Monday, October 29, 2018

BRANDY MELVILLE WAREHOUSE SALE EXPERIENCE

Click here to watch my YouTube video/Try-On Haul

I finally got to go to a Brandy Melville warehouse sale the last time I was in Southern California. I've seen their posts in the past (promoting the sales) but they usually only give a couple days notice and it was never when I had a planned trip. Luckily, I was about an hour away from one of their sales during my trip to Southern California so I made the drive to check it out!
Tank and Sweats from sale
The Wait
I read that you need to get there early in order to be one of the first groups. Ideally you want to be in the first group to go in because not only do you get first pick, but as people go they are throwing clothes on the ground (so a lot of stuff was getting dirty/stepped on). Because of this, people in the later groups are more likely to get damaged items. 

The sale started at 9am and I got there at 4am. I would say there were about 80 people ahead of me. There was no bathroom around and the businesses in this area (even the gas station) did not have their restrooms open. I honestly don't know where all the people that were camping out were going to the bathroom at... Later on (closer to 7am) after they started setting up the sale, Port-a-Potties were delivered.  

Since I was visiting from out of town I was there by myself, but most people came with a friend. If you're able to go with someone else I highly recommend doing so, because if you need to use the bathroom or add more money to your meter they can save your spot in line. 
Dress from sale

The Set-Up
Normally I read that the warehouse sales took place inside buildings, but the one they held in Santa Monica was actually outside in a parking lot (luckily the weather was nice). While they were setting up boxes a fence was delivered and set up around the perimeter of the lot. 

Boxes were laid out in rows and opened. The girls were fluffing up the items inside and everyone waiting in line was watching through the fence to try and see what items they could see in the boxes so they would know which ones they wanted to run to.

About an hour before they started to let people they handed out wristbands. Each wristband group would be let in at a different time. I was in the first group. 
Sweats and Top from sale
The Sale
When they started the sale people literally ran in and were running all over the place from box to box. When you enter they give you a trash bag to put clothes in (the hardcore people at the front of the line brought their own bags) and basically you just go from box to box collecting what you want. Some people (who you could tell were there to resell) were just shoving anything in their bags without even looking at what they were grabbing. 

People were piling bags along the outskirts of the fence and you could tell some were working in groups (for resell purposes). A lot of the girls would fill their bags then sit off to the side sorting through what they wanted. People would be going around asking to look through your "no" pile. 

At first I thought we would only have 40 mins to look around and check out (since I read from numerous other blogs that this was what happened at other locations) but they did not have any time limits at this sale. I think it might have been because it was being held outside and not in a building. Basically, they just let a new group in every half hour.  

You have to be careful when selecting items because a lot have defects or are damaged. There are even some still with security sensors on them. 

A lot of shirts had holes, loose stitching, or weird sizing. There's no dressing rooms so if you want to try stuff on I recommend wearing leggings and a tight fitting top so you can slip stuff over your clothing. 

There was a lot of "mom jeans" but I didn't see any regular denim or denim shorts. A lot of sweatpants, sweatshirts, basic tees and tanks. There was very little outerwear, dresses, and skirts. 
Top from sale
Prices
Everything was either $5, $10, or $15. Cash only. 

Off the top of my head, all tanks and t-shirts were $5. Shorts and skirts were $10. Sweatshirts, Jackets, Pants, Denim, Thermals, and Dresses were $15. 

I tried to find items that were the best deal, for example, they had a lot of basic tops (which are pretty inexpensive already) so I avoided those. I tried to focus on embroidered or printed tops which tend to have higher prices in-store. Some of my favorite finds were a yellow embroidered honey tee and some band tees. (To see a full haul watch my YouTube video). 
Tank from sale
Check-Out
In order to check out you wait in line (the line was long, took me about 45 mins) and someone will add up your items once you get to the front. After you pay they wrapped the top of the trash bag with a zip tie to indicate that it was paid for. 

Right when I was about to leave another truck showed up with about 100 more boxes. When they opened the back of the truck all the other girls were so excited a lot of them started screaming! 

Unfortunately I had a flight to catch that night and had to drive an hour back to Chino, so I couldn't stay to look through all the new stuff. They were making everyone wait until all the new boxes were unloaded, lined up, and opened so it was taking a long time to set that all up. 

I waited for a bit to see whether the items were different or the same and it looked like a lot of new pieces that were not in the previous boxes I looked though, so I was bummed I couldn't stay longer!

Also the new boxes that they brought were marked "Boston Warehouse" so I'm assuming these were shipped in for the sale.
Sweatshirt from sale
Overall Experience 
If you love Brandy Melville this sale has a lot of good deals (some items were still in stores) and I felt that it was well worth the time and money!

I talked to a couple other girls (who had been to previous sales) and they all said this one had a lot more items and was bigger then other ones they've gone to. 

I loved this sale and I hope they have another one closer to me the next time I'm in California! 
Top and Skirt from sale

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