FB Smocked Clothing Sales: The Good, the Bad, and the U-G-L-Y

Some say I have a problem - I say it's a skill.  I enjoy finding the best deals on smocked and monogrammed children's clothing.  A recent check in my super-secret-hide-from-my-husband email folder revealed nine shipments of children's clothing heading my way (hope he isn't reading this!).  He doesn't understand that an $80 outfit for $30 is a deal that MUST be taken advantage of, so I hope that by sharing this list with you, my friends will understand my shopping obsession on Facebook:

1. The GOOD

Smocked Threads by Cecil and Lou: Adorable clothes, great customer service.  Any time I have to email about a shipping time or an ordering mistake, I always get a prompt email back from one of the owners who is happy to work around my needs.

Kandyland Kids: Formerly Candyland Kids, they have recently branched out to FB.  I love their appliqué selection.  Their Black Friday sale was so good that I ordered five outfits, and they arrived within days.


2. The BAD

Lolly Wolly Doodle: LWD is GREAT at marketing.  Their actual product is terrible.  What you receive in the mail is vastly different in the picture - rough seams, poorly spaced monogramming and incorrect product description (if an outfit is belted, it would in fact come with belt loops, not just an accompanying sash).  On top of that, they have an extremely long shipping period.  Their customer service seems to be evolving in the right direction at least - they apologized for the longer shipping period and gave me a discount coupon.  However, the quality of their clothes is sub-par.

Smockadot Kids: I've ordered a couple of things from Smockadot Kids.  Their clothing is high in quality and their pricing is fair.  The problem?  They have terrible customer service.  I received an outfit from them with the wrong color monogram.  Their CS agent admitted that a glitch in their system caused the mistake, but they wanted me to pay $10 to fix the monogram that they admitted was their mistake.  I spoke to everyone I could with no relief.  Finally, I disputed the transaction with PayPal who refunded my money.  Instead of correcting their own mistake, they lost $38.


3. The U-G-L-Y

Smocked Tots: I ordered an outfit in October and promptly paid the invoice.  By the end of November, I still hadn't received any shipping information.  When I inquired, I received random emails - 'it's in the mail', or 'I'll refund your money as soon as the manufacturer refunds us', or 'it's in the mail and I added a bow set to apologize for the delay.' After communicating with them via FB and email, it became apparent.   I was the victim of a scam. I started reading other comments on their wall - whenever they would post an item for sale, people would leave comments asking where their orders were.  After leaving several messages on their wall, they blocked me.  I sent a few follow-up emails to no avail.  Their BBB rating is pretty low.  There is even a FB page called Smocked Tots fraud.  I filed a complaint with the BBB, but the transaction was too old for me to dispute it with my check card.

Honorable Mention:

Smocked by StellyBelly: They have, hands down, the most adorable clothing.  A friend recently suggested their site and I was very impressed.  I've ordered several bubbles from them and look forward to receiving them in the mail.

Jetterbug's Monogramming: Jetterbug's is a great combination of price and quality.  It's a local company that sells over FB, and most of the items are shipped next day.  However, for 40% of the items I have ordered, I've had to send a gentle reminder to the owner that she still needs to ship them.  She always sends them after I remind her.  I think the owner is just overwhelmed with the site's popularity.

Posh Pickle: Posh Pickle doesn't have a large inventory, but they have good prices for what little is in stock.  In fact, I ordered two outfits from the owner.  When she sent the shipping information, she said that the outfits had gone on sale after I ordered them, and she went ahead and gave me the reduced price.  Good customer service!