Roaman's

Full review
WHAT THEY SELL: Reasonably priced Women’s Clothes sizes 12W & up - Dresses , 2 Pc. Suits & Sets , Pants & Skirts , Knit Tops & Sweaters, Blouses & Shirts , Intimate Apparel , Outerwear, Jackets & Blazers, Shoes, Accessories, Swimwear in specialty sizes such as petites and talls (tall is 5’ 7½” to 5'-10”)

ASSOCIATED WITH: This is a family of businesses under the Brylane umbrella—others include Jessica London, Brylane Home, BrylandHome Kitchen, Roaman’s, Chadwick’s, Lerner Catalog, and KingSize Direct. This is the 3rd in this group that I’ve reviewed—previously I covered Jessica London & Lane Bryant Catalog.

SIZING & SELECTION: They offer a detailed sizing chart and hints on how to measure correctly to help you choose the right size for you. They also convert the sizes for you from numeric to alpha (i.e., 22 = 1x. They offer selected items up to 6x). Shoes are sized from 6-1/2 to 15 (the largest women’s size I’ve found online so far that was not from a specialty store).

PRICING: I found the items to be competitively priced, and online coupons and specials were a nice way to save a few dollars.

<b >ACCOUNT: You must have an account to order, but not to browse. Sign up is fast and easy and pretty standard—no surprises here. The disappointing thing is that you must register at each of their sites—universal registration would have been a nice touch.

MY EXPERIENCE: I found a few items that I was willing to order, even though they have limited information for the items and lack multiple views of the item. I would have been more comfortable had they offered a virtual model, alternate view, 360 degree view, or full color changes which would have allowed me to see exactly how the new color would look in the chosen garment

After adding the items to my shopping cart and registering for the site (see note above about registration), I went to the check out screen. Seemed standard, they listed the shipping, tax (I wasn’t charged as I don’t live in one of the states they list) and the total. I clicked to accept the charges and was congratulated on my order. Minutes later I received my confirmation e-mail that all was well.

I waited anxiously for my order, which was promised in 6-10 days. After the due date I decided to check my order history which said “rejected”. Weird since I’d gotten a confirmation e-mail when I ordered saying that my order was fine. I called to find out that the credit card had been rejected. Knowing that it had to be the expiration date since I have only one online card, and I had been using it very successfully everywhere else online, I asked if that could have caused the problem. She replied, “Certainly!” The customer service rep went on to say that the web site was not able to automatically notify customers when this happens. Sadly they missed out on a $125 order because they haven’t automated their system. Had they at least sent an e-mail or called, I would have gone ahead with the order. Instead, their lack of care made me a little angry so I declined to complete the transaction. Luckily I was able to order something very similar and for nearly the same cost at a store I trusted and I received excellent & quick service.

TIME TO UPGRADE Should they decide to upgrade their site I might consider trying it again. Until then, I’ll go with the tried and true stores that consistently give me outstanding service and quality. For now, this is on my “wait and see” list.


SPECIALTY: Plus size Women’s clothes and shoes at reasonable prices.
URL: http://www.roamans.com
DATE: The information in this review was accurate on Saturday, December 21, 2002

Here are some additional reviews I've done:
WOMEN'S PLUS SIZE CLOTHING
Lane Bryant Catalog - http://www.epinions.com/content_84412108420
Jessica London Online Store - http://www.epinions.com/content_83817762436
Just My Size - http://www.epinions.com/content_83743313540