Can someone explain the allure of Nordstrom Rack (and other discount stores)?

[Anonymous]

Nordstrom rack in the DMV isn’t great but the one in NYC near the flower district is gold! I found two very beautiful dresses for under $100 each and retail over $700 and quality fabric. It was the best Rack store I’d been in and had lots of options and didn’t feel like junk or digging through. Dresses were coordinated by color/designer etc. I’d go back there!

[Anonymous]

I just bought a very nice formal dress on extreme markdown that I need for an event coming up. It fits without needing alterations, I look terrific in it and the price was right, so thank you Nordstrom Rack

[Anonymous]

I thought Nordstrom rack was supposed to have deals but I just looked up their birkenstocks and it was the exact same price as shopping from birkenstock. The dr. Martens were actually more expensive than buying from Amazon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The store is jammed full of items and I don’t care for “the hunt.” I prefer to shop online. I have found some nice dresses that I have worn to a wedding, bridal shower, etc.

I like actually touching the material before I buy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s one of those right place, right time things. I popped in once and found lots of Baby Boden on the final markdown rack. For less than $35 I got $200 worth of Baby Boden (that had the original prices still on it). But that doesn’t happen every time. You need to know when to time the shipments.

Imagine being this gullible. They put fake tags on inferior B-grade and defective crap.

Occam's Razor says you're just mad you paid full price for something that later ended up on a clearance rack.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nordstrom rack in the DMV isn’t great but the one in NYC near the flower district is gold! I found two very beautiful dresses for under $100 each and retail over $700 and quality fabric. It was the best Rack store I’d been in and had lots of options and didn’t feel like junk or digging through. Dresses were coordinated by color/designer etc. I’d go back there!

These stores are really different depending upon where they are. I was amazed by a TJ Max in Cape Cod. I found expensive tennis skirts for a steal. They were not junk. Also they had great quality pants for women that were perfect for the beach. Most summer clothing at all these stores including Macys is crappy quality now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The store is jammed full of items and I don’t care for “the hunt.” I prefer to shop online. I have found some nice dresses that I have worn to a wedding, bridal shower, etc.

I like actually touching the material before I buy.

This. Shopping on line doesn't work for me. I'm not skinny so everything is work because sizes are all over the place. I have to order 10 items to find one that works. Dealing with returns sucks and some stores that I like have terrible return policies. I miss Woodies.

[Anonymous]

I never shop full price, ever. Only TJMaxx mostly, Goodwill, The Real Real. If I can get it cheaper why would I not?

[Anonymous]

The place seems scattered and disorganized.

[Anonymous]

I like how nordstromrack.com and nordstrom.com give you the ability to filter by material and size.

Yes, there is a lot of junk, but online filters can help with sifting through the crap. The best items tend to only have a few in stock, and you can find silk/cashmere at decent prices.

[Anonymous]

I'm always amazed people think they are getting real brands at these stores.

While I'll concede a small percent of stuff at these stores is "real" merchandise (I'd assume less than 2% at this point), the stuff with "brand names" is mostly just junk that NR or TJM or whomever has paid licensing rights to slap a Kate Spade or Joe's Jeans or Theory tag on.

This transformation started happening majorly around 20 years ago.

Even the stuff that looks one of a kind in the store, if it has a brand name slapped on it, I assume NR just bought a massive overstock bundle of clothes from a factory in Bangladesh and glued on brand labels.

[Anonymous]

Some people love the hunt, some people hate it. Then there’s me who used to love the hunt and now hates it.

I have way more money and way less time now so it’s not for me. Back in the day l had time but not money. Also l just got to a point after having kids and no space for more stuff in my house that l became way more intentional about buying stuff. I mostly only shop for what l need, l no longer shop for fun. I think it’s a good thing and am happy in this shift in my habits and desires.

[Anonymous]

I used to go to Nordstrom Rack and Neiman Marcus Last Call because they were near my gym and work, so I'd sometimes pop in. You can sometimes find a great or good deal but they are dependent on the location. I used to go to a Marshall's in a rich town and they had great stuff but most of them are awful, and Nordstrom Rack varies by location too. They have a lot of junk but I used to find great deals on designer shoes at a particular location. The best way to shop them is not to go lookkng for something in particular as you will probably be disappointed. You have to put up with what they're currently offering and you might luck out. If I go in one, I can't spend too long as they are overwhelming so I get the dislike. However, I like that you can just look for stuff without salespeople bugging you. I prefer to just look, try on, buy or leave. I find regular Nordstrom salespeople overbearing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm always amazed people think they are getting real brands at these stores.

While I'll concede a small percent of stuff at these stores is "real" merchandise (I'd assume less than 2% at this point), the stuff with "brand names" is mostly just junk that NR or TJM or whomever has paid licensing rights to slap a Kate Spade or Joe's Jeans or Theory tag on.

This transformation started happening majorly around 20 years ago.

Even the stuff that looks one of a kind in the store, if it has a brand name slapped on it, I assume NR just bought a massive overstock bundle of clothes from a factory in Bangladesh and glued on brand labels.

I don’t disagree with you that many of the contemporary brands have made-for-outlet lines for discount stores, but I’m in NYC and pretty regularly pop into TJMaxx because it’s very close to my home. It has a decent Runway section and those pieces are absolutely real, random overstock pieces that somehow made their way to TJM. I’ve bought Rag & Bone, Cuyana, Theory, and Canada Goose there, and the pieces have the original brand tag are often still listed on the brand’s website or at department stores (typically the item is on sale, but not always). I’ve also seen pretty high-end designer items - Burberry, YSL, and the like. It’s often clear why they ended up at TJM instead of selling for full price (like a bright red sleeveless trench coat), but they’re there and I’m confident they’re “real” as opposed to the outlet line.

And then, I stopped by a TJM location in Chicago last week, and they had a whole rack of Calvin Klein sheath dresses in a full size run. That is clearly an outlet line. I’m just saying it’s pretty obvious when stuff is made for outlet vs. not at these stores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm always amazed people think they are getting real brands at these stores.

While I'll concede a small percent of stuff at these stores is "real" merchandise (I'd assume less than 2% at this point), the stuff with "brand names" is mostly just junk that NR or TJM or whomever has paid licensing rights to slap a Kate Spade or Joe's Jeans or Theory tag on.

This transformation started happening majorly around 20 years ago.

Even the stuff that looks one of a kind in the store, if it has a brand name slapped on it, I assume NR just bought a massive overstock bundle of clothes from a factory in Bangladesh and glued on brand labels.

I don’t disagree with you that many of the contemporary brands have made-for-outlet lines for discount stores, but I’m in NYC and pretty regularly pop into TJMaxx because it’s very close to my home. It has a decent Runway section and those pieces are absolutely real, random overstock pieces that somehow made their way to TJM. I’ve bought Rag & Bone, Cuyana, Theory, and Canada Goose there, and the pieces have the original brand tag are often still listed on the brand’s website or at department stores (typically the item is on sale, but not always). I’ve also seen pretty high-end designer items - Burberry, YSL, and the like. It’s often clear why they ended up at TJM instead of selling for full price (like a bright red sleeveless trench coat), but they’re there and I’m confident they’re “real” as opposed to the outlet line.

And then, I stopped by a TJM location in Chicago last week, and they had a whole rack of Calvin Klein sheath dresses in a full size run. That is clearly an outlet line. I’m just saying it’s pretty obvious when stuff is made for outlet vs. not at these stores.

PP you're responding to and i'd agree with the Runway stuff - but they only have that in maybe 10% of their stores. At most, that probably makes up 2% of their overall merchandise, which is inline with my comment above. The full rack of CC dresses is a dead giveaway. But I'd also say that single items they have on the racks are often fakes as well. That's my point where they bought thousands of random ends from asian manufacturers and slap random labels on. We all know that 99% of clothes manufacturing is made in a handful of sweatshots in asia, and it's just random whether those clothes get assigned to Zara, H&M, Old Navy or the "miscellaneous pile" that gets sent to NR, TJM, etc.