Do you remember when I discussed subscription programs and if they’re worth it? Well, today I want to expand on that topic and talk about sample sale websites. At this point in the game, there are more than a handful of them: Living Social, Lifebooker, Gilt Groupe, Ideeli, Rue La La…
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could go on for a while, but I think you get my point. These sites offer a virtual sample sale that claims to give you quite the deal on designer merchandise. Being a buyer and studying fashion merchandising, I have a very dorky affinity in seeing if they 1. offer a real discount and 2. have a sustainable business model.
Now, I must be honest. I have limited experience in purchasing from these sites. My first experience was with Gilt when I purchased a Philip Stein Teslar alligator-band watch for a sizeable price. I received it in a padded envelope with a plastic wrap. It had no case. I was not happy. My second experience was with Ideeli. It was wonderful. I found my wedding dress for a mere $70. Yes, $70. Not $700 or $7,000. I received it well-packaged, it fit perfectly, and I couldn’t be happier.
I also want to express my experience with Lifebooker. If you’re not familiar, it’s a discount site to find beauty and health appointments around the city. They have two sections, Lifebooker and Lifebooker Loot. Lifebooker is the regular appointment booker. The Loot section is for extra discounts and offered with strict guidelines on usage. I used to purchase Loot frequently until I realized what was happening. When I went to a frequently offered Loot salon, I never got the same stylist. I was often poorly treated and shuffled around from person to person. The service was often lacking and I was never happy with said salon. While I think it may look tempting to get a good deal on a service, is it too good to be true? This was not my only experience like this using a Loot certificate.
So being a merchant, I often know the details of what items really cost before retail. I also do quite a bit of shopping and feel pretty confident in my competitive shopping abilities. From my experience, I often find that I can find the same product at a similar price, if not cheaper, at regular online stores. Are these sample sale sites trying to pull one over on us? Do they think they can be a loss leader on some products while maintaining regular markups on other products? Are we being fooled and cheated into these deals? Are these companies merely playing on our inability to resist a sale?
Where do you stand on sample sale websites?
