As I mentioned in my
previous post, I did some online shoe shopping a little over a week ago. I asked my friends on Facebook for some online shops and
Urban Original was the second online shop I decided to shop on after my purchase at
ShoeDazzle.
Urban Original is quite like
Cutesygirl and
Amiclubwear. I've seen both sites and although I haven't shopped at either, Urban Original carried a lot of the shoes that Cutesygirl and Amiclubwear carried with more competitive prices. I leaned more toward UrbanOg after hearing a few good reviews from some friends on FB and some not so good ones about Cutesygirl and AmiClubwear although I'll have to be the judge of that myself. In the meantime, UrbanOg offered more styles to my liking and at better prices.
PRICES: I found Urban original to have very competitive prices. Amazing deals I should say. I found a lot of shoes on this site that I had previously seen at my local Shiek inside the mall for less than half the price. I was immediately sold!
SHIPPING: I placed my order on Friday, November 19th and received Monday, Novemeber 23rd along with my ShoeDazzle order. Due to the holiday weekend, shipping was delayed. However, if it wasn't for the holidays I could have received my item on Wednesday, November 23rd, just 5 days of placing my order. Shipping was $9.99 for UPS ground shipping. UrbanOg sends you a notification via email with your shipping and tracking information. I thought the shipping was a smooth process, quick shipping had the holiday not affected the transit time.
HANDLING: My shoes arrived safe and sound and damage free. The packaging was quite simple. All three boxes were placed in a bigger box and shipped off. No extra padding of any kind so the shoes were tossed around some before finally getting home. Each shoe box contained the usual, shoe stuffing, and a tissue to prevent any scratching of surfaces from one shoe to the other incase any toss up occurred. Shoe boxes were simple carton boxes and basic. Overall, the conidtion my shoes arrived in was fine, the extra padding and care isn't extremely necessary but it does make the experience a whole lot different.
COMMUNICATION: After placing my order, UrbanOg contacted me with a concern on one of my orders. One of the shoes (ivory booties) had a small manufacturing imperfection. It was a small stain that almost looked like a burn and asked if I'd like to proceed with my order or cancel the order on that particular shoe. They offered me an additional 15% off and asked if I accepted the shoe that it would be a final sale and would not be eligible for refund or exchange. They sent me pictures of the damage and I felt the damage wasn't so significant and highly noticable so I took my additional 15% off and proceeded with my order. This is the first time I'm contacted about a problem like this and I must say the experience was great. They took pictures of the damage rather than just telling me what the problem was. I thought that was great on their part and defintely ensured I'd be completely satisfied with my order. How many online businesses do that? I know i've had experiences before with other vendors who sell me an item that has a problem and they don't bother notifiying me about it which creates a hassle when you want to return or exchange an item.
OVERALL EXPERIENCE: My overall experience with Urban Original was a great one. I am defintely coming back to this site and making future purchases. The shipping was quick, despite the lag over the holidays, the prices are very competitive and amazing! I signed up for their notifications and also used a discount code for an additional 20% off my entire puchase. This is a great site, loyal to its customers with ensuring their satisfaction, communicating any problems with more than just words is awesome. I already told my sister about this site and she plans on making some purchases as well. Defintely a place to shop and until I have a bad experience (which I hope I never do) I will continue shopping here and raving about how awesome it is. The site is very easy to use, offering more than just shoes. You can sort shoes by size, color, heel height, type and so much more. Overall an amazing site to shop offering shoes, handbags, accessories, beauty products and more. Defintely a place to check out.
THE SHOES
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Qupid System-157 Snake Chain Pump $15.30 |
These Snake skin shoes were so hot! I remember seeing them at my local mall for almost 40 dollars! I jumped on the deal as soon as I saw the price! These are extremely comfortable considering the chunky platform the shoes rest on. The heel is very high, maybe 4 inches or so but as I've mentioned, the platform makes walking very easy. I did buy these shoes in particular in a size 8 1/2 because when I tried them on at the mall, a size 8 was too snug on my feet. The 8 1/2 fit perfectly. They offer a variety of colors, I purchased mine in brown because I already have so many black shoes and brown is just as versatile as Black and the gold chains stood out more than the silver chains on black.
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Qupid Politic-78 Pointy Toe Bootie $23.50
|
These are the booties that had a small defect. The defect wasn't noticable, just s very light stain on the side of the bootie and a tiny stain on the heel. Because of this defect, I received an additional 15% off on the booties. These are in a size 8 and they fit perfectly. These I know will be a bit more tiresome because the heel is high and the shoes are very flat on the bottom so it's almost as if you were walking around on your tippy toes all day. To make these more comfortable and less tiresome, I simply add some comfortable soles inside and wala!
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Wild Diva Starcy-30 Buckled Thigh High Boot $25.90 |
Finally, I bought these Thigh High Boots, which are not necessarily
thigh high, more like right above the knee. Regardless, I love the detailing of the buckles on the sides and the fact that they are flat making them more easy to walk in and more of a casual boot you can use on a daily basis now that winter is rolling in. The only thing I didn't like about the boots was that they didn't have a zipper on the side making it a harder to slip them on, specially if you have broader calves and or legs. Not much of a big deal for me as I didn't have much problem getting them on, but a zipper on the side always makes it easier and faster to get them on and off.
PROS:
CONS:
Shipping will cost you, unless you have a Free Shipping code, or buy a certain amount
Internationl sales are Final Sale
Other than the shoes, I found everything else to be quite pricey
15% Restocking fee if Free Shipping was issued and you decide to do a return or exchange
Items under $10 are Final Sale
All accessories, swimwear, beauty/cosmetic, costumes, lingerie, intimates are Final Sale so choose wisely
20% Restocking Fee if package doesnt get picked up or delivered-So if no one is home to receive your package and gets returned you are screwed
30% Restocking Fee for refused packages. So if you thought refusing a package would save you from returning it, you're even more screwed