Sample sales are an amazing resource for heavily discounted goods…particularly for luxury brands. In the past few months, online private sample sales sites have been popping up left and right.
TechCrunch gives a nice overview on how they work:
Big designers, such as Marc Jacobs or Versace, place excess inventory on a sale site at 50 to 70 percent discounts over a several day period. The sales are private, available only to members, with upcoming sales from brands announced via emails. Products include clothing for men, women and children as well as jewelry, handbags and home accessories. You can get invites from other members or request invites via the site.
Among the most popular sample sales sites are: Gilt Groupe, HauteLook, Ideeli, and RueLaLa.
A newcomer to the sample sales sites – and one that caught my eye with twin daughters in my household – is Totsy, an invitation-only site with a focus on baby & kids products. Too bad this wasn’t around a year ago when I was purchasing the $550 double-stroller! Totsy marks down products 40 to 70 percent and features a nice selection of toys, baby products (strollers, cribs, etc..), children’s clothing and bedding. As with most other sample sales, shopping events are designer-specific and held over a 72 hour period.
Check these out and drop us a comment to let us know what you think!
