Guess

Full review
Guess.com is an easy to navigate site offering main categories of: Women, Men, and Accessories. The women's category offers several sub categories including: What's new, tops, bottoms, dresses, jeans, swimwear, jewelry, accessories, shes, and sale, to name a few. In addition, each of these sub categories will expand to offer sub categories within. For example, Shoes is further broken down to offer: wedges, dress, sandals, and casual. There are a total of 14 categories under Women.

Men have 12 categories where "Outerwear" replaces the "Jackets" category found in the Women's department. "Swimwear" is eliminated as is "Dresses" and "Shoes". "Father's Day Gifts" is offered for men but women have "Graduation Gifts" instead. Sub categories for men do not go as deep. "Tops" offers quite a few (six) and "Bottoms" offers two, but beyond that, the categories within the Men's department are not as large and don't require further breaking down.

Accessories is a main category and is also found under "Women" and "Men". Regardless of how you get there, you will need to choose which sex prior to viewing merchandise. Clicking on "Accessories" will take you to a page that forces a choice between "Men" and "Women" where as if you go to Women first, that choice is already assumed.

I like the fact that certain categories are not limited to only one parent category. A pair of pants on sale can be listed under the parent category "Bottoms" in addition to being displayed in the "Sale" area.

Selection is good, better and more extensive for female consumers. Not uncommon for stores of this nature both on line and at physical locations.

One minor annoyance is that one of the main Guess model's who is pictured on various pages throughout the site is usually wearing something that is not actually available. Perhaps I should be thankful since the garment looks super appealing on her manequin built bod and super model looks. Guess.com may be saving me several hundred dollars in shipping and return shipping costs! Not that I'm chopped liver, heh heh!

One pleasure is viewing "Best Sellers" upon clicking on any category like "Shirts". At this time, you can either check to see if your size remains - quite often the selection is diminished - or you can avoid those items hoping to cut down on the chances of your friends purchasing the same shirt and thinking, "Hey I could have borrowed that and saved about 50 bucks, man!"

The site is fast loading, though I use high speed and there is some flash, telling me they are hoping most shoppers will be on high speed connections, too. There are thumbnails (smaller pictures) which you may click to view product specifics, details and larger, usually multiple, views of the item. At this point, placing the product in your cart is permitted after choosing your size, color, or other options of item relevance.

Products are generally shown eight per page, but there is an option to "View all styles" which will show all of the thumbnails on a single page that scrolls up and down. Staying on individual pages is nice and offers a scroll-free shopping experience, whereas viewing them all on one page lets me compare several items all at once when they would otherwise be on different pages.

A small shopping bag is consistently visible, but unobtrusive, at the upper right corner of the screen. This lets you see the current number of items you intend to purchase. You may also click on the small "Shopping Bag" text to automatically view the contents and/or proceed to check out and make payment. Only the total number is visible in contrast to some sites which actually show more details if you hover over the symbol (total amount in $, product names, etc.).

Shoe selection is limited in sizing and further lessened on popular styles, colors and on sale shoes. Most styles offer size 7 and up. On occasion a 6 is available. Yet rarer is a 5. Average pricing for shoes is $80.00. The shoes are good quality and Italian, which I like. Still, the chances of me finding my size available in a style I feel is worthy of the full asking price, is pretty slim. I definitely feel you pay more for the Guess name, but quality is higher than cheaper shoes, but the styles often appear common and are usually offered for a fraction of the Guess shoes's cost as a knocked off version or by a lesser known maker.

There are links to other sites under Guess? Inc.: Marciano.com offering the more elite (ehem, expensive) line, Guess Kids (only pops up a flash picture book with store locator, no shopping ability), Guessinc. - corporate site, Guesscanada.com for Canadian shoppers, and Guessfactory.com which is like the outlet version with items that have been either discontinued, overstocked, or reduced in price. By having a separate "factory outlet" site, Guess is able to prevent customers from combining items of hefty price reductions with other items at the regular store to acheive the $75.00 free shipping min. It may have something to do with warehouse locations or their database, but from the consumer side, that is the main difference. Each site has the free shipping with $75.00 min. order offer.

Shipping is fast, packing is way above average. Every time I have ordered, I received my items in a couple of days using the basic shipping method offered. Guess will not ship to PO Boxes, which may be a negative for some. The clothing arrives with minimal folding and on individual hangers. Bottoms are on hangers intended for shorts, pants or skirts, and tops are on traditional hangers. Each item also has an individual plastic protector over it much like what dry cleaning businesses use. Original tags which include the retail price all are in tact the same as if you had purchased the items from their store location. Sale prices or special discount codes used are not reflected on the merchandise or marked in any way. The only record is on the invoice included with each order.

Pricing is about par to comparable juniors/young adult shops and companies. While, as I mentioned in regards to their shoes, the quality is typically above average jr's apparel from somewhere like Wet Seal, Sears, or even Victoria's Secret trendy apparel, you still are paying for the brand name.

I find pricing competitive to Bebe, Arden B., and the higher end in the Brass Plum at Nordstrom. Quality is above Bebe despite being slightly lower in price, in general. I've felt Bebe has really grown too fond and reliant upon the label, trend and popularity and in turn sacrificed a lot of quality and consumer value. Guess seems to have followed the same path in terms of pricing and keeping the name more exclusive, but they also increased the quality or at least kept it consistently high. The Marciano line, available in most Guess stores and separate in select areas, is based on Guess quality and design, but tends to use more luxurious materials like textured silks and embellishments like beading and sequins.

Best bets for Guess.com (and Guess in general) are found on occasion when sale items are discovered or occasional promotional sales or discounts are given. One prime example: After purchasing a pair of bermuda shorts at Guess.com, a card with a promo code was included with my order and allowed me to get a whopping 50% off my entire order so long as the order was placed between certain dates (I believe it was 5 days total). I easily redeemed the offer by typing in the short code upon check out. Unfortunately, I now feel a bit foolish placing anything at full price in my cart! I'm waiting for another promo, but in the mean time shop strictly in the "SALE" area. Such discipline, I know!

Guess.com policies: Swimwear, innerwear, and pierced jewelry is not returnable. Sale of these items are final. I understand this, but it also ensures I purchase those items at the store so that I can try the swimwear on for fit prior to purchase. I can also really check the item out and see them up close and personal to make a better decision and reduce the chances of disappointment or buyer's remorse. However, I think, though I'm not certain, that the same policy on the above items is the same in stores. Again it's understandable and I also get the assurance of knowing I'm buying something that is not unsanitary. Ick.

Checking out at Guess.com is simple and step by step. I can review the items in detail and click on any item to be taken to that item's page, make any changes or increase, decrease, eliminate quantities.

Shipping methods and charges are featured in a drop down menu with Ground being the default choice and the cheapest method at only $5.95 regardless of order total. Of course after $75, that method is then FREE. I really like the up front shipping charges since some sites don't add shipping in automatically leaving you to guess or be caught off guard when the total is revealed. I really like to know the TOTAL prior to giving credit card or other payment information. A definite PLUS.

Upgraded shipping methods: Much more reasonable than many sites. $10.95 flat fee for 2nd day delivery. Overnight shipping is $15.95 but not an option for Saturday and Sunday delivery.

Guess.com does charge sales tax to most states. Unfortunately the number of on line shops that do not charge sales tax to states other than their main location, are becoming extinct. I enjoyed it while it lasted, though!

Returns and exchanges: Above average in terms of options and ease. Though nobody beats or matches Zappos.com's Free shipping and Free return shipping, Guess is still on top for these issues. Returns are free if you take them back to a store. You are, however, required to have three things with you in addition to the items being returned or exchanged: the original copy of the sales receipt, a photo ID, and the credit card to which the items were charged. By mail, you're on your own to cover shipping and the recommended insurance.

Return Guess.com Shoppers and Visitors: Once you place an initial order, you can choose to log in and thus check out with ease and speed as long as your shipping and payment details remain the same. Simply click "Log in" and enter your e-mail address and password. Forgotten passwords are sent to the e-mail address.

Once logged in, you are taken to an area where you can see past orders, set e-mail preferences, view and edit addresses (billing and shipping), etc.

Guess.com has a toll-free customer service phone number shown at the upper left-hand corner of the Shopping Cart pages.

There is also a "track order" option where customers can type in their order number to get status. This also requires the e-mail address before status is shown, I suppose this prevents unauthorized people from accessing such personal data and information.

Guess.com is well designed both aesthetically and from the technical side. Fans of the brand can find shopping satisfaction here. Those, like myself, who occasionally splurge on the label or find a lucky sale item are also in for a painless browsing and purchasing experience.