Etiquette Lessons: Sample Sales
9 years ago by
Sample sales be crazy.
Or at least they make people go Crazy with a capital “C”.
We love them… and we hate them. And we love to hate them…
You can buy beautiful, quality pieces at super discounted prices (that’s the love part). But sample sales can also transform sweet, composed, normal women into insane people who will literally kill you for that dress or those shoes.
I went to one the other day, and the scene was kind of crazy. I told my friends about how it was pretty much the wild west in there — no rules, anything goes, just go in with guns blazing and may the best (wo)man win!
They said these were the rules for Fight Club a sample sale:
1. Never ever put down anything you plan on buying (otherwise it’s fair game for everyone else)
2. There are no other rules
To me, this sounds pretty much like Lord of the Flies.
Shouldn’t there still be common courtesy? Shouldn’t there be some kind of etiquette?
Or is hysteria and the crazy, bag-grabbing women what a sample sale is all about?
Help!
You may also like
Features
Why You Can’t Shop Your Way to...
Features
Freedom from Consumerism
haha I love this! Sample sales are intense and I love them!
http://hashtagliz.com
Whenever I’m in New York, I try to go to a sample sale; we just don’t have them here in San Francisco, so I feel like I’m getting a truly local experience. :P I would add another rule to your rulebook which is: GET THERE EARLY. Like, call in sick to work, take the day off, early, otherwise most of the worthwhile stuff will be gone. Since I’m not really willing to follow that rule, I haven’t had much luck at sample sales…
If I go into a sample sale, it is always after the first four hours they’ve opened, because that’s when change rooms are actually available, and all the Crazy ladies(often with their crying children, poor kids) and Crazy men have left. I’d rather wait to find something in my size and get it at a good price and have a pleasant experience, than fight for my clothes. Although I adore clothes, shoes, bags and jewellery, I also would rather go without than have to battle to reach for items through the invariably mad throngs of grabbing hands. Perversely, I also like seeing what’s left after the initial (piranha like) frenzy: and, one hundred per cent of the time, despite half the stock having been already devoured, I’ve always come home with the most amazing stuff that’s exactly in my size.
My philosophy is, “What I don’t see, I don’t want”.
LEÇONS D’ÉTIQUETE : LES VENTES PRIVÉES = Etiquete ? avec un seul t ?
Mais sinon j’aimerais très fort qu’il y ait quelques règles élémentaires de courtoisie lors des ventes privées. Pour ce que j’ai pu en voir à Paris, cela n’existe pas. Aucune limite, les gens se déshabillent en deux secondes entre deux portants, et n’hésitent pas à te bousculer…