing - follow their size chart carefully. I'm pretty generous through the hips and shoulders for someone of my height and weight, and despite buying what should have been my exact size I found it to be a bit snug (may have just been my own comfort zone though). So I had to exchange one item for a larger size. However the return was painless and fast, and customer service responded promptly.

*EDIT* After being so pleased with their service, I started a partner deal with them (through my shop), you can go here to get ChicStar coupon codes (10%-20% off). :)


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Art of Adornment ~ Victorian Gothic Accessories  |  Fine Art Portfolio

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Art of Adornment ~ Victorian Gothic Jewelry & Accessories

Shop name: ROCKWORLDEAST
URL: http://www.rockworldeast.com/
Ships from: Canadian East Coast
Rating: 4.5

Comments:

I bought a MASSIVE amount of studs and spikes from ROCKWORLDEAST.com. The studs themselves were in good condition, better than I expected. All Screws that were supposed to be with spikes were accounted for. It took only 7 total days to arrive, which was sooner than i expected because of the weekend being in the middle of it.

I'd order from them again.