Just a short post for now, until I sort out my Internet connection and a FOTD to come (thanks to some new makeup I received recently). Thought I’d pose a question to y’all today. And it’s something which baffles me entirely.
Why is it that, during sale periods, clothes which are on sale not allowed to be tried on? I mean, it’s a clothes store. There are fitting rooms. You can try on the clothes which are not on sale, but not the ones which are on sale.
Image Credit: Tongue in Chic
I’ve seen a lot of this going on in Malaysia, and it really annoys me. I don’t get it. Are they afraid we’d rip the seams of the clothes or something? Or that the clothes were wonky in the first place, so that’s why they were on sale?
If I don’t get to try the clothes on, I’m not buying ’em, not matter how cheap they are.
Worst of all, you can’t even return the clothes if it doesn’t fit you! In the UK, during Boxing Day sales, we weren’t allowed to return the clothes for about a couple of days past December 26, but we could return it after that (we normally did not try on the clothes during Boxing Day sales. The queues to the fitting rooms were horrendous). It made the job easier for the very busy sales assistants during the hectic sale period. Very reasonable, right?
But not in Malaysia. Nothing can be returned. The clothes on sale cannot be tried on. Gah.
Any idea, ladies? Enlighten me, please.
Easy. Because there’s no such thing as consumer rights in Malaysia! Usually when i see signs of NO TRYING, I won’t even bother. no matter how cheap it is, i know returning an item is a huge PAIN. Experience here: http://geekchic.notdesign.net/?p=1761
Also, while we’re at this, I was in DFO a few weeks ago. Bought a dress on a whim from Veronica Maine. 2 hours later, I decided I really don’t need it. So I returned it and said I’d changed my mind. No questions asked, my money was returned to me.
DONE DEAL!
Wait, i didn’t answer your question. It’s just store owners trying to find suckers for a cheap deal and get rid of their old stock. I think that’s all. They know if we were to try it on, we’d find that it doesn’t fit or it’s imperfect, etc and we’d not buy. If we don’t try, we might’ve missed these details out and buy and they’d offload some of their crap stock on poor consumers.
i think thts the whole point about the sales. the clothes are ugly and wonky or unfitting. so, they just let the items be on sale and let the victims buy it. hehehe i nv bought anything without trying also
It annoys me too and I did ask them, they said there’s just a HUGE number of people wanting to try and it will be hard for them to see who’s stealing what..lol I only buy clothing on sale without fitting IF it is a brand I usually buy and I know the size that fits me 🙂 it is hard… 🙁
well, many places in taiwan are the same. some clothes that are NOT on sale but also not for trying as they are one size fits all. (HAHAHAHA) take your guess! and we don’t have return policy either.
so i don’t really like going shopping during sales. too many people to fight with.
Yeah methinks that the clothes that you arent allowed to try on must have some kind of problem with it! It’s kind of annoying actually!
I agree with geekchic. Consumer rights in Malaysia is non-existent. We can’t try clothes, we can’t return items. It just plain sucks. =(
On the other hand, however, sometimes I think some consumers give themselves a bad name. There are those who do try to abuse whatever little “rights” we have. Sometimes I feel it’s a wee bit of a Catch 22 situation.
Hi, thanks for your nice comment on my blog. 😀
I don’t know why they don’t allow trying during sales. I agree it sucks, especially if you can’t return it when it doesn’t fit!
NO TRYING is so annoying! The SA will be telling me that it’s “free size”.. like that makes everything better >.< free size doesn’t mean it will fit ME!
Actually I’ve not come across this in Malaysia. Thus far, I’ve been able to try on clothes in most stores, whether on sale or no. Usually, if I can’t try then of course I won’t buy because it doesn’t make sense. However I did experience this No Trying During a Sale in Hong Kong. It totally stunned me because I’d never faced anything like it before. Personally, I think that there is now more awareness and more consumer rights here. Now, some stores actually do have a returns or exchange policy within 3 days (usually). I am not a proponent of returning cosmetics and skincare so I’m not fussed about it. For me, that’s what testers and samples are for.
I just came across this recently. It’s a case of Asian penny-wise, pound-foolish mentality. They don’t want you to try because:
1. Trying on clothes stains them, uses them, and may render them unwearable. This results in lost stock. And since the prices are slashed, they will lose money.
2. Trying on clothes takes up time and dressing rooms. Should someone who wants to try a full-priced item walk away because a dressing room is occupied by someone trying on a sales item, that would also cost money.
3. Yes, they really just want to clear the stuff ASAP.
I think this is pure idiocy on the part of the stores. I can understand it when there’s a STAMPEDE of women, and you have standardised sizes. But when there isn’t and/or you don’t, it’s just stupid. I’ve voiced my complaint at a few places over this. I don’t attack the sales assistant I just say, “Please take this as feedback and relay it to your superiors. Because I am not allowed to try this item on, I will not buy it. Even though I really like it. I will also refuse to buy any other item in this store. So please let them know that they have lost not just one, but multiple sales with their policy.” If enough of us do this, who knows. It may make a diff. 😉
well… they said No Trying. So I measure. Online shopping has helped me figure out how to measure clothes that suit me. So i carry a measuring tape and measure the bust! =)
BTW I’ve not been stopped so far. *fingers crossed*