J.Crew Online Orders Now Include Store Merchandise {say what?}

In last week's "J.Crew's Shipping Method Change {upgrade or downgr..." post, ElizabethM mentioned the following:

According to the manager at my JCF store, they are, indeed, planning to go the way of GAP brands and start shipping orders from store inventory. Not sure when it's going to start or if retail will be doing the same, but I'm not a fan either. I've had very bad luck with used and damaged items coming from GAP via this method. 

Many of you, including Firefighter Wife & WellFedFred (in this post), have already confirmed this news. Lennie (in this post), shares this:

Hi! I spoke to a customer service rep today, and she explained that when an item is sold out online, they automatically are looking for it in a store, hence the items shipping separately. The used to cancel the item and give you the option to find in store, and now they do it automatically. I think it's a great service, provided that items are not "shop worn" as someone else mentioned.

While I appreciate that J.Crew is trying to fulfill orders that they accidentally over-extended themselves on, I am not sure if this is the case. A lot of JCAs have reported that they are being sent in-store items. So it sounds like it is more like what the Gap does in terms of fulfilling orders. As I mentioned in the other post, I really had hoped that J.Crew would not go that route. I actually stopped purchasing from Gap and Banana Republic online for this very reason.

For a variety of reasons, I don't want store items shipped to me for online orders. First, I can't see the quality of the item. Items from stores have been tried on many times and while some pieces are fine, others look used (aka shop-worn). Plus, as many of you know when you do a "we will find it for you", the items are not shipped with the same care as online orders are. I just can't imagine a store associate getting 20 online orders to fulfill, taking out the time to careful inspect each piece, wrapping it up carefully, in addition to all the other store related duties they have to do.

Second, if I order multiple pieces in a single order, I do not want to track or receive them in multiple shipments. If I place one order, I would like to get it in one box. I don't want to feel like its Christmas everyday and receive a separate box for each item. Meh.

Frankly, I think J.Crew is better off just having stores send back their merchandise to the warehouse and having someone there inspect it before putting it back in stock online.

Instead, J.Crew should include a feature that allows customers to check store inventory online. This is not a new concept as Gap, Anthropologie, Nordstroms all have a little button on item pages online that lets customers see if an item is available at brick and mortar locations. This is a simple thing that can be replicated. Especially since J.Crew already has the capability to check store inventory.

Did you receive an online order from a brick & mortar store? What are your thoughts? Is this an upgrade or downgrade?