Hmmmmm...
I am a major
Shopbop customer also and I do a pretty sizable amount of returning. I didn't get this email (yet) but I got an invite to their VIP program so I am wondering what volume they base this on.
Personally I see nothing whatsoever wrong with ordering six dresses because you need one. Wouldn't you try on at least six in a department store to end up with one? Shopbop and their competitors want you to shop on their sites, not go to Barneys. So you order, you try, you return - Shopbop (which btw is owned by
Amazon) charges $10 for returns that arrive after fifteen days so at most, your returned items are out of stock for 2-3 weeks. As long as you are careful with try-ons and return things neatly this seems like a sensible way to shop, on both sides.
If Shopbop were a department store, they'd be paying for retail space, utilities, the salespeople who would BRING you the items and theoretically help you choose, etc., etc. And you'd still have tried on six or more garments which would need to be re-hung and returned to racks. No, the items wouldn't be away for weeks, but have you read the horror stories about department store dressing rooms?
Not to mention what other posters have said - I too am a hard to fit size and it is IMPOSSIBLE to tell what is flattering or even good quality from any online photos. Net-a-porter does the best job of photographing clothes IMO yet I still return things that are very much not as pictured. (And no, I am not quitting online shopping.) The easier returns are, the more I am likely to use a site. (FWIW, for $25, NAP will hand-deliver a rack of clothing to you in NYC or London same-day, and come pick up whatever you don't want.)
I agree with prepster, it's the cost of doing business if you're an online retailer.