I tried to do a charge send with Atlantic City and was told no, although I was pretty sure they have done it in the past. I ended up having to do a charge hold. I was told that the flagship outlets do not do this, but yet Lancaster does...or they do it when they want to do it. My local outlet says it's up to manager approval. I think that's the key... First of all, it's up to the DM, and then up to the stores involved. Sometimes if they are busy, they don't want to be bothered on either end. The truth is they don't NEED to do it in a lot of cases because stuff usually flies off the shelves. In fact, the PA outlets did not start doing this till late last year. I guess I feel thankful that they will do it at all, since I got used to the hassle of them not being able to do it. However, it's "doable" for me to get to at least 8 outlets with a little over 2 hours drive one way in some cases (which I will do if it's important), so I don't have as much to complain about as some people do, I know.
Actually, I would be interested to know if because you have done it a lot, they just decided to tell you no..or if in general they just got tired of doing it. I say that because someone told me at Lancaster that they will not do it for you if you have a ton of items or want to do it all the time...so I don't know!
As far as deletes go, you have to keep in mind that the SAs are offered the new deletes (before they are shipped out) on major discounts, and these purchases don't affect their discount quota. It's limited to what's in their store at the time, though, but still...that will affect what ultimately goes to the outlets, kwim?? Also, some of what the outlets get are direct transfers or returns, but many come from consolidations at JAX. In some cases, some bags end up as irregulars stock for the employees to purchase...like the pilots, etc.
The bottom line is that sometimes it's just hard to predict, but I was told that like the designations for the boutiques (primary, fashion, flagship, etc), it's also the same way for outlets. So the specialty or exclusive items will probably be sent to the flagship or high volume outlets first. Depending on what is left over later on, then you do see smaller outlets getting many of the items on down the road. I just bought the Penelope spectator leather north-south tote in gray/white at my outlet, and these are bags that other outlets had weeks ago. In fact, the day I left central PA, I was told that Hershey had these in the back but were not allowed to put them out till the following Wed. I didn't care that much, so I left, and I was only able to purchase one of the other north south totes at Lancaster.
Unfortunately, brahh, I do agree that Lebanon is one of the worst outlets I've been to...probably the only other one that's comparable is Reading PA. I would say that Jackson and Lahaska are close to that. However, for whatever it's worth, I saw an improvement in their retail selection the last time I was there...so maybe they will continue to get more and more for you guys there. It's not like TN has a ton of boutiques like here in this area, but then I also don't know if that affects what they send to that outlet since Coach is apparently not as popular there.
Also... Sometimes the stock that the outlets get have to be shifted. Like Reading frequently shifts higher priced retail stock to larger outlets just so they can sell the items more easily. I'm sure they make adjustments all the time depending on how the market is in a particular area, kwim??
Out of all the outlets I have shopped at, I still like Woodbury and Lancaster the best. It's not that Lancaster gets multiples of everything like AC or Woodbury might, but just that I like the diversity, and their accessory selection is the best I've ever seen. So far I don't think too much of our new one here in NJ...but I guess over time it will improve. And, I guess as I think about it, so far I have managed to buy 3 bags there so far!