The perils of online shopping.

Sometimes I hate internet shopping. When it's good it is good, but when it's bad is horrid. I will maybe have to rethink my tendency to shop online. Things are never what you expect. And clothes shopping can be particularly unpredictable anyway.

This week, I ordered a variety of stuff from a variety of reputable online shops, to spend some Christmas money. The first item, hand delivered by a friendly postie, (a lovely Endura merino Baabaa) arrived without incident and was great. It was a snugger fit than I would normally wear but as it is designed to be an active fit base layer for cycling. I was overall very happy with the service and with my purchase.

The next order wasn't quite as simple. It arrived yesterday but was incidentally ordered a day before the BaaBaa. A pair of ¾ length baggies. I had ordered my usual size, despite knowing that I had lost a little weight, but as I wanted them to be baggies and because I know that cycling clothes are usually cut smaller, I thought I’d stick with my usual size. Ooops! They were far too big! Yeah, I know I shouldn’t grumble about being a size smaller than I thought, but I can’t be meithered with all the effort of returning them. Ah well, least I don’t need them immediately, as it will be a long while until it is shorts weather outside, so returning them shouldn’t be too bad. After all, I only got them now because they were in the sale.

Unfortunately, we then move on to the next item (which arrived along with the “baggies”). I had ordered a pair of full length fleecy tights. I was excited - since the winter weather has drawn in I have been pretty damn cold out on my bike and a pair of Roubaix tights was what the doctor ordered to keep my calves nice and toasty. Woopee! I was chuffed to bits and really looking forward to wearing them for todays planned ride. Unfortunately, this morning when putting them on, I suddenly became very disappointed.

When they first arrived I had suspected that they weren’t “properly” brand new - the packaging and lack of product labels suggested that they have been previously tried and returned. I was a tad disappointed but convinced myself that you can’t always expect that someone hasn’t tried them before you. Things worsened though when trying them on this morning, I discovered that the condition of the product itself was more than poor - there was a blinkin’ hole in the material (located under the waistband) and the logo was peeling off the leg. I was mortified. I had been so looking forward to a warm ride. In fact I was beyond mortified I was livid. The weather was beyond miserable and I couldn’t possibly go outside in my ¾ tights! My excitement had disintegrated and been replaced with a raging temper. (We didn’t ride!)

Anyway a letter of complaint has been sent, I have demanded that they pay for the cost of my return to exchange them. I suspect though, that as they were a discontinued sale item that they will be unable to offer me a like-for-like exchange, so as a last resort, I have suggested that they may offer me a dramatic reduction in price to reflect upon the poor condition if I were to keep them. (I will keep you posted and I will be naming and shaming on here if I don’t get a good service.)

Grr... maybe it would be easier to brave the male orientated world of bike shops, even though the girls department is always poor so the stuff would have to be especially ordered in anyway.