Is Shein A Legit Site? The Truth About This Popular Fashion Online Retailer.
Have you heard of ultra-fast fashion apparel brand SHEIN? This company, whose advertising campaigns are all over the Internet, focuses on affordability and rapid innovation, with annual revenue of up to US$30 billion.
What Is Shein
As you scroll through YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, it’s a familiar image: a teenager throwing a pile of clothes from Shein on the bed and trying them on in order to gain likes and followers.
The Chinese fast fashion company has exploded in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, but if you’re over 30, chances are you’ve never heard of it.
The sales giant operates exclusively online, targeting consumers who are concerned about hot searches and costs, and adds a staggering 6,000 new products to its product range every day.
This ultra-fast fashion brand SHEIN from China sells fashionable clothing at very low prices. It is favored by many young girls and its business territory has rapidly expanded to the world.
Because of Shein’s incredible growth, it managed to branch out and sell other products besides women’s clothes. Today, you can purchase men’s wear, kid’s clothing, home and kitchenware, pet supplies, and so much more from Shein. They are now an everything e-commerce store like Amazon, eBay, Shopee, and Lazada.
Why can SHEIN’s clothing be sold so cheaply
A mesh dress costs $3, a pair of jeans costs $9 and a bandeau top costs $2 as customers flock to retailer shein
With so much to choose from at affordable prices, the online retailer has become one of the world’s most popular fashion brands in just the past few years.
The fast-fashion giant founded in China has confidentially filed to list in the U.S., setting up what could be one of the biggest IPOs in years.
At a time when high inflation is driving up prices and straining household finances, consumers’ good intentions to buy ethically sourced goods may be harder to sustain.
Singapore-based shein has grown rapidly in the past few years, launching an increasingly rich range of fashion-forward clothing at ultra-low prices, winning the favor of hundreds of millions of consumers around the world.
Shein’s “production on demand” model makes prices more affordable and reduces waste by “empowering thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises” and “only producing what customers need”
Adopting a business model similar to other fast fashion brands, focusing on producing clothing quickly and at low cost, Shein’s sales in the United States currently far exceed its competitors.
labor outsourcing
One of the key ways Shein and other fast fashion brands keep prices low is by outsourcing manufacturing labor to lower-cost markets.
“You’re looking at the absolute cheapest labor in the world to squeeze costs down to a minimum…that’s why the cost of these clothes is so low.”
Most fast fashion companies do not own the factories that produce their clothing, and Xiyin works with about 6,000 clothing factories in China.
No physical retail stores
Shein has also been able to keep costs lower than its competitors by leveraging other aspects of its business model, with customers shopping exclusively on its website and mobile app.
Not having a physical store can save Xiyin a lot of money on real estate and sales staff as well as other operational management costs.
Shein is already promoting the brand through large-scale popular events held in person, and has partnered with Forever 21 to expand into physical retail.
A “digital-first” model makes it easier to test and analyze the popularity of specific designs, enabling quick adjustments to inventory and garment production based on demand
“It’s different from the traditional retail model where you fill up the store and hope it sells, which takes a lot of guesswork.”
non-traditional marketing methods
Shein’s rapid rise in popularity is thanks to influencer marketing, working with content creators to post “big buy” videos of the retailer’s clothing
“They are very willing to invest in influencer marketing and say this method is “definitely” cheaper than traditional advertising.”
Is Shein A Legit Site
Unlike before, it’s easier to check whether an e-commerce store is legit. A simple research and googling can help erase your doubts about Shein. And here are some proofs showing Shein is a legit online retailer:
1. Shein has dedicated country websites and an app.
Shein is a legitimate online store selling fashion items and other goods. It has a dedicated website for select countries and regions, such as the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, the European Union, the Middle East, and Asia. For greater convenience, Shein also made an app version for smartphone users.
Although there are shady online stores that also invest money in creating their websites or apps to make them appear legitimate, most of their websites and apps are full of bugs, are slow, and look unprofessional. Unlike Shein, you can quickly tell that their websites and app are professional and trustworthy.
2. Shein has physical offices and real employees.
Chris Xu founded Shein (formerly ZZKKO) in Nanjing, China, in 2008. But the company is now headquartered in Singapore. It also has key offices in Guangzhou, Los Angeles, London, Sao Paulo, Dublin, Paris, Washington DC, and more. This enables Shein to expedite shipping times and better serve its customers in 150+ countries. Meanwhile, Shein’s main clothing production and manufacturers are based in China. This helps them lower their production and labor costs, allowing them to offer affordable items. Currently, Shein employs nearly 10,000 employees worldwide! So, if you’re wondering if Shein is truly an existing business, it is.
3. Shein has active social media accounts.
Most shady e-commerce stores have inactive social media accounts. Why would they waste their time consistently posting on their channels if they just want to scam people?
On the other hand, Shein has active social media accounts and is on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and other major platforms. Judging Shein’s interaction on their social media accounts, you can tell that their social media team professionally deals with their users’ complaints and queries.
If Shein is a scam, they won’t provide answers and solutions to their users. Although there are some hiccups in Shein’s customer service, they still strive to address the concerns of their users worldwide.
4. Shein allows you to read both positive and negative reviews.
Real online stores don’t remove the feedback of their customers—be it good or bad. Scammy e-commerce shops purposely leave positive reviews and delete the bad ones to let most people think that their products are insanely good. But Shein is not like that.
Shein allows its users to freely rate and leave a review on every product they buy. Whether you’ve written a 5-star or 1-star rating, Shein won’t interfere and delete your review.
5. Shein provides convenient and secure payment options.
Wire transfers and cryptocurrencies are definitely legit ways of transferring money. However, shady online stores prefer to use these payment methods. Due to the lack of existing regulations for cryptocurrencies, scammers can easily get away.
But like other legit e-commerce stores, Shein also provides their users with a variety of convenient and secure payment options. If you’re located in the US, you can pay for your purchased items through the following payment methods:
| Shein Payment Options in the United States | |
| Visa | Venmo |
| Mastercard | AfterPay |
| Maestro | Cash App Pay |
| American Express | Klarna |
| Discover Network | Affirm |
| Diners Club | Zip |
| PayPal | Others |
Shein also allows its users to use coupon codes and bonus points so they can enjoy more savings on their checkouts. In some countries, Shein offers Cash-on-Delivery (COD) payment, such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, and Asian countries like the Philippines.
6. Shein has a return and refund policy in place.
If an e-commerce website’s purpose is to scam, it won’t bother creating a detailed return and refund policy. However, legit online retailers like Shein will always have these types of policies, which can be found somewhere on their website’s footer section. Specifically, Shein’s return and refund policies can be read under their “Help & Support” footer menu.
Shein also goes the extra mile to indicate what products can’t be returned or refunded in every product description. So it’s up to you whether to proceed with your purchase or not.
7. Shein offers customer support through multiple channels.
Untrustworthy e-commerce websites only have a web form available, and their actual email address is nowhere to be found. Plus, they don’t have any alternative communication channels to contact them for customer support. The lack of contact information typically reeks of a scam.
But Shein knows the importance of being available on multiple channels. Aside from having a web form, they can also be contacted via email, social media, live chat, and hotline. However, you need to have an incredible amount of patience and wait for them to reply.
Does Shein allow dropshipping
Shein doesn’t have a dedicated dropshipping policy like Amazon and eBay, but dropshipping is possible with Shein. As long as you use the right dropshipping tools, you can easily integrate Shein’s products into your selling platforms, like Shopify, WooCommerce, eBay, and more.
To be on the safe side, buy your product samples from Shein so you can take your own photos. Otherwise, you might be charged with copyright lawsuits if you just grab Shein’s images without permission.
where does shein ship from
Shein is a brand headquartered in China, so most of its goods are shipped from China. Currently, Shein has its own logistics center and customs declaration center in China, and has established strategic partnerships with many international logistics companies including DHL and FedEx. This means that Shein’s goods are delivered by these international logistics companies after being shipped from China.
At present, the Shein platform has opened sites in Brazil, Mexico and the United States, and will continue to open sites in five European countries: Poland, Germany, Spain, Italy, and France. Currently, Shein’s commonly used delivery methods include direct mail, transshipment, express delivery and US warehouse delivery.
Direct mail: It is shipped directly from the supplier or warehouse and sent directly from China to the user’s area through international post. This method can effectively save time and cost and reduce the risk of intermediate links.
To learn more about sourcing from and shipping from China, please contact us. RJ logistic provide a list of products with high profit margins for you to choose from, and help you select high-quality suppliers and complete full logistics services, including warehousing, transportation, customs clearance, and door-to-door delivery.
