"Thanks!" again to J.CrewJD who shared the following news in the "J.Crew Warehouse Sale Time {score again!}" post last week.
J.Crew's Regional Warehouse Sale in Chapel Hill, North Carolina starts today! The hours for this sale are:
Friday, October 7th (8AM to 8PM)
Saturday, October 8th (8AM to 8PM)
Sunday, October 9th (10AM to 8PM)
The location for the store is:Saturday, October 8th (8AM to 8PM)
Sunday, October 9th (10AM to 8PM)
(old Border's location)
1801 Fordham Blvd
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
1801 Fordham Blvd
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
If you are attending this sale, please share with us! Let us know if it is worth going and what deals you found. Thanks! :)
The sale was decent. Women's shoes are just AWFUL. Nothing but gold and silver heels/sandals. After finding a lot of great shoes at the last sale in January, I was expecting great things again.
ReplyDeleteTons of special occasion. A few current season things mixed in and of course they are still unloading. Hardly any skirts at all. I scored the current season Teddie dress for $20 and a Saint James striped shirt for $10, so there are definitely bargains to be had.
I did get very luck in the boys Crewcuts. Great, great stuff there, though it isn't the best price.
epic fail for me - i spotted a few things and then noticed the 100+ or so in line to pay and walked right back out.
ReplyDeleteanyone got too much in a 6 - I'll buy it.
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ReplyDeleteI arrived at 7:30 and there were 150-200 ppl waiting. Someone came through the line and handed out little tickets along with a price list and a trash bag.
ReplyDeleteIt opened an hour late - MADDENING. By that time the line had doubled in size and the cops had arrived!
The sale was in a vacant Borders store and all that space did not go unused. Boxes and boxes and boxes laid out on miles of tables as far as the eye could see. And then more boxes under all the tables.
Resellers were out in full force and easy to spot. They hire ppl just to stand by a pile of full bags! Oddly enough many are men, and they snatch anything that looks like it could be a collection or partnership piece and stuff it into bags, then hand bags to assistants who run them back to the watcher. CRAZY.
I went straight to dresses on racks that were separated by size. Looked for jackets/blazers but not many. Some suiting but I didn't have the patience to look through it for matching pieces -- maybe worth going back for toward the end of the sale run. I did find a waxed utility jacket in the brown/green color for $30.
Then I went to shoes, which as Huddyma said were mostly gold and silver, and many were very beat up. I saw some nice leather pairs but really only looked at shoes that were my size. Scored a pair of black suede peeptoe heels (Coddingtons? IDK) for $30. And i bought a couple pairs of gold heels to wear for special occasions. Also $30.
Went for jewelry next but was unimpressed. Most of it was broken or missing stones, and the selection was limited.
Tops -- no rhyme or reason to any of it, sizes, sweaters, tees, tanks, blouses all mixed up in the boxes. Many items had no size tag. Some Madewell mixed in, some other brand I didn't recognize. I got very overwhelmed and just kind of walked away after a while, but I found a black cashmere turtleneck for $40 and a Collection black lace tank for $20.
Swim. FIVE DOLLARS, girls! Tops, bottoms, mailliots -- $5 a pop. Most was current season and either returns or items ppl had damaged in the dressing room, deodorant marks and makeup stains and such. I did score a few pieces but got tired of digging and elbowing people, so I walked away.
Accessories looked hit or miss. I didn't see many bags and only a few belts. Lots of those straw farmer's market totes with unraveling straw, so no thanks. LOTS of straw fedoras and panama hats.
My last real stop was boxes of special occasion wear ... talk about overwhelming. There were probably 50 boxes just of that, and all mixed up in sizes and styles. Found a wool metro dress in my size FINALLY for $20 -- I've been wanting one forever -- and a red cotton cady Lyndsey dress with sash attached (a rarity in there), a charcoal Astin dress, a matte jersey marot dress, at least one Blakely dress and some other random ones I can't recall. All $20 each.
Never got to men's or crewcuts, didn't even bother looking at pants/jeans/shorts. Just couldn't deal with it. I'd been looking for skirts but never found any. Hoped to find winter outerwear but couldn't locate it. I was delirious from getting up so early and standing in line forever to get in, maybe.
The rule was grab anything and everything you might even THINK you want, then once you'd had enough, find a spot and lay it out and either try on and/or start looking for damage. I initially had 8 pieces of jewelry and ended up buying only 2 bc everything else was broken.
Utter chaos. I don't think I will ever go on the first day again.
I spent quite a bit more than I'd planned (and I TOSSED half the stuff in my bag when I sat down to cull!) so I’m on the fence about whether to go back again between Oct. 9 and 23.
I would need an entire day to dig through it all. I was there for almost 3 hrs and barely got through 20% of it. When I left, there was no line outside and you could just walk in.
Snapped many pics, including price list in case Alexis might want them for the blog -- just let me know.
MaryMoo I do not blame you one bit. I was VERY aggravated at how slowly the line moved. Just as it was my turn to approach the tally table (where they count up your stuff on a sheet of paper), an experienced/fast employee walked away and was replaced by a woman who looked petrified. I knew she'd be slow as molasses and of course I got her. And was she ever. It took an extra 20 minutes just for her to tally the stuff and I didn't even buy that much! Maybe 20 items total.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I conked out so soon. I'm not sure what happened. It was just all too much. Even separating boxes by zise would have helped so much. Or having better signage...? IDK. I am ashamed that I was so easily cowed.
Thanks for all the details, Elaine. I wish they'd have a sale like this nearby. Totally understand what you're saying about being overwhelmed. When I found Crew merchandise at TJ Maxx a few years ago, I almost started hyperventilating. The sight of the coveted ROSE TEE for $9.99 in my size and cashmere sweaters for $19.99 shocked me beyond belief. I took everything in my size that wasn't damaged and two cardigans that weren't my size, because who cares if a cashmere Jackie is a little too big? Not me!
ReplyDeleteSwimwear for 5 bucks sounds fantastic. Probably a pain in the you-know-what to find two pieces in the right pattern AND size.
Resellers = BOO!
shopalot, ITA! i was literally shaking at one point because i just thought, omg, how am i ever going to SEE everything!? what am i missing?!
ReplyDeletesitting down to do the cull helped, but it was still hard to let go of some items. things like a deodorant mark don't bother me; that's why the good lord made washing machines with a hand-wash cycle. but it did force me to really look at everything and make some tough decisions.
what it did for me more than anything was really cause me to re-evaluate even considering paying a lot for something on eBay. i think about those $5 swimsuits being re-sold for $35 or even $50. i think about $20 dresses selling for $75-$100. it's really, really nuts.
one thing i did not do is buy any tees or tanks. they were $10-$20, and to me that isn't better than i could do on sale, so i skipped them altogether. at a warehouse sale, it's best to go for the expensive items -- but you really have to look them over well for flaws.
Thanks, Elaine, for the details! Hope you are pleased with the loot.
ReplyDeleteYou lasted 3 hours? I don't think I would have been able to, not without snacks and water in my bag, to keep me going. :)
lol, Rose. as it was i had a big purse that was soooo heavy because it had a giant magazine in it (which i was glad i had for that extra HOUR waiting in line...)
ReplyDeleteit went by very fast. when i looked at my watch i was like OH NO! and kicked into high gear, lol. next time i will just take a whole day off from work and get comfy.
and i will bring one of my giant blue ikea tarp bags, which i saw someone else had done. the garbage bags they give you are a joke, they are so thin and were busing open left and right!
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ReplyDeleteElaine: I got stressed just from reading your description ... I can't imagine what it was like to actually be there. I feel like it would be too much work for me. Glad you found some great items!
ReplyDeleteITA, JCrewJD. And the boots aren't exactly dirt cheap at the sales -- I think they were $75, so you hafta jack the price a lot to make a profit!
ReplyDeleteI really limit what I buy from ppl who have big eBay stores full of JC only, because I know they're getting things for no money and making mad bank. I have one or two I'll buy from bc their prices are reasonable and they are good people.
But overall, I prefer to buy from individuals. I don't like to be taken for a ride. I think ppl can charge whatever they want (hooray for capitalism!) but there are certain ppl I don't want to give money to. :P
Hi everyone -- this blog is great, by the way.
ReplyDeleteI went with a few friends to the sale this morning. Got there at 7, got in at 9 -- everyone is right. The extra hour was maddening (and it was cold, considering we were all in leggings, tank tops and jackets to ease the try-it-on process!).
Something I wanted to note is that my friends and I did find a LOT of really gorgeous dresses. Most of them weren't quite as fancy as a typical special occasion. We got two "Mad Men"-esque ones that are just beautiful -- one of them is even from their Spring 2012 line. Not sure how it got there, as it doesn't have any visible defects...
Plenty of cashmere. Plenty of size variety, too. The last one of these I went to only had good women's clothes in 12-14. Found a couple of beautiful pairs of shoes, too.
JCrweJD, thanks for the tip. I have bought from that ebay seller in the past. I guess the best way to attend these sales is by bringing in an army of your own (of family and friends).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reports from the field! Sounds insane - especially with the resellers. Some of their items are for sale FOREVER - The Peppermint Palm has had a Lucido coat (the famous "serial killer jacket") for $399 for years. They probably got it for $10 at a warehouse sale!
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ReplyDeleteSale was decent! I scored a Hacking jacket that is online now for $300 in red!
ReplyDeletePrices more than lynchburg. Hope next week less money
Great post! Elaine's detailed experience makes me feel like I was there. Reading it reminds me of why I avoid situations like this. Honestly though, I would like to go one time just for the thrill of the hunt!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing all the deets on the sale. I don't live anywhere near where they have them and would love to go sometime, but it sounds crazy!!
ReplyDeleteWho is Paisley Petunia? I gather from the comments she's an e-bay seller, but what's the scoop? Before this site, I had no idea about these sales. Now, I'm totally turned off from shopping on eBay!
ReplyDeleteHad no idea about the blue tooth burly guys at these things! Thanks Elaine. I am going Sunday morning first thing, hopefully they will restock things after Saturday. I hope they WILL restock.
ReplyDeleteI got a pair of the Miller short motorcycle boots from Paisley and they were 100$, no box, but perfect. I am hoping PP didn't get them for 10$.
Carol, she probably got them for $50-$75. One of the few J Crew volume sellers I do business with once told me that some of the really large-volume JC sellers on eBay have agreements with the company that runs these sales and those people get let in before the general public and drive away with U-hauls full of stuff.
ReplyDeleteAnd I believe it, because when I walked in and tried to get my bearings, then headed over to the dresses, there was a bag watcher already standing guard over about 10 bags that were stuffed to the hilt. There's no way those bags could have been filled up that fast.
And the resellers were allowed to set up their 'cull camp' over -- where they examined each piece they pulled -- behind the staff-manned tally tables up front, while the rest of us had to just find an area out of the way.
The amounts of money people were spending were staggering. One person spent over $12,000.
From what some people in the line told me, this sale was more chaotic and larger than any that have been held previously. I think because the space was bigger and the amt. of merchandise on display was in line with the amount of space available. The last one they had in chapel hill was in a much smaller space. Everyone in the crowd seemed shocked at the number of people in line.
I think if you're prepared for the craziness, you'll do fine if you ever get a chance to attend one of these. Now that I've experienced it, I know I probably won't go on the first day again. The combination of the 90-minute wait, the size of the crowd, the mind-boggling amt of merchandise to sift through and the painfully slow-moving line made it a pretty yucky experience, to be honest.
But I am very happy to report that I only got one true dud out of the 20 or so items I bought -- a pair of shoes in which one elastic was stretched out so bad that I can't keep the shoe on my foot. Which is my fault, I should have tried them on.
My only other duds were a dress that's too small for me and a pair of shoes that are too narrow for me, my little toe hangs off the side. :P Every single other thing fit perfectly. Even though many were not sizes I would normally take, somehow I was able to eyeball with laserlike precision! I impressed myself, lol.
I think I will go back sometime in the next 2 weeks just to see what all is left. There could still be some treasures to be found! But I can look at a more leisurely pace. :)
I uploaded my photos from the warehouse sale -- see if the picture I painted matches up to the reality, hehehehehehe....some of them are blurry because I was petrified of getting caught, and most are taken from when I was standing in line. The womens clothing area was crawling with sale employees and a few policemen, so I didn't dare try to snap any pics, sorry!
ReplyDeleteLet me know if the link doesn't work.
Warehouse sale pics
Elaine, your link brings up Picasa but a "sorry, that page was not found" message. I'd love to see your photos of the craziness.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds exciting but this is something I would totally avoid getting anywhere near. I can hardly handle the crowds at the mall on a normal shopping trip, this would test my patience beyond the limits. I'm not a patient person to begin with anyway. Glad to hear you got some great deals.
I don't mind buying from ebay resellers if the merch is not defective or damaged and if the price is the same or lower than retail. At least the stuff doesn't end up in the landfill and it gives people a second chance at some things they may have missed. Plus it provides employment for a few people, something I had never considered.
That said, I don't buy from resellers who scoop up a hot item and then try to sell it for more than retail, that is something I just can't support.
Hope y'all had fun!
Fixed the link, it should work now. :)
ReplyDeleteOMG, Elaine, you are a brave woman!!! Just reading your description made me nervous, but looking at your photos freaked me out! I would not be able to handle a scrum like that, without having friends/family to help out. I also can't believe you saw *the* Paisley Petunia in person. I suppose this is her career but now that I've read about how she operates, I am kind of turned off!!
ReplyDeleteI didn't see her as far as I know, Louise -- I think JCrew JD did at a Lynchburg sale?
ReplyDeleteBut I certainly saw some of the resellers, and the men were just incredibly rude and pushy (literally -- they were shoving into people, self included, to grab at things).
One of them was standing over my shoulder while I was looking at something on a rack, and he reached OVER my shoulder in front of me and grabbed a jacquard jacket and ran away, lol!
I do wonder whether Paisley was there in Chapel Hill, though, as last night I noticed a fresh crop of dresses go up for sale in her store at sky-high prices, like $189 for a red Teddie dress and lots of special-occasion wear for $100+ ...
I don't begrudge anyone their chance to make a buck, nor anyone their right to buy whatever they want from whomever's got it. Sellers are free to charge what the market will bear. I just personally have a hard time supporting profiteering on such a massive scale. And I have in my own mind a psychological level of what I'm willing to pay for any given item anyway, and most of her prices are just too high for me.
I went today and it was total chaos! Why on earth not separate by sizes? I grabbed one cashmere sweater and was going to bail when I saw two beautiful super 120s suiting dresses... in size zero (which I am not). I almost didn't try them on for fear of the whole girl-stuck-in-a-dress thing, but I did and they fit beautifully, for $20 a piece! So thank you J crew vanity sizing from this real world size 4/6 girl... Cashmere sweater was $40 and the hubs got a pair of jeans and cardigan for $20 a piece. Not bad!
ReplyDeleteElaine, thanks for the updated link. I'm breathless just looking at the photos. No way could I venture in there for this type of "event". I'm amazed at your ability to brave the crowds and resellers. It's very interesting, I love reading about it and seeing the photos, thanks so much for sharing the experience.!
ReplyDeleteOops, my error, Elaine, I got JCrewJD's comment mixed up with yours! But still, hearing about how these resellers operate now makes me think twice about buying anything from them. And the prices that Paisley Petunia charges are ridiculously high. I definitely prefer waking up at dawn to try and catch popbacks on the JC website!!
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ReplyDeleteI went around 10:30 on day two and found a great pair of Madewell skinny dress pants in black for $30, some outrageously high brown leather strappy heels (also $30), leather gloves in camel with cashmere lining for $8 and an adorable Madewell Fall 2010 cardigan - which I later realized I needed in a size smaller. Overall a pretty good first warehouse sale experience!
ReplyDeleteIf anyone's interested I listed the sweater on e-bay the price is what I purchased it for ($20) plus $5 to cover shipping. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?
Oops, this link should work:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ebay.com/itm/Madewell-Size-S-wallace-cardigan-mustard-brown-details-trim-/200661393937?_trksid=p5197.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC%26itu%3DMRU-11450%252BUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%252BDDSIC%26otn%3D12%26pmod%3D180735108323%252B130584168112%252B170673905405%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D3356186713034752214#ht_500wt_1413
Here's my thinking:
ReplyDeleteYou have to go to the FIRST warehouse sale of the year if you want some sort of order to the merchandise.
I think Charlottesville was the first sale of the season. I got in with the first batch at that sale and things were as organized as they were at the sales J. Crew did in the 90s in college towns (1 item per box, with a mix of sizes).
At Cville, I was able to dump an entire box of dresses in the color I picked for my bridesmaids into my bag. I sorted, then put my cast offs back in the same box. Colors and styles were still roughly organized in the special occasion section an hour or two into the sale. Two days later...chaos.
I went down to Lynchburg for the second sale and it was pretty bad. Total disorder. Not much in the way of variety.
I imagine the boxes went from Charlottesville to Chapel Hill (maybe with some being held back for Lynchburg).
I don't understand J. Crew's relationship with the resellers. On the price list at the sales, they say they limit the number of items people can take. But, they clearly don't care if they let the resellers in early and let them have assistants help them.
I had to buy from one to find the last of the dresses I needed for my bridesmaids and I wound up paying $120. Obviously, that's a nice discount from retail, but I know the woman paid $20-30 at a warehouse sale due to her address, which isn't more than an hour from me.
BTW, I posted a picture of the price list from Lynchburg and I think it was the same as the one used in Chapel Hill.
The Charlottesville price list was a little higher.
I went today and personally didn't have much luck. I was on the hunt for skirts and those always seem to be the hardest to find. I ended up with one in my size, had to put down a couple of others that I was wishing would fit me. I got there shortly after 10 and it was not very busy at first, but quickly got more crowded. I was SO wishing I had a little girl to buy for, they had a ton of cute crewcuts girl's stuff - and some cute boy's stuff too, but my little guy is already picky at 3 so didn't want to risk it!
ReplyDeleteElaine, I'm in awe of your courage and perseverance. And those pics! Had to go lie down. I thought New Yorkers were tough. Go know.
ReplyDeleteI'm a former New Yorker, Fred! Having survived sample sales at kate spade and DVF in NYC, I felt like I should at least try this one out. You can take the girl out of the city ... :P
ReplyDeleteJeannine,
ReplyDeleteYes, the J.Crew warehouse sales back in the 90's and early 2000's were very nice to attend. I found great deals, no crowds and very enjoyable shopping experience overall!
Elaine- I cannot believe the first day crazy pictures you took! I got there the first hour they opened Sunday morning, parked right in front, walked right in. The people working there I guess managed to stick all the loose items back in the boxes. They are also 10 people working there who are in constant restock mode and bring out new boxes. The boxes on the floor under the tables many times had not even been rifled through, so I was able to find some 'virgin' merch! 3 hours was all we could do- hunger and dehydration had set in! And if you can mine other peoples "cull camps" (LOL) and they are your size, you also can find some good, edited stuff. I was shocked by the poor condition of lots of the merch- torn collars, holey shirts, shredded sweaters: they should get the workers to throw it away since it distracts people and they pitch them in disgust. After hour 3, entropy was overwhelming. I plan to go back maybe Friday morning.
ReplyDeleteGot a "wallace" sweater (what is that? A Madewell brand?), cashmere cardigan that had a single broken button (with an extra button on the tag), many T-shirts, a puff sleeve popover, 3 pairs of pants (one super 120's that I was charged the chino rate for), pair of stocks- accessory section total mayhem, was lucky to find a matching pair for hubs.
I hit the sample sale for a few days. If you got there and waited in line for 2-3 hours and got in during the first group of people. It is correct you have to grab everything you can as you see it and then go through it. There were a number of groups of college students there grabbing items and having one person hold them while they shopped. I did see one older woman try to go through her bags behind the tally register but the staff asked her to move. Interestingly enough I know Paisley Petunia from going to some of these sales. She and her group are always so nice, they even let me go through their bags and get anything I want. I have seen them do this with other regular shoppers as well. They have four young boys they often bring with them who sit and watch their bags then go on a mad shopping spree in the crewcuts dept and look like they could be kids catalog models with their JCrew head to toe outfits. The men with bluetooths are resellers but are "shoppers_carousel" - The staff is very nice and seem to be putting out new items every day. I'll go again to find some new baragains and hopefully will tell Paisley to get on this blog and respond to what people are saying about the resellers that they mistakenly think are her.
ReplyDeleteAmidst my huge bag at the warehouse sale, I found a lot of great pants on Saturday and plan to go back before it is over! Even the wool cafe capri in yacht blue that is currently full price. Also found 3 pairs of Minnie pants, and the Pixie pant.
ReplyDeleteI have a sz 8 black Minnie pant in bi-steatch wool that I would like to sell, purchased for $30.
Just found this blog and love the ideas and comments about JC clothes. I've traveled to several of the warehouse sales with my daughter. We are both addicts to the JC look. The Chapel Hill sale was good in some respects, as we were looking for jewelry and dresses. I've learned that you have to work with what they put out for sale. I got a number of bracelets that needed repair and bought two of each ($5 each!) and have made some minor adjustments like replacing stones. Now I have some great stuff for me and some for gifts! what's not to like about a $10 JC bracelet?
ReplyDeleteI had no issues with any of the possible resellers. In fact, I was trying on some of my finds in the back corner and mentioned to the girls next to me how bummed I was that I did not get any boots. There were practically none put out. Mostly party shoes. She asked me my size and reached into her bag, rummaged a bit, and handed me a fabulous pair of tall boots in my size. A very nice person no matter how you cut it.
These sales are wide open and when you go you need to have an adventuresome mind set and be ready to hunt!
(And know your sizes) : )
Anyone know if they've started to discount yet?
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