If you know me, you’ll know I’m a big fan of online shopping. I’d heard and seen a few reviews on Shein and obviously the ads kept popping up on my feed so I decided to give them a go. This is my Shein review.
This is how it went.
A Shein review: My Shein shopping experience
First of all, there is a lot going on on the website. It’s overwhelming. I have lost many hours online shopping only to walk away with nothing. So I decided to focus on Shein clothing for women.
I limited myself to looking at dresses and tops – because you can never have too many pretty dresses, right?
I use the filter to search for items from cheapest to most expensive. Usually the first few pages are really cheap stuff I probably don’t want, but after a few pages you start to get to your comfortable price range. This is how I find items which are on sale.
In the end, I had 3 dresses, 3 tops and 3 necklaces (because I got distracted).
How much did my Shein clothing cost?
I by mistake ordered 2 of the same dress (duh) but the total for all that came to R1301. Customs charged me R310.75 so a total of R1611.75 for 10 items (plus a free gift – an unremarkabl make up sponge).
Shipping is free for orders over R1 000 (which is why I kept adding to my cart until I reached that amount). There are loads of different discount codes you can use as well, like on your first order or if you sign up for their newsletter. I didn’t use any because it was being glitchy and didn’t want to work for me.
How long did my Shein order take to arrive?
It was surprisingly quick. Often you hear stories of online shopping never arriving, so I was a bit worried about that. So this is how Shein works:
I ordered on 29 March (2021) and it arrived at my house on 15 April. I got an email from the logistics company when it arrived in Joburg telling me how much customs I had to pay and how to pay it. I paid via EFT – super simple.
After that it took a few days to be delivered to my door but the courier company (Buffalo Logistics) were great in communicating with me via email every step of the way.
But did my Shein clothes fit?
Ahh this is the big question.
The problem with online shopping is often the sizes. With Shein, you can send items back for a full refund no problem but you have to cover the cost of the shipping. Considering that’s going all the way back to China I’m not sure it’ll be worth it so you need to be careful with the sizing.
What I like the Shein website is that they have a lot of information on the sizes. They give you all sorts of measurements for the items, plus they have customers send in photos of themselves wearing the items and with their measurements. For example, I’m 1.65m and this is a Small. So I was careful with the sizing – some items I ordered an XS but others were an S.
Luckily, they all fit!
The two dresses are a bit short for my liking – not scandalous and I can wear the one with tights anyway but I’ll check the length more carefully next time. (The other one is the polyester one so I doubt I’ll wear it anyway). Overall I can see the general size I will be in future.
Do I like my Shein items?
Yes! There is one item which is not great because it’s 100% polyester (sies). Next time I will make sure to check the material as well, but other than that they are great. By South African standards I would say they are Mr Price standard. Nothing outrageously amazing but what is nice is you can get clothes which few (if any) of your friends have. Maybe if I looked a bit harder (and spent a bit more) I could find some real gems.
Is Shein good quality?
If you are looking for high quality clothes, this is not the shop for you. But if you are more of a high street shopper like I am then it’s perfectly fine. And reasonably priced too, if you ask me. I wouldn’t recommend buying the jewellery – it’s totally fine but not good quality so they’re definitely not going to last long.
Common Shein complaints
One of the biggest Shein complaints is about Buffalo and the customs charge. But it’s totally legit. It’s the same for any online shopping you do from outside South Africa. Bear in mind this charge when you order so your total cost doesn’t exceed your budget.
Another aspect of a Shein review we need to look at is returns. According to the website, they do offer returns but to be honest, I’m not sure it would be worth the hassle.
So let’s look at what I bought. I must admit, I’m not sure what I was thinking with a few of these items but it is what it is. Sometimes when I do online shopping I think I love something but when it arrives I’ve changed my mind!
Let me know in the comments which is your fave!
Disclaimer: All products were bought from Shein in 2021. Prices and taxes may have changed.
This blog post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase by clicking on a link I may receive a commission at no cost to you.
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