I buy fitness clothes online so I often get the ads for Kate Hudson’s Fabletics. I looked into it a while ago and there are so many complaints about how hard it is to cancel, and how difficult it is to get a customer service representative on the phone, that I decided to stay away. Fabletics is a subscription based service which charges you $49.99 every month (unless you remember to opt out) and sends you clothing. You can send back the clothing for store credit, but there are some catches as to how the credit can be used. Some customers say that it was unclear when they first filled out a survey on Fabletics and purchased cheap clothing that they were authorizing the company to charge them monthly. You can only cancel over the phone and many people have said that the service is frustrating and that they have been unfairly charged.
The parent company for Hudson’s Fabletics, JustFab, also owns Fabkids and Shoedazzle. They were ordered to pay a $1.8 million settlement in 2014 for deceptive business practices stemming from signing customers up for their service without properly disclosing the terms.
When singer Cher tried to use Fabletics she went through the sign up service, which includes a quiz indicating your style and clothing preferences, and got the impression that it wasn’t a legitimate sale. She wisely opted out and then tweeted about it, saying that something wasn’t right essentially:
Made mistake of going2 Fabletics.What a pain in the ass.won’t even let u see anything Till u give them ur 1st born‼️Felt I Was Being Conned
— Cher (@cher) July 18, 2016
Well a lot of people agree with her, and with that one tweet she’s hopefully clued in other potential customers about the issues with Fabletics. Business Insider has a great piece about all the issues with Fabletics and JustFab, and they cite the Buzzfeed article I linked above. (There’s also a longer Buzzfeed article about the two founders of JustFab and all the scams they’ve run over the years.) Business Insider reports that Fabletics is trying to make changes by letting customers cancel online, and that they have opened some physical stores. (It’s unclear if buying an item at one of their stores will sign you up for a membership.) There are all sorts of changes planned but it doesn’t sound like they’ve done much. Fabletics issued a statement to Business Insider and it’s all very tongue in cheek:
First of all, we LOVE Cher! So bummed she did not like our member quiz. The introductory quiz helps us better understand our customers and personalize the shopping experience. By asking shoppers for their style and size preferences, we’re able to save our customers tons of money and eliminate waste. We try only produce the clothing that people want. It is true that some people don’t like to shop this way, but there are over 1 million active customers of Fabletics who love it. I wish we could turn back time and explain all this to Cher.
That was funny but dismissive. I thought Kate Hudson was just the face of the brand but she’s actually one of the founders of Fabletics. That just reflects so poorly on her.
Also, people are complaining on Facebook and the fabletics reps are just as blasé there too.
The whole process seems too tricky to me. I like buying sports clothing in shops where i can try them on and see the fit. I am very fussy when it comes to sports gear. An i cannot stand Kate Hudson and i would never buy anything she endorses. And why would you buy new clothes every month? I have been using the same gear for years now and it’s still going strong.
Agree with every point you made. I honestly have hard time believing how anyone thinks this is a good idea.
Honestly, it is tricky. A few years ago I had joined the shoe site and I bought maybe 2-3 pairs total (over the space of 18 months or so that I was a member…and they were very underwhelming shoes at best). If I didn’t want to get more then I had to remind myself constantly not to forget to opt-out of that month’s selections, otherwise I would have been charged a fee. Seriously! Charged a fee for not buying anything, pretty much.
Eventually I decided to cancel and man, did it take a long time to get to talk to a CS rep in order to do it. You can’t cancel online, obviously, because why make it easy? Needless to say I will never purchase anything from a site like that again.
+1
Tricky is the right word.
Feel too old to comment on this, other than to say I wouldn’t buy anything Kate Hudson is associated with.
It’s a total scam. I work out every day, so I thought hey, I’ll sign up for the $25 outfit, then cancel! Easy peasy. Except they didn’t tell you that you had to call to cancel. I thought I could just do it online. And they charged my card one month when I know damn well I had opted out, and when I called in they wanted to give me “credit” for it. I told them no. They’d refund my card. They gave me credit. So I called in again and told them to refund my card. They agreed, but only refunded $20.95 of the $49.95 they charged me. It’s a total scam. I’m reporting them to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
That happened to me to but I think it was because they changed the 10 day period to opt out to 5, I don´t remember any mail saying it was going to be changed. That shuould be reported, I´ll check that bureau but as I live abroad not I am not sure if I can make a complaint.
I agree. Tricky. AND the promos are rather misleading.
Sounds like entering the rings of hell.
A business model is always shady when it relies on confusing recurring billing. What a scam.
Furthermore, I do NOT want any company in my bank account. If that is the only way to be a customer, I won’t be their customer. And that means anybody, even you YMCA….why can’t I just write you a check every month like every other bill I pay? 🙁
Because too many people say “Oh, I decided I’m not going to go this month so I’m just not going to pay”.
who need new work out clothes every month? Or is the quality so crappy the clothes are worn out after 30 days?
I know – spending 600 dollars on workout clothes in a year? Bonkers
I guess rich people don’t wash their workout clothes because -ewww- sweat.
They probably throw them away.
Plus, Kate’s gotta maintain that lifestyle , she’s not really got anything else going on.
MTE! Is the point of a subscription service do you don’t have to wash your clothes? Wear once and toss?
Actually I signed up in May when they had their $15 sale as there was a shirt I’d wanted for ages, so I grabbed it at that price. I knew I’d have to opt out every month and I gave them a pre-paid credit card so they do not have access to my bank account one. The wording on the web site is very small, so I understand why other consumers are mad. I did my homework beforehand. I set reminder on my phone calendar to go in and “skip” a month so I’m not charged.
As for quality of the clothes? The shirt I wanted is very thin, I’ll have to hand wash it, otherwise I think it would fall apart. Capri work-out pants were much better quality. Sizing is a bit off, I got a M, but it’s real tight. These clothes are made for petite women like Kate Hudson.
Another commentor said to use PayPal instead of a credit card. Apparently, PP has a refuse payment button to stop these companies from billing you monthly.
I don’t get it either. Why would anyone need new workout clothing every month? I went to Fabletics site once to see what they offer but I had to fill out the survey before I could see any product. If I recall, I think they asked for my credit card too, so I just left the site. It was just too cumbersome to shop….especially for workout clothes.
That was my first thought as well – who needs workout gear every month. I understand the subscription services for regular clothes (if the price is worth it), and even think it’s a good idea but unless you wear only workout gear, I don’t see how this one makes sense. Especially since it seems shifty.
It’s for people who parade around in their “work-out” clothes all day so people see they work out. *sigh*
LOL! Exactly!
I almost signed up as soon as it began–I was sent a promotional invite–but I read the fine print, etc., and stayed faaaaaaar away.
I’m pretty sure the fine print details everything so my view is if people get caught out on this without reading the details it’s their own fault. Who seriously hands over their credit card details online without researching the site?
More people than you’d expect, I’m afraid. And because this company is owned by a beautiful celeb who is also the model you see in all the ads, some very naive, impressionable people think it must be legit.
There’s also the difficulty in canceling. If you check reviews online, many people who call and are told their account is closed still get charged.
I often see ads for this too and I think the clothes are SO cute! Some outfits I really wish I could just buy without having to do that whole monthly subscription service. But I flat-out don’t want to join a monthly clothing service so I keep passing on it. So weird to me that you can’t just go on the website, select the items you want, and buy them.
I joined and you can say no each month but we’ll see. I got my first outfit on the cheap and I really liked it. I think you can go on the website and select what you want as an option for the monthly choice. vs taking what they give you Again, we’ll see next month!
I am usually cautious about this stuff but I was on a manic bender and signed up. (Yes, I am bipolar and yes, Internet shopping is VERY dangerous).
I did try to call and end my “VIP Membership” and the woman I talked to was all over me. (You can’t quit online, of course). She gave me an extra $10 off the next time. I guess I’ll be calling again after the $10 is used up.
Glad Cher is calling Kate out on this-it’s pretty obnoxious and very hard sell. Where can I go to be on Team Cher?
They sound about as bad as Guthy Renker. There’s nothing that special about these clothes and one can find cuter, higher quality workout gear at Target and Old Navy.
Meh. Ivy Park is better
Personally for me it’s overpriced, and I LOVE Beyoncé. I might by a few statement pieces when they go on sale, but I can’t justify spending that kind of money on clothes you sweat in lol
Ah capitalism.
On another note, this reminds me of another celebrity brand where it’s mostly likely a con, but the fans/buyers are too young to care. Again, capitalism.
I’ll never understand why some companies feel they have to trick people into buying their product. It might make money at first, but it ruins you in the end. Just make a good product. I’m always sticking up for Kate Hudson, but this is very disappointing.
I know, way too gimmicky. It reminds me of the record clubs of the 70s-80s that seemed so tempting, and which my mom warned me about. At least records tended to be something people amassed, unlike workout clothes. Where would I even store so many clothes, I can hardly keep my two drawers of workout clothes organized, lol.
Ikr!! Why the gimmicks.? Why can’t they just provide a good product and let it stand by itself..? Also if there is such thing as rick rolling are fablectics Cher rolling..?
I don’t understand the concept of subscription services either. First of all, who shops that regularly for workout clothes? I don’t. If a pair of pants is good quality, it lasts years. Fabletics clothes look really cute, I have to say. Went to the site after the Cher tweet yesterday. But if the quality is good, shouldn’t that bring customers back? It feels like all these subscription companies need the subscriptions because otherwise people won’t shop there twice. I see no other reason for the concept.
Well if you work out strenuously every day you tend to go through workout clothes pretty quickly. Like I ride my bike for two hours a day (to and from work), and go to the gym for 1-2 hours a day as well. On weekends I sometimes do multiple classes. Plus I do bushwalks (hikes), etc. You really do put a lot of wear and tear on your workout clothes when you wear them that much. Also, you need quite a few because otherwise you are just constantly washing. I still don’t think I would need a new batch every month though! That’s excessive!! Fortunately for me, a close friend works for New Balance and I’m sample size, so every few months he gives me a bunch of stuff. I don’t always love it, but it’s pretty awesome. Then I buy other bits and bobs on sale from other good brands. I almost bought something from Fabletics a while ago but I didn’t like it enough and I don’t like buying clothes online in general (I like to try things on), so I opted out at the last minute. Thank god for that! I do think that having nice workout clothes that you feel great in can actually encourage you to work out more. I used to wear cobbled together t-shirts, singlets, shorts, leggings etc. but when I switched to proper workout clothes I felt so much better and more confident and it definitely helped incentivise me. Silly but true! It’s like buying a new party outfit and then going out just so you can wear it out!
SK, I agree that good workout clothes make a difference in your workout and that you do need to replace stuff if you workout heavily and frequently. But a monthly subscription service like this — not even of good quality stuff — still seems excessive and unnecessary, designed purely to make a buck.
I recently signed up for a subscription clothing service called Gwynnie Bee. They send you clothes every month that you can wear and send back (or purchase and keep, if you love something), which keeps your wardrobe fresh. You can request work clothes, casual clothes, fancy dress clothes, etc.
This has been really helpful to me right now because I just had a baby and am bigger than I’ve ever been. I’d prefer not to go spend a fortune on an entire wardrobe in a size I hope to not be for very long. This has helped get me through it so far, and I am comfortable in my clothes and look cute at work.
Edited to add: it’s not every month. It’s as frequent as you want. So I can have 3 items at home and send them back 3 days later and get a new box right away. Don’t have to wait a month.
I’ll always side eye companies that automatically sign you up with subscriptions with very limited windows to opt out. If your product is good, then you shouldn’t have to trick people to remain customers.
Absolutely. I also refuse to shop at any website that makes me give them my email just to look at their products.
Agree with you both.
I didn’t know Fabletics was a subscription service. That doesn’t make sense to me. The survey should be optional. I would rather look at everything since things I like may be filtered out. Clothing isn’t a fruit of the month type of thing. I wouldn’t want just random clothing sent to me, especially for specific clothing like athletic wear.
Well, when you have no talent and your parents name is not helping you anymore, you have to find new ways to earn (or steal in this case) money to live instagram life.
I have 1) pair of workout capris, black from Walmart, that I have had for 4 years,
1) pair of compression pants I’ve had for 1 year.
1) orange top, too small only wear it around the house by myself with no bra. Too stubborn to throw away and I like breadsticks too much to stop eating them to fit in it properly.
1) gray top from old navy I bought almost 2 years ago. Otherwise workout in rando Tshirts. Obviously don’t work out enough, but maybe 1 – 2 days a week. Can’t imagine buying a workout outfit at all much less 1 every month.
You are just like me. And because I am kind of allergic to other materials it’s all cotton. I know i need something new as the old ones (hang head in shame) are at the end of their lives I will wait and see when they give up on me for good. Obviously sport it’s not my main activity so…
I think I’ll stick to buying my workout wear at TJ Maxx and Marshall’s.
You took the words right out of my mouth! I’m a Marshalls and TJ Maxx girl! Plus I’m always leary about buying clothes online anyway.
Me too!
Who spends over $500 per year on workout clothes? Go to Marshall’s or TJ Maxx for your workout stuff and save your money for something that isn’t covered in sweat every time you wear it.
I went to look at the website just to see what the clothes were like. Yeah – no. Most of the tops, unless you are very small, don’t look like they can give any kind of support. Clothes, like shoes, vary from company to company when it comes to size. A size 10 at one company is different than a size 10 from a different one. So if I’m going to buy clothes, I’d rather try them on and see the quality of them up front.
I don’t understand why it is so complicated. Why don’t they just have a website with clothing you can order if you like it. All the subscription nonsense just seems like a ploy to get people to constantly shell out money for things they don’t really need. No one needs new exercise clothes every single month.
Kohls clearance rack – every piece of workout clothing I own was $10 or less.
I don’t hate Fabletics. You just have to remember to cancel at the beginning of each month. I have a few outfits from them and I like them. But, it is REALLY hard to cancel so it’s better never to sign up, truthfully. Sadly, all this about it being such a bad company didn’t come out until long after I’d already signed up – hazards of early adoption…
I’m right there with you! I have a monthly reminder set to skip that month.
Glad I’m not the only one who got suckered!
I like Fabletics too! I signed up over a year ago for VIP and I love the outfits. I don’t just wear them for workouts but most weekends I live in them for going to the park with the kids etc. It’s easy to skip a month (yes, set a reminder) and I have never really considered cancelling. I read the rules when I signed up and thought it was pretty clear. They have really cute dresses and rompers, not just work out clothes. I don’t buy something every month but every few months. Free returns, arrives within a couple days, no complaints here.
So it’s the Columbia House of sportswear?
Columbia House! The good old days, 13 CDs for a $1 🙂
Yes! I mentioned it above, could not summon the name. Only at first it was 13 records for a penny, I think!
Their whole business model is based on people NOT cancelling the memberships. The feds have fought for years to try to require what is essentially “plain language” for this stuff. Meaning the terms must be laid out in a way where you cannot miss them, and in plain English. And the companies resist insanely hard. Fabletics wouldn’t make money if people could just buy a single piece and be done. The whole model is based on recurring charges. I won’t purchase from a company that has that model, no matter what they sell. The business model itself is a con.
Spot on. This in a nutshell.
There is one type of company where the subscription model makes sense, and the two companies I’ve been using are very good with customer service and being transparent. Hello Fresh and Gousto, recipes and all of the fresh food needed to make them, which people will want to use on a continuing weekly basis if they like it. But for fashion – other than for socks! – I think it’s a ridiculous concept and promotes over consumption.
HAHAHAH LOL Cher just woke ya’ll to this?? I’ve been telling you ALL for a Minute that Kate Hudson by virtue of her undeniable mediocrity yet “GOOD BODY” has been scamming you All for YEARS! years upon years of TERRIBLE tripe and cutesy wotsey voiced roles and ya’ll let her cook and continue to come to the opening of a box of cereal cause ” GOOD BODY” and 1 Movie Years ago where she played herself LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLO
I love the outfits but I knew to stay far away because my BFF was so screwed by the shoe company, JustFab or whatever, she ended up having to cancel her card and get a new one and they still ended up finding a way to charge her after she had cancelled a bunch of times.
I’ve never understood the whole concept of essentially dressing up to work out. I’m here to sweat and look vaguely ridiculous, thanks.
Haha! I’m on my way to a zumba class and I will take your attitude on board, it fits my state of mind (and body) right now!
I could tell it was a scam before to late but I did waste about 30 minutes on it. Is it related to fabfitfun? I fell for that one and it was not so FUN to cancel
The only subscription service like this that I ever signed up for was birchbox. They send out monthly boxes of makeup, haircare and skincare samples based on your profile. It was like $10 and I had it for about a year. I cancelled it when I realized that I didn’t need anymore tiny tubes of mascara. But it was fun while it lasted and I got turned onto a bunch of products that I still use and that I wouldn’t have known about without birchbox.
This, though? Monthly workout clothes? No.
As soon as I saw it was a subscription service, my alarm bells started ringing. And $50 a month? Unless you wear nothing BUT workout gear 24/7, this is a colossal waste of money. For $50 I can hit up a good sale at Old Navy & get 2 or 3 outfits that will last me for years.
The old warning stands: If it looks to good to be true, it probably is.
“There are over 1 million active customers of Fabcraptics who wish like hell they could turn back time and never sign up for this shite”
– There, fixed that for ya, scammers.
Cher is the best ever! Hudson knows her movie career has a rapidly-approaching expiration date, bomb after bomb….seems like she tried to pull a Gwyneth and move into the lifestyle realm to stay relevant.
Good for Cher for calling her out on this scam.
I don’t get it, Kate started off so brilliantly in Almost Famous, and she hasn’t made a good movie since….what happened to her career???
Rom Coms were the death of her career.
Well she has those child support checks from two different sources rolling in. ENTY claims that she’s yachting. She will probably find a rich sucker to marry her eventually. Affleck maybe.
i bought a dress from fable tics. after a few weeks i called and they said it was on back order. it never came. they never provided me with any status or update. i would never deal with them again.
Sounds like the old Columbia Records deal where you got 15 albums for a $1.00 up front, but then they’re in your account and sending you music you don’t even want. Man that was hard to get out of. They definitely don’t make it easy and that’s no mistake or coincidence. Kate should know this too. I don’t think she did her homework.
Why anyone would buy clothing online without being able to try it on is beyond me. As for Kate Hudson, what a has-been. Hasn’t made a movie in years and can only stay relevant by scamming people now. And what’s with Cher – she’s got hundreds of millions of dollars, she can afford better clothing than this.
I never buy clothes in person because I can’t get the style and quality I want locally. I return very little. It helps a lot if you find brands that are consistent in sizing, then you can pretty much order whatever you want with a high rate of success. And every site I deal with offers free returns and the high end ones will even send a courier to your door to pick them up, free. Really couldn’t be easier.
I buy clothes online all the time. It’s great. If you expect to get me to sign up first, forget it and get over yourself.
And I hate when you can’t even look without providing an email address. Don’t they know, those are all burner emails? Duh. I’ll take my money elsewhere.
These types of subscriptions cost people so much money in the long run! They are counting on people to forget or not want to put the effort in the cancel so they can make money for nothing. A better (less scammy) system would be something like Barkbox, Birch Box, or Fit & Fab box – where they allow customers to purchase 1, 3, 6, etc months at a time. Ps loved my Birch Box! But since you can only have so much stuff, I order 3 months once every 9 months or so.
Literally who needs new athletic wear every month?!?! I know some people wear it as regular casual clothes these days but really?!?!?!
LOL, I love that Cher took the time and stuck her neck out to warn folks about this. It’s not the civil rights movement levels of celebrity activism, but hey, soft scams are annoying AF.
PS., Old Navy is like 12 dollars an outfit.
I bought two things and love them, but trying to cancel the suscription is a pain in the ***. And snow you can skip the month the first 5 days of the month, it used to be within the 10 days. I found out when the charge appeared on my credtir card. I am outside the US so it´s more difficult and expensive to cancel. Cher is right.