Nordstrom.com the place to check for otherwise sold-out limited edition beauty items

Full Review
Living in a tourist town we have more than our share of quaint little boutiques and just one real department store. Therefore I don’t have access to all that many brands of clothing, accessories or cosmetics. That’s where Nordstrom.com comes into play.

About their site

Nordstrom Online Store sells what you’d expect – clothing for the whole family, shoes and accessories, items for the home, and many, many brands of beauty products. They currently offer a flat $5 shipping rate for standard shipping. I appreciate that a great deal for I’ve paid nearly $10 in the past for items that while pricey, were not costly to ship. They also offer upgrades for shipping if you’re in need of receiving your item(s) sooner.

I’ve found that when other online sites have sold out of limited edition beauty items there’s a good chance that Nordstrom.com will still have them in stock. Whether this is because they aren’t as well known for online beauty product buying or due to them stocking more than other online stores I couldn’t say – but I’ve ended up buying from them because they were the only place that still had a limited edition item available numerous times.

My shopping experiences

My first shopping experience with Norstrom.com was during one of their Anniversary Sales. During such sales, in addition to other great buys, Nordstrom has exclusive cosmetic and fragrance sets that are generally a good deal. I placed my order and waited. It arrived in perfect condition and I was very pleased that despite not having a Nordstrom locally, I was still able to get in on their Anniversary Sale goodies.

Since then I've placed a few orders with them, the most recent of which arrived today. I placed my order just 8 days ago, 4 days later I received an e-mail stating my order had shipped out the day before. I was very pleased with how quickly my order arrived this time; in the past my orders have taken 10-12 days (when sent via UPS standard). Apparently they had sent it via the USPS (United States Postal Service) which tends to reach me faster. The items, which were sold out elsewhere online (and in my local store) arrived at my door step in perfect condition.

Customer Service, Returns & Refunds

They offer a 24 hour 800 number if you have any problems and are pretty quick in responding to e-mail inquiries too.

My one and only experience with their customer service was about a year and half ago. I had placed an order for a sold out limited edition MAC Pigment. Thrilled to find they still showed it as being in stock I placed my order and waited. And waited. And waited. When it didn’t arrive or even appear to ship out after 10 days I e-mailed customer service. I was in a bit of a panic thinking that perhaps they had sold out or something. I quickly received a response to my message stating that for some reason my order didn’t go through completely despite it showing up on the web site. Apparently they had indeed sold out but one of their Nordstrom stores still had one in stock and after apologizing they quickly sent it out to me and credited me the shipping cost to make up for the extra wait. I’ve heard from friends that Nordstrom stores are known for their excellent customer service and from my experiences I would have to say that their customer service online is also pretty good.

If you’re not pleased with your order for some reason, Nordstrom.com sends a postage paid label making returning the item(s) quick and easy. You should note, however, that they will deduct $5 from your refund for the shipping cost. They also offer the option of making an exchange; if you’re making an exchange shipping is free. I haven’t had the need as of yet to make a return or exchange so can’t comment on how smoothly these options may or may not work.

To sum up and my recommendation

While Nordstrom.com sells a great many things to date I have only made cosmetic purchases from them. I am always pleasantly surprised how, when everyone else (online and in store) is sold out of a limited edition item Nordstrom.com manages to still have some available. I also appreciate how many brands they offer – it can pretty much be one stop shopping and the $5 flat shipping fee makes shipping costs reasonable.

I like that Nordstrom and Nordstrom.com have such a good reputations for customer service. If you’re looking to purchase clothing, accessories or beauty product – I can easily recommend Nordstrom.com based on my own shopping experiences.