Does anyone go to the boutique anymore???

#31
I LOVE going to the Mercer st. boutique in NYC. DH is always saying how lucky we are that we don't live there anymore because I would just LIVE in the boutique. I love looking at all the bags in such nice lighting with good mirrors. . .ahhhhh. . .heaven! I only wish I could take something home every time I visit. I have only ordered one of my bags through the boutique and I would do it again especially if I wanted something exclusive.

I have purchased things from department stores but only during sales.

On the other hand I am a total ebay junkie and I love that you can find stuff from past seasons. . .heck, I probably would have never been able to get my Mahogany clutch if it weren't for ebay (and a certain super-powerd enabler ;) ).
 
#33
pursemonkey said:
If ebay shut down I'd have to get a lot better at sale shopping - I don't even know when things go on sale or how to find out what's on sale (like if a bag's been returned). I'm completely ignorant when it comes to this stuff, probably b/c there's no store in my town to even do that at. But I'd love an education in the art of sale shopping if anyone feels like talkin'!
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It took me a while to figure this much out:

In late May/early June and in late November/late Dec., watch the sales thread like a hawk! Nordie's and Saks have 2 major clearances every year, each time with 2 sets of markdowns. The first markdown (40% for Nordies, around 33% for Saks) happens in late May/early June and late Nov.; the second markdown usually occurs about 1 month after the first (ends up being about 60% off for both).

I'm not sure when the Bloomies and NM stores have their clearances, but this past spring the Bloomies one was close to the Nordies one. I joined tpf one week before the last spring sale season, and for 4-6 weeks after my life was a mayhem of finding the right sales items that I wanted: phone calls, charge sends, returns, keepers. New deals and sale bag sightings were constantly posted on the sales thread. It was chaos, especially for a newbie, but exciting.

For tracking items, Nordie's has the best system for findings things company-wide. Saks is OK for this but you often need an SKU number for a particular item. I still can't figure out Bloomie's system, but it's limited and I relied heavily on the sales thread to find out what a particular store had.

Finally, you'll be lucky to find a department store SA who can tell Marc Jacobs from Michael Kors, especially during sales season when they are all frazzled. So reliance on tpf is key!
 
#36
^It is funny, on the one hand...I LOVE the experience you get at the boutique..customer service, trying on bags, boutique exclusives...and on the other had...ebay gives you the thrill of the hunt and the rush of a great deal (sometimes)...then of course the online sales...It is nice that with MJ we have so many options...!!
 
#37
baglover1973 said:
^It is funny, on the one hand...I LOVE the experience you get at the boutique..customer service, trying on bags, boutique exclusives...and on the other had...ebay gives you the thrill of the hunt and the rush of a great deal (sometimes)...then of course the online sales...It is nice that with MJ we have so many options...!!
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This is exactly how I feel, love going to the boutique, but you get so much more for your money on the bay and I just love getting parcels through the post. It feels like somebody else is sending you present. I'm not too keen on sales, too many people, online sales are fine.
 
#38
spaceyjacy said:
I LOVE going to the Mercer st. boutique in NYC. DH is always saying how lucky we are that we don't live there anymore because I would just LIVE in the boutique. I love looking at all the bags in such nice lighting with good mirrors. . .ahhhhh. . .heaven! I only wish I could take something home every time I visit. I have only ordered one of my bags through the boutique and I would do it again especially if I wanted something exclusive.
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i so know the feeling. the boutique is my mecca! gabby is always going downstairs to fetch bags. jackie and i were saying how we would be in heaven if we could follow her down there. also, if you go in the bathroom, there are hand napkins with the mj logo imprinted on them. yes.please took a few the last time we were all there together.
 
#39
xi_captain said:
:nuts: Oh wow, really? That's exciting. Do you know where the boutique would be located? So when you buy bags from the NY boutique, do you get charged the ridiculous 10% Chicago sales tax?
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No tax for now (since there's no collection store) -- but once that boutique opens, then I'd be charged the tax (10.25%!!!) -- the store's going to be on the corner of Rush & Walton, near Barneys and all the Oak Street shops -- that's our version of "Rodeo Drive"!!!
 
#40
pursemonkey said:
If ebay shut down I'd have to get a lot better at sale shopping - I don't even know when things go on sale or how to find out what's on sale (like if a bag's been returned). I'm completely ignorant when it comes to this stuff, probably b/c there's no store in my town to even do that at. But I'd love an education in the art of sale shopping if anyone feels like talkin'!
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roomommy's "tutorial" was great -- if you want specific sale dates, check the websites -- Nordies posts their "Big" sale dates at the beginning of the year - http://about.nordstrom.com/help/faq/sale_dates.asp -

Question: When are Nordstrom's sale events?


Answer:


Nordstrom holds Half-Yearly Sales for Women and Kids in May and November. Also, there are Half-Yearly Sales for Men in mid-June and late December. Our biggest sale of the year - the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale - is held each July. This event has become legendary among Nordstrom customers nationwide who enjoy outstanding savings on the most exciting new fall merchandise before the season starts.
In-Store and Online Sale Dates
• Half-Yearly Sale for Women and Kids - starts Wednesday, May 21
• Half-Yearly Sale for Men - starts Friday, June 13
• Anniversary Sale - starts Friday, July 18-Sunday, August 3
• Half-Yearly Sale for Women and Kids - starts Wednesday, November 5
• Half-Yearly Sale for Men - starts Friday, December 26

Check NM here - http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/info/index.jhtml
Saks - http://www.saksfifthavenue.com/stor...n3=Locate&act3=ListLocations&label3=locations
Bloomingdales - http://www1.bloomingdales.com/media/about/index.jsp

also, sign up with each website to receive email notices about upcoming sales and events -- OffSaks sends out coupons almost every week and the Rack will call you when they have special sales and events (call any Nordstrom Rack store & ask to be added to their mail/phone list)
 
#41
My budget is tight, so I get my stuff on fReaKbay and have never purchased an MJ at a store. There are no MJ/MBMJ boutiques around here (as far as I know), but there's NM, Sacks, Nordies, etc. and individual stores for every designer but MJ, of course. So it sucks that I rarely get to see the bags in person before I buy them, but then again, I think I would have a stroke if I went into a boutique and found myself surrounded by MJ bags from floor to ceiling under strategically placed lights. I could even fall into an MJ-induced coma.
.
 
#42
iluvmybags said:
roomommy's "tutorial" was great -- if you want specific sale dates, check the websites -- Nordies posts their "Big" sale dates at the beginning of the year - http://about.nordstrom.com/help/faq/sale_dates.asp -

/quote]

Thanks for the dates, iluv!

I also forgot to add an important word:
pre-sale!

About 5-7 days before the actual sale begins, most department stores will let valued customers reserve items they want. These items will be charged to your card on the official start day of the sale.
So for Nordies, call a trusted SA around Oct. 30ish to ask which items are on sale and to reserve anything you want. I suspect that a lot of the good stuff is sold during the pre-sale period.
I'm not sure which customers can pre-sale. It depends on the department store. Some depend on whether you have their card and how many points you have. But it never hurts to try a particular store because last time there were conflicting stories, and some people could pre-sell even without having a store card, depending on the SA they talked to.
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#43
Thanks for the additional info, iluvmybags! Very helpful!! Everything but Nordies would have to be online shopping which I'm sure gets pretty picked over quickly. DH got the pre-sale invite there for the last sale (though we don't have a store card) so hopefully that will happen again and I can score some early deals! Again, thanks for your help, ladies!
 
#44
tadpolenyc said:
i so know the feeling. the boutique is my mecca! gabby is always going downstairs to fetch bags. jackie and i were saying how we would be in heaven if we could follow her down there. also, if you go in the bathroom, there are hand napkins with the mj logo imprinted on them. yes.please took a few the last time we were all there together.
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Its like MJ-magical-dream-land! I always walk in and get a little giddy, I'll bet I have a ridiculous grin on my face too:shame:. I wish there was a reason to just hang out there. I would totally want to be a regular like Norm on Cheers(sorry for the dated reference) but instead of a bar it would be the couches at the Mercer st. store:P
 
#45
spaceyjacy said:
Its like MJ-magical-dream-land! I always walk in and get a little giddy, I'll bet I have a ridiculous grin on my face too:shame:. I wish there was a reason to just hang out there. I would totally want to be a regular like Norm on Cheers(sorry for the dated reference) but instead of a bar it would be the couches at the Mercer st. store:P
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That sounds awesome. I'd come sit with you if I lived nearby.
I try to do that at the local Nordie's but there's no couch and I always feel dumb just hanging out there staring at the bags. Almost all the SA's recognize me and I wonder what their nickname for me is: "Marc Jacobs freak lady" vs "Crazy Marc Jacobs bag hag", since I rarely finger anything else.
 
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