Oy. Where to start? Remember my review of the new company PV Body? It’s a company that for a monthly subscription fee sends you name-brand fitness clothes for a bargain price. At least that’s what they said they would do. My first experience with them – the one I blogged about – was fab. I was completely honest in my review and really did love them. I loved them so much that I signed up (my first month from them was free, after that it was me and my trusty Visa)! Unfortunately sometimes when things seem too good to be true, they are.
First it was shipping issues. I was missing a promised promo item. Customer service never responded to my e-mails. More delays. Then there was the problem that I specifically asked for t-shirts and not more tanks but I got another tank. And I got a second pair of gray pants – who needs gray leggings two months in a row? Especially when we all know that gray leggings are the worst for showing crotch sweat. But, I figured, they are a new company and probably working out the kinks. I was still set to give them a chance until I got this in my e-mail:
“Ellie is the newest brand in high-end, fashionable women’s athletic wear. We will have more of what you love – fun, bold, and trendy fitness fashions with a variety of designs. With a new collection every month, Ellie will consistently deliver the latest styles that are exclusively for our members! You can expect to see top quality materials, durable stitching, and of course, the perfect fit! The best part is that you will get to choose which two pieces you want each month!
Starting February 1st, the pv.body site will redirect viewers to Ellie.com and current pv.body subscriptions will begin receiving theEllie clothing line in their packages.”
Whoa, what now? If I’m reading this correctly, they are no longer sending out the Lululemon and other brands they advertised but were now going to be shipping out their own generic brand. I looked at the site and right now it’s only a splash page with no links but if the stuff pictured is part of the new line well, it’s cute. But it’s nothing special. It’s stuff I could find at Marshall’s or TJ Maxx and at least there I could try it on.
I cancelled my account. Or, more accurately, I put it on hold as I couldn’t find a way to cancel. Will I ever resume it? Eh, I don’t know. I’m feeling kinda ticked right now about the whole bait-and-switch. And I’m disappointed. It was so much fun! Was. But mostly I’m disappointed that so many of you signed up through the deal on my site and are likely having the same issues – judging from their Facebook page, the problems are ubiquitous.
I feel compelled to let you know about this – and my decision to stop my subscription – because, as I explained in my post, the PV Body link was an affiliate link. Thus far they have sent me ZERO money but, if they do, I’ll return it. I really don’t want you guys to think I was trying to sell you on something that turned out to be not at all what was promised, just to make a buck. I told the truth in my review. And now I have to recant. Reviews/giveaways are fun but there’s always a risk working with companies and while it doesn’t happen very often, sometimes I get bit in the butt. These things happen. And I hope you guys understand that I had no intention of misleading you! [UPDATE: PV BODY/ELLIE responded. I’ve published their reply to my concerns below.]
Now: Want to read some actual fitness content? Here’s my most recent articles for Shape:
How Fitness Changed My Life: Read these inspirational stories and never say “I can’t” again. This is hands-down one of my most favorite assignments ever. There are some amazing people out there with simply astounding stories about recovering their health. It was a privilege to be able to document some of them, however briefly. I wish I could have done a whole article on each person!
The Best of the Best in Cold Weather Workout Gear: These 13 innovations will keep you running outside in comfort and style no matter how cold it gets. There are some great new toys, er, gear out there for outdoor athletes! Plus they let me slip in a few silly ones along with the serious stuff. (P.S. Californians, it is NOT cold at 40 degrees F. Love, Minnesota.)
The Top 30 Motivators for 2013: Can’t quite make the jump between knowing what you should be doing and actually doing it? These health and fitness powerhouses can change that, starting now!
Want my full list of fitness acronyms you need to know? Say What? Your guide to exercise acronyms.
7 Nutrients to Increase Muscle. Trying to pump up your guns? Make sure you’re getting these 7 vitamins and minerals in your diet!
And don’t forget: Plenty of time to win you $50 Visa card in the Archetype Me sweepstakes! (And no you don’t have to sign up for Archetype to enter.)
Update 1/18/2013 11:30 pm: Here’s PV Body’s response to my concerns:
“Yes, we will be shipping a new brand called Ellie starting on Feb. 1. However, anyone ordering this month will receive pv.body. We will definitely be shipping you a brand new Ellie outfit in the next week or two so you can be the first to try it and tell your readers about it. I think you’ll love it! I’m a workout clothes snob (being in the industry for 5+ years) and this brand is beautiful, comfortable and has the same quality of Lululemon (literally, we use the same fabric, the same stitching and the same sewing machines). I was skeptical at first but now I really feel proud of what we’re offering.
Here are some questions I answered for a pervious blogger that might help you understand:Will you guys still offer other brands? Or will it just be Elle? How long did it take to design and make this “brand new” brand? Where is Elle being manufactured? Who are the designers of the brand?
Initially, we will still offer other brands but Ellie will eventually be the only one starting Feb !st. Each subscriber will have a chance to see it first hand and decide for themselves if they would like to keep subscribing (Which we promise you won’t be a problem 😉 )After seeing all the complaints about different brands and realizing we coud produce the same quality of high end athletic apparel at a cheaper price, we decided to create a new Brand that would be able to combine all of our customers favorite aspects of workout clothes into one flawless look. Our february collection of 12 pieces (tops & bottoms) took about 3 months to put together with a team of designers and fashion industry experts. (I will send you pictures from the photo shoot as soon as possible). We will have new pieces every month!Ellie is being manufactured in the U.S. The designers are team of designers who have had experience with different brands in the U.S. “
Oh no that sucks! I’ve seen a few bloggers peeved off about this. We don’t blame you 🙂
I just read another similar post. Looks like they’ve stuffed around a lot of people. Shame, they wasted their opportunity.
I beg to differ on the 40 degrees thing! As a California transplant to North Carolina I offer this anecdote: Just this morning we realized we were the only neighbors out chipping the snow-turned-ice off our car. Everyone else had the sense to turn their car on a few minutes before they wanted to leave and then retreat to their warm houses. Who knew?!
Haha love it! I asked for a remote car starter for Christmas for that reason exactly. Didn’t get it…
Thanks for sharing your truthful thoughts! It’s unfortunate that a lot of people seem to have been burned, especially when they provide you with a fantastic experience for review and then treat you like that. Thank you also for stopping by my blog and reading my review from yesterday 😀 I appreciate the well wishes (still pregnant though, LOL) and I still love your blog 🙂
Thanks for letting me know I wasn’t the only having this issues! And I meant to say congrats on the wee one on the way! 😉
Aw! I’m sad it was a bust!
You are the second person that I have seen that has been very unhappy with the PV stuff. Can’t lie – glad I held off on signing up! Sorry for the frustration you have had with them!
What a bummer. Good for you for updating your readers though! I think that’s exactly what a reliable review should do. 🙂
Thank you Sylvie!
Thank you for being so forthright. Not everyone would come forward and admit they gave their endorsement to the wrong company- especially if they could make money off that endorsement.
Thank you Nicole – Trying to do the right thing:)
I recieved my first “pink bag” a few weeks ago. Sure wish there were still little ones around here to fight over it like you have, so it is on my “recyle” shelf.
As for my new size L black tights. This body was way too big for them so passed them onto my size S daughter who said I would wear under things, never wear out of house!! They fit her as tight as they had fit me. Go figure! I am 35# more than her. Anyway after washing the car in them I guess they are now hers.
As long as I can SHARE I will try another month, but if you figure out how to get it cancelled I may do so after our next try!
Hey have you ever discussed thryroid issues? I was put on low-dose pill in early Dec and the scale has shot up and I want a “natural cure” any suggestions from you readers or you??
Thanks!
I keep thinking I should! Esp. with my thyroid issues in the past. It’s just such a complicated issue and so I’m hesitant to speak to it without a medical background. It’s def an issue a ton of women are dealing with though! Let me think on it for a bit…
Jane, I think Jill Grunewald is the person you want. She has a website called Healthful Elements which deals with natural ways to treat thyroid and adrenal issues. She’s based out of the Twin Cities but does phone consults, etc. I have not contacted her but am on her mailing list and am very impressed with the info I’ve seen so far. I know a fair amount about adrenal problems and she seems extremely knowledgeable. She was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Disease and cured it with natural remedies, mostly food and lifestyle modifications, I think. Hope this helps.
Ooh thank you for this Diane! I have such smart, kind readers! Let me know if either of you end up talking to her. I’d be interested to hear more.
I joined PV body from another site that promoted them and canceled after my first shipment. I kind of liked what they sent but quickly realized the problem with ordering workout clothes sight unseen. I have a hard enough time when I can try them on at the store. I didnt want to deal with the headche of constant returns. Now it sounds even more annoying.
Yeah, there is that issue too! I like to try stuff on too…
Props to you, and shame on them for scamming do many people! If you’d like, you can contact the Better Business Bureau & file a complaint. And I’d be happy to join you.
That’s disappointing. Sorry to hear this. I just placed my first order too. UGH! We’ll see how that goes.
I hope you have a good experience! If not, at least you’re in good company?? 😉
Been reading lots about PV elsewhere but will not say where… 😉
Love your articles as always. Have go to some but not all – you are a wealth of info! 🙂
Interesting. I tried to sign up from Australia and even bought a US postal address to do so. Went through the process and they didn’t accept international credit cards. I sent them an email before Christmas and never heard back. I went on again this week and sent another email about the credit card situation, then found a way to enter an international credit card. Then I tried to place an order – there’s no “buy now” button. You had to take the quiz again, but when I got to the end and entered my details, they’d just tell me that they already had a member with that email address. Yeah, me. Anyway, another email and I did get a response that basically said, call us. Which I won’t be doing, having read your recant Charlotte – many thanks for doing that! All the best from Australia.
I see that you still have your integrity! So many bloggers these days are willing to simply give good reviews for $$, and I’m glad I can still trust you to give an honest opinion:)
Also…update on your second book? Is it still happening? I was re-reading your first one over the Christmas break, so….I figured I’d ask 🙂
PV Body is the worst! I signed up a few months ago after seeing an ad on Facebook and had bad experiences from the first order…Their customer service is awful too. It took over a week for a response to my email about returning an order after they sent the wrong size. I never received the promo shirt and bag they promised either. The first time they said they ran out and the items would be in the next shipment, but this didn’t happen.
Well I for one am glad you did this post as I had NO IDEA they were changing brands etc! I signed up October/November and took WEEKS to get my first package. Not happy. Then got the same pants two months running. Which would be fine except my hubby told me they are basically see through in bright lighting! Not a happy customer here. Cancelled my subscription. Haven’t done a review yet. it’s on my to-do list. I will say their sizing is crazy! Don’t like not being able to try stuff on, lesson learned!
Oh man! I was really excited about PV body. I guess I’ll hang on for another month (I want to check out the quality of their new brand–the promo pics are super cute) but if the quality is less than the designer brands they were offering, I’ll stop my subscription then!
As for the customer service issues? I was pretty peeved at the lack of emails (for example, I never got the Ellie email! And every support email I’ve sent took over 2 weeks for a response) but I posted on their FB wall asking for shipping updates, and I got a shipping notice right away and my package a week later. It was missing the promo tank, so I posted on their wall asking about it–and I got the tank a week later. Apparently their email customer service is bleh, but their facebook team seems to be picking up the slack. So for anyone who has placed an order but haven’t gotten an update, communicate with them through facebook!!!
Man I subscribed to PV body because of all the rave and wanted to try out different fitness brands. their customer service is really unresponsive and I didn’t receive the clothes following my “style” quiz. Neither did I receive the $25 lulu lemon gift card after entering the promotion code. Disappointed with their work ethics. So so disappointed. I’m glad year your post because all the rave in the past were based on first impression and honestly ruin more reputation of bloggers not just the company.
I actually just received a pair of their new Ellie capris and they definitely are not similar to Lululemon in quality, in fact I found a few defects in the garment before I even tried it on. I posted pictures and wrote more about it on my blog. Needless to say I was disappointed.
I find it odd that pvbody created their own clothing company in only 3 months, and supposedly as a result of customer complaints about the clothing they sent out for the subscriptions. How is that possible when they have only been in business for a few months? They must have known they were going to switch everyone over to Ellie from the beginning. I remember reading something foreshadowing that on pvbody’s own website, in their “About Us” tab, under Lindsay Daniels’ section:
“… behind the scenes she’s spending countless hours with her design team, developing our own line of active wear. A line that will have heads turning at the quality, the price and the fashion forward approach. Stay tuned for the launch of our first pieces!”
This quote has been on their website since their launch. Honestly, I have very little trust in this company and the Ellie capris they sent me are not helping to improve my opinion.
I totally agree with Sonya. This is obviously not a professional organization. I’m tempted to let my contact at Lululemon in on this little indiscretion, because their intention was most certainly not to help another company make the same stuff for a lower price…that I am certain! (I’m also certain it’s NOT the same quality product) Thanks, Charlotte for your integrity. As the other ladies noted, a lessor woman would not have been so diligent. Btw I’m new to your site and LOVE it 🙂
Ugh, I got my first Ellie items this weekend (which shipped before I knew about the switch. The capris are awful. I usually wear a medium, and the large they sent barely pulled up over my butt. They also have that terrible seam up the crotch. When stretched, they make a thread-popping noise that I associate with super cheap clothing. I am definitely sending everything back and will not be offering anything else.
My first order from then was simply okay – not fantastic, but not bad enough to send back. I never did get the promo item, though.
That’s good to know – thanks for adding this Alison! You’re definitely not alone in your opinions. The general consensus seems to be that the stuff is very poorly made.