Roaman's

Full review
My mother introduced me to Roaman's store years ago when she shopped from the catalog.  I'm an online shopper to the bone ... so I visit Roaman's Online Store.  However, my shopping experiences have resulted in a few interesting stories.  Not all shopping experiences here have been without incident.


What is Roaman's?

www.roamans.com

Roaman's has been in business for over 70 years.  They specialize in clothing and fashion-related items for women who wear plus-size, petite or tall sizes.  They advertise themselves as selling for sizes 12W to 44W.


Navigating the Website

Roaman's is a bit different from other websites that I've shopped at.  The Home Page is not setup for easy navigation.  It always takes me awhile to locate what I wish to purchase.

At the Top

A series of text links runs along the top of the page, including:  My Account, Roman's Credit Card, Order Status, Email/Catalog Request, Customer Service.  There are also links for New Arrivals, Clothing, Shoes & Accessories, Intimates & Sleepwear, Clearance.

Thank goodness there is a search box or I would never find anything on this website.  If you have a catalog number for an item, you can also type in that number for an easy search.

To the Left

More text links populate the vertical area at the left.  You can sign up for web-only savings or follow a series of text links.  Some of them include: Sales & Specials, Best Sellers, Shop By (Sweaters, Denim, Bigshirts, Leggings, Sale, Fashion Jewelry), or Deals of the Week.

In the Middle

It's a waste of space.  Whoever designed this site is missing a prime opportunity to highlight products.  There is one large splashy photo that advertises a sale.  That's it.

Along the Bottom

A lot of space at the bottom of the site is devoted to a smorgasbord of links.  It's a confusing mishmash to easily read.  They include links to various product areas, blogs, coupons, the usual About Us, Contact Us, Shipping & Tax sections.  There are also links that lead off the site and do not tell you this.


My Experiences

I have been shopping at Roaman's off an on for years ... and every experience has been slightly different.  I buy clothing from them.  I have never purchased their shoes or jewelry.  One thing I absolutely love about the website is that they give the length of garments.  For example, if you are purchasing a shirt, skirt, dress, pants or sleepshirt, Roaman's provides the length of the garment.  I am tall and need to know how long a piece of clothing is to make sure the fit will be okay.

The clothing I have received has always been of good quality and lasts a long time.  The material is nice and durable; the pieces are also well made.  Roaman's clothing tends to run large, so double-check their sizing chart to see what size you should order.

There is a good range of variety and styles on this website.  Each product page has at least one photograph of the item as well as the ability to zoom in for a closer look at details.  However, there is no way to view an item from all angles, which I'm sure people would appreciate when buying items like shoes and evening dresses.  Item descriptions vary in length.  A terse description of the item is provided, what material it is constructed from, whether it is imported (but not where it comes from), as well as sizes and available colors.  If an item is on sale, the regular price has a line through it with the sale price written beneath it.


Placing an Order

Online ordering is pretty straight forward.  From the product page, select the color, then the size, and then the quantity.  When all the fields are filled in, click the purple "Add to Shopping Bag" button.  You can also add the item to a Wish List, or email the page to a friend.

The Shopping Bag keeps a list of items ordered, including a photo, description, item number, price, quantity and if the item is in stock.  You can update the shopping bag, to delete items or change quantities.  The Shopping Bag also provides a subtotal, estimated shipping and estimated sales tax.

When you are ready to make the purchase, click the Checkout button.  Note: there is an area on the Shopping Bag page to insert a promotional code or a deferred billing code.

After clicking the Checkout button, a page opens that shows recommendations.  This can be confusing because it looks like these items are in the Shopping Bag.  You can choose to purchase the offered items or click the "Take Me Directly to Checkout" link.  From this point on, the Checkout process is similar to other websites.  Provide your billing, shipping, and contact information.

Roaman's accepts a wide variety of credit cards:  Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Redcats USA Family of Brands' credit cards, (also these credit cards: Jessica London, KingSize, Roamans, Woman within, Chadwick's metrostyle, La Redoute, BrylaneHome, OneStopPlus.com).  They do not accept cash, personal checks, or money orders for online orders.  And they do not ship C.O.D.


The Definition of Sale and Clearance Items ... and Using Coupons

My last ordering experience was a lulu.  Usually I have no trouble.  In this last instance, I received one of their too-frequent catalogs in the mail.  I saw several items on sale that I had been thinking of purchasing, and went to the website to place my order.  The items were there.  I also had a coupon code for 20% off my order.

The website refused to accept the coupon code. So I telephoned their customer service line.  A very pleasant woman answered the telephone.  She told me the reason the coupon code was not working was that I was purchasing "Clearance" items.  I said the items were not on clearance.  She insisted they were and went on to say that clearance items always ended in a weird cents amount ... such as 39-cents or 89-cents.  I explained that these items were on sale, and the cents amount was 99-cents.  (I have visited their clearance section, and the items sell for a dollar amount ending in 99-cents, so I'm not sure where she was getting her information from.)

The customer service person double-checked the items and was making noises about the items not qualifying for the coupon.  I often talk to myself (honest, I never talked to myself before I started to quilt ... but that's another story!).  Under my breath I muttered, this is going to make an interesting store review.  She must have heard me.

All of a sudden she says I was right!  The items were on sale and not clearance.  Not only did my order qualify for the 20% discount but it also qualified for free shipping.  She further said that the sale price was even lower than I thought by three dollars an item.  I was able to place my order, even though some of the items were on backorder ... due in a few weeks.


Shipping, Delivery, and Returns

As a rule, I find that Roaman's has timely delivery.  The items always come well packaged, too.  I have never received an item that was damaged or in the wrong style. 

I have experienced backordered merchandise in the past.  This time was much worse than usual, though.  I ordered six items.  Two of them arrived right away.  Another piece arrived a few weeks later.  Several weeks later, the fourth piece arrived ... and after a two month wait, the final two pieces arrived.  Thank goodness these were for me and not a gift.

On occasion, I have had to return a piece of clothing due to the size being wrong (because their clothes run bigger than other stores).  Return is simple, and I have always received the credit back to my credit card or have exchanged the item for a different size.  Note that you do have to pay for return shipping.  Read the return instructions carefully.  Roaman's prefers you use UPS to return items, and will deduct $6.50 or $7.95 from the merchandise credit.  However, you can choose another carrier and pay the return costs upfront.


One Other Thought - Sales Pitches

I'm throwing this out for what it's worth.  I received a "check" from Roaman's in the mail.  With all the trouble I had with my last order, I was wondering if it was a credit of some kind.  Good thing I looked closely at the $5.00 "check".  It's one of those deals where if you cash the check, you are agreeing to a trial period of something called ID Secure with a $139.99 annual membership fee!  I threw it into the shredder.


Summary

Roaman's happens to carry several items that I really like and can only order from them, so I will be shopping at Roaman's in the future.  However, I am not happy with the "sale and clearance item" argument, their reluctance to accept a valid coupon, and the severely delayed backorder, plus the way too many catalogues and questionable offers I am receiving from them.  On the positive side, though, the clothing is exactly what I expected, and it is of good quality.

I hope you found this review useful.

Enjoy the day,
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com


Please read my other reviews:

Zappos (online shoe store)

Coldwater Creek (online store)

Coach (online store)

Sheplers (online store)

Kohl's (online store)

Just My Size Online Store

Lane Bryant Online Store

Old Pueblo Traders (online store)

Copyright 2009 Dawn L. Stewart