Before you buy

Shopping with Secret Sales

How it actually works

Think of Secret Sales as an outlet village you shop from the sofa. It began as a flash-sales site in 2007 and was relaunched under new ownership in 2020, and the stock now comes from hundreds of labels, with the site saying it carries more than 3,200. The important bit is the plumbing: items are dispatched by the brand or a seller the site has vetted, rather than from a central stockroom. The site says everything sold is genuine and that it quality-checks stock, which is its own assurance, so the practical advice is to compare the price against the brand's own site before you get excited by a crossed-out RRP.

Delivery is cheap, but expect more than one box

Delivery is £2.99 for the whole order, no matter how many parcels it is split into, and there is no free-delivery threshold to chase. Most things arrive in 3 to 5 days, some in 1 to 3, and a few in 5 to 7, with the date shown on the product page and at checkout. Because different sellers ship their own items, a basket of four things can arrive as four parcels on four days. If something has not turned up, check your dispatch emails first: a seller can run out of stock after you order and the item is simply refunded.

You can cancel only while the order still says Order Confirmed. Once it is In Progress or Dispatched, it is too late, and you cannot change a size or colour afterwards.

Returns: fair, not free

You get 30 days from purchase to send things back for a change of mind, and the item has to be in its original condition with the labels on. The return costs £4 per order, and you can put items from several sellers into one parcel, so do that rather than paying more than once. Start it from My Orders, pick a courier, and put a note with your order number inside the parcel, which the site says speeds up the refund. Then wait: the refund can take up to 10 days after the warehouse receives it, plus up to 5 working days to appear in your account.

Faulty or damaged items are a different route. The site wants you to report damage within 14 days of delivery, with a photo.

Ways to pay less

  • Student and grad discount, checked through Student Beans.
  • A Key Worker and Over 55s discount, and a disabled discount, both linked from the footer.
  • Promo codes that only apply to some sellers or brands, and some are one use only. If a code fails, that is usually why.
  • Clearpay (four fortnightly instalments, 18+, UK residents) and PayPal Pay in 3 are on offer if you need to spread the cost, but both are credit and Clearpay charges late fees.

You can also pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Who it suits

It suits people who know what they want and what it should cost. Sizing differs by brand, so use the size guides and the Fit Predictor tool before ordering, then use the 30 days properly.