1. Check-in on tPF Gucci sub-forum late Oct early Nov
2. Someone will have started a thread called something like 'When Does Gucci's AW Sale Start?' (Actually make that 3,4 or 5 threads called something similar LOL)
3. The thread will contain lots of posts saying 'yer, I wanna know too!!!'
4. Wait until someone who was invited to a preview a week before will write they went to the preview yesterday (preview lasts a week - in the States anyone can go but usually can't take their goodies home until the official sale begins)
5. Someone will beg for the on-line link for the US on-line preview
6. Someone will have it
7. Someone will complain there's nothing worth having
8. Someone will complain that Gucci is not on sale in Europe yet 'when does...?'
8 a) Someone will have started a new thread called something like 'When Does Gucci's AW Sale in Europe Start?'
9. and so on
until
10. When do the sales start at the outlets thread start?
Basically, Gucci change the dates every time
on purpose. Gucci SAs are told to tell their reg customers that Gucci will no longer have sales (or have done so for the past 2 years) but they always have continued to do so - so far.
What is true is that Gucci employees
do not know which pieces are going to go on sale and
do not know what date the preview-sale or proper sale starts. They are told just a few days before the preview starts, in time to invite their regular customers.
European Preview rules
In Europe only regular customers (that buy at full price) are invited to the sale's preview (and in Europe you get to pay and take them home immediately). Even if a former regular customer turns up on a rumour they will check to see when they last bought.
At NM, other Depts stores and independent boutiques
Rules change all the time but according to sources on tPF although the sale starts at the same time as Gucci stores, the stock is much more across the board and may have different pricing strategies including increased markdowns.
I need to lie down now