The smartest thing SKIMS did this week was let buyers keep the advent calendar. The $148 Accessories Advent Calendar shipped with 12 days of scrunchies, bobby pins, hair ties, and keychains, got torn apart in TikTok unboxing videos, and then SKIMS did something most brands would argue about internally for weeks. It emailed every buyer, said it was "truly sorry," and offered either a full refund or the full purchase price in store credit, with the calendar still sitting on their counter.
This is the SKIMS advent calendar refund story: what happened, how buyers can claim the refund or credit, and why I think the keep-it-plus-credit option was the right call, even though I do not think SKIMS misled anyone. It is a tricky spot, and given the blowback they were getting, they handled it about as well as a brand can.
What happened with the SKIMS advent calendar?
SKIMS sold a $148 Accessories Advent Calendar in its Holiday shop, which launched October 29, 2026, and buyers who opened it on camera did not like what was inside. The 12 doors held hair and keychain accessories, with no clothing at all.
According to BuzzFeed, the product page listed the contents day by day: a bear keychain, a 3-pack of hair elastics, two 3-packs of satin scrunchies, two 3-packs of bobby pins, a SKIMS squishy, a 2-pack of clips, a 2-pack of bra elastic headbands, a comb keychain, a logo keychain, and a faux fur compact mirror keychain on day 12. At $148, that works out to about $12.33 a door. The UK version was £158.
Once the calendars arrived, the unboxing videos took over TikTok and racked up millions of views. CBS News quoted creators saying, "I can get these at Dollar Tree," and calling it "the worst Advent calendar to ever exist." The calendar now shows a waitlist on the SKIMS site, and BuzzFeed noted it is not clear whether it sold out or was pulled.
Did SKIMS mislead customers with the advent calendar?
No. The full contents were listed on the product page under the "Fit & Fabric" section, and BuzzFeed pointed out that many buyers appear to have missed it before ordering.
That detail is what makes this a real conundrum. Nobody got scammed. The listing said accessories, and accessories is what showed up. The marketing called it "twelve days of fun surprises," though, and an advent calendar is a product people buy specifically so they do not know what is coming. Very few people read the spoiler list on a surprise.
The gap here was between the price and the feeling of opening it, which is a product problem more than a disclosure problem. SKIMS could have stood on the listing and been technically right. Being technically right while millions of people watch your customers open hair ties is a rough place to be.
How did SKIMS respond to the advent calendar backlash?
SKIMS emailed every buyer, apologized, and offered two choices: return the calendar for a full refund with return shipping waived, or keep it and get the full purchase amount as store credit.
The email, as published by BuzzFeed, read in part: "We understand the product did not meet customers' expectations, and we are truly sorry. We want every customer to be happy with what they receive, and we fell short this time." It closed with, "Thank you for being our customer, and again, we apologize for the disappointment."
A SKIMS spokesperson told TODAY the brand had "personally contacted every customer who purchased the calendar," as reported by The Tab. One small detail: the email references a purchase amount of $150, while the listing price was $148.
The part I like most is that the email went to everyone, unprompted. You did not have to post a video or complain to get the offer. That keeps the fix from rewarding whoever yelled loudest. It also landed in one clean message, which is more than Martha Stewart managed earlier this month when her first statement needed a second, fuller apology the same day.
How do you get a refund for the SKIMS advent calendar?
Check the inbox tied to your SKIMS order for the apology email, then email help@skims.com with the option you want. For the refund, start a return through the SKIMS returns page, and SKIMS says it will waive the return shipping fee.
If you would rather keep the calendar, SKIMS says it will issue store credit for the full purchase amount, usable on any future order. None of the coverage mentions a deadline to choose, but I would not sit on it through the holidays.
What else could SKIMS have done?
SKIMS had roughly five options, and keep-it-plus-credit was the strongest of them. Here is how I see each one:
- Say nothing. Let the news cycle burn out. The problem is the product keeps getting opened on camera all month long, one door at a time.
- Defend it. Point to the listing. You win the argument and lose the customer, and a defensive statement becomes its own second story.
- Offer a discount code. Cheaper, but it reads like "spend more money with us to feel better," which tends to make people angrier.
- Refund only with a return. Fair, but you pay to ship back opened scrunchies you probably cannot sell again, and the customer walks away with nothing.
- Refund or keep it with full credit. The buyer picks, and either way they feel made whole. This is what SKIMS did.
Why was letting buyers keep it the smart move?
I think letting buyers keep the calendar and take full credit ends the story fastest and quietly turns a refund into a second order. It costs SKIMS the least goodwill and probably not as much money as it looks.
Start with returns. An advent calendar with 12 opened doors is hard to put back on a shelf as new, so a return means paying shipping to get back product you likely cannot resell. Store credit skips all of that. It also has to be spent at SKIMS, which means the customer comes back, browses, and I would bet a lot of them spend more than the credit covers. I shared my first reaction on LinkedIn, and I still think most buyers keep the calendar and take the credit.
The bigger reason is what happens to the next video. The unboxing is the real product review now, and it happens in front of millions of people. When SKIMS gives everyone their money back in credit and lets them keep the box, the follow-up content changes from "I got ripped off" to "SKIMS emailed me and made it right." That is a much better story to have circulating in the middle of the holiday season.
The data backs up how much the fix matters. The National Retail Federation and Happy Returns found that 71% of consumers are less likely to shop with a retailer again after a poor returns experience, and four in five would tell friends and family about it. A bad product plus a bad fix is how you lose a customer for good. A bad product plus a generous fix can actually keep one.
What is the downside of the SKIMS refund offer?
The credit is real money, and the offer sets a precedent. Every buyer who takes the credit is getting the full purchase price back as credit toward a future order, so SKIMS is giving away margin on the calendar and on the next purchase.
There is also a training risk. When a viral complaint produces a free product plus full credit, some customers learn that complaining online pays. Sending the offer to every buyer, instead of only the people posting, softens that a lot, but it does not erase it.
The offer does not fix the product. A SKIMS spokesperson told stupidDOPE the feedback will shape future releases, which is the right answer, and the real test is what next year's calendar looks like.
What can brands that sell surprise boxes learn from SKIMS?
The lesson is that when the product is a surprise, the unboxing is the review, so the expectation you set with the price has to match the moment the box opens.
We have our own version of this at BattlBox. The monthly box in our membership is unknown until it drops, so I think about this more than most. It is not quite apples to apples, since our team spends a lot of time curating and testing each month's box, with a lot of things in place to make sure it lands. Still, not every box has been a hit. When one misses, we take the learnings and make sure the same scenario does not happen again. We have never experienced anything like the SKIMS situation.
A few things carry over to any brand that sells a surprise. Listing the contents does not protect you, because people buy a surprise to be surprised. Price sets the bar for the reveal, and $148 told buyers to expect something special. When you miss, move fast and fix it for everyone, not just the people who complained. Pick the fix that changes the next video, too, because that one is going to get filmed either way.
Final Thoughts
SKIMS made a product that did not match its price, and then made one of the better recovery decisions I have seen from a big DTC brand this year. They apologized in plain language, emailed every buyer without being asked, and gave them a choice that made them whole either way.
A refund closes out a transaction. Letting someone keep the product with full credit closes out the complaint and gives them a reason to come back. Brands that sell anything opened on camera should study how SKIMS responded.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much was the SKIMS advent calendar?
The SKIMS Accessories Advent Calendar was listed at $148 in the US and £158 in the UK. SKIMS's apology email references a purchase amount of $150.
What was in the SKIMS advent calendar?
It held 12 days of accessories: four keychains, six satin scrunchies, six bobby pins, three hair elastics, two clips, two bra elastic headbands and a SKIMS squishy. There was no clothing.
Is SKIMS giving refunds for the advent calendar?
Yes. SKIMS emailed every buyer offering a full refund with return shipping waived, or full store credit if they keep the calendar.
How do I claim the SKIMS advent calendar refund or store credit?
Email help@skims.com with the option you want. For a refund, start a return on the SKIMS returns page and the return shipping fee is waived.
Do you have to return the SKIMS advent calendar to get store credit?
No. Buyers who choose store credit keep the calendar and receive credit for the full purchase amount, usable on any future SKIMS order.
Why did people dislike the SKIMS advent calendar?
Buyers felt $148 was too much for hair ties, bobby pins, scrunchies, and keychains. Unboxing videos on TikTok mocked the contents, with one creator saying, "I can get these at Dollar Tree."
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