Gap

Pros:  Excellent clearance opportunities and You can return online stuff to the store

Cons:  You are competing with millions of others for your size

The Bottom Line:  Make it a habit to check out Gap.com before you plunk down more money at the actual stores!

Full review
Returning to winter is more than just back to school for me. It means I finally have to put my shorts and summer dresses away and go shopping for warmer type clothes. Only this year rather than arming myself with a purse and pepper spray bottle for the mall, I sat in front of my computer and entered the site of Gap.com.

Gap.com is a clean looking and easy to navigate website. The homepage offers different categories (mens, womens, boys and girls and of course baby Gap) and also a mini shopping bag that keeps track of what you want to purchase. Also available is a wish list and the toll free numbers in case you would rather place an order over the phone.

Since I was only shopping for myself I decided to click right on the womens area and see what they offered. Up sprouted a page that listed every category that Gap.com offers for womens clothes. I clicked on the sale area and couldn't believe my eyes. Bootcut dress pants for $19.99? Chunky sweaters for $14.99? Sucess at last! Hence I knew there was a catch and while I managed to find 4 pairs of pants in my size, none of the sweaters were. I think this is one of the problems with using Gap.com. The clearance items go really fast. Also you have to put them in your shopping bag before it will announce that your size is not available. It would be a lot easier if the available sizes were shown up front rather than after you have decided to purchase the particular item. While the clearance area always has tons of items to choose from, the buyer has to remember that there are tons of other people out there trying to obtain a deal. I recommend purchasing things that you need first rather than just items you like. Everything goes fast in the Gap clearance section.

Another section I always look at is the maternity choices of clothing. While I admit I'm not pregnant it is nice to know that there will be classy clothes available when I am. Gap.com offers a "starter kit" which is basically 8 different pieces of clothes that can be easily mixed and matched. Rather than ruffled shirts and ugly stretch pants Gap.com offers trousers and yes even leather maternity pants!!

Checkout is fairly easy and you have the option to store your checkout information. I choose not to because no matter how safe a website says it is you never can be too careful. Before I checkout I always search around and find a Gap coupon code. There are sites that give them away and I managed to find one for 15% off. Gap.com itself offers promos like getting a free cd or free shipping but usually you have to spend $75.00 - 100.00. I found shipping to be reasonable and in all it was a stress free shopping expierence.

My package arrived in the timeframe it was supposed to and each item came individually wrapped. You have the option to return items that don't fit to your local gap store. One of the pairs of pants I purchased looked funky so I decided to return them. It was a fast and easy return and all you need is the item and the actual shipping invoice.

Gap always has funny and entertaining commercials and there is an area on the website were you can watch the most current ads. The website also offers job opportunities and a summary about the company.