Shopping for name brand items gets expensive. Additionally, it can be inconvenient to drive around to the many areas, malls or shopping centers, where such stores are located.
To beat these inconveniences, still get the brands you love, and do it at a discounted price, outlet stores are the ultimate opportunity. A factory outlet store is a retail store that sells merchandise directly to the public from the manufacturer’s factory.
The manufacturer owns this outlet store, so he or she controls the prices. Without the “middleman” of normal retail stores, factory outlets are usually able to offer less expensive merchandise without cutting on quality.
Originally, these stores were physically attached to the factory. Harold Alfond, who founded a Shoe Company, essentially invented the retail outlet store.
He pulled the factory outlet off of the actual factory and made it more accessible to the general public. This way, people can merchandise from a local store at a competitive price.
For further convenience, outlet stores are often grouped together in a sort of a large strip mall. With this arrangement, you can hit several of your favorite stores at once, no driving from place to place.
If you time it right, you can also avoid lines and all the hassle that usually comes with name brand shopping. Just like a restaurant on a Friday night, outlet stores have peak shopping times.
Avoiding these heavily trafficked times can mean a better shopping experience for you. Times to avoid are anytime Saturday or Sunday, Friday evenings, and after lunch on most weekdays.
Generally weekdays are going to be your best option, especially weekday mornings. Some other times to avoid outlet malls are local school breaks (usually during national holidays) and the holiday season.
Additionally, the beginning and end of summer bring more dense traffic to outlet malls. This is when families go to outlets to find great deals on their bulk summertime or back-to-school shopping for all their kids.
Typically, outlet stores have great prices year-round. They are a great option for holiday shopping, but your best shopping tactic for an outlet mall is to get there a few weeks before the crowd does.
Another option for avoiding the crowd at an outlet mall is to take your shopping online. Lately, many manufacturers have opened an online factory outlet store.
This gives the outlet store the added benefit of being able to shop from the comfort of your home. Like other online shopping though, you don’t have the ability to try clothes or shoes on or handle the products you’re paying for.
If you do plan on heading to the brick and mortar store, check online first. Often, merchandisers list special coupons and offers online exclusively for their factory outlets.
Some people take outlet shopping on as a profession. High quality merchandise can be purchased for a great deal and then sold online for a profit.
These professional shoppers sometimes report a difference in quality between true factory outlet stores and stores called outlets that carry the producer’s defective merchandise.
Generally, defective material is marked as such and priced accordingly, and the same or a newer, unblemished product is sold on a nearby rack for a greater price. They aren’t trying to cheat customers into buying faulty merchandise, but they do want to give you a chance to get a less-expensive, still usable model.
Often times factory outlet malls are in towns that are vacation destinations. Park City, Utah, for instance, has the largest and most varied collection of outlets for all of Northern Utah.
Park City’s stores include a wide variety of merchandisers like Gap, Nike, Track ‘N Trail, Calvin Klein, Zumiez, BCBGMAXAZRIA, Zales Diamonds, Mrs. Fields Cookies, and Motherhood Maternity. These are just a few of the more than 60 outlets in the Park City Tanger Outlet Mall.
As much as does their world class ski resorts, Olympic venues, Sundance International Film Festival, and quaint Main Street, Park City draws a large crowd in with their collection of outlets.
In fact, many people like to spend the evening shopping the outlets after an afternoon on the slopes and before dinner at one of Park City’s gourmet restaurants. Since Park City is home to more tourists and vacationers than actual residents, the town carefully caters to visitors.
Tom Selwick is a resident of Utah and has written hundreds of articles relating to tourism and real estate. He recommends (http://www.parksedgeparkcity.com) for your next Park City Townhome.
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