Anyone else not bowled over with outlet malls.

[eliza61]

Just got back from the Premium outlet in Tinton Falls NJ, ready and willing to stimulate the economy and all I got were 5 pair of undies (5/20) from hanes and 1 shirt from bcbg.
Believe me I was willing to spend but I just did not see any great deals.
Eddie bauer has a capris and shorts $10 bucks off. sorry that's not outlet worthy to me. I can get that at Sears and JCpenny's.
Talbots also was only 5 maybe 10 bucks cheaper than regular retail.
Same thing at timberland and gap outlet.
I was in search of a pretty cardigan for cool summer nights, found some pretty ones at the JJill store only they were $69 bucks.

This is pretty much the 2nd time I've been disappointed in them. I got the coupon book but unless you spend 150-200 bucks in one store it was pretty usless.

problem is, my outlets are at least 65 miles from my house, so I really wanted to at least make the trip worthwhile.

I would have done better at Macy's where I had a 25% coupon off of every thing.

Was I expecting too much? I thought outlets were at least supposed to be 50% off?

 

[GoofyGolferGirl]

I really don't think outlets are that great either! I usually do much much better in the regular store, with coupons and % off.

 

[meg8017]

I agree. We have the Wrentham outlets about an hour away and I am almost always disappointed. Many stores sell outlet specific stuff, not necessarily what you'd find in a dept. store or other. And their prices are often not too cheap. I find that you can often get better deals in regular stores with sales or coupons. A good example is Gymboree. Sometimes they have last season but mostly outlet only stuff, that's like a dollar cheaper and not as good of quality. I'd rather hit the regular store sale rack. Every time I get Gap outlet stuff it stinks. Coach is about the only one I like, I was able to get a regular Coach store bag last fall at about 50-60% off the regular retail so I was happy with that!

 

[bear_mom]

They are hit or miss. My favorite is the Columbia outlet. Got my dd a jacket last year that cost $30. It was one with a zip out liner and shell.

Emily

 

[kirstenb1]

I like Ann Taylor, Adidas and Coach at the outlets in Williamsburg. I also found a nice Seiko there once, but how often do you need to buy another watch? Like the OP, a lot of the other stores are expensive for outlets.

 

[Fire14]

I can't speak for the one you wet to but I did plenty of damage at Under armor outlet in January and the rebok outlet in sept. Plus DH got a nice suit at a store fot 150.00. anything he looked at local ran 300+ Yes I have walked away from outlets disappointed too.

 

[MrsPete]

I live near an "outlet mall", and I don't think the word outlet means what it used to mean.

When I was a kid, outlet meant clearance items, second-quality items, last-year's things, scratch-and-dent things, or surplus stuff . . . and it was sold dirt cheap. Often outlets were in old buildings -- not run-down places really, but not fancy either. Sometimes things were in big bins and you had to search through them. Outlets were few and far between; you made a special trip to get to them. You went to an outlet to save money.

The outlet mall near me is definitely not an outlet in that sense. The stuff they sell is this year's stuff, all in season, identical to any other mall. The mall is fancy and decorates for the seasons. They have a big food court and entertainment places as well as stores. And their prices are just like any other mall.

 

[NYCDiane]

I've been to the Tanger "outlet" in Deer Park, NY and to the one in Riverhead, NY. Definitely no great bargains.

The Justice store has the exact same prices as the retail Justice and a clearance rack with some VERY old items at a discount. The Catherines store isn't all that good, either --- all retail prices except for the clearance rack.

The best prices I've found at the outlets were at Bass Shoes, Old Navy, Calvin Klein, and Tommy Hilfiger. Unfortunately, I don't fit the sizes at Calvin or Tommy (my DD does, though.. Lucky her!) The Coach store had some decent prices, nothing to really write home about.

The only decent thing is that Tanger sends out those 20% coupons 4x/year. Unfortunately, not all the stores participate (and they should if they're getting "outlet" status when selling at retail prices!!!)

I just don't get why they're called "outlets" when they're not really "outlets" at all.

 

[monkey30]

They are hit or miss. My favorite is the Columbia outlet. Got my dd a jacket last year that cost $30. It was one with a zip out liner and shell.

Emily

We find this as well. We bought a jackets for DS as well for 30, and snow pants for him to match for 15.... here they are well over $100. We also found a diaper bag I really liked it was $40 which is not a bad price since reg price on it was 120!

 

[mrsklamc]

I agree. We go periodically to the local outlets and the only place we consistently do well is stride rite for kid's shoes, and the selection is very limited.

Gap does have a TRUE outlet near Cincinnati- when I lose 10 pounds we're going to go.

J Crew has an outlet near the Biltmore estate that I think is also the same kind of thing.

 

[Purseval]

Our local outlet mall does have places like Saks Off Fifth where they send stuff that doesn't do well in the regular stores but mostly they are just extensions of regular merchandisers. Since mine is so close we go there several times a month but if we actually had to travel to get there we wouldn't go at all.

 

[chisnpeke]

I don't get it either. Never found anything that great.

 

[Jenny-momof3]

mrsklamc~

I grew up always going to the GAP outlet just south of Cincy. We would do down there twice a year and load up on jeans for super cheap!

We went down there a few months ago and boy were we dissapointed! All the adult jeans were $19.99! And EVERY single pair we tried on had something very wrong with them...broken zippers, ripped inseams,pockets,etc.

Shirts and sweaters were $9.99 up to $60! And once again...there was something wrong with all of it.

We left without a single thing. No way am I paying those kind of prices on damaged merchandise!

 

[disneychrista]

I have never found great deals at an outlet mall. I don't tend to buy name brands, so I can get non-name brands cheaper.

 

[dreweyj]

I know for a fact that most outlet malls aren't cracked up to be what they say they are. I have a friend that works for one of the nationally known clothing lines, and she told me that most of the brand name designers and large companies that have shops at outlet malls actually have separate lines of clothing that are sold strictly at the outlets. The line she works for is a one of them - it's a Liz Taylor line, and she said the fabric choices, hardware quality (such as zippers, snaps, and buttons) and overall quality are much less, which would allow for the lower pricing. Sometimes these lines carry the same label tag as the articles of clothing found in the major department stores which helps to disguise them as being a separate line.

I thought that was pretty "shady," but the world does revolve around the almight dollar.

 

[here757]

the outlet mall in williamsburg va is mostly company stores..

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I live about 15 minutes from a HUGE outlet mall in Williamsburg, VA. I've been there numerous times and to other outlets in other tourist trap places (Pigeon Forge, TN and Myrtle Beach) and never buy anything anymore. I have found nothing but odd stuff that you would never find from the same places in stores (like JCrew clothes I've never seen in their "real" stores) and the few clothing items I've bought are much lower quality. I bought a Coach purse about 5 years ago and it's nothing like the Coach purses I've bought from the actual store (and not much cheaper than what I can get one for in a "real" store).

 

[Evi]

I get great deals in Wrentham I've gotten uggs at 80% off, 75% off coach, 45% off kate spade and so much more I think its a matter of when you go how good the deals are.

 

[eliza61]

I bought a Coach purse about 5 years ago and it's nothing like the Coach purses I've bought from the actual store (and not much cheaper than what I can get one for in a "real" store).

Coach finally issued a statement a few years ago (I think it was 3) admitting that most of the stuff in their outlets are made exclusively for the outlet and not the same stuff in their stores. Definitely not the same quality. They claim the outlet stores have become so popular they could not stock them with last seasons merchandise.

Why are the outlet stores so popular? Coach does not permit its retail stores and online products to be discounted. Moreover, Coach products sold in fine department stores are also prohibited regarding discounts. This leaves bargain hunters with the option of driving to the nearest factory outlet.

The items sold in Coach outlets are not usually of the same caliber as those provided in the upscale retail stores. Coach intentionally manufactures products specifically for its outlets, leaving the latest trends and shiny styles for the retail locations

http://handbags.lovetoknow.com/Coach_Outlet

 

[rumrunnergirl]

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