Saturday I went to the Gilt Groupe Warehouse Sale in Miami, hosted by Gilt City. This was my first warehouse sale experience, and I have concluded that I don’t shop well at these things. I know what all you warehouse sale enthusiasts are saying: “You just don’t know how to shop one.” Maybe that’s the case, this being my first one, but the Gilt Warehouse Sale was totally not what I expected.
- The selection was very disappointing, so those of you who cried because you couldn’t get tickets can get comfort in knowing that you weren’t missing much. I wasn’t expecting to walk out with $100 Prada heels (OK, maybe this thought did cross my mind…), but nothing inside even remotely caught my eye. The shoe and handbag selection wasn’t any better. There were about 10 pairs of shoes left, sized to fit either an Ooma Loompa or Bigfoot, and barely any handbags. So I thought I would move on to the jewelry bins. $75 for something that looks like it was put together by a kindergartner in art class? I hate to be so harsh, but the place had been picked over by the 10 a.m. crowd.
- I didn’t find the prices any more affordable than they are on the website. Most things on Gilt are still out of my price range, even though they are discounted, but I expected things to be discounted even further at the warehouse sale. The lowest price I saw was $50, most dresses and tops were in the $75-$150 range, and a few coats/jackets were priced up to $350.
- Unorganized. Even though I could tell they were trying to keep it organized, it wasn’t. The two guys running the valet were losing their minds trying to park all the cars. Once we parked, we waited in a long line outside the door for about 20 minutes. And once we got inside, we had to check our purses at the door, taking only our credit cards into the sale area. I had a minor heart attack when it took the girl 10 minutes to locate my Louis Vuitton among the sea of other checked bags.
- It can be stressful enough when the clock strikes noon and you are trying to score some 7FAM jeans or a Tibi dress via Gilt.com. The warehouse sale takes that same element of stress, yet places you in the same room as a portion of your shopping competitors and offers a poor selection of items. I know I probably sound bitter, so don’t get me wrong — I’m a huge fan of Gilt. I will just continue to do my sample sale shopping from the comfort of my home and computer.
For future reference, this is what I learned:
Get there early, and be first in line. Tickets to the Gilt Warehouse Sale were available for two-hour time slots. The first time slot, 10 a.m. to noon, was already sold out when I purchased my ticket, so I went with the noon to 2 p.m. slot. Next time, if the earliest slot isn’t available, I’m not going to bother. If you get there early, you might score some deals. Otherwise, just admire the collection of all the shoppers’ handbags checked in at the door and enjoy the free cocktails.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree completely– it didn’t meet my expectations either.
Just came back from the Gilt Wharehouse sale in Chicago and I cleaned up! I wanted to give people a few tips on finding some great stuff.
1. Definitely get a ticket for the 10 am session. I got to the place at 10:10 and there was a line for people to get in because you have to check your coat. An bags. So I wish I had gotten there at 9:45 so i could be the first one in.
2. When going in, first stop at the table with purses. You can score some great deals and this is the table that gets cleaned up first. Then you might want to go to the accessories table for cute glasses and stuff. By the way, grab a big bag to hold all the stuff you MAY buy. I had a nice large bag and I would have bought it if it wasn’t 100 dollars. But it allowed me to shop with less stress trying to hold stuff in my hands.
3. Next you should make your way through the racks and literally start picking up any and everything you may be interested in. I must have did that at least five times. Then I would periodically revaluate and throw some stuff out.
4. I rarely try stuff on because I have a typical figure but the one thin I regret doing is going to the dressing room. About thirty minutes into shopping, when you have gone down the racks over and over, you can enjoy another round of shopping with stuff people thought was descent enough to try on. I regret I did not do this…
5. You can clean up on some great shoes if you where a smaller size. Size 9, 8 just won’t be able to clean up because it’s such a typical size.
6. This is the one place where I wish I was a guy. I only saw about 10 guys and there was a hell of slot of stuff to choose from.
7. So what did I end up with: the steal of the day was a sparkling blue missoni dress for 200! It definitely made me happy! I bought atleast 5 mid range dresses (200 to 400) for only 50 to 75 dollars. It was definitely an affordable upgrade to the warddrobe. I even bought a couple of new designers I had never heard of.
I hope this helps people when they decide to go. I think they have it after each season.
Kiratiana, thanks so much for these tips! Sounds like you really made out at the sale. Wish my experience at the one in Miami was more similar to yours. At least I will know for next time! :-)