PQ Swim Review: The Arithmetic of Buying a Bikini Here

Swimwear is the only clothing category where the cheaper looking option can cost more, because a bikini is two separate purchases and a one piece is one.

That is where this PQ Swim review starts, because the prices on this site invert the assumption most shoppers bring to it.

A Bikini Is Two Purchases

From $174 for an entry pairing to $242 for a designer one.

Tops on the site run from $98 for a seamless bandeau up to $124 for the reversible scalloped pieces in the designer collaboration, while bottoms run from $76 for a seamless cut to $118 for the matching scalloped style.

Pair them and a set costs between $174 and $242 depending on which end of the range you shop. The designer collaboration pairings land at $232 and $242.

Which Makes the One Piece the Middle Option

$216 for a one piece, against $242 for a designer bikini.

Here is the finding, and it runs against what almost everybody assumes.

The cross front one piece is $216. The designer scalloped bikini set is $242. So the one piece is 10.7% cheaper than the two piece, despite using considerably more fabric.

It is not the cheapest option overall, because an entry level bikini pairing at $174 undercuts it by 24.1%, so the honest shape of this range is that the one piece sits somewhere in the middle of the pricing rather than at the top of it where shoppers instinctively place it.

That matters because shoppers routinely assume the one piece is the splurge and budget accordingly. On this site, at the designer end, the two piece is the splurge.

Cost Per Wear, Which Is the Real Test

Between $5.80 and $24.20 a wear, depending almost entirely on how often you swim.

Swimwear is bought emotionally and worn rarely, which is exactly why cost per wear exposes this kind of purchase in a way that a price tag on its own never manages to.

At ten wears in a season an entry bikini works out at $17.40 a wear, the one piece at $21.60 and a designer set at $24.20, and pushing the same three pieces to twenty wears drops them to $8.70, $10.80 and $12.10 respectively.

Notice what moves the number. Doubling the wears halves the cost, while the entire gap between the cheapest and dearest set is $6.80 a wear at ten uses. How often you actually get in the water matters more than which set you buy.

So the practical question is not whether this brand is worth it in the abstract. It is whether you swim ten times a year or forty.

The Hundred Dollar Threshold Has a Trap

A $98 top costs $110 delivered. A $112 bottom costs $112.

Standard shipping is $12 flat and becomes free at $100, and that single rule creates a dead zone in the basket just below the hundred dollar line.

Buy the $98 seamless bandeau on its own and it costs $110 delivered, while the $112 rope tie side bottom bought on its own costs exactly $112 because it clears the threshold and ships free. Fourteen dollars more product costs you two dollars.

Anything in the $88 to $99 range is the worst place to check out on this site. If your basket lands there, adding a $16 lip gloss or a $20 pair of nipple covers is cheaper than paying the shipping.

The Shipping Options in Full

$12 standard, free over $100, $35 overnight.

Beyond standard ground there is FedEx 2 Day at $20 and Standard Overnight at $35, with Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico served at $15 flat, and everything ships out of San Diego, which matters for anyone on the east coast counting transit days before a flight.

Canada is served by FedEx International from $20 economy, with duties and taxes calculated at checkout rather than collected on delivery, which is the better arrangement for the buyer. Other international orders are handled by email, with no published rates.

The Return Policy, Which Is Better Than Average

30 days from delivery, with a $5 label fee.

This is where the brand does well and we want to credit it properly, because swimwear retailers are often far stricter.

The published return policy gives 30 days from delivery. US returns use a prepaid label with $5.00 deducted from the refund, which on a $98 top is 5.1% and on a $216 one piece is 2.3%. Exchanges are offered for a different size, style or colour.

For comparison, we have reviewed retailers charging $8.99 for the same service. Five dollars on swimwear is reasonable.

One note for Canadian shoppers. You arrange and pay for return shipping yourself, including postage, duties and taxes, which turns a $5 inconvenience into a real cost.

We should also flag a discrepancy. At least one widely read review of this brand states a 21 day return window. The policy page we read says 30 days from delivery, and we have reported the published terms.

But the Clock Is Longer Than You Think

Order to refund can run about a month.

The 30 days is generous. The timeline around it is the thing to plan for.

Processing takes one to five business days and transit another one to five, which means a standard order placed at the wrong end of a week can take around fourteen calendar days to reach you, and if it then does not fit, refunds are processed in up to fourteen more days after that.

Put those together and a swimsuit that does not work can tie up your money for roughly a month. The return window starts at delivery rather than at order, which is the fair way to do it, but it does not shorten the round trip.

The practical rule for anyone buying before a holiday is to order at least three weeks out, and to order two sizes if you are between them rather than risk a second round trip.

1. Order at least three weeks before you travel
2. Order two sizes if you are between them, return one
3. Never check out between $88 and $99
4. Keep the sanitary liner attached until you are certain

The Liner Rule

Swimwear must still have its sanitary liner attached.

The condition requirements are standard for swimwear. One of them is easy to undo by accident.

Items must be unworn, unwashed, with all tags and, on swimwear, the sanitary liner still attached. Pull that liner off while trying something on and the refund can be refused.

Nipple covers, sandals and beauty products are never returnable, and final sale items are excluded entirely. Original shipping is not refunded unless the item is defective.

What the Site Does Not Tell You

No fabric composition on the pages we read.

This is the weakest part of the proposition, and it is a criticism specific to swimwear rather than the general gripe about transparency we could level at half the brands we review.

A swimsuit's lifespan is decided almost entirely by its fabric. Chlorine resistance, how long it holds its shape and whether it goes transparent when wet all come down to the composition and the grade of elastane used. Pages we read did not publish composition for most products, name a Lycra grade, or state a manufacturing country.

That is a gap rather than a fault, and plenty of fashion swimwear brands are the same. It does mean the durability and sustainability claims that appear in reviews of this brand are not checkable from the product pages, and if you are buying for a chlorinated pool rather than a beach holiday, it is the question to ask before ordering.

Who It Is For

Frequent swimmers who want prints nobody else has.

The case for this brand is design. The prints, the reversible pieces and the collaboration collections are genuinely distinctive, and reversible construction effectively gives you two looks for one price, which the cost per wear table does not capture.

The case against it is a single holiday. At ten wears a designer set works out at $24.20 a wear, and no amount of fabric quality or print exclusivity makes that good value if the suit then sits folded in a drawer for the next eleven months.

Final Verdict

Seven out of ten. The design range is the reason to shop here, the 30 day return window from delivery is fair, and a $5 return label is cheaper than several retailers we have reviewed. The arithmetic is where this PQ Swim review turns cautious. Tops run $98 to $124 and bottoms $76 to $118, so a designer bikini at $242 costs 10.7% more than the $216 one piece, the $100 shipping threshold punishes any basket between $88 and $99, and the full order to refund cycle can run about a month. Fabric composition is not published, which matters more in swimwear than in most categories. Buy it if you swim often and order well ahead of a trip.

FAQs

How much is PQ Swim?

Bikini tops run $98 to $124 and bottoms $76 to $118, making a set $174 to $242. The cross front one piece is $216, and resortwear runs from $160 to $395.

What is the PQ Swim return policy?

Thirty days from delivery. US returns use a prepaid label with $5.00 deducted from the refund, and items must be unworn, unwashed, with tags and the sanitary liner attached.

Does PQ Swim offer free shipping?

Yes, on US orders of $100 or more. Below that, standard ground shipping is $12 flat, so a $98 item costs $110 delivered.

Is a one piece cheaper than a bikini here?

Against a designer set, yes. The $216 one piece is 10.7% cheaper than a $242 two piece, though an entry level bikini pairing at $174 undercuts both.

How long does delivery take?

Processing is one to five business days and transit another one to five, so around fourteen calendar days in the worst case. Order at least three weeks before a trip.

Can you return swimwear if you tried it on?

Only if it is unworn and unwashed with all tags and the sanitary liner still attached. Removing the liner can mean the refund is refused.

Is PQ Swim good for chlorinated pools?

The pages we read do not publish fabric composition or the grade of elastane, which is what decides chlorine resistance. Ask before buying for regular pool use.