Liz, your follow up comment is my view:
"I'm not really a person who tracks a sale price either. I normally just comparison shop heavily at the time that I need something, buy it for the best price available, and move on. But I do find it very bad form that the new fall items have gone on sale again for less than the NAS price prior to fall even starting. Any other sale would not bother me nearly as much."
Disclaimer: I like Nordstrom, shop their various sites/stores (mothership, Rack, Haute Look), appreciate their CS.
BUT: I've never been a big NAS shopper as I hate to tie my clothing budget up 3-4 months in advance (~ 2 is ok) for a season I like dressing for, but overall dislike. I tend to buy a couple of items that are extremely trans-seasonal (lightweight silks, sleeveless dresses etc).
Until last year, it never *occurred* to me Nordstrom would discount NAS items at or greater than NAS prices before fall was really underway. I discovered that when I went to write a review of a splurge-for-me item and found it 60% off in late September. Luckily my size had circled back in stock and CS gave me the adjustment.
1) So now I just wishlist NAS and other items and check in every now and again to see if something's in stock at a price that works for me. For kicks I had a super-spendy NAS suit on my list this year (figured I might buy if it dropped to 80% down the road) and it too hit 50% off -- and it's clearly a cooler-temp suit. So I feel for everyone, but especially those who bought bigger ticket items!
2) I always thought Neiman Marcus (and even their Last Call outlet), Bloomingdales etc was out of my budget but in searching for an event dress I found they're actually very competitive pricewise with Nordstrom and often have fantastic deals on current season merch. [Same for Saks but they pissed me off years ago with a return situation so I won't give them my money.] Plus if you have an American Express you can use Shoprunner for free 2-day shipping/free return (you don't have to pay with the AmEx).