Amazon Prime "Try Before You Buy" (Formerly Prime Wardrobe)

For those of us that proudly wear our Amazon addictions on our sleeves, this newest Amazon offering is going to tickle you in ways you've never been tickled before. If you've ever had or considered a Stitch Fix subscription, you might want to stick around for this. Imagine, if you would- needing a new pair of shoes, a dress, jeans, or even a piece of jewelry. You're shopping on your amazon.com (use that Amazon link to get 30 days of Prime FREE) account and begin to search their options.

You see a piece you think you'll like, but you're unsure of the size. You then see the price. $79?!? You know if this item fits right, it's TOTALLY worth the cost but you hate buying things and having to deal with the hassle of a return process. You don't have time, and various Amazon sellers have different return policies. You don't want to be out that seventy-nine bucks if it doesn't work out.

You're thinking about it, deciding if the item is worth the risk, when you happen upon a notation below the item image: "prime try before you buy" and a little button to turn the function on. (This notation used to say "prime wardrobe" but was changed a few days prior to the publication of this review) Switching that little button on lets you see which of this item are available to have shipped directly to you through your already existing Amazon Prime service- with no charge upfront, and the ability to return for a no questions asked refund should you dislike the item. Shipping is always free, and there's no penalty to return the item. The option applies to select clothing, shoes, jewelry and accessories for women, men, and kids. You get up to 8 items delivered right to you that you get to keep and try out for 7 days before having to send back what you don't want. Go into your Amazon account/app, tell them what you're keeping and what you aren't, and you'll only be charged for what you've kept. (Be aware though- you WILL be charged for items that don't get returned) It's pretty awesome, and I was able to get some really great clothes for work while I was working out of town for a few months. There weren't any stores that carried office wear in my sizing or style near where I was working- so this was a really great option to freshen up some aspects of my wardrobe. Now for some of the caveats: 1. Many higher-scale brands like Dress the Population, for example, have tags on the outside of the garment that once they're removed, the return will not be honored. These aren't a good option for someone that wants to actually wear the product before returning it. (That's super gross anyway. Don't be that person.) 2. You can drop the item in a UPS box or at a UPS store, or even schedule a pickup. All of that is super convenient- BUT if it gets lost in the mail and the label hadn't been scanned- you're on the hook for it. This happened to me, and Amazon charged me. I called and disputed it- and they did refund the item. 3. Your trial begins when ALL the items have been delivered. Items ship just like normal Amazon orders- in multiple shipments. It's annoying and really frustrating when you want to return something. My last shipment had every piece arrive except one... for a month. The last piece was delayed and I couldn't begin a return for the items I didn't want. It also doesn't let you cancel anything until either Amazon flags the shipment or the item actually arrives. In this case, they finally contacted me and asked if I still wanted the shipment. I said no, and everything else was set on the trial. 4. At the location I was at, I was having major issues with getting deliveries. I was in a high rise in Peoria, IL- but they were delivering to an address in East Peoria. I had to call a few times to report missing deliveries. Amazon was really good about it- but I did have to call. There were also delivery notations in my tracking like- "Delivered in mailbox" or "delivered in mailroom". That's fine, but my mailbox was similar to a small PO box and the only person with the key is a mailman- and I'm really sure there were no size 10 heels crammed into a 5"x5"x12" mailbox- and we didn't have a mailroom. Explaining that to Amazon was kind of funny... but eventually they resolved the charges for me. This is a new service and they're definitely working out some kinks- but I think the potential outweighs the hassle. And it's much less hassle than having to go into a store and argue with a cashier, lose a receipt, etc. It's a service I'll be using again in the future for sure- but definitely from my actual home address to minimize confusion for everyone involved. Check it out by clicking on either of the Prime Wardrobe banners on the page. The service comes with no added fees for those that already have an Amazon Prime account. You can sign up for Prime here one of two ways:

Click HERE to try Prime free for 30 days, or click HERE to get 50% off your monthly Prime membership if you belong to a qualifying government program. (See Amazon's terms and conditions to learn more about what constitutes a qualifying government program)

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