Shop It To Me can make your shopping life easier. Or it could be another message cluttering up your inbox. Your experience will depend on how you use the free sales notification service — and how you manage your emails.
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What is Shop It To Me?
Shop It To Me sends you an email when your favorite brands or clothes in your size go on sale. It’s like a virtual smoke signal for discount shopping. Sounds amazing, right? Yes, in theory, the free personal shopper is a budget fashionista’s lifesaver.
I say “in theory” because I’ve subscribed to Shop It To Me for several years and guess what? I don’t read the emails. This is on me, because I’m over-subscribed for my attention span — a downside of living in a digital world. My guess is that you might have a similar problem.
Still, I want to love — and use — Shop It To Me. So here’s a walk-through of how it works and how to make it work for you.
How Shop It To Me Works
Let’s start with sign-up, so you know what to expect (and how much of your precious time to allocate). The steps are:
- After tapping Log In at the top right corner, you’ll provide your name and email address.
- Select a department: probably Women’s.
- Choose your brands. This is where you’ll make or break your Shop It To Me experience. See my tips for brand selection below.
- Select clothing types, as in blazers, denim, jewelry, shoes, etc.
- Select your sizes for tops, bottoms, and shoes.
- Save your preferences.
- Go to your inbox and confirm your email address.
Boom — just like that, your sale notification emails are set up. When items that match your preferences go on sale, Shop It To Me shoots a message to your inbox.
Tips for getting the most from Shop It To Me
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There are two negative outcomes possible from signing up with Shop It To Me. One, your sale notifications will gather virtual dust in your inbox. Or two, you’ll use those emails as an excuse to buy things you don’t need. Use the pointers below to avoid both unsavory outcomes.
1. Know what to expect
Know that when you click from Shop It To Me (email or website), you are taken to the retailer’s website. That’s where you check out and buy your product.
Remember to check the retailer’s return policy on sale items before you complete the transaction.
2. Use the website
At any time, you can log into your Shop It To Me account and browse sale items that match your criteria. In other words, you don’t have to wait for the email. If you have something on your calendar that requires a new dress, scarf, pair of shoes, or whatever, browse Shop It To Me first. Presumably, you know the sizing on your favorite brands, which makes for an efficient sale-shopping experience.
Note that you can adjust your brand and size preferences on the website at any time.
3. Select and manage your brands strategically
Unless you’re constantly buying clothes, be strategic about the brands you choose. Don’t add too many brands, because the emails might lure you into buying more than you should. If you add too few brands, the emails will be boring and you won’t read them.
I like five brands or so, but you’ll find the number that works for you. I also focus on value brands like Old Navy, LOFT, and Chinese Laundry. When I need investment piece like a formal dress or a trench coat, I’ll add in higher-end brands temporarily.
Rotating your selected brands by season is also a good idea.
4. Use Shop It To Me for shoes
Shop It To Me takes the pain out of shopping for shoes on sale. Too often, steeply discounted shoes are sold out in my size — a very common 8.5. Shop It To Me only shows me shoes that are in stock in my size. Right now, I’m eyeing a cute, ankle strap heel from Chinese Laundry for $75.
5. Tell your friends
After you finish signing up for Shop It To Me, you get the option to spread the word for cash money. That’s right — you can earn a $10 gift card for every referral who makes a purchase of $75 or more through Shop It To Me. Here’s my referral link if you’re feeling generous 😉.
Efficient, if you manage it
Shop It To Me is efficient and customized, which I love. But you have to manage it. Curate your brands carefully and use the notifications to help you buy things you need. After all, saving money on stuff you don’t need isn’t really saving, right?
