You'd probably need to work weekends, so keep that in mind. When I worked in retail (high school, college, early 20's), weekends were non-negotiable.

I worked in several department and clothing stores and a Barnes & Noble. B&N was probably the best, but I rarely brought home a paycheck because I spent so much on books.

My friend did this at Pottery Barn for 3 years after graduating from Law School. She was working full time and making decent money during the day, but just wanted a discount because her and her husband were building a new house. She worked maybe 2 nights a week and 1 weekend day. She basically spent all the money she made on purchases. Her house looks like a Pottery Barn catalog. As soon as she had everything she wanted, she quit.

I think it was a smart way to justify spending money on more expensive items. She didn't have kids, didn't mind taking on the extra hours, and thought the benefit outweighed the annoyance.

Bumping up this old thread. Anyone have new info? I need to furnish a three bedroom house. Is it worth it to get a job at Reatoration Hardware or similar?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did four holiday seasons at Williams-Sonoma and I loved it. Some people actually like retail work. I'd do it again if I didn't have kids.

Holidays are a good time to get into retail work. If you're good, they may keep you in afterwards, but there are a lot fewer hours available, and honestly I found the slow times to be a lot harder than the busy holiday season.

Now is a good time to apply - I say go for it (and enjoy the discount!)

OP here.

Thanks for the encouragement!

I worked at a gym while I was in school. Loved it! Free membership, nice people. Worked at a retail bath and body store, that was ok, didn't love the products. Also, worked at a salon as a receptionist, liked that a lot and huge discount on services. Work at a place where you like the product or service offered, have fun!

Anonymous wrote:I did four holiday seasons at Williams-Sonoma and I loved it. Some people actually like retail work. I'd do it again if I didn't have kids.

Holidays are a good time to get into retail work. If you're good, they may keep you in afterwards, but there are a lot fewer hours available, and honestly I found the slow times to be a lot harder than the busy holiday season.

Now is a good time to apply - I say go for it (and enjoy the discount!)

OP here.

Thanks for the encouragement!

How about joining a gym or volunteer somewhere in the evenings if money isn't the end goal to find the second job.

I did four holiday seasons at Williams-Sonoma and I loved it. Some people actually like retail work. I'd do it again if I didn't have kids.

Holidays are a good time to get into retail work. If you're good, they may keep you in afterwards, but there are a lot fewer hours available, and honestly I found the slow times to be a lot harder than the busy holiday season.

Now is a good time to apply - I say go for it (and enjoy the discount!)

I wouldn't start until after the holidays. Holiday hours suck. Have you ever worked retail before? Don't expect to be appreciated as an employee.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Retail is soul-sucking hell. Customers are annoying, the job can be mind-numbing, and your feet will hurt and you will be exhausted when you leave. I did it all through college. It sucked.

Agree, you will hate people and have no faith left in humanity.

I worked in retail for ten years. Now I'm a lawyer. I don't find what you said to be true at all. What I did find was that after working retail, I have zero patience for poor customer service.

PS. I was moonlighting from a professional job, and it was a totally different experience from working full time retail — which was kind of soul sucking.

One year I moonlighted as a seasonal/weekend employee and weirdly enjoyed it! It was something different to do, A bit of extra money, and I got a lot of cute purses (Wilsons Leather). Check out seasonal stores. They'll be more open to working with your quirky schedule.

Anonymous wrote:Retail is soul-sucking hell. Customers are annoying, the job can be mind-numbing, and your feet will hurt and you will be exhausted when you leave. I did it all through college. It sucked.

Agree, you will hate people and have no faith left in humanity.

I worked part-time at Crate & Barrel the first two Christmases after I graduated from college. IIRC holiday workers were not on commission but full-time employees were. Discount was good. It wasn't horrible, but I still hate all the Christmas songs that were on that never-ending loop. Your feet get really tired and your skin gets really dry. As far as retail goes, it was much more pleasant than what I had done before - Peoples/CVS part-time through high school and college.

OP here. Love how this has spun out of control and how obviously, I plan on singing christmas carols with coworkers. No, I just hate the cold weather/ the whole dark early thing and sticking myself at home after work. To me it makes sense to get an extra job and force myself outside the house during fall/winter. I don't mind idiot customers and wouldn't mind a nice discount on furniture.

Anonymous wrote:OP, you think you'll be appreciated, you will not.

And it sounds like OP is doing this thinking it will be fun. I know someone who worked seasonal retail at a big department store for Christmas because she was bored, and then was surprised at the drudgery. I don't know what she thought it would be - singing carols with coworkers while wrapping customer purchases?
I've done retail and it wasn't great. Competition over sales was fierce (worked on commission).