I’ve actually had some luck at Burlington, although not recently. Occasionally they will get real overstocks from pricier stores and sell them very, very cheaply. I have not had luck like that at TJ Maxx or Marshall’s in a long time. Nordstrom Rack has some overstock items but mostly it’s made for the store and worse quality. What I’ve seen in their overstock’s seems to be priced comparatively to regular retail or regular retail on sale (which you’d expect given these were not the hot sellers).

I have a few dresses from TJ’s that were not factory made. Some Anthropologie that I got for 30$ and Ted Baker for under $100 and J crew for under $30 and again not the three dot j crew factory brand. I found a great red king hooded coat at Burlington back in 2002 that is till wear every winter and get compliments on. There are good finds but you have to be lucky and put in hunting time. I like doing that though!

These are good places to find things for teens. Good deals to be had on perfumes, makeup, skin care, and hair care products. For the most part, you have to wade through a lot of crap. The exception to that was a Marshalls in MD (Silver Spring-ish). Those sections were really well organized, instead of it looking like someone sicced a bunch of toddlers on the products. The good things are locked up, but the guy with the key is pretty chill about letting you look through their merchandise. There was a guy at checkout who was saying that he snagged a leather Gucci (I think) jacket, for a few hundred dollars.

We actually went to Burlington today, looking for PJ pants. It is so completely different from when they were Coat Factory, with a whole floor of jackets and coats. DD found a hoodie. We found a really nice Nike zip-up; sadly, it didn't fit her properly. She also found a bunch of junk jewelry. She was saying that a lot of those things would make good gifts for her friends.

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely hate Ross and Burlington. It totally depends on the timing at Nordstrom Rack, TJ and Marshall’s and location. There are some days I can find clothes in all 3 and others I find nothing. I think shopping during the weekdays, Tuesday through Thursday are best. But the shoe quality and quantity is better at Nordstrom Rack.

If you chit-chat with the employees they will usually tell you which days they re-stock and which days they do markdowns

Anonymous wrote:I’ve never liked Ross. I used to shop at the Marshall’s in Largo, MD. I found awesome size 0 and 2 stuff there by Theory or Ralph Lauren. I found the most amazing suit there for job interviews. It was the best Marshall’s in the DMV, for me anyway.

Burlington in S Arlington was good for baby/toddler clothes.

Now I usually go to Nordstrom Rack when I just want to browse. I find good jeans there. Found awesome Ted Baker shades. Picked up a cashmere Ralph Lauren sweater for $99 recently. I do like their housewares. Last year I bought a ton of holiday pillows that were nicer quality than any of the other stores. My family enjoys those. But mostly I go there to splurge on costume jewelry after I get a pedicure. My standard “me” afternoon.

Oh! And I’ve check the clearance bins at NR. I’ve gotten beautiful silk scarves a couple of times. Both times they rang up for like $2 instead of the tag price. That’s a happy surprise! I have little silk scarf that lives on my handbag.

I’ve never liked Ross. I used to shop at the Marshall’s in Largo, MD. I found awesome size 0 and 2 stuff there by Theory or Ralph Lauren. I found the most amazing suit there for job interviews. It was the best Marshall’s in the DMV, for me anyway.

Burlington in S Arlington was good for baby/toddler clothes.

Now I usually go to Nordstrom Rack when I just want to browse. I find good jeans there. Found awesome Ted Baker shades. Picked up a cashmere Ralph Lauren sweater for $99 recently. I do like their housewares. Last year I bought a ton of holiday pillows that were nicer quality than any of the other stores. My family enjoys those. But mostly I go there to splurge on costume jewelry after I get a pedicure. My standard “me” afternoon.

Anonymous wrote:The Nordstrom Rack downtown is the best place to buy sunglasses but I’ve long been under the impression that TJ MaxX etc aren’t really outlets, right? They're like outlet mall “factory stores” where the clothes and things are made to be sold there, rather than excess inventory or something.

They are not even factory store like, they do not sell stuff from regular brands at all except for literally a few pieces in each store that look like overstock from regular brands (maybe just the bare minimum to allow themselves to pretend to be a discount store). What they sell are Amazon-quality brands, brands you only see in their stores.

I know Ross gets a lot of hate due to the condition of its stores, poor ligthing, etc, but funny enough I find they will have more true overstock than the other stores, especially for shoes. Don't sleep on Ross!

The Nordstrom Rack downtown is the best place to buy sunglasses but I’ve long been under the impression that TJ MaxX etc aren’t really outlets, right? They're like outlet mall “factory stores” where the clothes and things are made to be sold there, rather than excess inventory or something.

Anonymous wrote:Sierra for the random finds. RIP Filene's Basement in Downtown Crossing, Boston.

STILL wearing my stash of Ferragamo scarves from there!

Timely thread. I went to TJmaxx and Marshalls today. Usually find something clothes wise (always easy to pick up something there for the house!) but could find no clothes at all for me. Same at the outlets. I’m not picky but in all the stores the clothes seemed either too vampy or matronly. At least my wallet wasn’t used

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I miss Loehmanns.

Me too!

Same.

Also the Filene’s that was on Connecticut Ave forever. Where H&M is now.
It was the best. My old office was directly across the street and I got so many wonderful things there over the years!

Anonymous wrote:Based on geography. I can find nice stuff at Marshall’s near Tyson’s, but crap at the one in Sterling.

I agree with this. The TJ Maxx in Olney has good stuff but the one in Silver Spring (Ellsworth Place) has terrible stuff.

Absolutely hate Ross and Burlington. It totally depends on the timing at Nordstrom Rack, TJ and Marshall’s and location. There are some days I can find clothes in all 3 and others I find nothing. I think shopping during the weekdays, Tuesday through Thursday are best. But the shoe quality and quantity is better at Nordstrom Rack.

I used to do maybe half my clothes shopping at Rack, but now I only seem to find shoes, jackets, and occasionally athleisure there. I have also yet to totally strike out when ordering a bunch of dresses from their website when I need something specific and returning what doesn’t work.

We get gifts for family abroad from Marshall’s and TJ Maxx (Nike, Adidas, perfume, that kind of thing) that are always well received. I also enjoy just browsing there — you never know what you may find.

Ross and Burlington aren’t convenient for me, so no comment.

I understand that in addition to overstock, these stores also sell private label brands. Most women’s clothes is of such poor quality these days that it’s hard to discern the junk from the junkier junk.

Sierra for the random finds. RIP Filene's Basement in Downtown Crossing, Boston.