Gilt is a website that presents daily deals of fashionable, designer clothing at discounted prices. While I am not a fashionista, I have browsed Gilt from time to time as I am a sucker for a good deal.
While planning my recent trip to Vegas, I came across a notice of an upcoming Gilt Warehouse Sale that was going to be in town the same dates I was. REI has a similar Garage Sale a few times a year that I have been known to camp overnight so I can be one of the first ones in. So I thought why not check out this sale. However, I couldn’t find any details about what this sale really was or reports from anyone who had been. I just had a the dates, times, and location of the sale.
The final day of the sale happened to be my last full day in Vegas. The website for the sale said that it was going to be held at the Linq. I hadn’t spent much time on the new Linq Promenade, so I thought this would double as a good chance to see this new shopping center on the strip. There were signs that led me down the Promenade, under the High Roller ferris wheel, to the parking lot behind the strip hotels. There was a large white tent and no one going in or coming out. Okay, this is going to be lame I thought.
As I entered the Gilt Warehouse Sale I noticed a sign on the door. “Last day of sale. All products an additional 50% off.” Well, a sale on top of a sale! Inside the tent was what looked like a temporary thrift shop. A number of rows of clothing on racks to the left. A few tables of various items to the right. And rows of shoes in the back. I made my way to the Men’s section and begin to browse the racks.
A sales rep came up to ask if I needed any help, so I decided to ask about what this was. He explained that all of the items were new. They may have small defects (one pair of Edun jeans I saw had the crotch ripped out). Basically it was things that hadn’t sold on Gilt.com from past seasons. He also explained how the price tags worked. On the top of the tag was the “retail price”, basically what the item would have been sold for at Nordstrom. Under it was the Gilt Warehouse price, usually 60-80% off of the original price (I am guessing the price when on Gilt.com would have been in the 40-60% off range). Since it was the last day, all the warehouse prices were an additional 50% off. With this in mind, I begin looking at the clothing on the rack.
I was amazed. While a lot of what was left was size 29 jeans, there were still a lot of items that were not just XS or XXL. Plus, these were name brand clothing; items that Nordstrom currently carries. Basically this place was like Nordstrom Rack back when the Rack actually carried items that hadn’t sold at Nordstrom. Jeans by Naked and Famous. Hudson. Sevens. Shirts, suits, shoes, bedding. All really good stuff and extremely cheap.
As an example, the Naked and Famous jeans (made in Canada!) I purchased were originally $110. I’ve seen them at Nordstrom for this price. They were marked down to $25. I paid $12.50.
I purchased a Schott Wool coat originally $345, marked down to $99, which I paid $49 for. I ended up with two pairs of jeans, a pair of khakis, shoes, coat, and an Italian sheet set. All for $180 after taxes. I tallied up the original prices and they came to more than $1400 before taxes.
The cashier told me that they would be having similar warehouse sales in Miami and LA in the future. Also she expressed that the opening day of the sale was like Black Friday with lines stretching for hundreds of yards. I am sure I could have found some sweet designer suit if I had been there at opening, but with my extra 50% off and no crowds, I was happy with my purchases. The only problem was getting my sweet new threads home from Vegas… luckily the business center at Aria was able to ship it for me!
Please note: I have no financial interest in Gilt, or the Gilt Warehouse Sale, this is purely just wanting to share my experience.
I was there too on the last day of the sale but didn’t purchase anything. I found it interesting that was 7 star line at the checkout counter.
Caesars hosted the sale on their property and advertised the sale on their blog. I’m guessing their hope was that it would bring customers to the Linq and gain some exposure for the “new” hotel and shopping area.