25% off everything at jcmadison except for RM due to designer request. Yeah right!

[Desi]

I know this is a tough pill to swallow but won't you all appreciate your RM bags so much more when you know you can't just by them anytime for $350- $400 a pop? It will make that rare sale so much more special! Think about it- part of the reason the attraction to Balenciaga is that "out of arms reach"/ hard to get factor. They don't go on sale you have to save up for them but when you do finally get one it's appreciated that much more. And if RM bags are harder to get at a discount we will probably beable to sell them for more as well.. especially since her company is blowing up right now. For me, I think this is kind of a good thing because now when I'm looking at my new Matinee to come I'll see a $700 bag rather than a $400 ... as it should be.

On another note, I don't know about you girls but RM bags may not be as expensive as Balenciagas/ MJ but I think the quality of her bags has surpased the "mid end" range. Her prices might be mid end but I like her bags better than I like some of my more expensive bags. And while I DO believe it would be *nice* if us tpfers had a small discount here and there I certainly don't expect it and more so can understand where Rebecca is coming from to take it away. Leesee hit the nail on the head.

Of course the leather/ colors of Balenciaga are what draws us to them but I said "part of the reason" and I do believe that "eliteness" (if that's a word) is appealing to a lot of people. I think people like having a bag that not everyone can afford. I don't own Balenciaga either- for the same reason that you stopped buying them but I can't say that I don't drool over them on a daily basis and dream of a day that I can buy one. That's what makes finally getting one so special, and that's all I'm trying to say.

Some people on this forum have almost every color of the Morning After bag.. I have to imagine that while it IS fun to have so many bags and in all your favorite colors it has to take away from the special-ness (for lack of a better word) of it just a little bit..? Maybe I'm wrong.. but this was my first reaction to all this.

You are right on!

I think I can shed some light on this situation. I spoke with Rebecca about this issue and she shared some insight. There was becoming a problem with so many e boutiques marking down her bags by such large amounts. When one offered 10% off, the next one upped and offered 15% and so on and so forth. I think people began to expect this and this really takes away from her brand growing like she wants it to. Rebecca is protecting her brand and her bags by keeping the prices the same across the board.

I am sure many do not like to hear it at first, but really, so many have really scored amazing bags, made in the USA with Italian leather and stunning quality.

Thanks for clarifying! Makes sense.

I feel A LOT better buying an RM made in the US then a Kooba that is now make in China now (which has rather turned me off from the brand ). Kooba bags are just as expensive if not more. I think RM gives us great affordable bags and quality! 550 for a MAM at retail still isn't too bad at all and you can hold out for sales as well. It just won't be as frequent which is understandable.

Oh, god, Macy's. This brings to mind the Coach/Macy's issue. My first nice bag was from the Coach store. Hubby bought it for me, it was 400+, he felt like a million bucks buying it for me, I felt so treated.

CUT TO: last year on my hopelessly loyal trudge through Macy's Beverly Center in LA. There, tossed in a sale bin, forlorn and undignified, were the previous season's Coach bags. The ones that hadn't sold. And there I stood with my Coach bag. My special, fancy, expensive (for me) bag.

I never felt the same about Coach. Maybe that's a silly way to feel, but hey. Thus goeth the brand.

And while I'm ranting, I don't understand why Bloomingdales in LA is throwing its less-prestigious brands against the back wall. These bags are all pretty expensive, so you can't pile them up in the sad-orphan pile in the back.

Deeply discounted stuff piled in the back? Works.

Full price (bag bubble overpriced) piled in the back? Not so much.

I'm sad the discounts may be gone just as I'm getting to the party, but in the abstract you have to protect, protect, protect BRAND. Once brand prestige goes, it's extremely hard to get back.

VERY WELL SAID! THANK YOU MEGS FOR CLARIFY! I LOVE RM! I may not be able to afford AS many bags at full price, but I best can guarantee that RM has first PICK over any ANY other brands

 

[GUNG]

You are right on!

I think I can shed some light on this situation. I spoke with Rebecca about this issue and she shared some insight. There was becoming a problem with so many e boutiques marking down her bags by such large amounts. When one offered 10% off, the next one upped and offered 15% and so on and so forth. I think people began to expect this and this really takes away from her brand growing like she wants it to. Rebecca is protecting her brand and her bags by keeping the prices the same across the board.

I am sure many do not like to hear it at first, but really, so many have really scored amazing bags, made in the USA with Italian leather and stunning quality.

I agree 100%! RM bags have superb quality; from the leather to the hardware, and are phenomenal across the board. I will continue to buy her bags because I know that I will be buying a top quality product made from luxe materials at a more than decent price. RM bags are the best!

 

[littlerock]

I think we all will appreciate our beautiful RM bags a little bit more now. I think that's a good thing!

Thank you for your insight Megs!!

RM is and always will be my favorite brand! (unless production is moved overseas- god I hope this never happens!)

 

[Freshface5]

Thanks Megs! All I wanted was a direct answer. I had a feeling that Catalina's response was not exactly up-to-date. I did believe it came from RM but that's okay. The retailers were telling the truth.

On to more shopping!

 

[janechin76]

IMO, end of the day, RM is running a business, given that there are going to be price increases, I don't feel this automatically translates into alot more profits for RM. With the US dollar decreasing, RM is going to pay more for her leathers and other materials which are imported from Europe.

She is probably expanding her business at this point as well, with her clientele in the US and overseas growing, she's going to need to sell more and at better pricing to grow. If you think about it, hiring an additional assistant probably costs at least an additional US$30,000 a year.

Not to mention she will need to factor additional cash for marketing, better customer service, paying upfront for better or costlier materials to grow as a business. All these require money, unless she has a guardian angel of sorts, her funding probably come from us, her loyal fanbase.

Of course, having limited funds myself, I wait for a good deal before I buy a bag, I'm so grateful to hear of any sale from you all and the retailers. But I can definitely see why she has to make such business decisions.

Now, back to drooling over the upcoming collection... I'm still searching for the iris colour.

 

[Desi]

I know! I'm waiting for this IRIS too!

 

[starryviolet]

^everyone is!

 

[Maleficent]

Holy cow! Did you even read my post? I said that we should ask them to kindly remove the part about where they say it is at the designers request - which is not true. I'm not *****ing about them not giving a discount, but I am mad about them lying about why.

Didnt you know!

Retailers all meet late at night in an evil castle somewere in the desert.

And decide to all LIE about the same thing, just to screw you!

 

[circoit]

Didnt you know!

Retailers all meet late at night in an evil castle somewere in the desert.

And decide to all LIE about the same thing, just to screw you!

Coming into this late in the game, you probably don't know where I was coming from. At the time of this e-mail I got from JCmadison, we had other retailers still offering discount codes, and Catalina from Rebecca Minkoff had very recently come out and said they don't interfere with store's discounting policies. Even revolve, who was saying they didn't honor coupon codes for RM anymore still had a 15% off coupon code that worked on RM bags (I know, because I had bought one just a day or two before using it).

Also, JCMadison adapted the no coupon code policy on RM early by not allowing coupon codes to be applied to preorders - and by the time the new bags did arrive in stock, they were giving us the line that RM wouldn't allow it. I thought they just didn't want to discount the new seasons bags and were thus just giving us an excuse so they didn't look bad.

Anyway, there is no reason to be rude - had you read all the way through this thread, you would have seen that I was grateful to have the correct information confirmed by Rebecca herself.

 

[littlerock]

I could be wrong Circoit but I'm pretty sure poeple were responding to others on this thread and not your original post which was completely valid. You were being told many conflicting stories and were only trying to get to the truth. I think we all understand where you were coming from and what you meant. At least I did.

No worries!

 

[circoit]

Hi littlerock - everyone else on here was very gracious. I was just responding to Maleficents post above. I'm pretty sure she was responding to me because I am quoted.

 

[MrsShoeGal]

Hi littlerock - everyone else on here was very gracious. I was just responding to Maleficents post above. I'm pretty sure she was responding to me because I am quoted.

Don't sweat it I think that poster is a troll!

 

[Geminiz06]

^
I want to believe that the designer isn't requesting this, but I have a feeling that may not be true. I worked in retail (designer shoes and bags for many years). When you are trying to launch a line, you are more apt to have an “understanding” with your retailers to offer some discounts to create and cultivate a new client base. As time goes on, though, that type of discounting may suggest a price point or ceiling that is no longer in keeping with the image the designer wants to project. No designer wants to feel that his/her merchandise needs to be discounted to sell. It may be that now that Rebecca is more established and doing well, the codes/discounts that her retailers were offering are being discouraged. Aside from the retailers already mentioned in this thread (Delcina, Revolve, Luna) Funky LaLa also seemed reluctant to talk about the discount code implying that there was something else dictating their decision going forward. When you think about it, Rebecca is actually smart to protect her line and not cheapen it by attaching codes and deals. Think about Macy’s – who buys anything there at full price??... you know that if you just wait a week that there will be another “2-day sale” - everyone knows it (and this was not how Macy’s used to be but they themselves created this mentality). There may be some initial backlash to her prices and absence of discounting, but consumers adapt and move along – they either accept it, wait for a sale of the older merchandise (as is the case with most sales), or find another manufacturer to buy from. She’s smart to try to break her relatively new clientele of an expectation that she no longer wants to encourage even though she may risk losing some sales along the way. It's no so great for us, but I do believe that she is dictating this change of philosphy.

I agree... With that being said...I cait wait for a SS...

 

[Geminiz06]

You are right on!

I think I can shed some light on this situation. I spoke with Rebecca about this issue and she shared some insight. There was becoming a problem with so many e boutiques marking down her bags by such large amounts. When one offered 10% off, the next one upped and offered 15% and so on and so forth. I think people began to expect this and this really takes away from her brand growing like she wants it to. Rebecca is protecting her brand and her bags by keeping the prices the same across the board.

I am sure many do not like to hear it at first, but really, so many have really scored amazing bags, made in the USA with Italian leather and stunning quality.

Very:true:

I dont know..that would be unfair to other RM-fans out there. Or they would sign up here to get the special offer at RM.com

I think it is a business strategy from Rebecca. Rebecca has great ambition, she wants to grow. To achieve her goal she needs to make decisions and be a business woman.

I totally agree, with your reason.

RM, constantly being on sale does limit the growth of RM's brand. Always having your bags on sale, can make the brand look less appealing to some of those who can afford "Luxury Items". It's the exclusivity of a brand that draws them in, as well as the quality. If RM is constantly on sale/ everywhere, it can make the brand look cheap & unwanted. (NOT THAT IT IS).
Sometimes sales are strategically placed; to have new customers try a relatively new brand.

But because we (at tpf) come out in such big numbers (whenever a sale hits), I believe that (in a way), it does hinder the Label. Because the only people that might have gotten in on the sale may JUST be from this forum. Therefore the brand just lost out, on acquiring new customers (no offense to anyone here- or- us in general...I'm just trying to rationalize:shame: ).

I mean truthfully speaking there have been quite a few times where someone has posted a sale and within 1 hour->

I, along with other PF'ers have seen the post-> just to find, that there was nothing left at the sale. lol (we are horrible .

I think that these retailers are more than happy to give us discounts. Just as long as they are still making a profit. And with one retailer giving us 30% then-> the other matching and so on and so on. The brand really only becomes appealing at a sale price. I.E. the sale price is no longer a special-> but becomes the norm.

So I do see how we can be limiting her growth (not that it's intentional)


With all of that being said I love the bags and look forwward to the SS.....

 

[Lynnia]

The brand really only becomes appealing at a sale price. I.E. the sale price is no longer a special-> but becomes the norm.

I notice this at some stores -- it's the Gap/Banana Republic phenom. If they discount too deeply, too reliably, no one wants to buy the merchandise at full price, because shoppers come to believe that the sale price is the true value of the merchandise, and they wait for the inevitable sale.

Full tag becomes the "sucker price".