Zappos Logo
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5.3

Overall Score

Author: Kalicia Bateman

LAST UPDATED: April 1st, 2020
Zappos

Zappos came into being when the founder saw a pair of Airwalks on sale. This helped the founder generate the idea of selling items online way back in 1999. Zappos had a fantastic year in 2000, when it brought in $1.6 million in revenue after stagnating in 1999. Zappos has expanded to include shoes, online clothing, and other products that are found in traditional "big box" clothing stores.

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The Good

  • Low prices on clothing
  • Outstanding shipping and return policies
Zappos has disrupted the online clothing and shopping industry. Three specific areas where they deliver excellence is:

Low Prices on Clothing

Zappos has become a popular destination for clothing shoppers in search of the best prices. Not only are they providing some of the lowest prices available online, many of the items of clothing are from some of the most popular brands in the industry. Not only are their prices on these popular products very low, they have a large selection of clothing items to choose from. Especially concerning shoes, a customer can purchase name brand boots, shoes, and other footwear. Customers can purchase kids clothes and shoes in both girls and boys styles. This is something that isn't in every online clothing store.

Outstanding Shipping and Return Policies

There is a no-hassle shipping and returns policy from Zappos which has been a game-changer in the online shopping world. All shipping and returns are free. If a customer is not happy with a product, they can return it with the easy-to-use self-service return system. You have a year to decide whether or not you want to keep the product. This is a huge time difference when compared to other average return policies that last 30 to 60 days. All merchandise, not defective, must be returned in the same condition it was received.
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The Bad

  • Potentially cluttered online catalog
It is a challenge to find things wrong with Zappos and their online clothing store. However, a few things could be improved slightly to increase the online shopping experience:

Potentially Cluttered Online Catalog

Zappos online catalog itself leaves one's shopping experience wanting, but only slightly. It is difficult to see all the items available (men's pants had 13 pages of items to view). This is a slight negative consequence to having so many quality products for different customer types. The search tool, however, helps remedy this. You are able to type in brands or clothing types that you are searching for to speed up your shopping experience. Most of the categories also have filters found on the left-hand side of the page to help speed up the shopping process as well. Also, it is a little bit cumbersome to try and trace the price of products initially. You can sort by price with the search tool, but it is relatively challenging to find a nice, mid-priced item that is currently on sale. Although it is a relative challenge to find these types of products quickly, there are countless items that meet these and other criteria to ultimately choose from.
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The Bottom Line

We recommend Zappos. We felt like they were the best in the online clothing industry when it came to customer service. We also found that Zappos focuses exclusively on customer service. Zappos takes over 5000 service calls a month and even responds to 1200 emails a week. This amount of customer service is unparalleled in the online clothing industry. We hope that Zappos and their great customer service trend continues with their acquisition by Amazon.
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Star Rating

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4.4

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66 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

61%

4 grade

24%

3 grade

9%

2 grade

0%

1 grade

6%

Sentiment Criteria

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LZap Quincy, MA

I used to LOVE Zappos. They were the best. Customer Service WAS Phenomenal. I was purchased to much from them that they used to send me birthday gifts and cards (which I thought was just awesome). Over the past years (since Amazon is involved) Zappos has gone way down hill. I received so many wrong items, defective items etc but I always let it slide because the customer service was great. My last straw was this morning when I chatted to do two exchanges (same shoe, same price just different color). First off I was chatting with them for over one hour which is ridiculous. Secondly they told me you can only do one exchange per day so to chat back and waste another hour tomorrow to exchange my second item. NOT!! They advertise hassle free exchanges and returns 24/7/365 days per year. That is absolutely NOT the case anymore. I will NEVER shop Zappos again and I have been a customer since 2010. Do not shop there they are not the same company anymore.

8 years ago

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Willie M. Mendelsohn Lewes, DE

I purchase a couple of shoes last week when i received my shoes and when i unpacked i got to see very dusty and used one it was look like. When i tried to email them to their customer care, they asked me to take a snap and send them to email. When i did after 10 days they replied me that exchange or replacement cant be possible. Totally scam Its just wasting of time to make purchase with these website. For those who faced or facing the same issue would like to say is that i found a new website boutiqueken.com , they are far good than these website, the best part is their customer care is very smart and fast supportive.

9 years ago

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Meghan Martin Brookings, SD

I ordered something over a month ago and still haven't received it. I have contacted their customer service time after time with no response. They are refusing to refund me my money and now i am contacting the BBB and filing a police report this company is a SCAM and a FRUAD

9 years ago

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nayeli Raleigh, NC

expensive

10 years ago