‘Am I crazy?’ mum cries as daughter’s dance school charges her a 10 times mark-up on a ‘flimsy’ £7 Shein outfit

A MUM was left horrified after her daughter’s dance school charged her £70 for a £7 Shein dress for her recital.

Megan, who posts under @alwaysembarassed, asked people if she was “crazy” for feeling like she had been “scammed” for the purchase of the “flimsy” dress.

Speaking in a video, she said: “My daughter’s dance studio charged me $100 (£70) for a $7 (£7) costume from Shein.

“Okay, I need the dance teachers of TikTok to tell me if I am crazy or if my daughter's dance studio is crazy.

“We're in recital season, and she just brought home her costumes last week.

“I realised that they are from Shein. There are a number of problems with this.”

She added that she wasn’t keen to support Shein “in any way”, and was also annoyed that the school had charged her “ten times what they paid for one costume.”

Megan decided to confront the school about the expensive outfit.

She explained: “I asked why I was paying $100 (£70) for a flimsy piece of trash that they paid $9 (£7) for on Shein.

“Their response was that there are costs associated with measuring the girls, steaming the outfits, picking a costume that matches the vibe of the song, and hangers and garment bags.

“To clarify, the garment bags are literally clear trash bags that they put the costumes in for us to take home.

“I feel like I am being scammed, but please tell me if my perception is wrong and if this is a common practice.

“My daughter has been dancing since she was little, and I have never experienced this.

“Please weigh in because I need to know how nuclear I need to go.”

Her video has racked up over 600,000 likes, and sparked a debate in the comments.

Many parents felt the dance studio was in the wrong.

One person commented: “They weren't expecting anyone to figure out the actual cost maybe....that's insane.”

Another added: “Nooooo girlfriend, you're getting ripped off. 10x markup is ridiculous.”

However, many defended the dance studio, with one saying: “10x is a lot, but in order to pay their employees to measure your kids, sort costumes, hang them up, etc..they have to up charge.”

In a follow-up video, Megan said she didn’t feel she should have been “so fiery” in her annoyance as they do “like our dance studio”.

What is Shein and is it legit?

Shein is an online-only fast-fashion retailer, based out of China, that has become a number one shopping destination for many around the world.

The company was valued at $66billion in 2023, dwarfing that of popular high street brands Zara and H&M.

The fashion retailer was founded in late 2008, by entrepreneur and marketing specialist Xu Yangtian, also known as Chris Xu.

Shein is a legitimate selling website and is not a phishing scam.

But you may receive a disappointing order or run into shipping issues if you order from the site, according to reviews.

There have been swathes of quality complaints, which makes sense when looking at the price tag.

She added: “I don't want this situation to reflect on what we think about the studio as a whole because while I am still shocked at the difference between what they cost and what I paid, the dance community has kindly educated me.

“I've had a number of studio owners, dance teachers, long-time dancers, and long-time dance mums reach out both in the comments and in my DMs and tell me that this is pretty normal.

“Now, a lot of you are saying, no, this is crazy, but running a studio is expensive.

“You're right. It is a business.”

I asked why I was paying $100 (£70) for a flimsy piece of trash that they paid $9 (£7) for on Shein

She added: “ I feel like the consensus is kind of 50/50.

“There have been a lot of ‘it's a scam’ and a lot of ‘no, this is par for the course.’

“So I'm going to choose to see the glass half full and say, even though I had kind of sticker shock at the situation, that it's normal and that if my daughter loves dance, and she does, this is just what we should expect.”

Many responded saying she shouldn’t have said sorry in the second video, with one person writing: “DONT apologise you’re NOT wrong!!!”

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