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The Lesson in Guilt Free Shopping
If you ask any of my friends they can all attest to the fact that I love a good deal. And I’m not talking about an extra 20% at the register with your Friends and Family coupon, those gimmicks don’t even make me flinch. I’m mean deep discount, red slashed, brag worthy purchases where you save more money then you actually spend. I am no stranger to flash sale websites and Gilt Groupe is one of my favorites to visit. This past week I happened to see they were having a sample sale at a warehouse in Chelsea. My mind immediately started working like a cash register, figuring that normal Gilt loot is already reduced about 50% or so and getting an additional discount on top of that seemed like gold. But the catch to it was you had to purchase an entrance ticket, which varied in price depending what time slot you choose to go. I sent the link to my roommate Christine and immediately she was game to go. We purchased the $20 ticket, figuring we didn’t have to be the first ones in but we should get there early enough so we wouldn’t be left with odd sizes and shoes with broken straps.
When we arrived at the sample sale we had to wait in a short line before we were ushered into an elevator and brought up to a large loft. I b-lined straight for the shoes, as Christine bravely began navigating the jam-packed clothing racks. It wasn’t a mad house, it was actually fairly calm, and of course I didn’t expect the merchandise to be displayed all neat and pretty, but it was difficult to sift through a table of shoe boxes to find something I liked and in my right size. And the worst part was the lack of chairs to sit on, so here I am trying to balance myself as I shove my size 9 foot into a WAY to high size 8 L.A.M.B pump. Needless to say I looked like a 6 year old trying my mom’s high heels on for the first time. The clothes were even more of a maze to work through, but I did have a lot of fun finding high end designer labels that I have only ever seen in magazines. Like this beautiful Valentino jacket on sale for $1,000. A deep discount I am sure, but not for this girl who’s working on a tight budget.
Although both Christine and I walked out empty handed, well not technically because I think we took enough free KIND bars, Pop chips and sipped on a glass of champagne to make up for the $20 ticket we bought, we had a great time. It was fun to see the merchandise, look for a bargain and watch others frantically dive through bins looking for a necklace that wasn’t broken into pieces. However, it dawned on me that we both spent money in order to have the privilege of sifting through merchandise that was not only left over from the designers past seasons, but also was unable to sell on the discount site. So essentially I spent my morning trying to find love with someone’s leftovers (twice removed).
After leaving the sample sale, Christine and I headed over to Marshalls and TJ Maxx where my inner Maxxinista got the best of me. I satisfied my desire to get a great deal that day with a new pair of pumps and leopard printed jeans for a total price of $49. I headed out that night for a friend’s birthday in my new purchases, and was rather proud by the compliments I received on my jeans. And like a true bargain shopper I wasn’t ashamed (actually rather proud) to share my secret that I found them in the teen section at TJ Maxx.
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