My sister and I arrived at 7:30am and were about the 30th people in line. First time fail - it was raining and we were not prepared to stand outside in the rain for 2.5 hours. Some people were total pros and had chairs (we had planned to sit on the ground but it was too wet). I'd suggest a chair that you can quickly bring back to your car about 10 mins before the event starts. By the time the sale started my feet were soaked and totally frozen.
If you want to get your hands on kids items I highly recommend getting their EARLY. Those items went so fast. Considering that most of the kids items are not tried on, they don't make it back on the table. I was at the sale from 10-11:15 and if you were only interested in women's items you could have strolled in at 11:00am no problem and still had a giant selection to look through. All items were just placed on tables, and new items were continually added from boxes, as well as items that others decided not to buy.
The tables were sorted by size and were pretty accurate. My plan was to grab anything in my size, then go try it on and return my discard pile to the tables. It's so crazy at the tables, you don't have time to decide if you like it or not, so pick it up and decide later. I happened to have my identical twin sister with me to also grab items. I highly suggest bringing your identical twin with you, or maybe you can settle for a friend that is your same size. You could also find someone your size and ask to go through their discard pile. Don't be shy. While trying on clothes a woman asked us our size and if she could start to try on things from our discard pile.
I would just encourage everyone to look over the items carefully. A good amount of kid items had stains, which were noted with stickers on the items. One pair of pants I picked up for my daughter looked like they were worn and washed. I overhead someone ask if those items were discounted and the lady said you can ask at checkout, they want to sell them. Someone asked where the items come from, some are new, some are returns, some from the outlet. Some items were wrapped in the bags or had tags, but most were tagless.
Once you gather your items you have the space to try on - there was a dressing room - really just a blocked off big communal area. Ladies - wear underwear. I mean I don't understand the ladies that not only did not wear underwear but then also wanted to try clothes on. I'd would be like oh I guess I can't try anything on today since for some reason I forgot underwear...but no, this did not hold people back. My sister and I wore tank tops and leggings so we could easily try our items on over our clothes. We were interested in tops and dresses so this was perfect. If you want shoes, I'd consider wearing something you can easily slip off so you can easily try them on.
Overall, my sister and I would go again, but for the sale in Lancaster that is women's only, we wouldn't bother waiting in line early. Some items I bought were "longs" so I will have to have them altered, but an easy fix for the price, all dresses were $40. It's DEFINATELY helpful to know what the approx. original price of items are. There were some fancy dresses that no doubt were originally 200+ so you would get a great deal. Some of the dresses that were cotton that I bought probably retailed around $68-88, so not quite the huge saving, but still a deal. There was also a top that I have that would have been $30 (I'm pretty sure tops were $30 and not the $25 listed below) that I actually paid less for online during a sale so I passed on that. Coats would have been a great deal if there were any to be found. It's not listed below, but I think the kids swim was either $10-$15. I actually have that suit in a one-piece for my daughter that I scored on sale for $19 on the website, originally it was around $25 I believe.
Here was the price list:
Here is a picture of my haul, kids items and women's.
If you have any additional tips please share in the comments below!
