What to Expect from New York Designer Sample Sales

As the sample sale season kicks off, there are increasingly more places to spend your money on designer items for the holidays.

Sample sales attract shoppers as retail prices are drastically slashed and access to the season’s most popular products — traditionally intended for fashion industry professionals — is extended to members of the public.

Many are deterred from sample sales after hearing horror stories of fights over limited merchandise, people who skip long lines by evading sample sale security and sneaking in through other entrances. There are even shoppers who purchase every single handbag, then wheel them away in suitcases, leaving none for anyone else to purchase.

Craig Montague, an avid sample sale attendee, recalls his first run-in with sample sale madness at an Yves Saint Laurent sample sale a few years ago. “I was shocked on the final day of the sale, two mothers began shoving one another over the classic YSL logo t-shirt,” Montague says. “It happened right in front of their daughters.”

A perk of attending sample sales is the opportunity to buy designer items that have gone out of stock in stores. Think of a sample sale this way: an invitation into the vault of all remaining products. The downside to this is that particulars such as colors and sizes are limited and custom detailing is non-existent. Be prepared to purchase the original, hence the word sample.

Although it’s uncertain when sample sales first started, a few sales are known for breaking records. This past April, French brand Roger Vivier attracted a crowd of over 2,000 shoppers as reported by the sample sale staff. The scene at Roger Vivier was calm compared to that of fashion designer Alexander Wang at a crowded sample sale last August. Wang hosted a one-day event, rumored to be a sample sale, surprising fans of his brand with free clothing. People were stampeded, punched and dragged down to take home free merchandise.

The majority of sample sales are indeed huge price reduction events rather than a storefront catfight ring. A handbag sold by a major retailer can price at $750, while a designer sample sale can stock the same bag for $300. Sample sale deals hold no gimmicks, just designer apparel and merchandise ranging from 50 to 80% in reductions from retail price listings.

But retailers often hike merchandise prices up based on demand, quality and profit. There are also stores that offer permanent sample sales. Mark Ellberg, self-proclaimed sample sale expert and author of “Bargain Fever: How To Shop In A Discounted World,” said that 24/7 sample sale stores are simply stores with overstock merchandise, and are not actually a bargain.

A sample sale is no underground operation, or carefully concealed secret. The easiest way to become sample sale savvy is perusing through RackedNY. Racked is a fashion site covering bases in New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, among other major cities. The site’s online staff update readers with sample sale dates, times, locations and percentage markdowns – crucial information to budget and avoid the notorious corner bending lines outside a sale.

Although phones and electronics often aren’t permitted on the sale floor, staffers and readers sometimes manage to provide snapshots of price lists and merchandise as well as hourly updates on lines, stock and price reductions.

For those in need of sale information on the go, there’s an app for that. NYC Sample Sales provides a map of Manhattan with drop pins locating each sale by neighborhood. NYC Sample Sales is less engaging than Racked NY. They simply provide the standard sale details for shoppers who aren’t concerned about the scene of the sale.

Sample sales can satisfy the pocket of fashion fanatics, appease their curiosity and at times can be a gift that keeps giving — standing in long sample sale lines can be a hook-up for another upcoming sale.

“I plan all of my shopping around sample sales each year,” says Becca Weener, a freelance fashion assistant. “It’s the easiest and most cost-efficient way for me to get a piece of my favorite brands.”