Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Push, Grab, Go

Via Spiga boots 
Nordstrom's price: $398.00
I paid: $39.99

Tory Burch flats 
Nordstrom's price: $198.00
I paid: $59.99



Hudson skinny jeans 
Nordstrom's price: $158.00
I paid: $14.97


I'm a bargain hunter to my core, so I frequent Nordstrom's version of the Good Will: Last Chance.  If you live in Arizona and have never shopped the store, you're missing out on a free education on how to snag and drag the best deals. If you've visited Arizona and missed out on digging through the piles of this season's Nordstrom returns, it's time to pencil a trip into your next itinerary.  People come to Arizona just to shop at this store.

Here are three rules to help you survive the experience:

1.  Leave your manners and dignity at home.  This store is home to Arizona's most aggressive shoppers, so it's a survival of the shopping fittest experience: You push, you grab that pair of gold sparkly TOMS, and you go to the next rack before someone else grabs that Stella McCartney bag you've always wanted.  Just tuck away all the niceties your mama taught you and you'll fare well.

2.  Get there before it opens.  This is usually at 9:50 am, but they open earlier around the holidays.

3.  Have an objective.  If you need new jeans, locate the rack while standing outside the storefront, then immediately go to that rack.

4.  Don't get addicted to the shopping adrenalin rush. I see a handful of the same women every time I go; I think they're addicted to getting designer brands for next to nothing.  (Maybe it's me who has the problem since I've been there enough times to recognize the regulars?)

Yesterday, after digging and sorting through piles of gold, I selected the above pictured items.  I pushed through walls of people just to stand in a line longer than the length of a football field.  Saving hundreds of dollars on items I really needed made the trip worth it. But sometimes I'm better off just going to Nordstrom and purchasing what I need instead of joining ranks with Arizona's name brand bottom feeders. Or sometimes I'm better off just going without.

If you'd like more information about Last Chance, here's a link to yelp.  There are funny reviews (BEWARE OF A LITTLE SWEARING) and some good pictures.  You'll get a better idea of what you're getting yourself into.

8 comments:

  1. Please stop advertising! That makes more crowds, and less chances for us to get what we want! haha! I am stoked to plan another trip to Arizona to go to Last Chance, I mean visit my cousins!

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  2. oh yeah, that reminds me. I was going to talk chad into going there tomorrow! i still want some toms!

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  3. Okay I'm checking this out the next time I'm in Arizona. How is this different from THE RACK, which is Nordstrom's throw-outs?

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    1. It's all used. And the biggest draw is that a lot of the merchandise is currently in Nordstrom stores, full-price. If you don't mind a little fixable tear or twice worn shoes, you can find some great deals. It's worth the experience if anything.

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  4. Love when I find something really great there and people follow you around to see if you are going to set it down. Gotta love Last Chance!

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  5. Stephanie had someone follow her around the store for a pair of Coach shoes she had. The lady finally said, "If you're not going to buy those, I will." And then she went on about how she just had surgery on her foot and how those shoes would be the perfect fit, and that she's been searching for them for a long time. Stephanie handed the shoes over. So nice of her.

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