Written by PresidentELLA
Sample sales can be overwhelming, but I’ve been trained to handle them! We have tons of sporadic sample sales at work, which is how I get a lot of my best stuff. Due to season or business needs, most vendors clear out product to make way for new stuff. But it takes practice & preparation to get the right stuff! When there are tables and racks of Chanel, how do you know what to pick!?!? When you work in fashion you know that this is your bonus. Here’s my latest haul & how I decided on my purchases. Hopefully, you’ll pick up some tips for your next sample sale!
The Saks Fifth Ave store in the Brookfield Place Mall closed so they cleared out! As an employee, we get amazing discounts, but with limits. We were only allowed to purchase 2 Chanel handbags, for example. If you’re buying for someone else, consider that you might lose out on a good purchase for yourself. If you have someone buying for you, be super grateful and understand! From my understanding, most jobs don’t allow you to buy items at sample sales, for your friends; only for immediate family or bonafide gifts! If someone is buying for you, they’ve put their job on the line! On top of that, you get scheduled time slots!!
Still, the main restriction, for anyone, is the price tag. Even if a bag is 50% off, it’s 50% off of a couple thousand dollars. FIRST: You need to decide your limit. How much do you want to spend? Make a firm decision and stick to it. Best bet it to go with cash and only spend what you planned to spend. If there’s nothing for you, consider yourself lucky!! you just saved ALL your money! If you find anything grab it and think about the price later or someone else will grab it! I hold onto whatever my hands can carry and then find and empty space where I can review my purchases. But keep an eye on the clock! I only had 30 minutes this time!
Since I have a few basic bags, I was in the market for gifts. I got my mom her first ever Chanel bag. Chanel bags are a different beast; The price tag read $4200 and I paid $420. That was a good deal. Unless you get a great time slot and lots of cash, you’re not likely to find a standard black bag. This large beige shopper was the most expensive purchase I made that day but it’s for my mom, right?! I got her a pretty big bag because she’s a social worker and finishing up her master’s. I think it’s the perfect birthday gift for mom. The color is a bit mature for me, right now, but anyone would take it if they had it. I also feel like she needed a good bag in case she goes on interviews after graduation, or has a fancy dinner with my sister’s in-laws 😉 It also has tons of pockets, which we all know moms love. If you’re spending more than $200 on a bag, in my opinion, it should be something to earn you respect. $500 is reasonable to spend on a first great bag if it’s $1000+ retail, that’s 50% off! It’s also a reasonable amount to spend on the woman who put me through college. lol
I saw this Valentino Rockstar bag in some girl’s had as soon as I walked in. It’s my new everyday bag. I typically wear a really heavy Gucci bag (see my fashion pics), which I love, because it was my first real bag. I spent about $600 (because it was $1200 retail). But now I need a bag I can use to go out with the girls — that’s the mind-frame I was in when I was shopping for myself. I know a lot of people hate the transparent/clear bag trend, but I‘ve always loved transparent everything, so I can tell you that it comes back in style. I also like not having to worry about if my bag matches. I typically wear gold jewelry so the hardware is perfect also. This bag has a long strap and short straps so I can wear it as a cross-body and be casual, or as a clutch and be fancy. I also need to carry around less — bag lady is retiring. This bag s perfect ni forcing me to make decisions and allowing me to be agile and mobile. I wish the red zip-pocket was a different color, but I’m grateful for the pocket! With a retail price of about $2445, i only paid $240 and I’ve never been happier spending money on plastic 🙂
The MCM Stark Modular Belt Bag was my favorite random purchase. It retails for $750 and i got it for $31!!I picked it up last and it didn’t have a tag on it. I don’t own any MCM and really refer the older models to the new, back packs. Still, whenever i did think about MCM, I always preferred it in black. I really like this belt back because the logos aren’t as visible as the might seem. I’m going to Costa Rica soon and this will be the perfect bag for our rainforest adventures. What I love about this bag is that I think it’ll hurt less than a fanny pack; fanny packs tend to weigh you down and can really hurt your back. I don’t really like to wear my fanny packs around my shoulder, but this one might be cuter to pull off 😉
My last purchase was a “cheap” Chanel bag. I don’t ever see these listed anywhere, but I swear its real!! lol My sister is an attorney for the IRS and although we don’t speak, I know she’s not getting paid because of this BS. She’s a mother of two boys and I have no idea what that’s like, but my guess is a tote bag. This particular bag is reversible, with cats on one side, which reminds me of her. My sister has everything she needs, so this is really just a gift; something to make her smile. The price tag on this bad boy was $1800 but I paid $180. You won’t get much Chanel for under $200, so I figure this is a good buy for my big sis… or to forget to give it to her and eep it for myself. Only time will tell. lmao.
EllaThought 