What item could you “afford” but don’t buy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can afford Starbucks, but will always choose a local coffee shop doing their thing. I can afford Chik-Fil-A, but will always choose to go to Eden Center if I'm nearby. I can afford a Lexus, but will choose a Toyota. I can afford good clothes, but will choose... help me out here.

Where does one get Toyota level clothes with a dash of independent coffee house and a splash of Eden Center flavor? Do all clothes suck today?

You search sales. Nordstrom Rack is your friend. I constantly search NR for deals....I know what brands I wear/like and I check weekly for sales. Sure I could pay full price for things, but why? I replace my old things when I find sales.

You aren’t really getting “deals.” The fact that you think you are is how they make so much money.

+1. Nordstrom Rack and all of those adjacent discount stores just feel like a big time sink. You might find a needle in a haystack but it's not worth all the time wasted looking through all of their junk.

Ummm...I don't go in person to shop. I do it online, where I search for my favorite brands (that I buy at Nordstrom already) and narrow it down to my size and see what is available. So I am seeing everything at Nordstrom Rack, not just what's in my dinky local store.

So yes I AM Saving money. I'm buying new pairs of jeans that are the exact same size/style as what I normally get, just at 30-85% off the usual price. Takes me all of 2 mins to see if anything meets that criteria and another 1 min to checkout.

That's even worse trash.

I worked in retail for years. You think you are saving money but you aren't. Those jeans are not "30 - 85% off the usual price." They are selling at the price at which they should sell (if not even a little higher). NR might be showing you this "discounted" price because the jeans are last season, which means they would not sell for full price anymore because people don't want them anymore. Or NR might be showing you the "discounted" price because the jeans are brand name jeans that usually sell for X amount, but this lot showed up from the manufacturer and the brand noped out of there because the fabric wasn't good enough, the construction wasn't good enough, the color was off, or they just looked too weird, or whatever. So ... the brand wasn't willing to dilute it's branding with them outside of a discounter, so off to NR they went (unexpectedly ugly colors that no one will want showing up from the manufacturer in China is a common reason for stuff getting shipped to a discounter like NR or TJMaxx). A product the brand wasn't even willing to put on the regular shelves at all. But they convince you the original price was X and you are only going to have to pay Y. There actually was no original price of X; they are just hoping NR will be able to sell some of them for Y. Or NR might be showing you this "discounted" price as compared to the regular brand price for jeans, but these have been specially made by the brand for NR, and are cheaper because they are lacking in the usual detail/high quality fabric/ or whatever.

There are lots of reasons clothing ends up at Nordstrom Rack -- but it's never because it's the same as brand name clothing that people actually want right now that is for sale in regular stores. They have you are convinced you are getting $150 jeans for $49.95. You are not, you are getting $49.95 jeans for $49.95 -- or worse, you are paying $49.95 for jeans the brand thought they might not be able to sell at all. Retailers know the incredible power they have with that 80% off stuff -- nothing gets cheap people to click add-to-cart faster.

All these words miss the point. The bottom line is that PP thinks she’s buying the same jeans as she’d get at Nordstrom, and that’s all that matters. Not everyone will notice things like color, fabric, etc. Let people live.

Nordstrom Rack on line has thousands more merchandise than the stores. I buy Free People for my daughter. They sell it as regular Nordstrom and sometimes it’s on sale at Nordstrom Rack online or Nordstrom regular. I got a pair of sweatpants for dd at Free People. A while later on Nordstrom Rack I bought a pair on sale. By mistake I bought the same ones. They were exactly the same.

If you know your brands you know what to buy. Rag and bone is not making low quality Jeans for a secondary market. If you buy a pair of rag and bone Jeans at Nordstrom Rack they are the same ones that sold at regular stores. They might be two seasons back but who cares? If you find a pair you like they will probably be at least half off.

There will be some clothes that they don’t sell at the retail store. But if it’s at a price you think is fair and you really like it you should buy it. They have great return policies.

Exactly!!! Thank you for someone finally having some basic knowledge and common sense. Nordstrom Rack is not "quince". Most of the brand names are the exact same items as at Nordstrom. My R&B jeans are exactly the same---except I often save 35-75% at Nordstrom Rack. And like you stated, sometime I also buy them from Nordstrom direct on a sale.

What's wrong with Quince? Havent bought from them but I get spammed with their ads and their stuff looks cute. For basics, casual stuff.

I'm the PP. nothing wrong with quince. But it is a website that sells "similar to brand names", not the actual brands. Unlike Nordstrom rack.

Some of quince things are good. Others you can order three of the same thing (just diffeeent colors) and have the sizes be way off and/or one will shrink 2 sizes and the other won't.

But I have plenty from quince that I like, you just have to search and it's trial and error to get right size and one that you can wash and still wear :/)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can afford Starbucks, but will always choose a local coffee shop doing their thing. I can afford Chik-Fil-A, but will always choose to go to Eden Center if I'm nearby. I can afford a Lexus, but will choose a Toyota. I can afford good clothes, but will choose... help me out here.

Where does one get Toyota level clothes with a dash of independent coffee house and a splash of Eden Center flavor? Do all clothes suck today?

You search sales. Nordstrom Rack is your friend. I constantly search NR for deals....I know what brands I wear/like and I check weekly for sales. Sure I could pay full price for things, but why? I replace my old things when I find sales.

You aren’t really getting “deals.” The fact that you think you are is how they make so much money.

+1. Nordstrom Rack and all of those adjacent discount stores just feel like a big time sink. You might find a needle in a haystack but it's not worth all the time wasted looking through all of their junk.

Ummm...I don't go in person to shop. I do it online, where I search for my favorite brands (that I buy at Nordstrom already) and narrow it down to my size and see what is available. So I am seeing everything at Nordstrom Rack, not just what's in my dinky local store.

So yes I AM Saving money. I'm buying new pairs of jeans that are the exact same size/style as what I normally get, just at 30-85% off the usual price. Takes me all of 2 mins to see if anything meets that criteria and another 1 min to checkout.

That's even worse trash.

I worked in retail for years. You think you are saving money but you aren't. Those jeans are not "30 - 85% off the usual price." They are selling at the price at which they should sell (if not even a little higher). NR might be showing you this "discounted" price because the jeans are last season, which means they would not sell for full price anymore because people don't want them anymore. Or NR might be showing you the "discounted" price because the jeans are brand name jeans that usually sell for X amount, but this lot showed up from the manufacturer and the brand noped out of there because the fabric wasn't good enough, the construction wasn't good enough, the color was off, or they just looked too weird, or whatever. So ... the brand wasn't willing to dilute it's branding with them outside of a discounter, so off to NR they went (unexpectedly ugly colors that no one will want showing up from the manufacturer in China is a common reason for stuff getting shipped to a discounter like NR or TJMaxx). A product the brand wasn't even willing to put on the regular shelves at all. But they convince you the original price was X and you are only going to have to pay Y. There actually was no original price of X; they are just hoping NR will be able to sell some of them for Y. Or NR might be showing you this "discounted" price as compared to the regular brand price for jeans, but these have been specially made by the brand for NR, and are cheaper because they are lacking in the usual detail/high quality fabric/ or whatever.

There are lots of reasons clothing ends up at Nordstrom Rack -- but it's never because it's the same as brand name clothing that people actually want right now that is for sale in regular stores. They have you are convinced you are getting $150 jeans for $49.95. You are not, you are getting $49.95 jeans for $49.95 -- or worse, you are paying $49.95 for jeans the brand thought they might not be able to sell at all. Retailers know the incredible power they have with that 80% off stuff -- nothing gets cheap people to click add-to-cart faster.

All these words miss the point. The bottom line is that PP thinks she’s buying the same jeans as she’d get at Nordstrom, and that’s all that matters. Not everyone will notice things like color, fabric, etc. Let people live.

Nordstrom Rack on line has thousands more merchandise than the stores. I buy Free People for my daughter. They sell it as regular Nordstrom and sometimes it’s on sale at Nordstrom Rack online or Nordstrom regular. I got a pair of sweatpants for dd at Free People. A while later on Nordstrom Rack I bought a pair on sale. By mistake I bought the same ones. They were exactly the same.

If you know your brands you know what to buy. Rag and bone is not making low quality Jeans for a secondary market. If you buy a pair of rag and bone Jeans at Nordstrom Rack they are the same ones that sold at regular stores. They might be two seasons back but who cares? If you find a pair you like they will probably be at least half off.

There will be some clothes that they don’t sell at the retail store. But if it’s at a price you think is fair and you really like it you should buy it. They have great return policies.

Rag and Bone jeans at Nordstrom Rack were not made specifically for the discount market, but they are overstock. AKA jeans they are not going to be selling at regular Nordstrom, for whatever reason.

Typically because they are "last years" style. If I like a pair of Rag and bone style X jeans, and I see them on sale, I don't care they are "not this year", I'm buying them and saving $$$

Do people outside LA and the Upper East Side really care if something was "last year's style"?
Thankful I don't have that on my list of things to worry about.

I agree!!

And that is why Nordstrom and rack sales are my thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Coffee out as a regular thing.

I treat myself to a latte maybe once a month, but otherwise make coffee at home.

Coffee is something that should cost 0.25c. I'm mystified by people who run to coffee shops every day to spend $8.00 on a single coffee.

+1

I live in a city with 5 coffee shops within 2 blocks of me. Yet I rarely get coffee outside. I'm a drip coffee, black type of person. Our min wage is over $20/hr so a 12 oz drip is $6-7+. Whereas I can have my moccamaster and order quality beans and make my own for under $1. And I don't have to get out of pjs to go get it