Quality, outlet "quality" and quality of the "real thing", purse edition...

I am looking for a new work appropriate purse for a new job. I've been trying to find a fun color purse that has good quality (nice materials, looks like quality, will last years). I've searched Nordstrom Rack, Saks Off Fifth, and Neiman Marcus Last call as well as regular department stores.

I ended up loving the Rebecca Minkoff Amorous bag in electric blue. It was an adventure trying to find it. A nice salesperson at Nordstrom told me about the color, but they were sold out of it. I found it on the Sax 5th Ave. site for full price and ordered it. It was a huge purchase for me in terms of cost even though this is far from the most costly purse out there. Sax cancelled my order saying they made a mistake and the purse was sold out. I found the purse on a not mainstream site, ordered it after seeing they have stores in a few cities, and have only experienced customer service problems. This will be my first dispute with a credit card company - I still haven't received the bag! Then I saw the bag back on the Saks site, ordered it, and received it.

Now that I have the bag, I'm not sure if it's too big for me and I don't like that I paid full price for it. My bf sent me a link to a Kate Spade sale on the Kate Spade site and I almost ordered a bag from there. Then I noticed in small print that the bag was made for the Kate Spade outlet. Have you found quality differences between the outlet version of a bag and the retail version of a bag? I got a bag at the coach outlet and not knowing anything purchased a retail bag. I'm very happy with the quality of that and can see using it for many years. Any thoughts are appreciated.

Saks Fifth Avenue

Rebecca Minkoff Amorous Leather Satchel

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11 years ago

njw

Active Member

I have wondered if the diff is that an outlet is the "real thing" but factory is made for the factory stores so less quality? This is a question not a statement as I have wondered about the diff myself

Minnie

I don't know if it is true for all outlet items, but many designers have an outlet line where the items are lesser quality at lower price.
Usually the items for the outlet market also differ (slightly) in design from the "up-market" items. The outlet lines are meant to appeal to customers who want the designer name at what they believe to be a bargain price.

kkards

Veteran

If the bags was made for the outlet, then it will inferior to a bag made for "regular" retail. I'm not saying the quality will be bad, just that it would not be the same. It may be that some, or all, of the materials are lower grade. It maybe that they have re-sized the bag slightly. Maybe they have taken off zippers or other costly trims. Remember that the outlets have lower prices, but the retailer still needs to make money.

lyn*

(website)

I don't like getting "made for outlet" things - I want the real deal and I'm ready to pay extra for it

I have a KS and a Coach bag I bought "from outlet" but neither were made for the outlet and I love them both to pieces.

JAileen

I think Coach outlet stuff is a lesser quality.

Kristin L

I've noticed a few differences in quality, but mostly it's been with clothes. I have a Coach outlet bag, but I haven't really noticed much of a difference. It's held up pretty well. I'd go with what makes you happy.

Aida

I had a KS made-for-outlet purse that was VERY good quality which I loved to pieces (it was stolen, sadly). Some of them were less so, but you can definitely find good pieces there. Most people won't know the difference.

Echo

kkards is correct. The quality is different in a MFF (made for factory/outlet) item than in a boutique item. That said, it doesn't mean the item is "cheap" and will fall apart. It simply means that it is different in details, hardware, style, etc. Like lyn, I prefer non-outlet items and I am willing to pay the difference. I do shop outlet stores sometimes, but outlets also carry deletes from boutiques so if a person knows the difference they can often find a boutique bag at outlet.

unfrumped

This is what I began to notice about TJMaxx. So many " brand names" but a lot if items that looked like they were made specifically for this mass discount market. Surely not the " designer's" real work. Some things I recognize as at least being dept store items, but not even the majority. Maybe one out of a hundred items is a hidden nugget( though certainly not haute!). I'll buy things if I just like them but learned the label can mean nothing. .

Aziraphale

No idea about the quality of bags, but there's definitely a discrepancy between the quality of retail garments vs. outlet garments. For example, one time I went to an outlet to search for a sweater-dress I'd seen at the retail shop the previous season -- I was hoping any extras had been sent to the outlet. The sales assistant told me that only very rarely did their outlet receive "leftover" retail merchandise, and that most of their stuff was a completely separate line, made with cheaper materials and lower-quality stitching.

Gaylene

I've never bought Kate Spade at an outlet so I can't comment on the difference for that specific brand. I have noticed a difference between outlet and regular stores, though, for national brands like BR, JCrew, Coach, Roots, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Brooks Brothers, and the like. Occasionally a few items from the "regular" line will make their way to the outlet but the majority of what's for sale at the outlet is made specifically for the "outlet" line.

I usually prefer to shop at the regular stores, but I must say that I've been quite happy with some of the items that I've bought from the outlets--jeans, tops, sweats, shorts, belts, and even a cheap and cheerful Coach outlet tote that I've put to good use for the past two summers. I actually like my J Crew outlet bermuda shorts better than the regular ones--the fabric is lighter so they are cooler to wear but they seem to hold up just as well to laundering as their more pricey counterparts. I'd say apply the same criteria to outlet products that you do to purchases made at the "regular" shops, namely, is the quality good for the intended use and price--to me that usually works better than getting caught up in a brand name.

rabbit

Eh, I think there are many streams of goods coming into off-price retailers like T J Maxx, Marshalls, and Ross, and that it can sometimes be possible to assess quality and often guess the origin of something. A few years ago they invited a lot of fashion bloggers to an event where they explained their model and buying process, and from the reports about that posted online it does seem like they are carefully positioned to get overstock and negotiate lower prices.

Many times items have original tags including the suggested retail price (not the 'compare at' TJ Maxx price tags, but the ones that have the design lines name on them). I tend to scan for one-off items, some of which are clearly returns coming in from other stores, such as brands carried by Nordstrom or Macys. When I've noticed design differences, it's not on items with these original tags, and it's things like the back buttonholes of jeans being sewn closed rather than having a flap and a metal button there. Often there just seem to be tiny lots of something that come in from overstock or niche buying somewhere, like a pair of Converse I got in a color pink which I could only find on sale online in Asia.

I don't have much experience with outlet stores, although the running shoes I've bought from the Adidas outlet have never appeared to be sub-quality and last as long as any other running shoes.

And I agree with what Gaylene says, assess quality with regard to price (hard to do online unfortunately, unless there are free returns).

Lisa

Unfortunately I don't think this is a one size fits all type of answer. I've found that outlet quality is all over the map, just as retail store quality is. I've had Coach outlet bags fall apart too fast. And other bags last a long time. The same has been true with other designers.

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