(Note from roxy: Calling all international Anthro fans! This post is for you. Please welcome Lauren from the dernier cri.)
We all love Anthro’s gorgeous and unique clothes but they can be a little difficult to acquire for those of us not in the US. Maybe you stumbled upon the store while holidaying in NYC, or maybe you asked that American exchange student where she got her cute outfits, or maybe you’re like me and fell in love while living in the States.
However it was that you discovered Anthro, you now want their clothes and you want them now! Since I moved home to Australia last year, I’ve managed to keep up my Anthro-addiction and after some trial and (serious) error, I’ve come up with the following tips and tricks for international shoppers.
1. Read the reviews.
This one will seem obvious given you’re reading an Anthro blog but let me elaborate. If you don’t have the chance to try on items in person or to return purchases easily, the on-site reviews and Anthro community become your best friends. Sizing guides are a start but they aren’t always accurate, as Roxy’s reviews can attest! That brings me to my next tip…
2. Find a blogger body-double.
Find a member of the blogging community who is the same size as you and study her reviews for fit. I’m lucky that Kim over at Anthroholic has almost the exact same dimensions as me but the Anthro blogging community is so large now that you can almost certainly find your own personal body-double.
3. Sneaky sales purchases.
Let’s face it – Anthro’s prices can be a little steep at times, especially when your currency is down against the greenback (I’m looking at you, Aussie Dollar). The sale section doesn’t appear on Anthro’s international site but you can actually log into the US site to choose sale items and then log out to purchase them. The time difference also means internationals have first pick of the online sales! However…
4. Sales + international shipping = disappointment.
I found out the hard way that international shipping and sales don’t mix (I lost my long-coveted Miladay Skirt by taking the risk). This is because Anthropologie’s international shipping company purchases items on your behalf before sending them on so you’re not actually reserving the item yourself when you go through the checkout. If you don’t want to take the risk…
5. Invest in a mail forwarding service.
I use Bongous, which has a nifty personal shopper section to help you purchase from stores that require a US bank account. I’ve also heard you can try using your own credit card when you call Anthro’s customer service – just ask them to send the items to your US ‘address’.
6. Check out your country’s restricted imports.
Here in Australia, Customs gets grumpy if you try to import jewellery or anything made of leather. That doesn’t mean you can’t try but they will hold your package for a few days to check it out. And don’t even bother importing anything that has feathers on it – chances are you’ll never see it. Find out what rules apply to you on your country’s customs site. While you’re there…
7. Think about import tax.
Find out whether your country has import duties or your awesome purchases could end up costing you even more than expected. In Australia, you have to pay tax if you import more than $1000 in one package but if the total value is under that amount, you’re in the clear. Check your country’s customs site so you don’t get a nasty surprise on delivery.
And there you have it – my top tips for international Anthro success. Happy shopping!
<a href="http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/e4x/i18n.jsp;jsessionid=15F599D9D209FF762FF420A89E284951.app46-node2http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/e4x/i18n.jsp;… />there's an international site now!
I totally feel your pain. Living in Canada we only have 3 anthro stores and the closest one is 4 hours away for me. Luckily, I have a super nice friend in the U.S. who acts as my forwarding service.Here's another shopping tip I've learned if you are shipping to a forwarding service int he U.S., you can place an order on the U.S. website by putting your "U.S. address" as your billing address online. Then send seperate e-mail to customer service with you order number letting them know your real billing address.
While I live in the US, I found your tips quite informative. I never even thought about all the odds and ends a non-US shopper would have to go through! Your points are excellent and I'm sure it's going to help a lot of other AnthroAddicts!! Great post!
I loved your post – i too have been sneaking into the US site in order to look at sale items, as well as use the search function. Why the heck can't the Canadian site have a search function?I was hoping that someone might suggest a good blogger-double for me. What I need?I am a small in tops and medium in bottoms, but I am an E cup. I swim in a medium because the shoulders and waist are just too big for me, but I need clothes that have a little extra in the bust area. any help would be apreciated in finding a blogger double!!!
Thanks for the useful info – I too have beensneaking onto the US site in order to look at the sale section, as well as to use the search function.I would love the help of any reader who knows of a good blogger-double for me. i am a small on top, medium on bottom, but it's for tops that I have a hard time guaging. i am small in the shoulders and waist, but am a 32E in the chest! So i need tops that have a little give in the chest area, but don't overwhelm me in the waist/shoulders. Any blogger-double ideas?thanks!!
@Yvonne: Man, your pain is my mine! I live outside of Kingston, making the closest Anthro the Toronto store – which is not only almost 4 hours away, but snarled in major highways and traffic to boot! You need to mentally prepare yourself just for a shopping trip – and you'd better be 100% sure of your purchases, or face it all over again to return! Maybe you'd email me with some more details on your 'sneaky' US address design? I don't want to mess mine up – and I don't want to miss your answer: nesdamycart@hotmail.com Thanks!
Thanks for sharing these tips! I'm a US customer, but I spend a lot of time in Canada (I live within 1 hour of the border), so I know how frustrating the international Anthro site can be. It's amazing to read what you (and other international Anthro fans) go through. I'm glad that you've found some workarounds so that you can still reap the benefits of sales.I have to wonder whether similar tricks would allow me to order items from the European Anthro site (anthropologie.eu)? There are a few items on that site that never appeared on the US Anthro site that I have my eye on… not to mention several popular US items that are available in different colors on the EU website. Have any of you non-European customers had the experience of ordering from anthropologie.eu? Are there any weird hoops that we have to jump through?
I'm an American living in France and I look at Anthro every day. I've been stockpiling a few things while I've been living here, and they are all waiting for me at my parent's house in the states for my visit in a couple of weeks. The import fees and taxes for France are RIDICULOUS. But everything is so expensive here that it almost makes Anthro seem cheap. Just be happy those who live in America because you have no idea how great you've got it!! J'adore America. haha.
As a Canadian, I had become accustomed to huge shipping and duty charges (typically adding an addition $50-$100 to my order). But now we have access to only a fraction of the products on the site! I hope Anthro fixes this soon. 🙁
I also live in Australia and have recently discovered the wonderful anthro site. I have made a few purchases too, but the shipping cost is the killer. So from now on I am only trying to buy things on sale. Have been pretty lucky so far, except for missing out on the Free Flow tank in navy.What I am finding annoying now is that most of the new additions to the clothing on the anthro site are only available to US shoppers. Apparently there is some problem with the items that have an 8 digit style number – they can't be shipped internationally. They are supposedly trying to fix the problem…hope they get it done soon. All the new things I like I can't buy!!
I second what Angela L. said- as a Londoner, Anthro US prices flat out look cheap. What I've found that helps is using a forwarding mail box as others mentioned. They consolidate anything I send to my PO box and get rid of bulky packaging, making it cheaper to send to me overseas. I use usglobalmail.com and they've been great & easy. Sometimes I can get a friend who's making a trip over here to bring me something- that always helps.And fwiw, my packages aren't always charged customs fees. If they are it's painful, but I'd say it happens about 30 percent of the time. Either way, I usually come out better than shopping here in London.
great tips! i found a body double (sara @ you, me & anthropologie), and it's made my life so much easier. i have an anthro, but i also have kids and they don't always tolerate the trying on process. her blog's made it easier to pop in and out, and with free shipping i don't have to go at all. i could spend hours in anthro, but my toddlers – not so much.
i live in america, and i still need to find a body double in the blogosphere. I've found people who might be similar on top, but not on bottom, or similar on bottom, but not on top. Because i'm pretty boobless, and I have a tiny waist, I'm usually like an XS (0 or 2) on top. But then I've got really large hips, so I'm a size 4 on bottom :/
Thanks all for your lovely comments!Yvonne – that's a great idea about putting your US forwarding address as the billing address. I'll have to try that one out!Anonymous x 2 – I'll keep an eye out for body doubles for you!
Yeah, I hate the international site- no searching, no wishlist…I was on the brink of terribly ill-considered purchase last week, when I decided I absolutely had to have the licorice lanes skirt and the top it's paired with in the catalogue. Even with crazy shipping etc, I was madly willing to continue, and then the website snarkily told me I couldn't continue without deleting the skirt from my shopping basket, since they wouldn't ship that item to Canada. ARGH!!! I wish I had a reliable source in the states for my needs!I am endlessly, eternally grateful to the effortless trade/sale board!!!Any kind soul want to pick these up for me!?!!!
Hi!Thank you for your advice. I personally don't have any bad experience ordering things from Anthropologie and shipping them internationally. The only thing is that not everything is available for international shipping. However for everybody in Europe there is European website with an online store, where you can order and the shipped is sooo fast! It says 3-4 day and I usually get everything within 2 days. I used to live in the US and I was that lucky and had a store in my city, but I moved to Germany and the nearest Anthropologie store is in London. I love Anthropologie, although the prices can sometimes be really steep. However I always use the European online store. And as you already said the reviews are soo helpful, especially when you can't go to a store! So a big thank you to all the reviewers and the people who blog about Anthropologie. I hope I can be to some help one time too, because I just started my blog and want to feature also my favorite Anthorpologie things!
Kathy,Thanks for that info! I was wondering why all of a sudden all the things I wanted I couldn't purchase. That choc chip dress is killer and as international customers we can't purchase it! I'm hoping one will pop up on ebay in my size.Hopefully they will fix the problem soon.
I'm an American living in Holland for the past two years. I have everything sent to my mom's house and then pick up a pile when I visit. The shipping from the US to here (plus customs!) makes shipping it to myself impossible. And the EU site makes everything extra expensive, as far as I can tell.
Dear anthroholics!I have a question for you: as far as I use virtual mailbox from shipito.com I don't have any problems with the US address. But how do you pay with your non US credit card? Anthro claims not to accept them! Please, share the solution you've probably found.
Wow, this is a great website, I wish I knew about it along time ago. I want to participate in making great by suggesting a service that use for all my US purchases from ebay, Amazon and fashion stores, the service is by get my US mail Inc, located here http://getmyusmail.com they are safe and they ship fast by DHL, FedEx and Post Office. Other mail forwarders addresses are blocked for fraud but this Boston MA based operation is approved by the Post office and highly recommended.Thank you for making this blog great!Jenn