‘I wouldn’t do it to your face’: Woman warns against returning Shein orders at Forever 21

Whatever happened to that one item you bought online that you were supposed to return? It passed the return window, huh? Returning online orders can be such a hassle, from not having access to a printer to get the return label to having to go out of your way to a shipping location.

Well, this TikToker Kat (@smigikat6) said the convenience of being able to make a return in-store may not be to worth the self-esteem hit.

Kat herself was influenced by all the videos on her feed of other people trying out the Shein returns process at Forever 21. But Kat said she was quickly, and unnecessarily, humbled by the employees.

"It's gonna be so much easier, it's just gonna be a beautiful thing," Kat expected.

"I am here to tell you it is not," she added after going through the process.

Normally Kat wouldn't even bother returning items from Shein and takes it as a loss. But she had seven items from the mega retailer that she didn't want and figured it was the perfect chance to try out the Forver21 partnership.

Once the Forever 21 employees started helping her, she wished she hadn't stepped into the store.

"The girl and the guy that were helping me treated me so horrendously. Were talking crap about me while I'm standing right here," Kat said.

She told them that if it was too much of a hassle she wouldn't go through with the return.

"No, you're already here," the worker told Kat, with a snarky attitude.

"At least have the decency to talk [expletive] about me when I'm leaving. Like I'm talking [expletive] about you when I've left. I wouldn't do it to your face," Kat pointed out.

So can I make Shein returns at Forever 21?

Just last month, Shein announced it was partnering with Forever 21 for in-store returns. While the return feature isn't available at every single Forever 21, 300 locations will offer this convenience. That's a bit more than half of all Forever 21s, so you have a 50-50 shot of having a participating Forever 21 near you. (You can also do easy returns at many UPS locations.)

On top of being able to return items easily, shoppers will get a same-day coupon to apply to their Forever 21 purchase—clearly a method to get more business after losing its spot as young women's go-to place for clothes and accessories. (Just a few years ago the fast fashion brand filed for bankruptcy, NPR reported.)

"We are always looking for new ways to optimize the shopping experience for SHEIN customers – from speedier delivery to easy returns," said George Chiao, President of Shein U.S.

This model is akin to Amazon's partnership with Kohl's, which launched several years ago. Through this partnership, Amazon got the convenience of easy brick-and-mortar return spots, while Kohl's, which has had waning sales, gets additional foot traffic and potential extra sales from handing out coupons to Amazon return customers.

People in the comment section had mixed reactions to Kat's story and some offered helpful suggestions.

"Lol the forever 21 store where I am they are all so helpful," a person said.

"Oh no. I just go to ups and they can print the label too. Never take it as a loss- money doesn’t come that easily well at least for me lol," another added.

"It’s easiest at the ups store even staples. They just scan and go about their business. Their job is to package things. So it’s easier for them to," a commenter wrote.

@smigikat6 #forever21 #forever21shein #sheinreturn #shein ♬ original sound - Kat

"Agree. Only certain forever 21 places accept returns and then only some items are returnable. And they don’t care, they act like it’s a hardship to return them," a viewer shared.

The Daily Dot reached out to Kat for comment via Instagram and TikTok direct message, and to Shein and Forever 21 via email.

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