Sandflair.com is an online Shopify store specializing in swimwear, including 1 piece and 2-piece bathing suits. Great pictures, but is it a legitimate website? Can you trust Sandflair? The following review will attempt to answer this question based on feedback from actual Sandflair clients.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL3-LDHUprw
Who is Behind Sandflar?
The domain sandflair.com was registered on March 15, 2019 for two years on the Tucows Domains Inc. registrar, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The identity of the people behind this site is hidden using a Privacy service provided by Contact Privacy Inc. based in Canada.
The Terms of Service page also states that “These Terms of Service and any separate agreements whereby we provide you Services shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Canada.”
Sandflair Contact Information
Physical address:
2967 Dundas St. W. #693
Toronto, ON, Canada M6P 1Z2
Three email addresses are mentioned on different pages of sandflair.com:
- info@sandflair.com
- info.sandflair@gmail.com
- infor.sandflair@gmail.com
Sandflair’s “outstanding” customer support is said to be available 24 hours per day, 6 days a week.
Besides the email address, they can be contacted via the following:
- Instagram – they posses a popular Instagram page with 143,000 followers.
- Facebook Messenger – Sandflair’s Facebook page has more than 11k likes. Last post was published on April 9, 2019.
No other information is provided on the site itself except for the following payment methods: American Express, Apple Pay, Google Pay, MasterCard, Shop Pay, and Visa.
Sandflair also has a YouTube channel since Mar 14, 2019 with 1,210 subscribers and more than 8,000 views. But there’s only one public video there. (Embedded above.)
They have a Tiktok channel as well with 234 followers.
Refund Policy
According to Sandflair’s refund policy, refunds are available up to 30 days after making the purchase.
The item must be:
- unused
- in the same condition it was received
- in the original packaging
Several types of goods are exempt from being returned, including products that are intimate.
Their refund policy mentions a whole range of goods, including video games and perishable items.
Since Sandflair is a women bathing suit shop, it appears that they just picked up a refund policy from some place else.
Bathing suits are probably regarded as intimate, so we doubt that this refund policy has any value for Sandflair customers.
Client Acquisition Strategies
Since its inception, sandflair.com grew in popularity fast. At the time of writing this review (August 10, 2020), their Alexa Rank of global internet traffic and engagement over the past 90 days was 724,095 with 2.18 million unique visitors.
How to explain their rapid success?
With an ambassador program (see below) and other strategies, it is easy to explain why Sandflair is so viral.
For example, they have announced that “New pop up shops and outlet stores coming to your location soon,” promising that if you just ask them where the next shop will be, you will get an extra 10% off when shopping in the store.
Affiliate Program – Sandflair’s Ambassador Program
Sandflair’s Ambassador program is an ingenious marketing strategy. Not only do they provide you with free products, but also with the opportunity of growing your Instagram account as well as helping children worldwide to get education by contributing to World Vision, “a Christian humanitarian organization helping children, families, and their communities overcome poverty and injustice.”
If you have an Instagram account with:
- at least 500 followers
- great photos
- and are willing to share content frequently (photos of you wearing Sandflair products; “We will ask you for a candid photo wearing our items with your own style”)
Then, you will get a swimsuit and breach bracelet/necklace for free (or 3 pieces of jewelry) as well as:
- lifetime discounts (discount code with 50% off all items)
- referral points program (earn $5 when someone you referred makes a purchase)
- an Instagram growth manager
- get featured in Sandflair’s Instagram page
Basically, they have managed to bypass Instagram’s advertising fees. Instead of paying a ton of money to Facebook/Instagram, they just send you a bathing suit and get frequent ads FREE.
It’s not even actually FREE. You will have to pay for the shipping. $20. When asked, the company said the costs of shipping are donated to World Vision.
Here are a couple of messages they have been sending:
HI there beautiful! I am a Brand Manager for @sandflairofficial! 😍 ❤️ We are searching for new ambassadors to represent our brand for swimwear & jewelries. I happened to run into your content and I think you could be a perfect fit to be one of our ambassadors. 👍🤗 Once you become one of our Ambassadors, you will receive 1 swimsuit, and 1 jewelry or 3 jewelries if you don’t want a swimsuit . All for free!❤️” All you have to do is model our products when you receive it. You just have to take a candid photo of yourself together with the products and send it to our main page. 📸😊 Would you be interested sweetheart? 💕😊
Good day beautiful! I stumbled upon your profile and I am mesmerized by your beauty. I am a Brand Manager for @sandflairofficial and we are currently looking for amazing people to become our Brand Ambassadors and I think you would be a perfect fit!
If you answer positively, they will then go on asking additional questions, such as what is your age, weight, height, location, etc.
A Facebook group, exclusive to Sandflair Ambassadors, was created on March 26, 2019. However, it seems not to be in use as it has only 2 members.
Red Flags
Sandflair claims they are based in Canada, Australia, and Philippines. However, sandflair.com is riddled with spelling mistakes. Based on their broken English and grammar errors, we would guess they are not really from Canada. More likely they are from China like some people have suggested.
The products seem quite expensive.
The product quality of the swimsuits was reported by those who received it as “fine” and “okay,” however they “may tend to be smaller, so go for a larger size.”
As for the jewelry, a “necklace became bad after a day of wear and lost its shine.”
Moreover, the link to their purpose page is broken.
However, we never bought anything or joined the ambassadors program. Let us then see what people who did have to say.
Regarding the ambassadors program, apparently they contact a lot of people. Both models, non-models, and even older people are getting contacted. Some people said that they seemed “very persistent,” calling at late hours and even suggesting which swimsuit they would recommend to them personally. Using phrases such as “we’re taken by your beauty” and “sweetie” also don’t add to Sandflair’s credibility.
Some of those who have joined report getting the product though others report problems, such as:
I have ordered more than one, and I didnt receive all of them. What they also did was they added 4 bikini’s on the invoice (customs) so I had to pay €40 extra!!
Been over 2 months. NOTHING. Basically impossible to track item unless you want to pay a courier in China which who even knows if it’s legit…. I emailed the company in regards to not receiving merchandise […] TOTAL SCAM.
Some have suggested that Sandflair is an MLM (multi-level marketing), in which the company’s revenue is derived from a non-salaried workforce selling the company’s products, while participants’ earnings are derived from a commission system ($5 per sale). But we think it’s just an affiliate program since you’re not actually buying any products to sell to others.
Other have expressed suspicions that giving them your credit card information would not be safe. And PayPal is not accepted. One person reported:
I went through with it and the next day my card was hacked and they used it to buy a subscription to a DATING SITE. Don’t use this company!
One reviewer wrote:
I’ve had the company message me on Instagram with an obviously copied and pasted few paragraphs, and so I decided to confront them. I first tested if it was a scam by using my empty debit card, which got declined. I then asked the account how could it be declined if what they were proposing was true? At first, they said that their ambassadors would be sent items “100% free” of charge, then when confronted admitted that they would still charge their “ambassadors” £25 for shipping. I told them they are a scam and should be ashamed of themselves. They then went on to explain that the proceeds of the £25 for shipping would go to an education charity called world vision. This is obviously a lie as they claim to be a Canadian company and the charity is British? That doesn’t make sense to me. Anyway, long story short do not fall for this, I can’t be 100% sure that it is a scam but I am 99.9% sure anyway.
Indeed, you will not find Sandflair listed as a partner for world vision when I looked under their partnerships. When one person asked the support if there is “anything you can send me to see your connection to world vision,” they stopped responding.
Searching Google for “Sandflair” + “World vision” leads to that lost purpose page on sandflair.com, which as we mentioned above. That page returns a 404 Page not found error.
Conclusion – is Sandflair a SCAM?
In conclusion, we do not have any evidence that Sandflair is a scam. Sketchy, it definitely is though, so think twice before sending them any money. Most likely, that transaction will be non-refundable and there’s no promise you will like what you receive, if you receive it.
If you like the products and are willing to risk the amount of money they cost (including shipping), then by all means, join the program or make the purchase, however for $20, you could probably buy a very similar same product with free shipping on Amazon.com or eBay.com.