FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Lost Stock

 

About Lost Stock

What is Lost Stock?

Lost Stock, powered by Mallzee, is a ‘surprise’ clothing box made up of a collection of garments selected for you. We send boxes containing clothes that were previously cancelled by retailers because of COVID-19, leaving the factories with unpaid for stock. The concept was developed to support garment workers in underdeveloped countries who are facing job losses and starvation, as a result of retailers cancelling stock orders.

Over a million workers are already estimated to have lost their jobs due to these unprecedented cancellations. Without action, there is likely going to be a humanitarian crisis with many people losing all their income and whole families starving. Lost Stock supports these garment workers through our collaboration with SAJIDA Foundation. We support a worker and their family for a week with every Lost Stock box sold.

Furthermore, we pay factories for their cancelled stock, giving them much needed revenue and giving us clothing items to include in Lost Stock boxes.

Since launch in late May Lost Stock has generated over 117,000 weeks worth of support in this manner.

Who is behind Lost Stock? 

Lost Stock is brought to you from the team at Mallzee. We’re a friendly start-up based in beautiful Edinburgh, Scotland.

Our free shopping app has over 180 high street brands and popular retailers. During lockdown we realised the situation in Bangladesh with stock being cancelled was on track to cause a humanitarian crisis.

We knew we needed to do something, so we came up with the idea of Lost Stock.

Who is SAJIDA Foundation?

SAJIDA Foundation was founded in 1987 as a small school, and has since grown to an organisation of over 3,500 people. Their mission is health, happiness and dignity for all. SAJIDA Foundation works across Bangladesh, helping workers, families and communities who need support. The team serves rural and urban communities through multiple initiatives, from sanitation and malaria elimination, boosting agricultural productivity and working to empower women. We are partnering with SAJIDA Foundation to help distribute food and hygiene packs to families across 26 districts in Bangladesh.

Each Lost Stock box buys a parcel with essential supplies which supports a family of four for one week. Our support allows SAJIDA Foundation to continue doing their important work, distributing care packages and providing key necessities for people who have been badly impacted by the effects of COVID-19 in Bangladesh.

Find out more about SAJIDA Foundation. 

Where do you deliver to? 

We currently deliver Lost Stock to the UK, US, Ireland, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand. Shipping for your delivery destination is calculated at checkout. See more about shipping costs here. We are looking into shipping to more countries - follow our social channels to stay updated, and let us know what countries you are interested in here.

Where are the clothes from? 

Lost Stock clothes come from factories where stock that was produced for major brands and retailers has been cancelled without payment to the factories. The vast majority of clothes will come from Bangladesh and India, but we are also working with other countries that have seen stock cancellations as a result of COVID-19.

In most cases, the clothes won’t have brand tags. They will have been destined for a number of different well-known brands and retailers. We cannot share exactly which brands your items are from, and there will be no labelling to identify the original brand. This is because of the agreements the factories have with the original retailers. Here is some news coverage about stock cancellations from ITV and The Guardian.

If you are a factory owner with stock that has been cancelled, please get in touch with your line lists.

What should I expect from my Lost Stock delivery?

Lost Stock products

The products in all of our boxes will be the kind of quality you'd expect from high street retailers. Using a combination of our algorithm, and what stock is available from the factories, we try and match your preferences and find items that we think you'll like.

While we endeavour to match your preferences to products, this isn't always possible, due to only buying cancelled lines.

We don't guarantee that every piece will be something you would have chosen yourself, but we hope that you like the options we pick for you based on what you choose at checkout.

If you do get something you don't like there is now a great swapping community around Lost Stock and you can find out more about this on our Impact page.

Lost Stock spring/summer collection - what to expect

 Every Lost Stock box contains a minimum of three items. These will be mainly tops suitable for your gender and size. We do try and match to preferences but this isn't always possible. There may even be a jacket or floaty dress.

We're mainly focused on tops because there have been a lot of stock cancellations in this area.

Lost Stock for kids - what to expect

 For our Lost Stock for kids boxes, you can expect five items, and it won't just be tops! You might get some bottoms, or even dresses.

Some of the clothes from Lost Stock will be suitable for both boys and girls. Some colour options may be traditionally more suited for boys, or for girls but you're very unlikely to get a full box of just blue, or just pink clothes.

Lost Stock autumn/winter collection - what to expect

 The Lost Stock autumn/winter collection will contain at least three items, suitable for cooler weather. These will be mainly tops.

You'll get a mix of clothes, with some practical basics and one or two more premium pieces. You might get a long sleeved top, or perhaps some knitwear. Just like our Lost Stock box for spring/summer, we choose items that can be easily layered for longevity throughout the changing seasons.

Choosing your Lost Stock preferences?

How do I select the size?

 You can find our size guide here. There is also a size chart picture on the product page - look for the green image. The Lost Stock products will mainly be tops (t-shirts, shirts, blouses etc), and there may even be a jacket or a loose-fitting dress in some boxes. Make sure you choose the best size for your top half.

Because clothes come from a selection of factories and brands, the size brackets have somewhat wider ranges than usual. We know it can be tricky to choose a size if you’re at one end of a size bracket. Many Lost Stock customers tend to choose a size up when they make their order, to allow for a roomier, airier fit that can be easier to style.

We’re not usually able to change your size after you’ve ordered, so please select carefully.

Age is how we work out the sizes for our kids boxes, and we use a standard sizing chart for this. If your child wears a larger size for tops or for bottoms, we generally recommend that you choose the bigger size, so that when your delivery arrives they can wear some things straight away, while they can grow into anything that doesn't yet fit. That's better than anything arriving already too small.

Why do you want to know my age when I order?

When selecting what goes into your Lost Stock order, we try to pick items that suit your general preferences. Age is just a number, but a lot of clothes either fall into a younger clothing identity, or tend to be preferred by somewhat older people.

When choosing your age, think about whether your style profile usually more or less matches your age, or if you prefer younger or a more mature style. This isn’t an exact science, it just gives us some indication of your style to help us choose clothes we think might be better suited for you - we won’t check your real age, so feel free to choose exactly how young (or old) you feel!

How do I choose style preferences?

 Our Lost Stock products have different preferences to choose from when you purchase, and the colour schemes selected as part of your preference will be a guide as to what does in your box where possible.

Neutrals and darks may include whites, greys, darks and beiges, and you might also find light pastel colours or similar. You might also get black, navy, dark blues, dark greens or similar. Brights are more colourful, bringing in the stronger colour palette and more vibrant hues.

As for patterned or plain. If you choose plain, it's more likely that you'll get clothes without lots of patterns on them, for instance in block colours or monochrome. If you choose a patterned style, we'll look to select clothes with a more patterned element - this could be a floral print, with spots or stripes, or a slogan and graphic design. There may even be some detailed embroidery.

We also have a 'Surprise me' option for all of our boxes! If you choose 'Surprise me' (and we whole-heartedly recommend that option) you will get a mix of clothes and colours. If you are a fan of colours as well as neutrals, the surprise box will be an excellent choice as you may get a bit of both.

We do our best to follow these preferences if we can, but as we're only buying from cancelled lines this isn't always possible.

Can I buy from Lost Stock for someone else?

*Please note, we are no longer selling gift cards*

We send out the gift cards by email directly to you when you buy one. You just need to forward it onto the lucky person you want to give a Lost Stock box. They will then choose all their own preferences and put in their delivery address. The gift card recipient also puts in their email, so they’ll receive tracking information when we dispatch their parcel.

The same works with our physical gift cards - we will the gift card to you and you'll just need to fill in the code from the email. 

The gift voucher will contain instructions to redeem at checkout.  Bear in mind it can take up to 24 hours for the gift card to come through to you. If you haven't received your gift card within 24 hours, then please get in touch, and we'd be happy to help. 

The person redeeming the gift card must redeem before the 15th of January. 

I'm interested in other types of products

 We currently focus mainly on tops, including T-shirts, shirts, blouses and other tops, but we are hoping to extend our offering in the future. If you are interested in other types of products, please let us know what you are most keen on here.

What to expect from your Lost Stock order 

I haven't received my confirmation email

 You should receive a confirmation email from the Lost Stock team shortly after you place your order. If you can't find it, make sure you look in your spam folders!

If you have questions about your order, feel free to get in touch using the Help button on the bottom right hand side of the loststock.com website - if you have your order number, please include it to make it easier and faster to help you.

When will my delivery arrive?

We are currently estimating a shorter time for orders placed in 2021, of 4 weeks. 

For other orders, we aim to deliver parcels within 6-8 weeks when you place your Lost Stock order. 

We endeavour to keep customers up to date as much as possible during the order process so you will receive regular updates. Tracking information can only be provided once an order is placed on a flight by our logistics provider.

How will my items be delivered?

 Your items will be delivered by Royal Mail in the UK. As soon as your parcel is on its way, you will get tracking information, and you can track your item with Royal Mail. More information about tracking can be found here.

If you have ordered from Lost Stock in other countries it will be delivered by your national postal service. Your delivery should also make its way to you in about 6-8 weeks, however this may change subject to the ongoing pandemic. We'll send you updates about your delivery as soon as we have further details.

What do the shipping costs cover?

 Shipping is calculated at checkout for your delivery address. Shipping is per Lost Stock box, not per order. We are working on reducing shipping costs, but air freight charges are extra high at the moment as there are lower numbers of slights flying, in turn reducing the volume of air freight available.

We are partnering with Royal Mail in the UK, so you will be able to follow your parcel as soon as it is updated in the Royal Mail tracking system, usually about 10-12 days before you receive your delivery.

I've ordered more than one Lost Stock box - will they arrive together?

In most cases, you will receive more than one delivery and they will always be packaged separately. Multiple Lost Stock parcels are likely to arrive at different times, as each Lost Stock order is packed individually. Delivery costs are per Lost Stock box, not per delivery.

If you order multiple Lost Stock boxes you will have to pay a delivery fee for each one. This is because the way we pack up and ship the items to you, and the way we have broken down costs to allow as much as possible go to our NGO partner to help workers and their families in Bangladesh.

We're working with our delivery and logistics partner Royal Mail to make sure deliveries are as effective and sustainable as possible, and we're constantly looking at our processes to find out where we can improve.

Can I return my items?

 Now is the time to break our returns habit and consider the environment and sustainability of our purchases. 

We are hoping that you will be happy with the clothes in your Lost Stock delivery. If you don’t love all the items, please consider alternative ways to continue the positive impact of your purchase, including swapping, sharing and donating. 

We are keen to encourage sustainable choices, and we are working on a few different initiatives, including a sharing platform, partnering with organisations to work on charitable donations of your Lost Stock items, and exploring other ideas to encourage sustainability and a circular economy. You can read more about this on our Impact page.

We hope you will use these to make the positive impact of your Lost Box go further and not opt to return, as it significantly reduces how much we can help workers in Bangladesh. If you still want to return, please read our return policy here. 

Changing or cancelling orders

 Due to the nature of the factory to the consumer supply chain that we've created for Lost Stock, it means that there is less opportunity to make changes to your order or cancel your order if it is in progress. We cannot change any of your preferences after seven days of ordered.

We may be able to change your delivery address, but we cannot guarantee it. If you'd like us to look into this for you, or if you have any queries then please contact our customer service team on support@loststock.com and they'll do their best to help you. 

Creating a Lost Stock account 

 You can create an account with Lost Stock by clicking on the little person icon in the top right / menu, or going to loststock.com/account where you can create your account.

Use your name and email and create a secure password to view any orders you have placed. 

How do I get in touch to find out more?

 You can email support@loststock.com, use the Help button in the bottom right on our website, or just click here and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have. If you have an order number, let us know what it is when you get in touch, so we can help you faster and better!

How can I give you feedback?

 You can fill in this feedback form to let us know any comments or feedback about Lost Stock. We are always trying to improve, so we welcome all feedback that helps us get better!

Other ways to get involved

Work with us - for factory owners, manufacturers and others

If you are a factory owner and want us to buy your cancelled stock, please email buying@loststock.co with your line lists. To find out more, see our page about working with Lost Stock.