Scam Website to Watch Out For

28 Jun

Ugh, I swear sometimes trying to communicate with sales reps is like trying to pull teeth! I’m almost convinced they don’t want to sell their lines at times. All of the reps that I’ve purchased from so far are great, but I’m trying to talk with two at the moment to pick up a couple of new lines and they have the hardest time following up. They say they’re in the process of sending something, and it never shows up. They ask me for my information so they can have the correct rep get in contact with me; nope, never hear a thing. I’m seriously considering buying from an east coast rep because playing email tag is just getting ridiculous.

And speaking of getting into contact with sales reps, that brings me to the real purpose of this post. I recently came across a website for fashion industry professionals that allows you to sign up and find the contact information for just about any line. Great, I thought since I was having a hard time find the info for one line in particular. Turns out once I signed up they want to charge me FIFTY DOLLARS for the contact information of three sales reps! Not only is it bad enough that they’re charging at all for information that you can find for free with a little bit of digging, but to overcharge to that degree is just gross. I really, really hate to think that there are up and coming buyers out there who are falling for this and giving them their money!

I’m not going to link to the site, but the site is called Find Fashion Rep. And Find Fashion Rep is a scam.

^^This site is NOT a scam!
Now a great site that is NOT a scam is ThreadMe.com. It’s sort of like Myspace or Linkedin, but connecting boutique owners with lines and showrooms. It’s pretty cool! And I’ve mentioned PLENTY of other places to find the contact information for showrooms (for FREE). The LA Fashion Directory is a great place to start,and there are more places to look in this post. I’ll try and find out more about showrooms on the East Coast. Just don’t pay for ANYTHING!

10 Responses

kim
01|Jul|2008 1

HI.. i am aspiring to open my own boutique in the future, and i was just wondering if youve ever come across any websites that you were able to buy ur merchandise from.. like instead of going to the showrooms and ordering wholesale merchandise in person, go to an online showroom where you can get designer wholesale stuff. the only one i know of is american apparel, becasue i actually found their wholesale website. but every other website i try, seems to be a scam, thanks
Kim
01|Jul|2008 2

^Hey Kim (great name, lol). You can always buy through a showroom via fax or email. Just ask them and they’ll send you an order form and an invoice and all of that. Hope that helps!
kim
01|Jul|2008 3

yes it is a great name :).. thru fax or email, is that after i see the merchandise for sale on a website they have? in other words, how will i know what to order thru an email if i havent seen the products in person. Also (sorry for the million questions), i know you have an online boutique, but what do you think is better brick and mortar or online.. im just curious because im not sure which to start with, THANKS
Kim
05|Jul|2008 4

Hey Kim, sorry for not responding sooner, I was out of town last week. If you contact the sales rep they’ll send you a line sheet via email; that’s how you’ll see the merchandise.

“Also (sorry for the million questions), i know you have an online boutique, but what do you think is better brick and mortar or online.”

Eh, there are pluses and minuses to each. If I really had a choice honestly I would’ve gone w/ brick and mortar first, but it’s probably better to test the waters online first since it’s less of an investment. Especially if you know the internet fashion world really well, and maybe have bit of technical knowledge (html, webdesign, online marketing, etc) then definitely go online first. But if you have connections locally I would say it wouldn’t hurt to try doing a brick and mortar store.
kim
06|Jul|2008 5

thanks so much.. and a line sheet will give me everything they have to sell?.. what if i order something and i want more of the same product over the span of lets say 3 weeks later
Kim
06|Jul|2008 6

^Pretty much. I’ve had a post explaining linesheets in the queue for over a week now; I’ll get it posted laster tonight and that will explain things in depth.

what if i order something and i want more of the same product over the span of lets say 3 weeks later

As long as buying is still open for that season you can always order more. Just so you know, the items you purchase won’t be shipped to you for about five months, give or take, unless you’re buying immediates. And you can also reorder through immediates if they’re available.

Let me know if you have any other questions!
kim
06|Jul|2008 7

thanks alot.. you should check out American Apparel’s wholesale website, its really great, they have all of their products for wholesale price right there where you can order it (in large quantities of course) You need your federal tax id number and your resale number as well but its cool, you can order 144 of the same teeshirt in all different colors for $15 bucks! The website is http://www.americanapparel.net/wholesaleresources/ .. i wish everystore had a website like this
Kim
06|Jul|2008 8

^Thanks Kim! Those are really good deals, although i have no idea what I would do with all that merchandise, lol!
kim
06|Jul|2008 9

yeah thats true i guess its better if you have a brick and mortar store
Eugene Kim
22|Jul|2008 10

Hi Kim,

Thanks for telling others about threadme.com. Like you, we are a brand new website and appreciate the word-of-mouth. If you ever have questions on tradeshows or need some advice on where to find good product, feel free to let me know (you have my email address).

We are launching a new feature where you’ll be able to view line sheets for each designer by season to hopefully let you do some of your pre-planning before you hit the tradeshows. Much luck in the future and let us know if we can be of any help.