Dear J.Crew, Stop Double Charging International Customers

"Thanks!" to Alexandra from the U.K. who had the following to share:

So J Crew have started shipping to the UK and Canada! It is now a bit clearer about how they are doing it. I have made some observations below.



Good news: UK customers can get direct shipments from the main site: all the same things as US customers including petites, bridal, shoes, etc.

Bad news: Prices are in UK pounds. And the exchange rates the site uses to convert from US prices are really REALLY terrible: today it was 1.09 dollars to the pound. That compares to today's market rate of about 1.65, and the 1.61 rate that UK customs uses.

Bad news: UK customers can only pay by Visa and Mastercard. Not American Express (unlike the US customers).



Good news: the site calculates and charges UK customs duty and tax upfront. So you know precisely what you are in for when you order.

Bad news: because the UK prices are so high, customs duty is triggered on many items (anything over £140 in value).



Good news: There is only one shipping method available: flat rate 1-2 week international shipping to the UK for only £9.95, or about $15. That compares to the average $40 I pay for 2 day Fedex shipping at the moment via my mail forwarder.

Bad news: All parcels are sent by DHL: in my experience the slowest and least reliable transtlantic carrier.



Just to give you a couple of examples to illustrate what all this means: a Taryn wedding dress would cost $598 to a customer living in Florida, including all taxes and shipping. The same dress would cost a staggering US$1071 (£650) to a UK customer if shipped direct! A pair of classic leather ballet flats - which are cheap enough to come in below the customs duty threshold - will cost a US customer $128.27 - but a UK customer will pay $211 (£128).



My conclusion from all this is that J Crew's e-commerce partner is using an appalling dollar-pound exchange rate to subsidise its (quite slow) flat rate shipping. This means that the price points are very high and even worse, a lot of parcels will wind up as worth over £140 and trigger customs duty, which is a disaster.



Please please do the math before you choose the direct shipment option to the UK. By my calculations, it will always be quicker and nearly always cheaper to do this instead: order from the US website, pay US tax and shipping, get it delivered to a US friend or mail forwarder, then get it sent onto the UK via Fedex (ideally in parcels worth $200 or less), and pay the UK tax!!!!



Shipment example under $200 value: Classic ballet flats direct from J Crew to UK: $211. Same flats via US mail forwarder: $199 ($128 incl US tax and shipping + $35 Fedex+ $36 UK Vat and handling fee)

Shipment example over $200 value: Taryn dress direct from J Crew to UK: $1071. Same dress via US mail forwarder: $803 ($598 incl US tax and US shipping + $40 Fedex + $155 UK vat and duty and handling fee)

So in the end, J.Crew has really hiked up the prices for international shoppers! Just read the comments in the "J.Crew Opens its Doors in Toronto" & "J.Crew Updates Website with New Arrivals!" posts and you can find a lot of heated words over this topic.



There are lots of posts on other blogs about this too, including:

• Delectably Chic: "Making Sense of the New Canadian (Online) J.Crew Prices"
• One Too Many Closets: "Love/Hate"
• DaniBP Mop Philosopher: "Some Fall Picks"

Well, I am going to add my two cents... Although this change does not impact me directly, I find it really discouraging that they would charge significantly higher prices for international shoppers, in addition to duty and tax! (Charging fair rate prices based on a reasonable conversion is one thing, what J.Crew is doing... well, it doesn't appear to be that way. It appears like a 30-50% markup.)



Right now, it is unclear why they need to “double charge” international customers. J.Crew claims it is "the cost of doing business internationally". Well that line does not sit well with me. Especially since J.Crew was selling the same merchandise just one week ago in Canada without the extra costs.



J.Crew's CEO, Mickey Drexler, always talks about the importance of taking care of its customers. We have seen it first hand from the special gifts to excellent service from Personal Shoppers. It's one of the main reasons why I love them. So I hope J.Crew will quickly reconsider the ridiculous double charge. Keeping the double charge will only drive loyal {international} customers away.