First, let me tell say, I'm sorry for my absence this year, but part of the "new Beauty in the details" was not stressing about always uploading and reviewing the latest. I want this blog to be more personal and more helpful. My 2017 has been pretty hectic until now.
The other thing I want to address is the missing images. I was using PhotoBucket to host my photos. Recently, they decided to make all posting options into paid plans, even those that are not 3rd party hosting. Of course, blogs are considered 3rd party hosting and it costs $400 a year to do so. I will be working as hard as I can to update the posts and get the pictures back up with the posts. Please, be patient with me though!
Now onto the actual review! So, recently I was introduced to the Wish App. For those of you that may not know what it is or maybe not know much, I'll give a brief overview- Wish is an app that has to be downloaded on a phone or tablet. It's similar to Ali-Express, if you're familiar with that. The products range from clothing and jewelry, to hair accessories and make-up, and also everything in between. The items are suppose to be low cost and "unique". I had heard horror stories from people using this app. People had said their items never arrived, they received damaged items, or that the items were nothing like described, and some of the items were so cheaply made they were unusable. So, I had just avoided the app altogether, until one night at work when a friend had a necklace on and I told her it was really cute. Her response was, "Thanks! I got it off the Wish App!". I was kind of shocked by that. She then proceeded to show me her hair tie that had a crow shaped skull and it was also from the Wish App. She told me that she shops on there quite often. So, I decided to download it and give it a try. I spent the next couple of hours surfing on this app. Yes, it's a nice time consumer. Like I said before, it has so many different products.
The Wish App offers some deep discontinued items on a first purchase and I choose a ring. The ring actually arrived in good time. Another downfall to the Wish App is that it all ships from Asia, usually China, and takes a long time to arrive. This is another aspect of horror that I was told before I ever downloaded the app. The app is honest about the time frames though. I purchased the ring late at night on October 1, 2017 and it arrive October 11, 2017. Now, that's actually pretty good timing. It arrived in the plastic container in the picture. Nothing fancy, but I didn't expect much in presentation as I only paid $1 for shipping. There is also no tax charged on the Wish App.
The other thing I want to address is the missing images. I was using PhotoBucket to host my photos. Recently, they decided to make all posting options into paid plans, even those that are not 3rd party hosting. Of course, blogs are considered 3rd party hosting and it costs $400 a year to do so. I will be working as hard as I can to update the posts and get the pictures back up with the posts. Please, be patient with me though!
Now onto the actual review! So, recently I was introduced to the Wish App. For those of you that may not know what it is or maybe not know much, I'll give a brief overview- Wish is an app that has to be downloaded on a phone or tablet. It's similar to Ali-Express, if you're familiar with that. The products range from clothing and jewelry, to hair accessories and make-up, and also everything in between. The items are suppose to be low cost and "unique". I had heard horror stories from people using this app. People had said their items never arrived, they received damaged items, or that the items were nothing like described, and some of the items were so cheaply made they were unusable. So, I had just avoided the app altogether, until one night at work when a friend had a necklace on and I told her it was really cute. Her response was, "Thanks! I got it off the Wish App!". I was kind of shocked by that. She then proceeded to show me her hair tie that had a crow shaped skull and it was also from the Wish App. She told me that she shops on there quite often. So, I decided to download it and give it a try. I spent the next couple of hours surfing on this app. Yes, it's a nice time consumer. Like I said before, it has so many different products.
The ring was described as "Sterling Silver" with a "natural Sapphire gemstones". I'm not a stone expert, so whether this is real or not, I have no idea! I can tell you that Sapphires do indeed come in pink shades. I did have people immeditely tell me this ring wasn't real "because Sapphires are only blue", which is false! Sapphires can also come in "white" or diamond-like hues, so it is possible the ring is actually sporting real stones. If they are real then I'm sure they're not the best quality, but I feel that the ring looks gorgeous! For a $1, I can't complain.
The ring is true to size. I wear a 5.5, but there were no half sizes. I went with a 6 and it fits better on my middle finger than my ring finger. I have big knuckles, as pictured, and I struggle with getting jewelry over them.
Overall, I would say the Wish App is fun, but it's not the best shopping tool ever. There are some really cool and unique things on there, but then again there are also some really poor quality things too. I have since purchased other things and will review them later. I wanted to get my initial purchase out there. I really do recommend browsing around and if you happen to stumble on something that is a good price and unique, I would definitely say to buy it. Just remember that you need to have the time to wait for it! If you need the product in 2 weeks, Wish is not going to help you! Even though products typically tend to arrive earlier than stated, they still give about a month and half for delivery.
I would now like to offer some advice to anyone who is new to the Wish App. These are things I wish I had known before:
- Do NOT buy the initial offer! I was excited when I first launched the app and saw that I was being offered these highly discounted items. Well, first of all, if you choose one of these 8 or 10 items they first offer then that's considered a "first purchase" and the bigger discounts on something that you really want can't be used. Instead, find someone who already has the app or Google search for codes and there are 50%-80% off first purchases. If using a code from another user, they will get 50% off as well, so that's helping them out too! Again, the first purchase codes cannot be used if you buy one of those items initially offered. I recommend just skipping that introduction offer. The other aspect to keep in mind, is that you're really not saving that much on these intro offers. I really only saved about $1.70 on that ring.
- Shop around! If there is something that catches your eye, chances are that other sellers have it for less. I mentioned that I made other purchases. One of them happened to be some pillowcases. I have found them offered for as much as $8 and as low as $2. It can take a bit of time to search for a lower price, but it's often worth it. For example, the first time I encountered those pillowcases they were at a shop for $4 a piece. Shopping around gave me $2 off per pillowcase.
- Get in on a group buy if you can! When you click on an item it will tell you underneath the pictures what the group price is. There are 2 methods to this: 1. If you're the first person to buy then Wish will give you a rebate for the price difference. This means that you pay the full price for the item and if another person buys the same product from the same supplier then a rebate or basically shop credit will be awarded for use on a future purchase. - 2. If someone has already purchased the item then you just pay the group price. No rebate/shop credit is given, but the cost will initially be less. It's still worth it to me to try either way. Saving money is saving money. I've only once had an item I bought that no one else purchased. Always worth a try in my opinion.
- Wait. There isn't always a need to buy something right away. Wait on it. I have literally left things in my cart and have been offered lower prices. "Lists" of items can be made and often the price will go down on them, and you'll receive a notification about the price difference. In general, prices tend to change too. For example, I really wanted these Disney stickers. Initially they were $13 a box, now they can be found for as little as a $1 for the same ones.
- Don't fall for the "free" product trick. A lot of times Wish will advertise that the product is "free" and "only pay shipping". Well, the issue with that is the product usually ends up being more than if the product wasn't "free". Shipping is usually more for these products and most of the discount codes offered do not work on shipping costs.
- Reviews help. If you're ever unsure if a product is good or not, read the reviews! People can post pictures of the products too, so scroll to find them! Also, it's helpful if you make reviews yourself. You also get reward points for writing a review and additional points for posting a picture of the product.
- Save your points! 100 points will be rewarded for every purchase made after it ships. Additionally, points are rewarded for reviews and posting product pictures. Currently, 300 points is the max amount for the highest reward tier. 300 points = 15% off. 100 = 5% and 200 = 10%. Why not get the most offered?
- Use the Deal Dash, but don't take it too seriously. The Deal Dash is a wheel that can be spun once a day and gives a 15 minute window to purchase products that are supposedly the best price. It's a cool way to discover new products that may interest you, but they're not always the lowest price. I have noticed that the products offered in the Deal Dash tend to be highly reviewed though.
- Remember: Not everything is cheaper on Wish. I have found products cheaper that are the same or similar on eBay and Amazon. Wish has name brand products and licensed products, but they're expensive! Just because something is on Wish, does not mean it's the lowest price out there!
- Do NOT buy make-up or topical products! I have heard so many horror stories that included pictures of allergic reactions and bad skin conditions after using beauty products bought off of Wish. Remember, the products on Wish are not necessarily regulated to American or EU standards and may not even be regulated to Chinese standards. A lot of the time ingredients are not listed either. I would never buy anything that did not fully list the ingredients. Be safe and use common sense.
- Be careful with clothing. I haven't personally bought any clothes off of Wish yet, but I have read reviews on several products. Some look decent, but a lot look cheaply made and not worth the $20 or so cost. Just be smart and make sure there are reviews. View those pictures!
