“Shan and Toad aims to please,” they write on their website, however, if you’re from Lakewood or some other largely Jewish-populated towns, they won’t give you a refund.
“If for any reason, you are dissatisfied with your purchase, you may return non-sale items for a full refund.*” the company wrote.
It continues…
“* Returns originating from the following areas will be eligible for store credit or exchange only. The merchandise must be sent back within 7 days of receipt. The $5 restocking fee will be deducted from the credit amount.
BROOKLYN, NY
MONSEY, NY
LAKEWOOD, NJ
Passaic, NJ
Monroe, NY”
[TLS]
Anyone want to reach out to the justice dept?
The worst part about this is that they are a FRUM owned company!!
I purchased something on this website and wanted to return it. I was shocked when I was told I can only exchange/receive store credit! It is so misleading-on each product page it states how they offer free returns but when u read their full return policy, there it states about this absurd regional discrimination… And btw, for all to know the owner is a Frum woman who currently lives in yerushalayim. Despicable.
Isn’t this Lashon Hara?
Sniff, sniff. I smell discrimination.
I called Shan and Toad and asked why people in certain cities can’t get a refund. Denise told me – ‘Unfortunately I’m not able to answer that question right now’ and then hung up on me
I highly doubt any store in the world would actually bear statistics that we have a higher rate of return (to the extent that a random store would notice). This lady just decided she doesn’t want to deal with frum returns…
So who on her team convinced a frum woman to be so discriminating?
They have the full rights to deny returns to areas where people are abusing the system causing them to lose money.
The fact that those areas happen to be populated by orthodox Jews is a big chillul Hashem on our part.
When too many people abuse this policy this is what happens. Unfortunately it’s a huge chilul Hashem as well.
instead of saying how horrible the company is for discriminating, why don’t we take a moment to reflect why policies like this come to be and the loss of income we are causing companies by ordering everything under the sun then returning. Just because something is allowed doesn’t mean we should take advantage of it.
What’s the major surprise and anger about? This is the same in EVERY frum store in these same communities. Go find me a frum store that has a return policy of more than 1-3 days.
If you buy stuff from them on Amex then Amex return protection will cover you when the store refuses to accept your return.
As R’ Shimon Schwab and others used to say: We worry too much about Kosher and not enough about Yosher.
This is not an issue for the justice department. This is an issue for US to look inward and change!
I don’t care if a store says no returns whatsoever. I care if they say that people with Kippas can’t return but everyone else can. Do you really think that statistics will show that our % of returns are higher?? Yes we buy more than people in Trenton so we return more. I highly doubt that our rate of return is actually higher and that that’s how she picked those cities. She simple made a (bad) decision not to want to deal with Jewish returns.
I must chime in to defend the returners. For those purchasing clothing online, especially children’s clothing, it’s bad business for a merchant to have a restrictive return policy. By definition you cant try the items on and often someone with multiple children will buy the same item in multiple sizes to return those that don’t fit . . . but more importantly, to keep those that do fit. That’s a lot of lost sales if there are no returns.
BROOKLYN, NY
MONSEY, NY
LAKEWOOD, NJ
Passaic, NJ
Monroe, NY”
I guess we are not alone!!!
Everyone relax I am in touch with the owner and working to have the situation rectified
Come to Jackson!
To ‘Sorry’ – Exactly!!
When buying online it’s impossible to know exactly how the product looks, feels and fits. Almost all online stores allow returns for this reason.
For those saying this is a chillul hashem – absolutely not. It is simply this woman’s unfounded fear that she will get abuse from the frum community with no research to back it.
so don’t buy if you don’t like the return policy….
You also have the option of not ordering from this store at all!!
Would you be okay if Walmart charged Jews more than non-jews?
“Just don’t shop there if you don’t like it”….
Whoever thinks this is a Chilul Hashem, They must have never bought clothes online. Every company sizes differently, everything fits differently. Some companies products will never be the right fit for someone regardless of the size.
This should be factored into the price when a company sells clothes online
Should have just cut to chase and stated that if you are a frum yid your business is not appreciated.
Look we boycotted target and it seemed to work how about we try this place now
But only from these places
I just looked at that website. Who pays $150 for a boys shirt or $248 for a boys vest? Forget about return policies, why would you buy anything to begin with?
before you blow a fit, keep in mind that the store’s regular return policy would put them out of business fast selling online to frum yidden with large families k”h. The model can only work for the 1.5 average kids in a US family. If a Heimishe Bubby orders 14 different sizes……..of 6 designs…..to try on and return in 30 days, there goes the store’s inventory for the season.
Give her a break
The worst part of it all is that it’s misleading on her website. If I would’ve been aware of the policy, id never have purchased. I feel like I fell into a trap. Don’t tell me on your product page that you offer easy returns with an asterisk and then state on the fully outlined policy that there is an exception of 5 cities in the U.S. That is deceiving.
@MB
As an ecommerce seller in the fashion category I can promise you that every site wishes for this problem.
1) If someone is ordering 6-7 sizes total for their 5 kids, they will likely keep 5 of them. That’s a far better sale than when someone orders 2 sizes for their kid and returns one.
2) The large order can ship in one big box which saves the company a pretty penny in shipping, fulfillment, and packaging costs. See why Amazon has add-on items, and why Jet.com tries really hard to get customers to buy multiple items at once.
3) Returns are also cheaper as it’s far cheaper to pay for a 1 return label for 10 pieces of clothing in 1 box vs 10 labels for 10 pieces. Processing is also quicker and therefore cheaper.
4) The overall profit on the sale can be huge. Any online retailer prefers larger orders even if the profit % is slightly lower.
5) A customers confidence is extremely important when trying to convert a viewer into a buyer. If a customer is not confident that they will get their money back if the clothing doesn’t fit, or if they think the company has horrible return policies or bad customer service, they simply won’t buy on the site. Now that this return policy has been publicized, I can’t imagine that customer confidence in the shop can get any lower. That’s why Amazon has free 30 day returns on all their fashion products including clothing, jewelry.
Move to Jackson and Toms River
Maybe it’s all about avoiding Ribbis or other real Halachic issues. They are trying not to be machshil yidden.
1. Larger families, more purchases
2. More items and sizes tried, more purchases
3. Great sales opportunities in those communities, bad business mistake on part of proprietor
4. and….. what is the law???
Please – there are no ribbis issues. This policy was not made to help yiddin it was made to hurt them.
Maybe all people who need to return should be required to show proof that they aren’t Jewish. Perhaps a yellow star system?
The top cities listed being uppercase and the last two being lowercase. This business should run spellcheck before discriminating
I believe the article was about zip codes not religion. If a small business owner is kind enough to even offer a return policy and it is abused, then she could go out of business. I don’t care if you are returning one item or 100, nothing should be returned in poor condition or weeks later so she can’t re-sell it. That is just cruel to the store owner trying to make a living. Maybe she should offer a limit on returns and specify returns only in original condition with a re-stocking fee after a certain amount. No small business owner can survive being treated so unfairly and unethically by consumers who choose to take advantage of her kindness and liberal return policy. She had to change it for a reason. Think about it.