That's true. I don't know if they relax the rules for any tourist or if it is only those on tour buses. The tour buses usually have a coordinator that hangs out near the counter. The tour buses are the main reason many outlets exist.I was at the outlet Friday and there were 2 twenty something girls from overseas at the register and they bought every single teal Bowery crossbody with jeweled closure that was in stock. I know because I had my SA do a stock check and she went back and said they cleared out the shelf. They had a bag full already and then a counter full being rung up. They also had a couple of the same bag in the black/jeweled and oxblood. No lie they bought at least 20 of these. In addition, they had a counter full of jewelry. I couldn't tell what type (watches/fobs/etc) but definitely more than 5 per person. And the kicker...a manager was ringing them up. I guess quantity restrictions are only enforced on some people.
No, it applies in stores too. They have applied it to me. I remember hearing that a woman wanted to buy 6 matching wristlets as bridesmaids' gifts and they wouldn't let her. But when the tour buses come to the outlet, they don't apply the rules to them.It is certainly true that a lot of Asians will go to the outlets to bring back "designer" outlet bags for their families. My friend just recently married someone from Hong Kong and did exactly that. It's obviously difficult to differentiate those people from the resellers that we see all over Instagram, so I could how it'd be hard to make a judgment call.
However, the five-per-item rule only applies to online events, right? Or did I miss something?
I know a lot of them sell them overseas because Coach is more expensive in their countries. I knew a Thai woman who would clean out the outlets, take them to Thailand and resell them. It more than paid for her trip.