Outlet Malls: A Caution - You Get What You Pay For

Until recently, I visited outlet malls in the belief that their lower prices represented bargains for the following reasons:

• slightly blemished or returned merchandise
• overstock items from parent stores
• out-of-season items or items which were slow to sell on the shelves of the parent store

However, this belief is changing. 

"Historically, outlets offered excess inventory and slightly damaged goods that retailers were unable to sell at regular retail stores," the January letter read. "Today, however, some analysts estimate that upwards of 85% of the merchandise sold in outlet stores was manufactured exclusively for these stores. Outlet-specific merchandise is often of lower quality than goods sold at non-outlet retail locations. While some retailers use different brand names and labels to distinguish merchandise produced exclusively for outlets, others do not. This leaves consumers at a loss to determine the quality of outlet-store merchandise carrying brand-name labels."

http://www.racked.com/2014/10/8/7573957/outlet-mall-stores

For a take on the Canadian scene, the following article provides some guideposts.

http://business.financialpost.com/news/retail-marketing/outlets-are-on-a-winning-streak

Some sensible advice about shopping at outlet malls is provided here.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/investopedia/2012/12/29/7-tips-for-outlet-mall-shopping/

Recently, I went on a golfing vacation to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina.  The place is heaven for golfers and mall rats.  Otherwise, it's a cultural desert: mile upon mile of strip development replete with beachwear stores every other block.  Only once was I temped to visit an outlet store, even when we were rained out one day.

Why?

• The state of the Canadian dollar undermined any apparent differential in sticker prices.
• In the golf stores that I did visit, I was very surprised to see that sticker prices were just about equivalent to those in Canada ... higher in many instances.  

There are more viable alternatives.  Increasingly, I use on-line shopping.  Amazon is excellent.  Many on-line stores have excellent sales and provide free returns for clothing which does not fit.  Also, there are many specialty stores which stock items which you just cannot find in malls.

For example, I patronize the following outlets to meet my needs for boating stuff.  In one instance, the shipping on a sale-priced 35 lb. anchor was free!  

http://ca.binnacle.com

http://www.stevestonmarine.com

However, there are some items for which there is no substitute for the service that only a store can provide.  And in some instances, one simply must "kick the tires" before making a purchase.