Nutritional Reviews ~ SS

Shopping Supplement Online Shopping Review: Beyond The Rack Sample Sale Site

Online Shopping (at stores that ship to Canada) for great designer brands at up to 85% off seems a bit too good to be true.

That’s why when I heard of Beyond the Rack, an exclusive members only shopping club was offering free membership and access to 48 hour sample sales with ridiculous discounts on designer merchandise I had to check it out!

At the time of writing, Beyond the Rack was offering XoXo shoes and sandals, William Rast Jeans, Salvatore Ferragamo handbags and Tom Ford and Matt and Nat were just around the corner (coming up in future events). Here’s a snapshot as to what the page looks like:

I can assure you that the quality and legitimacy of this site makes it safe to shop, as I have personally shopped this site before. If you plan on diving into the world of online sample sales read the Shopping Supplement online sample sale guide. Otherwise, here’s a few tips on shopping Beyond the Rack:

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Canada Online Shopping Nutritional Review: Victoria’s Secret Ships to Canada

Another Shopping Supplement Online Shopping Destination Nutritional Review (All stores Ship their styles to Canada!). Here’s a quick recap of what a review entails:

- An online shopping retailer is picked & shopped

-I review the experience based on style, “shoppability”, customer service and if there are any steals to be had.

-Then you make up your mind about whether you want to shop the online store yourself (PS: The store must ship to Canada!)

This week I’ve decided to let you in on my secret shopping destination: Victoria’s Secret.

…not quite a secret these days but I bet you didn’t know they have an impressive clothing and shoe collection in addition to lingerie, swimwear and cosmetics.

If an online shopping sale is what your after then make sure you use the Sale + Specials link which allows you to search clearance product, because you won’t get the same results if you browse by category. If your interested in saving an additional % off your order, sign up for their newsletters which will keep you in the know about special discounts and offers (just be warned they do sent emails at least once a week which can be overkill sometimes). The site carries exclusive merchandise not available in store and product from last season at deep discounts.

Shipping costs are reasonable: $13.99 including duty charges for purchases under $50 and $18.99 for purchases over $50 (to see the complete chart click here).

Here’s the final nutritional calculation:

Service: A+

– I once found something I wanted to add to an existing order and emailed their customer service to add it for me. They replied the next day saying since the turn-around time for the order had lapsed they could not add it so they offered me free shipping on my next order. Not bad. I’ve never had any problems with any orders.

Steals: A

– I’ve gotten some great bathing suits at VS for incredible prices, and didn’t have to sacrifice style. They constantly have promotions and have a fair amount in stock also.

Style: A

– VS carries many designers other than their own line (ex. Jessica Simpson, Steve Madden, UGG brand, Kenneth Cole) which amps up their style credit.

Simple: B

– I found it a bit annoying that the site doesn’t let you sort your search results and that you have to look around for a while to find exactly what you want, but the checkout system was fairly simplistic.

OVERALL NUTRITIONAL VALUE: A

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Now I leave the decision up to you…to Shop or Not to Shop?

~Chelsea

Nutritional Review: Quiksilver

The first Shopping Supplement online store review! How exciting! Here’s the low down:

The Shopping Supplement shops an online store (one that ships to Canadian customers)
After looking around, SS buys an item and eagerly anticipates its arrival. After its all said and done, the store is reviewed based on a number of criteria (see About Us for more detail).
The review is posted here and you decide whether its worth your time or not, hopefully discovering a new shopping destination that ships to your stylin’ neck of the woods!

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Quiksilver.com, devoted to the Quiksilver brand, not only carries gear for surf, skate, snow and wakeboarders, they also have a well established clothing line that doesn’t skimp on nutritional value (as calculated below).

Surprisingly, Quiksilver offers a wide variety of casual clothing that screams, “I’m cool, sexy and earthy.” Not a bad combination if you ask me. The clothes are effortless and easy to incorporate into any wardrobe. Their unique style is applauded by some notable retailers such as Aritzia and American Rag who carry the Quiksilver line at select locations. There’s always some great steals to be found in the sale section and, if your interested, a selection of eco-friendly items.

Although I found the navigation a bit intimidating at first I love that they have incorporated customer reviews into the listings. Products are reviewed based on true fit, comfort, style, length and bottom line recommendation. I found this very helpful when looking to buy a dress shirt and was comforted when someone had posted that the sizing and fit were accurately described. (I ended up buying the shirt and love it!)

The only downsides are lack of sizing available (24-31 waist) and free shipping is only valid for US orders. That said, their CAD shipping prices are reasonably priced (although not specifically stated it costs around $10 per order) and ships quickly as they use Purolator.

Here’s the final nutritional value calc:

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Hope you enjoyed our very first Nutritional Shopping Review!

Let us know if you have anything to share about this review or ideas for future reviews!

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