Posted on 09/16/2009 7:40:58 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Factory stores' price markdowns are alluring, but those 'deals' are often less than they seem. Getting your money's worth takes a little legwork.
Americans have a long-standing love affair with bargains. Look no further than the warehouse clubs, discount stores and outlet malls that carpet the country.
But in a persuasive new book, "Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture," Ellen Ruppel Shell, a correspondent for The Atlantic, describes the web of marketing and manipulation that discount retailers use to drain cash from your wallet.
Outlet malls are among the worst offenders, Shell says, with their glittering promises of "the very best quality, at the very lowest prices."
Ironically, she asserts, they offer neither: Outlet malls are like fun houses that play on shoppers' distorted perceptions of luxury, value and price.
"People are not questioning the quality at these designer outlets; they're not questioning the 'low prices,' so it's a bonanza for retailers," Shell said in a recent interview.
To truly get your money's worth, it pays to learn more about the outlet game.
You don't have to tell me about the perils of outlet malls. I live about an hour and a half from one of the biggest: the famed Woodbury Common, home to 220 "premium" outlet stores.
On my first trip there, about 10 years ago, I was single and shopping under the influence of the "Sex and the City" culture. I loved it.
My second trip, about a year and a half ago, left me baffled.
Where were the designer deals? The steals that made you gasp and race to the cash register? Every price seemed steep, from the Coach bags to the DKNY coats to the $60 Banana Republic jeans that I bullied my husband into buying.
(Excerpt) Read more at articles.moneycentral.msn.com ...
There’s a North Face store in Kenosha Prime Outlets that has good prices.
You folks ever stop to think that businesses have expenses to cover and are in business to earn a living? They can’t just give everything away to please you. They are entitled to earn a living just as you are.
They are only good for high dollar purchases like getting a 500 dollar coach purse for 425
Jersey Gardens is superior to Woodbury Commons, if you know what you are looking for.
Real “outlet” stores existed when either the manufacture or the distribution of the goods was near the actual outlet.
Sometimes, they could be a rump store that takes the leftovers the nearby “real” stores. These places are usually dumps (e.g. J.C. Penney Outlet stores)
In an era of 90% of clothing made overseas and “just-in-time” distribution and ever improving sales forecasts, the real outlet store, is as obsolete as the five and dime.
If there are 220 “outlets” in one mall like setting, then it is no outlet at all. It is an excuse to bring urban names to highway exit locations.
They still serve a purpose. I wanted to get my wife a couple of “Brooks Brothers” sweaters, and I didn’t have to go to NYC. I didn’t get such a great deal,but I did okay. But it is not a traditional “outlet.”
Well put. In the old days, West Point had outlet stores near their factories. You could get good quality towels, for example, that were printed off register or with other minor defects that couldn’t be sold in traditional outlets. Now, textile manufacturing is overseas, so the goods in the outlet stores are either lower quality, or not really any cheaper than you can get at WalMart.
Last good deals I saw at an outlet store were at a Black and Decker store that was selling reconditioned and returns. Now, stuff like that is going online.
You find better deals on eBay where a majority of Coach purses (New with tags and gift receipt) are factory store purchases sold for much less.
we never buy anything off the net
I do very well on Ebay, you just have to be familiar with the products you are shopping for. I give some of the sellers my repeat business and they take good care of me. I can’t get most of what I buy locally at all.
Black and Decker has great outlet stores. The advantage of buying in the store is there are no shipping charges and you can compare the actual items. The warranty they offer on the reconditioned items is the same as new.
One of the advantages of the outlet malls is that the stores have almost a full stock of the manufacturers' items - which is by necessity lacking in the department stores (or Walmart). It is much easier to spend a day at an outlet mall than to try to find different items (from different manufacturers) online. They also often offer incredible sales (you have to get lucky there).
I don’t think that’s what they’re saying. What they’re saying is that outlet malls advertise themselves as being a place to go for really good bargains, better than what you’ll find at regular retail stores, but often the prices they have are just as high or higher than the department stores. It leaves people feeling like it’s false advertising because they really don’t have any better deals than regular retail stores, but people feel suckered because they fell for the outlet store hype of being such a better bargain. And they get there and there is no bargain.
It’s like a subtle variation of bait and switch.
It depends on where and when you go. I got some excellent deals at a Bath & Body works outlet when the store decided to totally overhaul most of their packaging.
Coach outlet stores do not carry the same line of purses that Coach sells in their retail stores. They make a lesser line with a lower quality of leather. The outlet leather has a hard finish and is actually more durable.
Many companies make a special line especially for discount stores and outlets. If you notice, a lot of the bags at TJMaxx don’t have the nice lining that you would expect from a high price line. Not all, but some. Shoes...same thing, special line.
The title of this piece is misleading. Basically the article says that many of the businesses make a cheaper brand just for the outlets.
If people are happy with what they get, then I don’t see the problem. You could say the same for big box clubs like Sams and Costco. Some items are cheaper at grocery store if you know how to shop. But for some people, it may be easier to just get everything in one trip.
I rarely shop at Wal-Mart myself cause I can’t go there and get what I want and get home in less than an hour, no matter how few items I get. Just too crowded and piss poor checkout. Others do all their shopping there. Different strokes for different folks.
Those prices are not that good.
By avoiding driving, the crowds and the price of gas, I'd say the prices are fine.
That is a fact.
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