The Luxury Fashion Lover‘s Guide to Farfetch: Worth the Splurge?

As a high fashion fanatic always on the hunt for elite designer brands at discounted rates, I frequently browse sites like Farfetch touting premium merchandise. But disappointing incidents made me approach with caution. Here‘s what you need to know before you drop thousands on their luxury offerings.

I‘ve now purchased various designer items from Farfetch over several years. While they provide access to an unrivaled designer roster from emerging avant garde to iconic Parisian labels, inconsistent policies and terrible service often overshadow their cutting-edge stock.

What Initially Draws Shoppers to Farfetch

Founded in 2007, Farfetch rapidly became the premiere online destination for luxury fashion by partnering with over 50 couture boutiques and 1,200 brands across 6 continents. Last year over 4 million high-income customers trusting Farfetch facilitated $1 billion in merchandise sales.

Farfetch smartly filled a niche providing hard-to-find high fashion in one curated e-commerce marketplace. They feature impossible to locate items you won‘t spot elsewhere alongside mainstay mega-brands like Gucci or Prada carrying staple luxury handbags and accessories.

Their site conveniently filters selections by designer, style, size, color and your budget. For us luxury lovers, it‘s easy to get sucked in wanting to unwrap that one-of-a-kind Dior gown or Valentino jacket we‘ll only glimpse there.

Frequently Deceptive Practices

However, dubious policies and claims spotting the site require highlighting to prevent overspending. Numerous experiences with their staff and misleading advertisements forced me to warn fellow fashionistas what they might truly receive.

While touting exceptional service and international delivery, no phone assistance exists, only email and chat. Reaching help proves nearly impossible with replies rarely resolving issues. Their advertising falsely claims to price match competitors when their costs exceed other luxury sites on identical goods without applying said match.

Returns grow confusing with inconsistent restocking fees deducted from reimbursements. Some orders ship prohibitively late while website claims items "in stock" actually backordered for months.

Placing Orders Sets Stress Levels Soaring

I anxiously await each delivery wondering would my purchase actually arrive intact? Would something minor get lost in translation? Check your invoice immediately because wrong sizes frequently show up at your door. Incorrect items entirely appear with no warning.

Once I received two right Jimmy Choo stilettos but two completely different sizes! Quality control lacks profoundly. Cardholders get billed for goods never sent. Attempting to contact service reps leave you vastly disappointed.

Reviewing My Experiences Item By Item

While their website photos set realistic expectations showcasing gear wrinkling or falling imperfectly on models, behind the scenes proves a different story. Let me break down what happened ordering some bestsellers:

Burberry Button Down

The tailored shirt looked wonderfully crisp in product images. But my package arrived with the Burberry crushed badly, buttons torn off after catching in transit. I shipped it back immediately paying steep international postage myself. They "restocked" it back on the site!

Alexander McQueen Heels

I desperately desired those gold glitter booties in time for a wedding. They guaranteed delivery by my travel date if I paid extra to upgrade shipping. The shoes never came after I already left so I got billed $75 to return internationally. Beware believing their urgent shipping promises.

Fendi Zucca Print Dress

I feared receiving some cheap polyester knockoff. But the thick well-made cotton with authentic Zucca print exceeded expectations, elegantly tailored. However they ignored my size request. I had to pay return shipping on the dress which didn‘t fit.

Many loyal Farfetch buyers praise their selection and new collections. However as a long time customer myself, I can‘t ignore deceptive practices.

Assessing If Farfetch‘s Worth The Risk

Stunning high fashion options aside, inconsistent sizing, misleading claims and negligence towards issues deter me from directing luxury lovers to overspend there when cheaper comparable retailers exist.

Hundreds use sites like MatchesFashion, SSense and ShopBop reliably for similar goods minus the headaches. Harrods and Saks also connect customers to comparable designer brands minus unethical policies. Certain lines run cheaper directly through the brand‘s own online boutique.

Yet hardcore fans anxious to score rare Chanel or Dior pieces in covetable colors not seen elsewhere eagerly order despite potential mishaps and blocked customer service numbers.

Final Verdict? A Luxury Fashion Frenemy

Given the rollercoaster record of exceptional finds marred by terrible transparency and accountability issues, consider Farfetch a frenemy.

They undeniably provide access to the most elite luxury labels spanning the globe. However poor business practices require calling out for a company commanding $$$. Approach with eyes wide open about inadvertent extra charges, delays and damages likely lurking behind dream purchases. Consider yourself warned!

Still DO utilize them an inspiration source uncovering the latest collections with boundary pushing designs unavailable elsewhere. But take luxury business ELSEWHERE! No $3,000 jacket deserves arriving unusable due to solvable shipping negligence and dismissive account security.

Let our world class taste level lift us past companies taking our devotion for granted! For reliably smooth high-end exchanges instead check out…