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Anniversary Sale

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Not Amused

Ginger

Veteran

I am not a cardholder, but my plebian self has shopped the sale successfully despite that in years past. This year, there wasn't a whole lot I was crazy about trying, but I built up a wishlist of about a dozen items I wanted to try. There were only 2 items that I really, really wanted - layering tees in unusual colors.

70% of my wishlist sold out in the first 2-3 days of the sale and never came back even once. All sizes sold out, the colors were not shown on the product page. I finally ended up order only 2 items total, and I won't be heartbroken if neither works.

I woke up this morning to notifications that 4 of my "sold out" wishlist items had been restocked the instant that the sale ended. Including the 2 t-shirts I really wanted to try. Fully restocked, all sizes, all colors. I was philosophical about it when I thought that they honestly didn't have stock. That was obviously not the case. I'm pretty irked and disappointed in this. It's not about the t-shirts, which weren't even highly rated or pricey. I'm just so disappointed that Nordstrom saw fit to hold back stock from the sale.

Anniversary Sale

39 replies

Latest reply was from Barbara Diane

viva

Veteran

That is really annoying. The cynic in me wonders how many other people suddenly have the opportunity to buy their favorites at full price this morning?

Mary Beth (formerly LBD)

(website)

Veteran

Honestly, this is why I don't shop the sale. Every year I read through all the NAS posts. There are so many obstacles folks have to jump and criteria that has to be met, all for the privilege of spending your money - like the retailer is doing you a favor in accepting your hard-earned cash.

It's a big piece of manipulation. I get it. All retailers try and manipulate their customers into buying. But when I see posts where people are frustrated because they're clicking on something at 12:01am, and they're still not permitted to buy because there's some loophole about the right "level"... well. What can I say? It's not for me.

Ginger

Veteran

viva, I wondered, too. So far no one else has posted so maybe I'm the only one who noticed.

Mary Beth I am not surprised. I had fun with the sale about 3 and 4 years ago; I wasn't super caught up in it, and had fun trying things and getting notifications and ordering others when they came up. This sale was different for me, since it all disappeared and never came back. That's a new experience, and not fun. But the cherry on top was restocking the second the sale was over. That's not the luck of the draw, or the marketing of the of the card and spending tiers. It's almost bait and switch.

It's also why I'm not getting a card. The benefit is very small (the closest store is over an hour away, through Dallas traffic) and would not have helped me get anything else on my wishlist anyway.

I'm sure I'll keep an eye out next year, too, but I'm definitely not going to bother checking the website daily. I'll let the app do notification. (I got so few I halfway believed it was broken.)

Jaime

The exact same thing happened to me this morning. I woke up to notifications that several wish list items are back in stock. Not happy about it. Won't work for everything but I resolve next year to buy whatever size may be left and just return it for the right size when the sale ends.

Preppy Pear

Veteran

That is a bummer. I do think that Nordstrom does some holding back every year as part of the sale. I know I got very few notifications when items on my wish list were restocked this time around. However, I am an avid (crazy?) stalker so was able to get everything I wanted.

Now the shipping is another matter - even though everything I ordered has been marked “shipped,” it’s been taking forever for N to get the stuff to the carriers and there have been many shipping delays this year.

It does mean having to check back, of course, but any items not sold out will very likely go on sale again, sometimes lower than NAS prices.

Anonymous

Gee would you look at that...the jacket I wanted is mysteriously back :/

Joy

Veteran

You might check The Rack. Many sold out items make it there later at prices lower than the NAS sale. Of course sizes are limited.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

That's very frustrating and I empathize, Ginger and Jaime! How odd. I've not heard of this type of thing happening before. Maybe it's a COVID supply chain issue? Suddenly there was a lot of stock of X items after being held up goodness knows where. You never know. It's been a very atypical 18 months of retail.

I checked my own NAS items, and items that were sold out have not been restocked.....so far. Just sizes being returned now and then, which is how it usually goes.

rachylou

Veteran

It’s sorta been this way for a few years, at least in my area. Like they set a certain number for the sale, and when they’re out, they’re out. NAS also hasn't been An Event at my stores in several years, the way it was in the past - with tents and crowds.

JAileen

Veteran

A few years ago I got a card for the sole purpose of shopping in NAS. But same as you, nearly everything was sold out by the time I could shop. However, several things came back in stock, and I was able to order them by diligent stalking. I wouldn’t say it’s time consuming, but I would have to think about it. I don’t have a job, so I have more free time to think about such things.

Anonymous

You're kidding! That *is* annoying and not the way to garner customer loyalty and approval. The whole marketing game that is NAS never fails to irk me.

April

Veteran

Ginger, I noticed something this morning that might be helpful. A dress I bought at NAS is now available on Gilt (a sale site) for about what I paid at NAS.

Gilt is sort of like NAS all year long, I think - current merchandise at sale prices.

Your tees might not have made it to another site at the sale price, but worth a look.

Ginger

Veteran

Jaime and suntiger, I'm so sorry you've both had the same experience. Interesting idea about buying another size and exchanging; though it wouldn't have worked for the t-shirts since both colors disappeared so completely so fast, weeks before I could access the sale.

Preppy Pear, I'm sure the app will let me know if these go on sale again. It definitely looks like they held back stock. It's... quite a decision to hold it back for 3 weeks, though.

Joy and April, good ideas about the Rack and Gilt. I've bought from the Rack before but haven't tried Gilt. I'll keep an eye out.

Angie, I honestly thought it was a supply chain issue until I saw the notifications at 6 AM this morning. 4 items, all magically, completely, restocked the instant the sale ended. 3 of these items weren't even having returned sizes showing up during the sale. The colors were completely gone 2-3 weeks ago and never returned until the price went up.

Rachy, I guess this is the first year I've ever had this happen on my own wishlist. I've stalked quite a bit in previous years and have always managed to get nearly everything I wanted to try, and sometimes re-ordered different sizes before the end of the sale, too.

Aileen, I did stalk these items. I checked the app multiple times a day, usually opening the product pages to see if at least another size in my colors had shown up, so I could test it. I also had the product pages open in a tab on my computer browser, and refreshed it several times a day for a couple weeks. Never a peep. I don't think they restocked even returns.

Right, lisa?! The marketing doesn't irk me too much, honestly, since I can stay detached. But holding stock back so blatantly (and then happily notifying me! LOL) is more than a little annoying. Especially since returns didn't even get put back in the sale.

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

That is beyond annoying. MaryBeth's observation is astute; the whole anniversary sale is intended to get you to buy early in the season from Nordstrom rather than from other stores. And there is a lot of manipulation involved. This is the worst, withholding "sale" stock that is actually there until the moment the sale ends.

Peri

Veteran

Wow! I just checked and such a coincidence...many of mine are back in stock also. That is ludicrous! A few would be an actual coincidence but so many feel underhanded.

I'm afraid I'm over the sale also. My first two years shopping it were fun and did not have these issues. The past two years have been loaded with problems. Some are likely pandemic related, but to blame everything on that is suspicious. It feels more like a decision was made to hold back the popular items so as to charge full price for them. They can do that, but I don't have to buy.

Echo

Veteran

Hmm, this isn't true with my wish list. All of the items except one are still sold out, and one item that was not sold out last night is sold out today. But I think it is true that they only offer X number of pieces of something for the sale. While annoying, that makes sense to me. They have never claimed to never have whatever the NAS items are again, just that the item is being offered at a lower price now. All stores say "while supplies last." That doesn't necessarily mean all supplies everywhere, but those budgeted for the sale.

And for the items I was seeking, they DID update as far as returns went, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get things. I refreshed pages and was able to catch several of them in stock. When I purchased them, they then showed as OOS again.

They want people to get the card and make purchases so they can access the sale earlier. THAT is a marketing trick, though I don't know how successful it is when "influencers" buy three sizes of everything to try, keep the items to have a photo-shoot and then return 95% of them, likely after the sale is over. That can't be good for Nordstrom's bottom line, either, but they wouldn't keep doing it if it weren't profitable.

As I've said in the past, almost everything I've ever wanted at NAS goes on sale later in the fall, often at lower prices than NAS offered. I was lucky to snag a cutout dress when it came back into stock, but to wear it I will have to alter the cutout (stitch it closed a bit for modesty). I am waiting to do so until I know for sure I have the item I am keeping. Until I see the fall sales, I won't know, and they won't offer price adjustments, so I would have to send the item back and reorder (great for environmental awareness, Nordies!).

I was happier with the sale this year simply due to the fact that I assumed I wouldn't be able to get anything from my wish list at all, and in the end I got about 2/3 of it. I didn't have FOMO, as I knew I could find comparable items or better later in the fall if a style spoke to me.

cat2

Veteran

I decided to play NAS this year, and built a wish list. Then I did some searching to see what I could find for better prices elsewhere. In every instance I found a ready replacement for a better price at the manufacturer, Rack, RueLaLa or Sierra. For example, I had flagged some Cole Haan shoes for my husband, and found the same olive color in a less expensive model at Cole Haan. I also found a teal Bernardo jacket from last year at the Rack for much less than the NAS item. There are a few unique items manufacturers supply to specific stores (usually marked as “Exclusive” to that store), but most of it is not unique.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

So frustrating! I think Nordstrom needs to rethink their approach to the sale as a LOT of people seem to be disenchanted this year.

I have noticed in past years that some items go on deeper sale a month or so after NAS is over, but there’s no magic formula to predict which will be sold out for good and which will become available again. It’s a crap shoot at best. I have gotten price adjustments from them in the past when items that I bought that still have tags on them are offered for steeper discounts weeks later, but only if the exact same size and color are available. And I have found items months later at the Rack discounted even further, if time is not a factor.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Ginger, all soooo odd. Does sound suspiciously sneaky doesn't it. Which items were they?

Janet and Echo, I'm nodding along with your thoughts.

As far as uniqueness goes, the items from the house brands are unique. I just checked my own items, and so far, they are pretty unique. At least for now. Might change further along in the season though.

Remember that you can voice your concerns on the Nordstrom FB page. They are quite responsive. That will get you further than on this forum.

Greenjeans

Veteran

Because I love NAS for perennial basics, Echo, your comments about there being internal limits are ringing true for me.

The restocking is super-visible in that category.

cat2

Veteran

Angie, I don’t buy the house brand knits, given the (lack of) quality, and of course they discontinued their high end house brand a while back. They do have exclusives from high end designers — like your Boss suit or the light green VB blouse — but most of the rest is fungible.

Anonymous

Is it possible they have a specific amount of an item to be sold at sale price and the remainder is held in reserve to be sold at full price?

ZoeyGirl

This happened to me last year. It was the Nic +Zoe top that Angie made a top pick - it's beautiful and I was so disappointed it remained sold out throughout the majority of the sale. I was very upset that it was back in stock the first day after the sale. I did manage to get it on sale around Thanksgiving. That timing was fine for me since I was mostly remote until then anyway. So I felt like I beat the system even though it tried to beat me lol.

This year, I was able to get a number of items on my list, which surprised me (mostly basics/ essentials). There were 3 cardigans I wanted - 1 is now magically back in stock (it was the one I wanted most too!). The other two are not yet back in stock.

Cardiff girl

Veteran

I ve noticed this happening with uk retailers too.lve come to the conclusion that they put a limit on the number of items they will sell at sale price then once the sale is over they release all the held back stock again but l agree ,it’s really annoying to feel manipulated like this.

Helena

Veteran

Phoebe, I had the same thought as you, to which I would only add, perhaps if so, they should be more up-front that they are offering limited stock at the sale, and then items that will be available at full price later. It would feel more honest that way. So sorry that you had this frustration Ginger, whatever the explanation

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I suppose it’s their right to do it to their customers, just like they can get you in other ways- marketing at you if you have a wish list and leave something on that but don’t put it in your cart, etc etc. I use wish lists more for research on the kind of thing catching my eye more than necessarily wanting to buy that thing for sure, and absolutely know that the retailers do not care about me, they just want to sell. I don’t buy into their BS and the more they push me the more I unsubscribe from them. Sounds like they are pushing you away Ginger.

Sal

Veteran

Sounds like the sale needs to be tweaked as the environment changes re shipping, profitability etc. what used to work may no longer work.

Greyscale

Veteran

I just wish they were more up front about it, like Phoebe said. They could even have it as part of their pitch: a limited number of pieces will be available at this incredible price, before we release the full stock at regular prices. Maybe some of these are actually loss leaders for them (get people buying things even if you don't make a profit). I guess it's also possible that these are different batch orders from the manufacturers but I don't know enough to know if that's true. Probably not, because I assume they place very large orders up front.

I try (and fail) to be pretty rational about shopping decisions but any sense of scarcity really changes my behavior. Something I'm trying to improve.

(Side note - I did some leadership training this summer that had a negotiating role play exercise where one of us was a fabric manufacturer and the other was a small fashion label, and we had to come to an agreement on size of fabric order, delivery and payment dates, etc. I definitely called on my fashion knowledge to inspire my role play!)

Debbie

Veteran

I just checked my list and yes they’re restocks. I will not pay full price for it but I will stalk. I will also remember this and be very selective next year with my purchasing and stalking.
Transparency need be there motto.

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