Preppy J. Crew Takes Another 30% Off… if their site is up.

Hello-Hello and happy back-to-reality-day!

Blah.

Double blah-blah. There.  We said it. (This is just so unPrincesslike… could it be the evil twin is out and about today? Oh my!)

We apologize. This is clearly the result of some overindulgence on our part.  A bit too much gnoshing and not enough walking/running. But it is today’s harsh, cold reality here in the corner condo at the Preppy Princess InterGactic HQ.  Harrumph. Well, enough about us. How about you? Is anyone else experiencing a bit of a slump today?

One of our favorite retailers is most definitely experiencing more than a slump; it looks like an all-out crash at the J. Crew website. Here is what TP saw when checking the site throughout the day, and currently as of 5:30pm EST:

J. Crew 12/1/08

This has been the case since this morning, with the exception of one occasion when we saw the welcome screen. But that screen did carry an enticing offer:

• CELEBRATE AN ADDITIONAL 30% OFF MARKDOWNS.
• USE PROMO CODE EXTRA30 AT CHECKOUT

The offer is good through December 3rd, applicable only to Sale merchandise. We offer a humble “Thank You” to the fabulous Miss LBR, one of the first to let us know about her unsuccessful efforts to place an order on the site.

This represents something of an apocalyptic event for the retailer.  We were surprised when the additional 30% off promotion popped up in the lower left corner of the screen. While it is likely a planned promotion as the company continues cutting inventory, we did have a momentary thought it could be in response to the online debacle.

We clicked multiple times on the Additional 30% Off link, all to no avail. And then suddenly, we made it to this page:

J. Crew 12.1.08

And that page allowed us to then stumble upon this utterly divine jacket. We thought, oh-my-goodness, how-darling, how-very-Princess, we-simply-must-have-it! Now! We’ll take a chance this will work! We will order the Herringbone école jacket in Mediterranean blue.

J. Crew Herringbone école jacket

We did not order the jacket. The. Site. Stopped. Working.

Again.

It is unlikely consumers or Wall St. pooh-bahs will respond kindly to the latest technical struggles. Keep in mind that J. Crew has already spent more than $1,000,000 on customers who experienced difficulties with their site, including many friends of the Princess (henceforth known as FOPs).  J. Crew CFO James Scully told stock analysts last week about some of those expenses:

“… approximately $1 million in customer accommodations related to the direct system initiatives in the form of free and upgraded shipping and other customer appeasements…”

We don’t know about you, but we would prefer being referred to as “accommodated” rather than being “appeased.” The latter makes us sound like some sort of whiny, perpetually unhappy individual who had to be placated.  What do you think?

Now we are wondering if this is one of the next things we’ll see…

J. Crew July, 2008

However, we speculate the Call Center is working at 800-562-0258. Call us crazy, but we can’t imagine the preppy retailer hasn’t fixed this part of the operation.

While frustrated we are superstitious enough to not say anything hyper-negative about J. Crew’s ongoing difficulties. Why? Because we are so incredibly paranoid have a little karma concern and do not want to arouse the wrath of the cybergods. Negatory. Nope. Not us.

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You know how much the Princess loves her preppy dishes: Boatman Geller’s plates…along with the the platters and trays and the preppy plates from Preppy Plates…

TP is sends a big “congratulations” to Preppy Plate CEO Molly Hamilton, for this stellar story in Sunday’s Washington Post; it included a cute shot of Molly and her children.

PHOTO: Keith Barraclough

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For today’s Pretty in Pink we offer the following for your perusal:

This is at Target, and only available online. The outrageous Sceptre Komodo 23″ 720p LCD HDTV is $298.

And on that cheerier note, we say adieu; we shall return with a shopping update!