The Vera Bradley Outlet Sale - Worth a trip?

True die hard Vera Bradley addicts line by the thousands to attend the annual outlet sale hosted by this Fort Wayne based company. Many travel several hundred kilometers or more simply to participate. But the deals really that great? How about the selection?

I attended the 2008 Vera Bradley Sale out with these questions in mind. I was pleasantly surprised by some aspects of the sale, and certainly disappointed with the others, as discussed in this review. Even if a permanent resident of the Fort Wayne area, the company's corporate headquarters and headquarters for the Vera Bradley outlet sale spring for several years, I made a point to prevent the sale. Despite the fact that I love Vera Bradley, I kept my distance, for the same reason I avoid the malls the day after Thanksgiving. I imagined buyers vying for the sale collide on great deals. Moreover, the idea of ​​sifting through tables laden with a mix of Vera Bradley products sounded too much like a rummage sale for me. Moreover, being the impatient person that I am, I did not even want to think on the lines for check-out.

As I entered the sales, all the preconceived notions I had regarding the sale disappeared. I was greeted at the door by a pleasant lady, who gave me a big pink plastic bag and a list of products available for purchase at the time of sale. The list, complete with images, including discounts, as well as clearly identified in which the products were located.

There have been countless numbers of employees who work to keep everything organized. If a customer took a Vera Bradley backpack and carelessly threw down with diaper bags, a worker was there to bring to the table backpack. There were also several places around the containers and trucks for sale, and customers were encouraged to place the waste in them, in order to maintain product data organized.

Although the sale was crowded, most customers are optimistic and kind. Customers would fill their pink plastic bags with their potential Vera Bradley purchases, and then move out to the perimeters of the sale to deliver Web content and make final decisions regarding what to keep.

To check out, I was redirected to another room. Sixty cash registers lined the room, and two or three employees worked in each case. A person would organize the purchases and deliver them to the cashier, who would telephone purchases, then hand them off to a third person, who would bag the purchases. All in all, the purchase process has only 10-15 minutes, which considering the number of participants at the sale, was very fast.

The selection was decent sales. Most of the objects were recently retired colors and discontinued styles. For buyers looking for new styles and colors, earnings were fine, and I heard some people saying that they were disappointed they could not find their favorite bag in their favorite color. Although I attended the first night of the sale, there was not much to choose from. The tables were continually restocked. I also heard that an employee has declared no more additional trucks that were still being downloaded.

For me, the biggest disappointment of the sale was Vera Bradley prices. I knew that the bags and accessories would be marked 25% to 75%, however, my hope was that I could collect thousands of dollars worth of product for a couple of hundred dollars. Most items have been reduced by about 30-40%, but I was able to pick up similar discount Vera Bradley handbags online, without ever leaving the comfort of my home.

I attend the Vera Bradley outlet sale again? It 's likely. The sale was well organized and fun to attend. It 's also only 20 minutes from my house. However, if I lived several hours, I do not think I would have done the road trip. Sure, the prices were good - they just were not great....