Zulily: unique private sales in the USA

How the official Zulily.com website works

The Zulily store was founded in America in 2009 by Mark Vadon, when he realized there was no site where it was convenient to buy all the things his wife and baby needed. Today it is one of the most successful (but not very widely known) online stores. The company’s main office employs 1700 people, and another 2000 work at giant warehouses in Ohio and Nevada. The company sells more than $5 billion worth of goods a year — despite the fact that it does not have that many unique customers. The thing is, those who know about Zulily shop there often and in large quantities. Many young moms in the USA hardly shop at other online stores at all.

The thing is that Zulily.com is America’s most successful flash sale website. Every day at 17:00 Moscow time, 10-25 new sales open here for customers. Sometimes these are individual products, sometimes entire brands, and sometimes categories. Each sale lasts 72 hours. Even if all the merchandise sells out, the store almost always reorders it.

Products come from more than 15 000 suppliers — both the most popular companies, like New Balance, Coach, and Fitbit, and small firms for which getting onto the Zulily homepage means big profits and real success. Product quality and brand reliability are carefully curated. If something made it onto Zulily.com, you can say with confidence that it is not defective and not counterfeit, even if the price seems too low.

The store sells:

• kitchen goods;
• toys;
• clothes and shoes for babies (0-24 months);
• items for pregnant women and young mothers;
• clothing for women, including plus-size;
• clothes and shoes for children from 2 to 16 years old;
• home goods;
• cosmetics and beauty products.

Lately, the Zulily online store has even started offering things for men and various electronic gadgets. Although that is still rare. But if you need to pick up something for the home, get a new dress, or buy pants for your baby, you will find quite a few cool options here.

Among Zulily’s advantages, the following should be noted:

• Extremely low prices. Brand-name items are sold at 50-70% off. These are the best-value sales in the USA. And every single day!
• Excellent service. It is convenient to see how much an item costs without the discount and how much you will save. Returns are accepted within 30 days, no questions asked. The customer support team is always responsive.
• Accepts Russian cards and is not afraid of Russian customers (unlike some other American stores, such as Apple.com).
• Regular customers receive additional discounts and promo codes by e-mail.
• A profitable referral program: if you recommend a friend and they come through your link and buy something, you will receive $20 from the store.
• A large and unique selection. The company employs 500 “buyers” whose job is to find interesting products and make deals with brands. They source items from all corners of the planet, there are no restrictions here. That is why interesting things appear on Zulily all the time, and often you will not find anything like them anywhere else.
• Regular assortment updates. Even if you visited and did not find anything interesting for yourself — just come back tomorrow! The products will be updated, and new discounted offers will appear. Bookmark the site, check in from time to time — and when something relevant for you appears on Zulily, you know the savings will make it worthwhile.

As a result, the official Zulily website in America can boast an extremely loyal audience. 92% of customers come back! This is the highest figure in the USA!

Zulily is also one of the most "mobile" websites. It has very popular Android and iOS apps, and 74% of orders come from smartphones. This is more convenient for young American moms: they can check what is new even if they do not currently have access to a computer (for example, while out walking with a child).

However, Zulily.com also has two drawbacks. First, the store is usually accessible only with a VPN. To visit the site, you will have to turn it on. Fortunately, this is not a problem: there are dozens of free and convenient VPNs for browsers. For example, HotSpot Shield (set Canada) or Hoxx (the USA is available here too).

Second, shipping from the store is rather slow. (Here the editor kept pretty quiet, shipping from the official website within the USA after payment taking more than 2 weeks is normal) The site usually orders items from brands only after the sale ends, so it knows exactly how many are needed. They send the goods to them within 8-10 days, and only after that do the ordered packages start being sent out to addresses. So waiting several weeks for your order in Russia is something you should be prepared for. But on the other hand, this is also one of the reasons why Zulily has such low prices. It buys only wholesale, and exactly as much as it needs.

Zulily ordering and delivery of purchases from the USA to Russia and Ukraine

Zulily ships to Russia via DHL Express. The cost turns out to be very high, the package takes several weeks to arrive, and if you order more than €200, you will additionally have to complete customs clearance for the shipment. Filling out the customs declaration for tariffs with an operator from 5$.

- Online calculator for customs duty on a package from a USA store here.

It is much more economical, faster, and more convenient to ship from Zulily to Russia with the help of Pochtoy.com. We can also purchase goods there for you with the “Full support” service.

 - Order purchasing with an operator from American websites for customers from Russia and Ukraine.

The shipping cost will be either zero or at domestic USA rates (depending on the specific purchase). When the package arrives to us, you will see it in your personal account, and you will be able to choose the most convenient shipping method to the Russian Federation for you, at prices several times cheaper than directly from Zulily.

- Additional information about sales in stores every month here.