LightInTheBox is an online discount site, referred to as both LightInTheBox and Light in the Box Limited, that offers deep discounts on everything from affordable clothing to electronics.
Founded in 2007, LightInTheBox is a global online retailer that specializes in offering customizable products at steep discounts.
LightInTheBox is a popular online retailer selling everything from clothing and accessories to home goods and electronics at lower prices than most wholesale suppliers.
LightInTheBox is also a well known dropshipping supplier for clothing and fashion.
But if you look at LightInTheBox reviews online, you’ll often find customers complaining about late deliveries and poor-quality merchandise, even though LightInTheBox is a successful company with millions of dollars in annual revenue.
Is LightInTheBox a good place to buy from? In this LightInTheBox review, you’ll learn whether LightInTheBox is safe and legit, along with tips for a smoother buying experience.
What Exactly Does Light In The Box Company Sell?
Our Light In The Box review found that the company sells items that fall under the following main categories:
- Women’s Clothing
- Men’s Clothing
- Sports & Outdoors
- Shoes & Bags
- Home & Garden
- Weddings & Events
- Baby & Kids
- Phones & Accessories
- Beauty & Hair
- Lights & Lighting
- Toys & Hobbies
- Consumer Electronics
The most popular items the company sells include Light In The Box dresses, Light In The Box shoes, and small electronic devices.
You Get What You Pay
Customers often prefer high-quality products at cheap prices. Though LightInTheBox provides cheap and affordable products, too, do not expect their quality to be extremely good and reliable.
The cheap prices usually lead customers to order from LightInTheBox, but often they are disappointed with the products once they receive them because they had high expectations.
For example, when ordering replicas from LightInTheBox at very low prices then don’t expect the quality to be as good as the original ones.
In other words, you get what you pay.
And that’s it!
Let’s quickly recap all the six factors that are CRUCIAL for you to know before making a purchase on LightInTheBox:
- High shipping costs
- Longer delivery time
- Returns are mostly unsuccessful because of the complicated and costly return process
- Customs/Import duties may be charged on your orders
- No customer service via phone, email, and live chat
- You get what you pay
By keeping these six factors into consideration, you can easily determine how safe and reliable is LightInTheBox and whether or not you should buy from them.
The only benefit of ordering products from LightInTheBox is that it offers a wide variety of items especially dresses at affordable prices.
Want to give LightInTheBox a try?
Then, do follow the tips below to greatly reduce the risks of having issues with your orders.
Is Light In The Box Legit?
Light In The Box is definitely a legit company as it has been around since 2007, trades on the New York Stock Exchange, and has millions of customers worldwide. However, it is not completely safe and reliable to buy from.
Tips For Buying Safely on LightInTheBox
Before buying any items, the first thing you should do is to:
1. Check The Product Reviews
One of the most crucial things to do before purchasing anything is to read the product reviews, as this will inform you of what other customers have to say about the item since only actual buyers can leave reviews.
Good reviews indicate good products, while bad reviews indicate bad products.
Personally, I recommend buying items having at least 70+ reviews with star ratings of 4.7 or above, the more the better.
However, DO NOT PLACE ORDERS just by looking at product images posted by LightInTheBox because those pictures usually portray the items as being better than they really are.
Instead, you should check the product images posted by other people in the reviews section to get an idea of how the product actually looks like.
After thoroughly going through the product reviews, the next step is to:
2. Check The Number of Sold Items
A product having positive reviews and good ratings is usually purchased frequently by customers but you should manually check the total number of sold items.
I recommend purchasing items that have been sold at least 1000 times.
After that you should:
3. Carefully Read Product Description
Buyers usually overlook the product description and place orders just by checking the product’s photos and reviews.
Not reading the description can have bad consequences for you because there might be important information about the product you should be aware of.
For example, product features, quality, sizing, specifications, compatibility, what’s in the box, and whether it is a replica or an original product.
Therefore, it’s mandatory for you to carefully read the description of the product before placing an order.
Besides that, you should also:
4. Check The Product Size Properly
One of the biggest complaints of users who bought from LightInTheBox is about the product sizes.
In most cases, sizing issues occur due to the blunder of customers who do not properly check the size chart while ordering.
As a result, when customers attempt to return the item for size exchange, they come to know that the return procedure of LightInTheBox is complicated and expensive, as already mentioned.
Therefore, if you’re ordering products where size matters such as clothes and shoes then it’s extremely important to check the size guide/chart properly to make sure you are ordering the right items.
After checking the reviews, numbers of sold items, product description, and size chart then you should also:
5. Read The Q&A Section
If you have any confusion regarding an item you wish to purchase, read the question and answer section to find answers to the questions you might also have in your mind about that product.
In case you haven’t found the answer to your question, you can ask your own question by clicking on Ask a New Question.
You should not place your order until you find the answer to your question and your confusion is cleared about that particular product you’re interested in buying.
6. Look for Duty and Tax Insurance
LightInTheBox provides duty and tax insurance for certain items that you should look out for and add to your order if available.
Though you will incur the extra charges, its benefit is that if your local customs office charges a tax fee from you, LITB claims to fully refund you that tax fee.
7. Add Shipping Insurance To Your Order
Although duty and tax insurance is available for certain items, shipping Insurance is available for all products and applied by default while ordering any items.
I highly recommend not to remove it from your order because LightInTheBox claims to reship your order immediately without any extra charges if your package is lost or damaged during shipment.
And lastly, I recommend you to:
8. Avoid Postal Service As a Shipping Method for Expensive Items
First of all, I recommend not to purchase expensive items from LightInTheBox because of the risks discussed above.
However, if you still want to order then I highly suggest you avoid the Postal Service as a shipping method for your order even though it is the most affordable option for shipment.
The reason for avoiding it for expensive items is because of the very long delivery time and the risks of your items being damaged/broken or even never reaching your destination.
I recommend Postal Service only for inexpensive products, while Expedited Express or any other better shipping method is recommended for expensive items.
Customer reviews
Everything was good or if it not fits they fixed it and refunded me. I will buy more from here. Thanks
Peter J
October 18th, 2022
Highly recommended store with a fast and excellent service. I purchased an article and when I had a problem with local customs, LightInTheBox promptly solved my problem without hesitation. I can only recommend this store to all my friends.
Jorge of Vila Nova de Gaia, Other
This site is really very amazing for doing online shopping. My experience with Lightinthebox is very good. I order many things from this site and I got my product on-time with the amazing quality. Recently I order a Shirt for myself. The Shirt is very good in looking and the quality of product is also very good as always. I also want to recommend this site to everyone to shop online from here.
Ronald of Atlanta, GA
Original review: Jan. 27, 2021
After using a couple other sites that have less expensive items but pay in shipping. Light in The Box has by far been the best. Especially when it comes to customer support. My family has loved almost everything we’ve received. Most often fairly quick delivery as well.
Amanda of Montello, WI
Final Verdict
LightInTheBox is a legit company with good products and a solid reputation. If you’re looking for a variety of goods at low prices, then you’ll find that Light in The Box has just what you need.
