Pottery Barn

Full review
I do most of my shopping online, and I am a frequent visitor to Pottery Barn's website. It is clean, laid out well, and easy to navigate. One problem with the general look of the site is that the thumbnails are too small, but they have great pictures and usually multiple views once you get to the page of a specific item.

Pottery Barn offers high quality merchandise. Their items are well made, which is hard to find these days. And if you are patient & can wait for a sale (provided your item isn't too popular!), you can get a really good deal on quality wares.

I have never had a problem with returns, which I have made in the past. I always keep my shipping information, make phone calls to verify everything, and always put a note inside the box to confirm my expectations.

I have not had problems with receiving shipments promptly, as stated upon ordering.

The huge flaw with Pottery Barn online is the outrageous shipping costs. Other stores online, making FAR LESS on their sales than Pottery Barn, charge much more reasonable shipping costs. Pottery Barn penalizes you for shopping. The more you buy, the more you pay! This is true of other companies under the William-Sonoma umbrella, also. (William-Sonoma owns not just the William-Sonoma stores but also Pottery Barn - plus PBKids & Teens, Hold Everything, and West Elm.) They start around $5 for orders under $15, which is pretty normal. But they go in increments for various purchase totals, and the shipping costs increase as you spend.

Even if you buy a small item weighing less than a pound but costing $150-200, look to pay 10-11% in shipping. But a 20-pound item that costs you $12 is going to be a $5 ship charge. I think they should go to a flat rate like so many other sites. Overstock.com only charges $2.95 no matter what you order! If they can do it with their discount prices, Pottery Barn can do it with their inflated prices.

I am going to write a letter to customer service about the way they appear to rip off their customers with their shipping. I don't know if it will do any good, but it can't hurt. Especially if I'm not alone in doing it, and I have some friends who have already contacted them via phone over this matter. (Letters just seem to work better because the bottom of the totem pole on the phone can't do diddly for you.)

Overall, I rate them high in quality but pitiful in the shipping arena.