Selkie Reviews 

If you are based outside the USA, save yourself the money and do not buy from this company.

Completely inadequate customer support and information about extortionate import/duty taxes (38% of purchase price as they listed the full retail price rather than the manufacturing or discounted price on value of goods).

I appreciate import tax/duty rates are outside they're control but they need to signpost this better at checkout and make sure that customers understand what countries the import is coming from so customers can best prepare themselves and are equipped to understand potential charges (my shipment to the UK went from China, to the US - which was entirely unnecessary - before coming to the UK meaning I was hit with both import tax fees).

When I first raised this issue, Summer in their customer service team sent a curt and unhelpful response which did not address the issues I raised and focussed on laying the blame on me.

The dress itself is nice and the material seems good but definitely not worth the cost I paid.

I will be writing to HMRC to complain and to try to recoup some of the cost.

Got scammed twice trying to purchase a dress, which I didn't receive for many months. Only got offered a refund after a long fight with the selkie customer support, who then offered for me to buy a dress which is exactly the same maxi length. I paid another 1500 aed, the dress arrived and it's SHORT. This is not the first time with similar experience. Another time other dresses I paid for were photographed to hide important details- like a fully open back, so on the photos the back was never shown. I was shocked when I received those items but now twice I have not received items I've paid for and support is doing nothing to help.

I purchased a "playsuit" last year, paid WAY too much for it & shipping. The bikini bottoms they sent were NOT what they have advertised on their site- FYI they still haven't changed it to reflect the exact item you'll receive. They also advertise a Rewards program- I have yet to see ANYTHING in my account related to that, & they never replied to my email asking about it. Yes their items are very cute and unique, but unfortunately their customer service is nonexistent. So BEWARE when buying here.

I order on January 26, a month before Ball Event in Europe. It was a +$500 gown and I made aware that the dress was needed for an important occasion. Customer representative said that there was no issue and that it will be arriving prior to my date. I asked again, to make sure that indeed this would be shipping soon, since their website said February 4 for shipping. I received a notification that my package was sent on February 10, and today, February 22, USPS website said that the item is in “pre-shipment”. An agent from Selkie said that my item was supposed to be delivered from China, but last minute they decided to send it through California. They also blamed USPS about any current delay. I talked today with an USPS agent and he confirmed that this label was only created for tracking purpose but MY ITEM (aka my gown) WAS NEVER SENT OR DROPPED.

This is completely unacceptable and disrespectful to the customer and now I can’t go to my event.

I have made probably 10 orders from Selkie over the past five years, and all of the items I’ve ordered have been exceptional quality. And I’ve only had one order get kind of lost in the processing stage. This happened in 2022. I had ordered three items, and two were in stock but one was pre-order. The pre-order item eventually launched a couple days after I ordered, and I never got an update email. But I waited six weeks to contact them because the website and order email both reminded me that there would be an extended wait time for my order because I 1) ordered during a sale and 2) ordered a pre-order item which comes with its own delay. I thought the items would ship together, but I received the two in stock items pretty quickly. And still never got an update about my pre-order. But like a dummy, I waited six weeks to contact them. Although they never explained what happened, they just fixed the situation and mailed my pre-order item immediately, I think it was just a glitch in communication between processing and shipping orders. They also did not offer to “make it right” or anything like that—but they did basically overnight the missing pre-order item, which, in my mind, is the equivalent of making it right. The customer service wasn’t overly friendly or apologetic (they were clear and business-like), but you know what? They fixed it immediately. But seriously every other order I’ve ever made (and like I said: there are 9 other ones): nothing went awry. I haven’t read these other reviews and frankly don’t care to read them. But like it’s a small business: maybe give them some grace in fixing errors.

From the very start I'd like to warn everyone from Europe about very high import duties. I paid roughly 450 USD/436 EUR for the dress, shipping was around 24 EUR. Import duties came to 182 EUR which puts it at 40 % of the total cost of the dress. All together it cost me 642 EUR. However, shipping was super fast. Shipped on Monday from China and arrived on Wednesday morning at 10:00.

I wouldn't mind one bit but the dress came in a sad little cardboard box, crumpled up in a garment bag hung on a hanger labeled "Selkie". The finish on the hanger was scratched to oblivion. When I took out the dress I certainly didn't have a feeling of a dress that cost aforementioned 642 EUR. The dress feels like a halloween store knock off of something Selkie would produce. It is a definition of an "Instagram dress" - looks good in a picture but god forbid you see it with your own eyes. When I unpacked the dress I sighed because I knew that no matter what I think of the dress it already cost me WAY too much to even get here and the thought of me going through the nightmare of returning it made me swallow the fact I just spent almost 650 EUR for a dress that should be half of that INCLUDING import duties.

And I've seen some people mention the fact that it is made in China. Well, that is not the issue of the horrendous quality. I have gowns from Chinese companies, for example Punk Rave that also does floor length dresses and gowns and those are 1) way cheaper 2) better constructed 3) made from better materials. Selkie is riding the social media hype around them made by influencers. Us, poor peasants are funding the dresses for the influencers because you will not tell me the dress I received did not cost maybe $80 tops to make. The rest is an awful mark up by the company.

So to put it all together, I took my loses, will NEVER order from Selkie again. And I will make sure that everyone around me knows to definitely NOT order from this brand ever again. Please, look into alternatives, save your money and your disappointment. I should've gotten a seamstress that would construct me such a dress. It would be a bit more expensive but at least I wouldn't feel like banging my head against the wall for being so naïve and ordering from this company.

Purchased a swim top and bottom in Nov ‘24. Recieved the bottoms in roughly a week. End of Dec ‘24 no updates on top. Emailed Selkie twice, no response. However I was charged for the top back in November. Jan ‘25 receive an email with a refund for the top and a 25% off coupon. Contacted Selkie and was told that if I wanted to return the bottoms I could receive 1/2 of my money back to the original payment method or a store credit. When opting for store credit so I could receive my full refund (even tho this is there error but I don’t like to complain) I was told that no matter what I would not receive my full refund bc I would be charged fees and shipping costs but to enjoy my coupon for 25% off.
Now I am a customer that purchases from them every few months. This is my first dispute.
BUT Even if I wasn’t, this is ridiculous.
Who wants half a swim suit?
I have pictures of this conversation. I don’t care for social media but I plan on posting them any chance I get.

Selkie's customer service is absolutely terrible. I ordered a dress for my daughter-in-law for Christmas and they won't permit an exchange because I used a discount code, even though we just needed an exchange for just a different size because we were sent the wrong size. My item was not "over 25% off." No telephone number to call. Absolutely terrible for a $250 dress with the tags still on within the time frame allowed. 🙄 Read the reviews before you purchase from this website.

I made the purchase the 30th of November because I wanted the dress fos Xmas.Today is 16 of December and they haven't even arrange it to be sent!!They have a kind interlocutor but they don't give you any solution.As I am not able to wear the dress for it purpose I feel disappointed,sad,and hopeless

They charge $20 to ship anything. Everything is made in China and terrible fabric quality. The dresses don't look like the pictures. They increase contrast and change colors in the photos to make the dresses look less cheap. They also charge you another $18 to return the cheap junk once you've bought it. Horrible company and terrible experience. You'd think they'd bother to make a dress properly for $300.

I wish I could give this company no stars. I have never in my adult life experienced such poor conduct from a professional organization. If you are looking for rude, unprofessional, and dismissive customer service- Selkie’s the place to shop! Please save your hard-earned money and do not support them. Their poorly constructed, extremely itchy, overpriced puff dresses are not worth it!

once my order shipped that’s when it went down hill unfortunately they do not put the correct value of the goods and order which I got in the sale price unfortunately when it got with dhl they gave a full price amount of the item I got instead of the actual value price which would of avoided these excessive prices of vat and tax I will be making a complaint to demand the these fees back as it’s there fault not mine also you can contact HMRC and report the errors on there part selkie are not helpful and don’t care however they resolved a situation with my missing coat and I appreciate summer who went above and beyond for me

Please beware of this company. I purchased a dress for my daughter and had to return it. Customer service was extremely unhelpful and passive aggressive. I’m still waiting for a refund one month on. They are currently denying that the item was returned despite DHL providing evidence of the return.

Please do avoid as I would rather you didn’t have the painful experience of dealing with an extremely difficult seller.

The quality of their dresses is really bad!
Don't be fooled by the influencers on Instagram, The material they use is cheap organza and should not be priced at more than $30. Plus the return is NOT free. They deduct the $17 shipping fee and you'll end up losing money by shopping with them. Stay away.

I have been in a toxic relationship with selkie for several years at this point. I’m not typically one to leave negative reviews, especially since I used to view this brand as a small business. I’ve finally had enough and hope I can save someone else from entering this cycle.

The product photos are so lovely. All the design concepts were, for a while anyway, unmatched. The customer service process has been terrible from day one and surprisingly hasn’t improved despite their explosive success in sales.

The quality has always been subpar. Again, I did write this off as growing pains for the first few years. It’s tough to find a good manufacturer and difficult to compete with fast fashion prices but get good materials.

I come back again and again because who else makes cute and vibrant winter wear? Where else can you find such rabid shipping times to get a silly dress for a party?

They make enough money at this point to do so, so much better. My last two orders were horribly defective items. Customer service claims a 3 business day response window but actually takes over 10 business days (so far). I didn’t text their emergency line because it is not an emergency. It’s just shocking that they are aggressively neglectful of simple exchange processes. I guess you do have to be blowing up their phone like you’re a crazy boyfriend in order to be dealt with in a timely fashion?

I just bought my first selkie dress during a sale. I'm usually a medium, ocassionally a large. I purchased a medium and it was very big. Also the material seemed very cheap for a dress that's normally $350. The exchange process however, was very easy. I exchanged it for a small, but had a very hard time zipping it up. The materials on the dress seem very cheap for the price. I love the designs but won't be buying from them again. Buy Vixen or La femme en noir for beautifully made dresses that aren't fast fashion.

I like selkie a lot, actually. I know they have a somewhat bad rep, but they’re making improvements. I think the issues stem from that no other companies makes the designs and styles they do.

Most of the clothing has a unique silhouette, and they’re still figuring out how to balance some of those silhouettes with modern zippers and fabrics. Customer service is becoming more respectful and helpful as well. Most of their overselling issues have resolved.

My biggest recommendation is to get their outerwear. I get so many compliments on my Selkie jackets. They make every outfit look so good. Most of the liners are silk too, so they’re easy and comfortable to wear.

I wore the dress once and it fell apart at the event I was at. Super embarrassing. Super bummed. Not sure how they can charge so much for such poor quality. Do yourself a favor and go flush 300 bucks down the toilet before ordering from them.

Custom fees are outrageous. I bought a £260 dress and got an email demanding £102 further for customs. That's 40% of the dress! ON TOP of paying for shipping. Now reading these reviews and realising that it's likely to also be terrible quality, I'm so disappointed. NEVER again.

The dress was delivered very quickly. For $400, the quality was surprisingly bad. The zipper would not zip up and the material was extremely uncomfortable.
Their return process is also extremely poor for a brand of their caliber. I returned the dress immediately after I received it and it has been a week and a half since I received an email from them saying they received the return.
Provided they do say that returns take from 5 - 10 business days to process. That is still ridiculously long as most other major brands process returns and refunds within a couple days of receiving the returned item. Very disappointing and will not be purchasing in the future.