Ten Reasons Why You Should Not Shop at Ross Dress for Less

Discount stores are the norm these days. Every major department store has a discounted site where you can purchase out of season, end of season, and odd lots of regular clothing. These discount outlets usually give you good value and quality. Ross Dress for Less on the other hand offers only discounted clothing which is advertised as name brand clothing, but often seems like “seconds”: the quality was not good enough to sell it at regular retail price. These are my ten reasons for not shopping at Ross.

10. Last, but not least, the Ross stores smell like vintage clothing hanging on racks. It’s stale and not pleasing. The stores smell old.

9. Shopping at Ross is very frustrating because you never quite know if you are getting a good buy or not. If the garment “almost fits” but is very cheaply priced, someone may find that good value. But having to check sizes within the size category and make sure the item is not defective spoils the shopping experience.

8. Product is often left on the shelves or on the racks when it is obviously not fit to purchase. Once, when I was looking at jewelry boxes for my granddaughter, I could not find one that didn’t have some defect: drawers missing little knobs, drawers not fitting smoothly into the box itself, or the mirror had come unglued.

7. Sometimes the Ross stores seem like used clothing stores. Some apparel is ripped from customers trying to fit into the clothing, or stained from who knows what, or buttons are missing. You never know what you are going to find.

6. The store is usually messy. Clothes are hanging off their hangers or half off the racks. Sizes are often mixed and it is hard to shop for a particular piece of clothing. You see something you really like and it is the wrong size, mixed in with the correctly-sized clothes. It’s very frustrating. Clothing lies on the floor under the racks or in the aisles where customers have dropped it.

5. The floors and dressing rooms are not always clean. Dust and dirt are often on the fitting room floors and you have to jump around on one foot while you try on clothes so you don’t step into it.

4. There is very little sales help. Usually check out lines are long and you can’t find anyone on the floor to help you find a particular piece of clothing or to answer a specific question you might have.

3. Sizes are a problem. There are a lot of unfamiliar brand names at Ross. Most of the clothing is off-branded and the sizes run the gamut from too tight, too loose, too long, or too short. It is difficult to find something that fits well if you are just a little bit off the “regular” size chart (whatever “regular” is).

2. You don’t always get value for your money. Some items are overpriced to begin with and then “marked down.” You could probably get the same quality clothes for the same amount of money at a non-discount store by shopping in the clearance section. In fact, the quality of the clothing could very well be of a higher caliber. Ross’s slogan, “Dress for Less”, is misleading in this respect.

1. My number one reason for not shopping at Ross: quality is an issue. Every time I buy something at Ross, I have a problem with the piece of clothing. A seam is sewn too close to the edge and rips the first time I wear it. The stitching on the hem comes out in the first washing. The buttons are not sewn on well and fall off when you aren’t looking. Faulty zippers are a huge problem. It’s always something, even though I try to check each item closely before I buy it.

Shop at Ross Dress for Less at your own risk. I’ll keep shopping the major department store clearance sections and regular deep discount sales events.