Tips for Shopping on Wish.com

If you are a lover of online shopping and an avid deal seeker, you have likely already heard about the website Wish.com. A website and phone app, Wish provides users with the ability to shop from a wide assortment of different sellers all in one place, catering its market to those seeking discounted finds and deals.

Many of the manufacturers selling on the site ship from counties like China, so it’s not the site to search if you’re looking for high-end, brand-specific items. Instead, you’re going to find knockoffs and cheaper options similar to those found on sites like Light in the Box, Alibaba, and Ali Express. These sites have created a great deal of controversy and debate as the reviews range from extremely happy customers boasting about great finds right down to those who discuss being completely burned with cheap and low-quality goods.

I’ve posted before on here about my love for these types of sites as I have had some great luck personally, specifically with Light in the Box. I even purchased my wedding reception dress which received a lot of compliments at my wedding and survived the beating it took during our ‘Trash the Dress’ shoot in Cabo. However, I too have been burned and have learned a lot about how to shop these shops in order to increase my chances of success.

These aren’t foolproof, I actually recently bought a $5 solar charger for my phone that refuses to charge, it happens. That being said, I buy A LOT of stuff from Wish with great success, often receiving compliments for the items I purchase!

Check the Description

The description on an item listed on Wish is more important than just to let you know whether you’re in a listing for the jacket or pants in a somewhat unclear picture (it happens). There is a lot of important information that you can pull from the information listed.

First, pay attention to how many items you are ordering. Some shady sellers can be tricky, showing photographs that create the impression you are purchasing multiple items for one price, or two different items together when the listing is actually far smaller. This will ensure that you aren’t going to be tricked into thinking you’re getting a much better deal.

Secondly, check the materials the item is made of. This is a great way to differentiate between quality with a lot of items. I’ve seen items, for example, that look like a great quality jacket or pencil skirt but reading reveals they are a cheap spandex item.

Finally, an incredibly important point when buying clothing on these sites, pay attention to the sizing. Most items will include a sizing chart. Don’t just assume that you know your size! Asian sizing is often quite different from our own, resulting in buying items that don’t fit. Furthermore, there is a section where those who have purchased can rate whether the item they received was ‘too small,’ ‘too large,’ or ‘just right.’ Don’t skip by this. Even if the sizing chart says you are a medium, if everyone who orders rates the item as too small it stands to reason you should order a large.

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Verified by Wish

It’s important to note that not all items sold on Wish have even been seen by the Wish team themselves. Similar to sites like Amazon and eBay, they allow sellers to list their items under the assumption of good faith. There are, however, a number of items that they have seen and inspected. These items, should they pass their quality requirements, receive a badge of recognition on the ad both in the search results (a small blue circle with a checkmark in the corner of the picture) and on the listing itself (a box stating: ‘Verified by Wish’. If you are hesitant to take a chance on sites like this, finding verified items is a great first step to increase your chances of not getting burned.

Please note: This isn’t a 100% guarantee. I am sure there are some shady sellers out there that cheat the system, getting one item approved only to ship out a lower quality version, etc. However, from my experience, items with this approval can generally be trusted. There are always going to be exceptions…

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Read the Reviews

The reviews that are listed for each individual product are SO important when you are shopping. Unlike the description, which is written by the seller and may not be carefully worded to make the item appear much nicer than it actually is, the reviews are written by those who have actually purchased the item. This gives those that have been burned the opportunity to voice their frustration.

There are some items out there that have HORRIBLE reviews. If you skip past these, you’re going to be the next one sharing your disappointment. Instead, by taking a couple of minutes out of your day to read through this first-hand knowledge left by other buyers you can learn from their mistakes and avoid some of the poor-quality items floating around out there.

Reviews can be sorted by star rating. This allows you, if you’d like, to specifically target why a group of people gave the item a 1-star review or a 5-star review, for example. It can also be sorted to show just the reviews that contain pictures. These photographs can also be incredibly useful, sharing unfiltered/unaltered examples of the item. When shopping clothing, I will often check the pictures to see if there are people with a similar body type wearing the item, so I can see how it looks if you’re not a stick-thin individual with no chest (fellow large-chested ladies, I’m sure you understand my concern here).

Finally, pay attention to what’s written before accepting a listed star rating. Are these actual people sharing why they like/didn’t like it, or the reviews generic ‘great buy’ type comments? Reviews can be faked, although fake reviews are often pretty easy to spot. If they sound like a copy and paste canned answer, don’t allow those reviews to influence your buying decisions.

Take Note of Seller Feedback

Like the reviews, seller feedback allows you to get a real view of what it’s like to purchase from the seller in question. Did the item arrive broken and poorly packaged? Were items missing and they were hard to work with? Did the shipping take twice as long as listed? On the other hand, was there an honest mistake that they were quick to remedy? Were they easy to talk to/address an issue with? If you see a high rated seller with a lot of people praising their service, you stand a better chance of getting the item you ordered with no games, as well as remedying any issues that may come up along the way. It’s important to note, mistakes happen. Even if you are purchasing from the highest quality companies available in the world, occasionally mistakes will happen. The real indicator is how often it happens, and how willing the company is to make it right.

Shipping Information

The shipping information listed with each item will provide you with two key pieces of information. First, the price of shipping. Generally, I find these costs are low on Wish, but occasionally you will find an item where the price of the item is so incredibly low, only to find the seller is making up for this by charging a higher shipping cost. It will also provide you with a rough timeline on how long it should take for the item to be delivered to you. These are approximate timelines, and the seller can’t control the postal service, so things happen. Personally, I find things go one of two ways on Wish – you either get the item super early, far quicker than listed, or you don’t see it until the very end of the estimated delivery time.

Wish also has an indicator that will help you to identify the most trusted shops in relation to their shipping practices. Similar to the ‘Verified by Wish’ rating, a store can earn an ‘All-star Shipper’ rating. This doesn’t show up in the search results, but it is present on the item’s page.

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Buy with Other Shoppers

This isn’t going to help you choose a more reliable option, as the other buyers aren’t provided with any additional information that you don’t have available to you, but it is a great way to get a bit of a deal on your purchase.

If someone else has already selected to purchase the item, it will state ‘Buy with [their name]’ and include a countdown clicking away. This is due to the fact that the offer is only valid for the first 48 hours after this specific buyer made their purchase. Buying with someone in this way will allow you to purchase your item at a guaranteed lower cost.

If someone hasn’t recently purchased the item, you still have the option to try the ‘buy with other shoppers’. By choosing to go this route, you become the shopper waiting. In the next 48 hours, if someone else purchases the item the difference will be credited to your Wish account to use on future purchases. If no one else makes a purchase during that time, you will simply have purchased the item at full price.

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Refund Policy

I will give Wish credit in that they have a decent return policy, and from my experience, they don’t give you a hard time at all in using it. There are two different times that the refund policy kicks in – if your item is never received, or if the item you receive isn’t the item described in the listing.

All buyers are guaranteed to receive their item within 60 days of purchase. If this timeline passes, you will have the option under the ‘your orders’ portion of your account to click ‘contact support.’ The app is designed to track package deliveries and timelines. For this reason, if you are past the 60-day mark it will give you the option to request a refund. I did have to do this recently with an item, and it was refunded into my PayPal account within 10 minutes without any questions.

Once you have received an item, and the app shows it has been delivered (always report your deliveries if they don’t automatically populate to ensure that there are no problems with this side of the refund policy) you have a total of 30 days to check out/try/look over your item to ensure it is exactly as it was described. During that time, if you find the item fails to meet the description listed then you can request a full refund by contacting support.

Be Prepared to Lose

There are going to be times that you take every precaution available and still end up burned. It happens to the best of us. Know that by clicking the ‘buy’ button you are taking this risk. You’re going to find some amazing deals and you’re likely going to find some that simply make you laugh the moment you open the package. If you are looking for a guarantee, head to your local mall where you can handle the items before buying. If, however, you are like me and willing to take the gamble, you may just find yourself REALLY lucking out – I have!

Have you ever purchased from Wish in the past? If so, what was your experience like? What items have you purchased?

**Feature Image Source: Gadget Pair**