Tag Archives: Online Shopping

Outnet’s $1 Birthday Sale Leaves Partygoers Wanting

I had my game plan. I set my sights on one dress, a Manoush tiered silk gown I’ve had my eye on for months, and a Kenneth Jay Lane leather cuff, but neither item was included in the much-hyped Outnet 1st birthday sale that was over in a  flash this morning.

Like thousands of fashion lovers, I cleared my Friday schedule to be ready for the email from theOutnet.com, the discount offshoot of high-end online retailer Net-A-Porter.com,  that would provide the top secret time of the $1 sale. Instead, when I wandered downstairs this morning to make lunches for my children and get them up and ready for school, the email alert flashed and lo and behold just before 7am, the sale was on.

Fast and furious I logged in and filtered for my size only to find a paltry selection; two pages of clothes that I didn’t care for.  For those who’ve asked, the only noteworthy things left at that stage were studded Mary Janes and a Stella McCartney Taffeta jacket that, at a stretch, I may have bought for a buck. The jewelry flashed SOLD OUT, and the handbags, which I would happily have settled for, were long gone. A Sold Out sign abounded by 7.25am, and the next time I checked, the sale was closed.

What a fizzer. It was a great concept. Who doesn’t want a designer piece for just a dollar? But like so many of these recent pop-up stores, Liberty of London for Target  which sold out a day early and the current Zac Posen for Target  24-hour sale come to mind,  or even the snatch and grab for  Stella McCartney children’s clothes at the Gap, the attempt to give everyone a chance to participate leaves most people wanting.

I was one of the lucky shoppers who could actually sign-in to the Outnet site this morning, but there are many, many people who’ve complained that the site crashed or it took them hours to log-in, only to find the sale closed by then. There are gripes galore on Twitter today, calling the sale a bust, a hoax, a joke; a couple of tweeters commented that it was like getting an invitation to a fabulous party and then having the bouncer not let you in!

Not surprisingly, the Zac Posen for Target pop-up sales party, which started 11pm last night and runs until 11pm tonight, was another bloodbath.  I didn’t go after hearing from a friend that racks were bare by 11.25pm. I’m not so enamored of the range that I have to have something right now, but perhaps I’ll take my chances to peruse what’s left when it hits Target. com on April 25.

The moral of all this?  Maybe with the proliferation of social media – Twitter and Facebook, in particular, where loads of people have shared their Outnet frustrations – and guerrilla advertising, have elevated even the world of pop-up stores and deep discounting to heights beyond the average consumer.

Now, even designing or discounting for the masses have become exclusive.

Ready, Set … It’s Outnet’s $1 Birthday Bash

I feel like I am going into battle. I have read the strategies over and over; I have cleared my schedule to be near my weapon – computer – through the day. Now I, along with potentially thousands of other faceless fashion warriors, wait.

TheOutnet.com, the discount arm of high-end, online retailer Net-A-Porter.com, celebrates its first birthday tomorrow and will reward followers with a party sale. Everything in the sale is $1 – yep, that’s a buck, a single dollar for an item that could retail for at least several hundred dollars, if you shop right.

The catch is, Outnet won’t reveal what time the sale begins or what clothes and accessories will be offered until sometime this Friday. All we do know, as we hit refresh on our email accounts,  is that we can buy just one, single item for a dollar.

Flying Solo

Now, I’ve followed theOutnet.com since it began. I haven’t bought much but only because I waver too much. I contemplate whether I really need a Rick Owens leather jacket, even if it is 60 percent off, or a Manoush tiered silk evening gown for a mere $220, slashed 65 percent. I stop myself buying for the sake of buying.

But I can vouch for the great selection of designers – from Givenchy and Oscar de la Renta to Sass & Bide and Alexander McQueen – and the often crazy price tags. While most things are reduced by 40 to 60 percent, some random days prices will be cut as much as 80 percent. I’ve missed out on many a Malene Birger frock – one of my personal favorites – in these fast-paced sales. And sexy Louboutin heels don’t even hit the ground before the SOLD OUT banners flash.

I’m predicting the $1 sale will be brutal; worse than my memories of even the most harrowing Barney’s Warehouse sales where I saw otherwise composed women trample thousand dollar dresses, ripping them off hangers and shedding their own clothes with abandon to try things on.

It will be worse even than one of those Target pop-up sales, where hordes of hungry shoppers crush through the doors to grab a Zac Posen tuxedo jacket or a Liberty of London sundress.

It will be worse because we, the shoppers, will be flying solo, victims of our own competitive streaks; trolling the website to stake out coveted items, then going in for the kill, credit cards at the ready.

Flying Off Shelves

This is one time I wish I were an odd size. I daresay size 10 shoes will be a lot easier to find than a predictable 7.5, and anything in the 2 to 4 dress size will likely fly off the virtual shelves. All the thin, hungry women will surely be skipping lunch for this event.

But if you too have signed up to take part in the birthday celebration sale, heed theOutnet.com’s advice. Shop smart and like all good fashion hounds, come prepared. Know your sizes and filter the available items accordingly rather than scrolling through  a bunch of wrong sized clothes, as gorgeous as they may be. And finally, move fast. Whatever is in your shopping cart isn’t yours until you press all the buttons, so don’t do as I do, and contemplate. Just Go!

TheOutnet.com’s first birthday sale will be held sometime this Friday, April 16.