What’s it like on the other side? That’s the question Rachel is here to answer today. She’s in Canada and loves Anthro just as much as the rest of us and she’ll shed some light on the hoops our neighbors to the north have to jump through to get themselves some flowy. If you’re interested in writing a guest post please email me or click the “contact” link near the top of the blog. On to the guest post…
Hi all! I’m Rachel, a Canadian Anthropologie lover. I can usually be my at my blog promises like pie crust, where I write about fashion, shopping, and being a shopaholic. Huge thanks to Roxy, not just for letting me share my thoughts about the Canadian Anthro experience, but also for her amazing blog.
I live in Toronto where two of the three Canadian stores are located (the third is in Edmonton), so I’m among the lucky ones.
The Yorkville store:
The Shops at Don Mills store:
Both stores are lovely and consistent with all Anthropologie stores I’ve visted in the U.S. The Yorkville store is only a 10-minute walk from my office–makes lunch hours very dangerous!
As a lucky one, I feel like I shouldn’t bellyache. However, I can’t ignore the few things that rankle and make me wish that I lived in the U.S. (but only for a few minutes, I am a proud Canadian!).
My first (relatively minor) gripe is that it takes longer for items to appear in Canadian stores. The Anthro blogging community has already reviewed an item or I’ve received an email about a new item, so of course I go to the store right away, and no such luck. In my experience, the delay is about a week or so.
My next (more serious) complaint is with the prices, which are marked up more than the exchange rate would warrant. Let’s take Natalie Lété’s Marine Mural Dress as an example (because I love it and I tried it on last week). It costs USD$248, which at the current exchange rate would be about CAD$258, but the Canadian price is CAD$288. With 13% Ontario tax, this comes to CAD$325.44. Ouch. There are many factors to consider in the Canadian price, but when I think about it I want to have a tantrum. I want to yell “but…but…it’s cheaper in the States!!! Why are you ripping me off???”
You might say, just wait for the sale, which brings me to my next gripe…
Every Tuesday when Roxy posts her list of sale items, I read it and sigh because I know I won’t find most of them here. The Canadian website doesn’t even have a sale section. The stores have sales, but it’s rare that I ever find anything that I want.
Never mind lasting for a sale, some items don’t even last a week! Last May I bought Floreat’s Sub-Continent Dress in a size 6 for a summer wedding. The size 6 was a little too tight in the torso, so I went back a week later for an 8. It was completely sold out at the Yorkville store, and the Don Mills store never had it to begin with. So I returned the 6, went home, called Customer Service, and had the 8 shipped to my sister in Boston thus taking advantage of U.S. prices, free shipping, no duties, and no taxes in Massachusetts.
The second item that disappeared on me was Nathalie Lété’s Stemmed Sweetbriar Dress. I tried it on a Friday at the Yorkville store. The next Tuesday I went back to try it on again. But it was like the dress never existed. I wondered, did I dream it? No, I have photographic proof. Later that week I found the dress at Don Mills, so I have it on hold for some thought. It’s still pricey but I’m afraid it will disappear! Unfortunately, this does lead to a lot of buying at full price.
Lastly, I have to complain about the online shopping experience. As I already mentioned, the Canadian website doesn’t have a sale section. It also doesn’t have a search bar, for some inexplicable reason.
Not all items on the U.S. site are available either. But why would I want to shop online when the duty and taxes are so heinous?
I wish Anthro would just ship items without adding on the duty and taxes (like J. Crew), and let us take our chances with getting charged at the post office.
The Canadian stores don’t accept returns for items bought online (but they will accept returns for items bought in the States), so more expensive shipping costs to send anything back. When I occasionally shop online, I use my sister as a post office, but many shoppers outside of Toronto and Edmonton don’t have that option. However, the three stores will mail any in-stock item within Canada (pay by credit card on the phone) for $10. It’s better, but not ideal.
In the end, I put up with the annoyances because, well, I love Anthro. You ladies understand!! I’d love to hear about other Canadians’ experiences. Thanks again Roxy!
