Last week I was in New York and as one does in New York I did a lot of shopping. Thinking about where I wanted to go like thrift stores or small businesses I saw a Tiktok about sample sales in New York where popular (usually expensive) brands sell incredibly discounted items in a short amount of time.
This company, 260 Sample Sale, hosts sales at their location. On their website it lets you pick a location and shows you the sample sales going on and projected shop dates. During the time I was in the city there was a Reformation sale and you bet I had to go.
So, What Is a Sample Sale?
A sample sale is typically a pop up shop by a particular company where they sell excess items for a discounted price. Think clothing outlet but bougie and impulsive.
How Does it Work?
The Reformation sale opened at 10:00 am and we got in line around 8:40 am. Even though we were over an hour early, the line had already formed and we were at the end of the block. As time went on the line grew over three blocks long, so I’m glad we got there early. The workers went down the line handing us tickets to secure our spot and make sure no one else snuck in line. We even saw a “Professional Line Sitter” where you can apparently hire someone to wait for you. I don’t know if that’s technically allowed or something but it was definitely a first for me.
The people who were running the sale opened the doors at 10:00 am and brought people in groups of 20. In between groups the workers restocked the racks and cleaned up the store. We were limited to about thirty minutes to shop which for anyone is an incredibly short amount of time.
What’s it like?
When you enter the store, security makes everyone with a bag or purse bigger than a wallet size check their belongings in. People quickly run to the shelves and racks just digging and grabbing. Constantly the person running the clock would announce, “Ladies you have X time left,” or “Be sure you’re checking your item for nicks and for correct sizes,” since everything is final sale. Just a side note, there is no fitting room. So, make sure you know your sizes in the brand ahead of time or if you have no cares then you can join the many other people who stripped down in front of giant mirrors to make sure things fit.
The catch is that as sample sales are excess merchandise, AKA things that didn’t sell, a lot of the clothes were damaged. Coffee stains, rips, holes, missing buttons or ribbons you name it. Some of the items were marked with special colored string but unless you’re aware of what the color means it’s not very helpful. Now, that’s not to say that everything is damaged but a fair amount was, so be sure to check your items.
The racks were organized by sizes as best they could so you could easily just try to shop by your size racks. Some things were mixed up but sometimes that’s how you find the best pieces. As I was shopping the small rack for dresses two other girls joined me on either side and it felt a little overwhelming. Everyone’s kind of in a panicked shopping mode so try to keep your cool and just move to another rack.
What Are the Prices?
Prices vary depending on the brand but on the sample sale websites they typically post prices ahead of time. Once we got to the store we also noticed they had extra discounts where if you buy at least X items you got X% off, essentially the more you bought the higher the discount but it was capped at a certain number. Speaking of caps, people were only allowed to purchase a maximum of items which I believe was either 20 or 25 things.
In case you’re interested here are the things that I purchased:
My favorite finds were this white bodysuit, cargo pants, and this sparkly turtleneck.
If All Else Fails, Remember This:
I’ve come to the conclusion that sample sales play on the incredible phenomenon that is ~impulse shopping~ The whole point is to find some deals for items you wouldn’t have previously been able to purchase. Honestly, I will admit it was fairly stressful but if you keep yourself calm and collected you can find amazing deals.
- Check Out the Website/Products Ahead of Time
- Get There Early!
- Know Your Size
- Double-check Your Clothes and Sizes for Mistakes
- Laugh About How Much Money You Spent.
This was definitely an experience and I think I would do it again.
Very informative Talya! Loved it! Always wondered what these kinds of sales were called and the details about them!
Glad you enjoyed!! Hope it helps in the future haha 🙂