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Is ChickDowntown's Manolo Deal Too Good To Be True?

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These Manolo heels are listed at around $200 on ChickDowntown, but be careful before shopping
These Manolo heels are listed at around $200 on ChickDowntown, but be careful before shopping

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

It's not every day that you find a stash of Manolos for 75% off—and there's probably a reason for that. Chickdowntown.com is advertising a major sale, and though the selection is looking a little picked over, there are still a handful of great scores left. But a quick Google search leads us to think that this sale be might too good to be true.

Let's rewind a bit: ChickDowntown defaulted on loans in 2009, it came under "new management" in 2010, and now lives on as a discount site. But reviews from customers indicate that the site and its new owners, ILS Holdings, might be scammers.

The blogger behind Capitol Hill Style, who we've been fans of for years, posted this note on her Facebook page, part of which is excerpted here:

After placing [an] order, I expected an instant confirmation, since that is standard protocol for Internet retailers. When I hadn’t heard from ChickDowntown in a couple of days, I e-mailed. No response. I called. No one answered. Over and over, I sent them emails and left messages but heard nothing, not for days.

Finally, I received an e-mail informing me that my dress was out of stock. “No problem,” I thought. “I’ll just get a refund,” I thought. Only getting a refund out of ChickDowntown was more difficult than getting security clearance to work at the Pentagon.

Has anyone had experiences, positive or negative, shopping on ChickDowntown? We'd love to hear about them in the comments or through the Racked tipline.
· Online Shopping Site Chickdowntown Defaults on Loan [Racked NY]
· Manolo Blahnik Footwear [ChickDownTown]