I understand that Nordstrom negotiates with the clothing companies - and that it’s really the clothing companies that determine how many of an item can be sold at anniversary sale and how much they will be marked down. I have always appreciated Nordstrom’s sale - it’s before season! - where both the new items and their prices are exciting. The clothing companies are making a strategic decision to sell for example 200 of an item at lower prices with the bet being it drums up excitement and people will buy it at full price when they can.

Seems Nordstrom is a big thing in the US. Have you heard of Harrods, Selfridges, or Netaporter and their outlet site theoutnet? The things that go on sale are on sale until the stock runs out and never restocked. Sometimes things that don't sell on Netaporter will turn up at theoutnet. All of them ship worldwide, and the shipping costs really aren't that bad. The Selfridge's one if you pay £40 you can get a whole year of international shipping. I think they all do free returns too, with pick up by DHL.

I am amazed at this. How unlikely is it that you would then be happy to pay full price the day the sale is over? I cannot imagine that they make many full price sales with this strategy. I am sure those items will go on sale again. However for me, they would be tainted by the whole experience as I don't like rewarding bad customer service.

Angie, I can't get the Finds to work right now, but two of them were the Caslon t-shirt. I wanted to try both the yellow and the rust (the colors may not even work for me) but never got the chance. The rest were Treasure & Bond, the striped tee (also two colors, both were sold out) and the henley. The henley was complete sold out and they removed the product page entirely.

https://www.nordstrom.com/s/ca.....rt/4023505
https://www.nordstrom.com/s/tr.....op/5669106
https://www.nordstrom.com/s/tr.....ey/5681032

Interestingly, this Halogen sweater has not been fully restocked. It is one that they have been updating inventory on based on returns, unlike the others.
https://www.nordstrom.com/s/ha.....er/5692951

ZoeyGirl, that's so disappointing with your top. I'm glad you got it, and that being 3-4 months later wasn't a problem. Bummer about your cardigans this year!

Phoebe, Cardiff girl, it sure does seem that quantities are limited. The thing that gets me is that there was no attempt to restock returns. .

Helena, thank you. It really was disappointing! I was hoping that at least these basic t-shirts would get through.

Jenni, to be honest I was never very close to Nordstrom; YLF has been instrumental. And it's actually a good thing, since fall lags so late in Texas it's very hard to figure out fall needs. But I think my NAS interest will return to being fairly marginal. I put a lot of effort in for very little.

Sal and Greyscale, I agree, something should be tweaked or they need to just be up front about it. If they have set aside only certain stock, AND are not re-stocking even returns, maybe the quantities are off. And they need to just say that quantities are limited.

Debbie, I get you. I can be philosophical about it when it seems that it's honestly sold out. It's harder when they're transparent enough to show that that wasn't the case.

BrieN, I completely understand the companies making sales decisions. However, it's advertised as a sale, which consumers assume to mean for all stock. They wait for things to come back in. When it's obvious that things were held back but not announced that way - plus the tiers preventing all but the highest-spending people from participating - it doesn't generate good feeling.

N, I have heard of theoutnet but haven't tried it. I will look into it. I tried a similar shipping arrangement with ASOS one year and found it a great deal.

Bijou, you hit the nail on the head. I'm still going to keep these items in my wishlist and hope they'll go on sale - from previous experience that's very likely - but the experience has left me feeling cranky!

I had a pair of pants I ordered on 7/16/21 have the shipping date pushed back six times from 8/6 to 8/19. Interestingly, I received emails at the same time notifying me that my order had been canceled and that the pants were available at full price. Needless to say, I reached out to Nordstrom to express my displeasure with a company that has been cited as a paragon of customer service excellence for many years. This year's NAS has been a frustrating experience so I may sit out next year and beyond.

Ginger, thanks for the links. Here are the Finds.

Nuancedream, how did Nordies respond?

BrieN is right about brands having a lot of say in how their items are sold these days. They negotiate numbers with retailers like Nordstrom who are held to a binding contract.

I do think that Nordstrom should be transparent about the shortage of stock at the discounted price point in future.

Angie, Nordstrom will honor the NAS price in a reorder after I contacted them. Maybe I am just Ms. Cranky Pants today, but six delays of shipping followed by a cancellation and notification I can buy the same item at a higher price...that's just not acceptable. I've received items from Boden and Marks & Spencer in a more timely manner and during the holiday season no less.

Nuancedream, I'd be annoyed too! You bought the pants IN the sale and should get them during the sale at the sale price. I'm glad they are honouring the sale price if you re-order.

What a mess!

I didn't pay attention to items that sold out before I was able to shop, but I do wonder if paying the $12 for two-day shipping, even if some of the items ordered just past midnight Thursday night/Friday morning didn't arrive until the next Friday, may have put me at the front of the queue. Just a thought/suggestion for next time. I know that a lot of my items may not have been the most requested, but many are still sold out. Only one item was cancelled from my initial order.

I was told that the system updated with returns every 5 seconds, but with so many people shopping the sale and stalking items, they disappeared quickly. I also remember reading somewhere one or more years ago what was said above, that the lines only allowed a certain number of specific items to be sold at NAS. But it should definitely be explained.

I am very happy with the items I kept, so, I will go into next year hopeful I get something I love.