With the rise of global online fashion retailers, customers have an embarrassment of riches to choose from in selecting apparel online. Some of the most affordable of those items are offered by an innovative entrant in this class – SammyDress.com. Our examination of this China-originated company has uncovered a firm dedicated to providing a broad range of very inexpensive men and women’s clothing, and men and women’s shoes. The firm also sells women’s bags and accessories, children’s toys, home and living items, lifestyle products, and many gift items as well.

The secret to the company’s low prices is that it originated as a wholesaler – and continues to operate as one. By setting up an online sales operation beside its warehouse (and now, its many, globally located warehouses), SammyDress has been able to leverage its existing infrastructure and sourcing to ensure the lowest prices possible for their customers.

The firm buys large quantities of the same garments from its suppliers, and by using very few middlemen (or women), and its extensive experience in textiles, it is able to sell its wares at exceptionally low prices. What they are doing is really the equivalent of what they used to do decades ago when they’d sell goods on the street straight off the truck, only with cyber-assistance.

The firm’s website asserts that they are committed to providing a “wide range of high quality, trendy fashion clothing at stunning factory direct prices along with a class-leading customer service experience to our worldwide community of customers.” We examined that boast of “stunning” prices, and as we will report later, we were a bit stunned to see that they were absolutely right.

Featured Products

The firm boasts that it has one of the world’s largest fashion catalogs, a catalog that contains trend-setting and good quality products and styles. And the company is adding new sourcing for its goods on a daily basis. In fact, they have an entire phalanx of experienced buyers who are continually searching for the latest in apparel to meet the needs of its highly diverse and multinational clientele. Our careful examination of the website in fact showed us that the firm does indeed offer over 200,000 items for sale.

We selected women’s dresses as our area to examine. We found a “solid color bowknot embellished stylish scoop neck sleeveless” dress that looked gorgeous, and was as advertised, a “stylish scoop neck sleeveless striped sundress” that was quite elegant, and am “alluring spaghetti strap sleeveless splices solid color dress”, that I think many of our readers would enjoy slipping themselves into. Now please make sure you are sitting down before we tell you the prices that these dresses are being offered for.

Prices

The three dresses that we identified above sell for US$6.25, $9.70, and $9.44, respectively. Really. While this seems beyond belief, we have encountered price levels like this before in our evaluations, but only rarely. The key to their low prices is the extensive relationship the firm has developed with numerous manufacturers worldwide, but of course especially in China, currently the world driver of low-cost manufacturing. The firm is committed to working with its wholesalers to deliver the lowest possible prices, and they have a solid track record of doing so.

Customer Service

The website has taken the trouble, and gone to the expense, of making itself available in multiple languages, in order to serve a customer base that is both global and continually expanding. They serve not only individual customers but also retailers who are seeking a wholesale supplier. So whether you are buying for yourself or for a store, they will be able to handle your order and delivery, because their business model encompasses both individual and bulk orders, and they have developed the infrastructure, including shipping relationships, to support both.

Let’s take a look at their shipping and delivery policies. The firm maintains long-term partnerships with UPS, FedEx, DHL, and other major global carriers. The company focuses a great deal of attention on its warehousing work, where goods are packaged with “professional and exacting standards.” Our examination of customer complaints – there were none concerning packaging and few about delivery – indicated that this is true.

The firm ships thousands of packages each day to dozens of countries, and, critically, maintains warehouses and distribution hubs across Asia, the U.S., and Europe.

Now let’s look at what happens when there’s a problem. SammyDress maintains a customer service team that is fully trained in the firm’s latest offerings. They know their own inventory, and can answer your questions about it. Above that, they maintain a 24-hour live chat operation that will answer all inquiries promptly.

We were also highly impressed with the company’s search engine capabilities, which permit shopping by product category, price, popularity, material, and color. This is something that is essential when you are offering a fifth of a million different items for sale.

When it comes to tracking the firm encourages creation of a SammyDress profile. Once you have one, the company will be able to place your tracking number into it for you to use in tracking the progress of your package across the smiling face of the globe and into your waiting arms. If you believe that patience is a virtue, that virtue will be rewarded by increased savings that you can achieve on slower shipping methods.

Flat rate shipping is the cheapest, and takes 7-25 business days to reach destination countries. For the U.S., Canada and Australia, the time will be faster, about 7-14 days, while you may have to wait up to the full 25 days if you live in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, or in any of the other countries in Europe.

Standard rate shipping takes 6-10 business days to most countries, and if you want to pay more to receive sooner, expedited rate shipping is also available for an additional fee.

The company regrets that it cannot ship to a P.O. Box address or an APO, FPO, or DPO address. Total shipping costs will depend on shipment method, destination country, and weight.

Criticism

As we mentioned earlier, there is very little online criticism to be found concerning the firm, and what complaints that there are related primarily to shipping and delivery delays (and probably should be directed at postal services). There were only a few customers who complained about the quality of the goods, with most expressing satisfaction and even delighted surprise that items of apparel that were so inexpensive could exhibit such good quality. Overall, our survey supported our conclusion that the company does prioritize customer service and product quality, and the results are showing up in customer satisfaction.

Final Thoughts

A brave new world of online availability is arising through online retailing, and customers are reaping the benefits worldwide. It is no longer only major established firms like Amazon who are conquering the world of large-scale online retailing. While many of the firms that are emerging to meet this new opportunity are a bit dicey, we can confirm that this company is a solid and established provider of good quality online apparel at remarkable low prices. While customers will undoubtedly feel a bit of nervousness over using their first foreign-based online retailer, this company is a good one to start with if you want to be assured of good quality, secure transactions, and responsive customer service. We are happy to offer our unrestrained endorsement to SammyDress.com as a reputable, and of course extremely low-priced, operator in this space.