Is Shein a legitimate company? - GEEKSPIN

If you love shopping for clothes online, then chances are you've already encountered an advertisement from Shein. Based in China, Shein is a digital retailer that primarily offers a huge selection of on-trend fast-fashion clothing for women. But unlike similar stores, Shein sells extremely cheap clothing items, making a lot of people wonder whether the company is legit or not.

Is Shein legit?

Founded in 2008 by Chris Xu, Shein is a legitimate online shopping platform that ships to over 220 countries and regions worldwide. Shein.com is not some sort of a phishing scam looking to steal your credit card information. It is a trustworthy site that is as genuine as Amazon, eBay, and the like.

While Shein is a legitimate company, its products and services are not perfect.

Issues with Shein

The quality of clothes from Shein varies. Some are high quality; some are pretty decent; and others are just trash. Buying something from Shein is a gamble, but for how inexpensive the prices are, it's a gamble many shoppers are willing to take.

While the quality of clothes from Shein is generally not top-notch, their fit, cut, design, and looks are quite amazing. Several customers actually find them better tailored than items from Forever 21 with about equal fabric quality. Though apparel pieces from Shein lack the luxury feel of most clothes from other high-priced retailers, the former can really pass for unique articles from posh designers from afar.

Sizes are also not consistent. If you're small in one shirt, you could still be medium or large in another style. Since Shein products are manufactured in China, some customers assume that they all come in Asian sizing, but that's not really the case, as sizes of items across the website vary widely.

Since Shein products are shipping from China, deliveries can take up to several weeks to arrive at your doorsteps depending on your location. And unless you paid shipping insurance, you're responsible for the return cost. But because the clothes are cheap, some customers simply keep or donate the items they don't like instead of jumping through all hoops to get a refund. After all, many customers have shared about never getting a refund even after covering the cost of sending the package back.

Despite these minor issues, a lot of people still shop at Shein whenever they want to try out the latest fashion trends and don't need top quality. This makes Shein great for people who want to try out new styles of clothing without paying a fortune from name brands.

Tips on buying Shein clothing

Only order clothes with reviews that include detailed descriptions and actual photos of the items. Shein clothing always looks perfect on the models, so seeing the same piece on an actual customer can help you make a better decision.

To make sure that you get the right size, pay attention to the size guides provided for each item. If you have time, take your measurements and check it against the size chart for each piece of clothing.

While Shein is a great place to find trendy pieces to try out, the store is not the best place to buy clothes you'll wear every day, as Shein clothing are generally not made to last.

Why is Shein clothing so cheap?

As previously mentioned, Shein products are made in China, where labor laws are much laxer than in Western countries like the U.S. or Canada. While Shein states on its website that it continually works to look after the health of well-being of its workers, companies based in countries with lenient labor laws are likely to exploit its workers, which ultimately results in cheaper finished products.

While there's no evidence that proves that Shein is one of those companies, shoppers who prioritize ethical fashion may still want to think twice before buying something from Shein.