Here’s the Dirty Little Secret Behind Why Outlet Stores Are So Cheap

December 7, 2015

Outlet stores: The number one destination for people who don’t mind snagging last season’s designer clothes for a discount. You get the quality craftsmanship and materials at half the price. It’s a good deal, right?

That may not be so, according to Vox. Most shoppers may not know that outlet stores sell designer-brand clothing that was specifically manufactured for outlet stores, sometimes by third party producers. They never actually sold for hundreds of dollars at big-name department stores and they probably aren’t made with the same level of quality that you’d expect from a designer.

Last week, a class-action lawsuit was filed against designer name Kate Spade for advertising discounts that tricked shoppers into thinking some items were heavily marked down from their original high price. According to the similar lawsuit:

“[T]hese purported original ‘our price’ prices and corresponding price reductions and savings were false and deceptive, as the prevailing retail price for the handbag during the three months immediately prior to plaintiff’s purchase of such item was no more than $142.00 and not the $355.00 original ‘our price’ represented by Kate Spade. Plaintiff would not have purchased the handbag in the absence of Kate Spade’s misrepresentations.”

A similar lawsuit was filed against designer brand Michael Kors last year. Discount department store TJ Maxx is currently facing a lawsuit after it was revealed that the store employees estimated how much certain designer items might cost and added discounts to the made up price just to make shoppers feel better about buying it.

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