Shades of Light

Cool stuff but not cool people and very poor service. I have been there many times and people have been rude and unhelpful every single time. The prices are also marked up. I found the same merchandise (same brands — no knock-​offs) for much less elsewhere. I will never shop here again!

Ordered 2 sputnik chandeliers online over the weekend wanting to take advantage of the 15% off lighting. I entered the coupon code and discount was not taken off total but now where did it say it was accepted. I called and got an answering service. They said that coupon should work. Customer service returned my call on Monday. They said that those particular chandeliers are not part of the sale. After I entered the coupon code it showed up on my screen. If it was not applicable it should have noted that. No where on the check out page did it say that it was not accepted. Their website is very misleading. Customer service said that they have reached out to management about this issue. Still did not give me 15% off. Will never order from them again.

I had a great experience ordering from this company. I called during the day and spoke to a knowledgeable and helpful employee. My fixture came on the promised date. It is beautiful, stylish, and well-​made. Can’t believe it was such an affordable price. The online photo was accurate. Very happy customer.

Having the same issue as most people have reported… I placed my order and the next day I received an email saying it was on back order and Id get another email soon telling me the estimated shipping date. Not impressed so far… I really wish the site would TELL you its on back order BEFORE you place your order. Im really hoping that this light is awesome when it finally comes.
Update! 4÷28÷16
I’ve had my chandelier for s few months now and it’s so beautiful! The price was fair and I’m very happy with it :)

Updated post with 4*
Had an issue and they went out of their way to accommodate us. Their selection and pricing are great and I will use them again!
Old post 1star
They don’t stand by their warranty. Had to order a complete new fixture. I will never buy from them again. Great selection but absolutely Terrible customer experience

I called the store this afternoon to place an order for two sconces. Here is what happened:
1. first number I called ended up being a fax line;
2. re-​dialed — the same;
3. found another number — fax line;
4. called the store — was given the main number to the corporate office;
5. called that number and asked for the Catalog Order desk; put on hold; someone else picked up the phone and asked «What was the nature of my call?»; I told her I wanted to place an order;
6. placed on hold yet again for about 90 seconds or so;
7. finally connected with a catalog person; was asked several questions; when I stated that I lived in Ashland, she asked if I was aware that the store «was not that far from me» and I told her I was aware of that but I wanted to order the sconces. We went through the order and when I found out that the shipping charge was $ 39.00, I said no and could she place the order so I could pick it up some time this week. I was informed that was not possible due to a «conflict of interest» between the store and the catalog. Really? What a poor business practice. Is that an appropriate statement to make to a customer? Sounds more like an internal issue that has yet to be resolved.
8. I called the store again only to be put on hold yet again. Please notice that we are now at step #8 in this transaction.
What did I do next? I hung up and…
I found Ferguson Electric on-​line and ordered the same sconces, FREE shipping and no issues or problems. Taken care of in less than 5 minutes.
Shades of Light: absolutely one of the worst customer experiences I have ever had. And I actually worked at the store years ago when it was famous for poor service. I guess some things never change. And $ 39 for shipping — talk about a mark-​up!
And I am redoing my house as we prepare to downsize and purchase a condo. I will be purchasing a lot of lighting in the next few months and I will not be wasting my time contacting Shades of Light.
Susan F.

So I have to put a review in here because it is worth having a nice review.
I’ve been wanting the Amber bubble chandelier for almost a year now and I finally pulled the trigger at the beginning of this week. I ordered the chandelier online on Wednesday, it shipped Thursday, and arrived on Saturday. Aside from the light looking even better than the picture leads on, I was very pleased.
I have read other reviews that say that their packaging was bad, my package could have survived an avalanche. I had read the reviews here and began to get worried that I would have a bad experience after I had already ordered, but when I opened my box it was another box with in the box lined very carefully with airpocket sheets. After taking out the inner box I opened it to find another box within it lined with styrofoam. The third box contained the chandelier, perfectly packed with the chandelier. I am very pleased with the chandelier, the speed at which I received it, and the care taken for packing. They also included an extra glass piece from the outside which I needed because the last one I put on broke at the base. Everything is up and beautiful.

This has been my worst experience ever with an online retailer. I needed a lighting fixture by a certain date and called to make sure that the item I wanted was in stock. I was told to go ahead and place the order and since I was close by it would just be a matter of days for the item to be shipped. I placed the order and immediately knew that something was wrong. I received about six emails with different delivery dates. Calls and emails to customer service resulted in nothing more than excuses about the vendor. Finally, they shipped me a light — a gigantic chandelier — I ordered a 10″ wall sconce. They tried to imply that perhaps it was just the wrong item name written on the box. Currently they have not credited my purchase — I am disputing through Amex and there is no sign of my original order. Nobody at customer service seems to have any idea of what happened. The web site is a scam — they do not stock what they advertise. Shop elsewhere or you will regret it.

I purchased a rug from Shades of Light for $ 225 and a couple days later received an email stating it was on back order. I called Shades of Light and told them being that you can Not tell me when I will receive this item I would like my money back. I never received any confirmation that they had refunded my money and it is almost a week later, so I called. The customer service woman stated I had been refunded, however she sees I have been re-​charged. I asked her why and she said they are back in stock and they thought I would still want the item. I told her I found something else and I don’t understand why you would re-​charge my debit card. I did Not give any authorization to this. The original person who refunded me asked me if I would like to be notified when the product is back in stock. I stated yes and if I didn’t find a replacement I would consider re-​ordering it. I find this very disheartening and troubling that Shades of Light kept my debit card information and took it upon themselves to re-​charge my card. I personally could Never do business with a company like this. I did Not click the button that stated to save my debit card information with this company. As far as I am concerned this is fraud and this is one company I will stay away from.

I bought a rug from Shades of Light (Who knew they carried rugs too!). It completely transformed my living room. Wish I could download my before and after photos here! They are always so nice and helpful there.

I ordered a chandelier that my girlfriend wanted from Shades of Light. I wanted it to come by Christmas so I ordered it in the beginning of December. After they charged me they sent me an email saying it wouldn’t be available to ship until January 1^st. Then I got another email saying it wouldn’t be shipped until the 14^th. I finally received the light and it was damaged in shipping. It was very poorly packed and I wasn’t surprised that it was damaged. I called them and customer service was great, they sent fedex out with a new one and picked up the old one at no charge. I sent them pics of the damage hoping they would pack the second one a little better, well they didn’t. It was also damaged in the same way. i ended up asking for a refund and sending the other light back as well. Very frustrating.

Bought two flush mount ceiling lights from this company online here is my story, maybe it will help.
Ordered ¹⁰⁄₁₄ and did not tell me it was a back ordered product until taking my money and sending me a confirmation email. so awesome going to ship on ¹⁰⁄₂₈. NOPE! ¹⁰⁄₂₉ mean email saying WTF. Their reply was nice enough though didn’t really give me a straight answer on when it would ship. finally light arrives almost a month later ¹¹⁄₁₂ seems ridiculous, if I knew it would not have been ordered.
I would have still given 4 stars in spite of this because the lights themselves are BEAUTIFUL.
however…mounting hardware was insufficient. (I have installed MANY lights, MANY) I have never had such issue. They screws provided are not long enough to thread through the top of the light fixture and be secured to the ceiling. I have to go to home depot now and buy longer screws just what I wanted to go do today. Oh and while i’m there I will be picking up the wire nuts they also didn’t supply. Unacceptable in my opinion.
If you are OK with having a big hassle go for it. The only saving grace is the light is beautiful otherwise this would be one star.
Andrew O.

Overpriced.
I had bought a few lampshades before, and they’re of good quality.
I had a really neat vintage lamp I bought off ebay. I took it here and it took me well over 20 minutes before someone would help me. When I explained what I was looking for, the lady working was extremely rude. She didn’t even offer to help me look at custom shades (which I suppose is fine, since their standard shades are expensive as is).
I would go elsewhere for lampshades. Not impressed with this store’s customer service. I will not be returning.

I came across this item
on Pinterest and had to have it. When I first opened the box I could see that it was a returned box from a previous customer, because the previous customer PO# & order date was on the box. I tried not to let that bother me too much. I just figured someone received it and didn’t like it. I was a little disappointed the light fixture I received was slightly different than what is pictured on their website. There was a small bubble in the blown glass, but I accepted that. The mini hooks on the blown glass that connect to the chain are a different shape than what is shown in the picture. I had an extremely difficult time attaching the chain from the mini hooks to the large main hook on the arched arm. I think they should have provided extra chain links just in case. I normally have no problem putting light fixtures or furniture pieces together, so it was very frustrating. I contacted C/​S about this issue, but had not heard back. I do not like dealing with returns, so I used left over chain links from a chandelier I had which gave me the extra length I needed. Overall I like the light fixture, but I would have liked it more if I didn’t have to hassle with adding mismatched chain links which had to be spray painted to match the existing light fixture. I’m not sure if I will purchase from them again. They’ve got gorgeous products, but I’m afraid I will have to deal with this kind of problem again. I gave this same review on their website. I am curious to see if they will approve the post. If not, that goes to show me they hide their customer reviews and I will not be able to trust their reputation.

Our experience with Shades of Light was horrid. We ordered their Aqua Seahorse floorlamp. that wasnt cheap ($ 399) with $ 85 shipping. When it arrived, it looked NOTHING like the website picture. The lamp shade was too large, the 8″ harp to mount the lampshade made the 12″ lampshade sit too low covering the head of the seahorse. We solved that problem by buying a 10″ harp, but wound up buying a smaller lampshade any. As if that wasnt enough, the 9″ base of the floorlamp didnt give enough floor coverage and the whole lamp tilted forward about 10 degrees. We had to build up one half of the base with rubber & carpet tape to make it level & went to Tap Plastic to get a 9″ plastic disc for the base!
Now, you’d think, one lamp with SO many issues would bring out a company’s management to ascertain and access a less-​than-​insulting resolution? How about «we’ll credit you $ 20»? After spending 2 – 3 hrs fixing all the problems & an addl. $ 75 out-​of-​pocket on a nearly $ 500 lamp. $ 20?!!
We’ve never experienced anything this poorly created in our lives & would never shop at Shades of Light again for their disinterest and disconcern for TRUE customer service. Even advising them to get a more representational photo at website got zero interest for addressing & rectification.
We’re good, honest customers who feel we bought a $ 500 lamp that looked like it cost $ 99…

Horror… horror!
I found a lamp system on their website that was supposed to fit in a recessed light. The website showed all kinds of extra items I would need, so I ordered everything the website suggested (over $ 400) and when I received it, it turned out it DID NOT FIT for recessed lighting. So I had to send it all back.
That joke costed me a total of $ 49 shipping back and forth, because their website showed articles on my search that had NOTHING to do with recessed lights. The customer service just gave me a ‘that’s how it works’, and that was that.
NOT HAPPY at all!!!

You would think from the name that this is just a lighting store, but it’s much more than that… it’s more like Williams Sherill with a mix of fab home accents. It’s right across from Willow Lawn so it’s easy to access from downtown or the West End.
I can’t really afford to shop here, so I just browse for design ideas and lust after gorgeous oriental rugs and sparkling chandeliers, as well as some of the French-​inspired pieces used in the little design vignettes.
While they do have a few pieces of furniture for sale, this is really about accessories like lamps, hanging fixtures, and art pieces.