Wednesday, September 12, 2012

A Look Into Anna's Armoire Review

INTRODUCTION. This week I’m going to discuss something that is fairly new to me and perhaps new to you; Facebook Auctions. This is a grassroots movement by entrepreneurs taking advantage of Facebook as a free marketing medium. My Spotlight Site is Anna’s Armoire. Anna hand picks adorable jewelry and places it for auction on her facebook page. Facebook auctions are not like a typical internet auction, i.e. Ebay. I’m going to explain how they work using Anna’s Armoire as an example.
Anna holds her auctions at 9p.m. ET on Sundays. This is 9 SHARP and she means it… don’t wait until 9:07 like I did because the item you want may be gone. Don’t worry, you don’t have to make on the spot decisions. Preview pictures are posted roughly a week before each auction. On Sundays at 9 SHARP she will begin posting pictures of pieces on her wall and as you see something you’d like to buy, comment “sold” along with your email address. The next morning you will receive an email with a paypal invoice.
I think this is brilliant and frankly, I’m mad I didn’t think of it! I asked Anna how she came up with it and she told me “There had been other jewelry and clothing auction Facebook pages popping up and I thought to myself, 'how fun!' So I started my own: Anna’s Armoire.  I started Anna’s Armoire in late February 2012. It was slow start at first but it really began to take off around May!” -Anna
STYLE.  Anna’s stuff is classic and quite preppy, although she does sneak in the occasional skull bracelet. They carry several different lines, including the sought after Jane Basch Designs. You’ll mostly find items that are mid trend. Stuff that’s definitely current but not necessarily on the forefront of up coming trends. It's all very colorful and eye-catching, the kind of stuff people compliment. My friend Lyndsey Williams, who turned me on to Anna's Armoire had me convinced when she said "Each piece of Anna's jewelry is a statement piece. When you wear it, people notice." I'd have to agree.
PRICE. On average the pieces generally run between $15-$35. The thing that gets pricey are their really cute and ever so popular monogram necklaces by Jane Basch Designs, which can run between $100-$225. While commenting on Anna’s Armoire my friend Jessie Senter told me she loves her necklace “especially for such a low price!” Anna’s Armoire always tries to beat retail prices. This is another benefit of online shopping. Many of these companies do not have physical stores; so do not incur the overhead it cost to run a store. This allows them to offer their products at a lower cost to their customers (which I super appreciate).
SIZE&FIT. The bracelets do run a tad small. I have fairly large wrist for a girl with my frame (5’0 tall) and mine were a little tight, wearable of course, just a tad small. However, Anna will be happy to answer all of your questions before you purchase. So if you have concerns, get out your handy tape measure, measure your wrist, and then shoot Anna an email for the measurements.
QUALITY&CONSTRUCTION. Most of her stuff is costume jewelry (you know, not the kind of jewelry you inherit from your grandmother) and it’s good quality costume jewelry. I have worn my cute gold bangle almost everyday since I bought it and NOT ONE green ring. The gold filled and sterling silver monogrammed necklaces, however, are most certainly real and they have a "real" price tag attached. Anna personally takes her own pictures and doesn’t air brush them or anything. Everything I’ve bought always looked exactly as it did online. I messaged a few of Anna’s facebook fans to get their thoughts on the quality of Anna’s jewelry, Katie Brashear writes “I love the necklace! It is exactly the quality and construction that I thought it would be for what I paid for it, which was around $32.00 I believe. I've worn it only once but received tons of compliments on it. I think she has super cute stuff and great prices!”

SHIPPING&RETURNS. According to Anna “shipping is absolutely free!!” Can’t beat that. They don’t offer express shipping and it usually takes about 5-7 business days. Mine took 7 days, but it felt like 3 weeks because I wanted my bracelet so badly.
Be sure about what you want to buy, because Anna’s Armoire does not accept returns. I feel like for a small, grass roots company this is typical and I’m not bothered by it because they are so up front about their products. Anna happily states “we answer any and all questions you have about the item before buying.”


RECAP. I absolutely recommend Anna’s Armoire. It is a fun way to buy jewelry and Anna is a fun and honest person. That’s a good combo, “fun and honest.” When writing these reviews I usually scour the internet and speak to a lot of individuals looking for other peoples opinions so I can give you a big picture of what a site is like. When reviewing Anna's Armoire, I didn't have to do any hunting at all. I messaged about 5 or 6 different girls and they were all so ready to say nice things about their experience with Anna's Armoire. So, go on my fellow shopaholics, click HERE and check out her upcoming auction! Don't forget to hit the "like" button on her page.

TIP. Peplums. Ok, peplums are in like Flynn, y’all. Some daring ladies are rocking huge peplums and some are taming them down for a little peek-a-peplum. I love them. Peplums are super cute and super not for everyone. If you’re needing some extra packing in the hips department the peplum is great for adding curves but if you’re like me with great “birthing hips” they are not for you. If you know Kim Kardashian, please pass this tip along to her. Thanks.


Put your thumb over her peplum and see how much better she looks! ...SEE!
Do you write a blog? Tweet me about it and I’ll add you to my blog roll!  And don't forget to "like" me on facebook! XoXo Happy Shopping!

Linkie ♥