What are they supposed to do? Part of the collaboration with the designers is limited stock. They have no control over what people do with the merchandise after purchase.
look, having worked for Target for years, I can say they do plenty of shady shit (a la all the Walmart complaints). But I don't really see what they can do differently here.
Simply limit the number of items per customer. Say "sorry, you can only have 5 of the exact same scarf." They will sell the whole inventory regardless, while expanding the number of customers who get a piece of the pie. So next time they roll out a special collaboration, they won't have thousands of people who got burned this time sitting at home because it's not worth the effort.
They did that. For online orders, there was a limit of 5 of each item. In-store, they said there was a limit of 3 of each item. But there was legitimately maybe 10 of each piece of clothing. So... cool, about 3 people can buy all of one dress. And most people waiting in line for an hour+ don't just want one dress. Some people I talked to in line wanted 1-2 items, but some people wanted a dress. And shoes. And a scarf. And maybe a throw pillow.
Also, you could only bring 2 items into the dressing rooms. So people who grabbed 3-4 clothing items were more likely to buy the same item in 2 sizes so they could return whatever fit, rather than limiting their purchase to, essentially, one item (taking 2 sizes of the same dress into the dressing room, for example).
I would have loved to have a few things, but I'm also feeling some kind of way about them playing their customers like this. They knew full well that a tiny number of shoppers would snatch up everything and resell it, and they seem to care not a wit. They got their money. Whatever, it's their business practice.
What are they supposed to do? Part of the collaboration with the designers is limited stock. They have no control over what people do with the merchandise after purchase.
look, having worked for Target for years, I can say they do plenty of shady shit (a la all the Walmart complaints). But I don't really see what they can do differently here.
Sell the PLUS size items in store so that after they disappear from our online carts multiple times in the middle of the night I can still have a chance at getting one in person.
I went to Target yesterday at around lunch for razors, soap, and a few random items I put in my kids' lunches and they still had LP stuff. The clothes were picked over but the home section was fully stocked. I live in Southern CA.
I actually bought my 5 year old daughter two swimsuits (at $16 they were actually cheaper than the rack of everyday brand Target suits next to it) and myself the navy blue sheath which was actually very flattering (I could calmly go and try it on without people trying to take it from my hands). For $38, the dress is good quality.
That said, my fb feed was a frenzy. I'm from the east coast and had a lot of friends who wanted things (or friends with daughters that wanted things). Some were legit mad. I felt a little guilty that I managed to score a few nice items on a trip to get Colgate and string cheese.
What are they supposed to do? Part of the collaboration with the designers is limited stock. They have no control over what people do with the merchandise after purchase.
look, having worked for Target for years, I can say they do plenty of shady shit (a la all the Walmart complaints). But I don't really see what they can do differently here.
Sell the PLUS size items in store so that after they disappear from our online carts multiple times in the middle of the night I can still have a chance at getting one in person.
I thought the collection looked cute but I have no desire to stand in line for hours. I don't like Lily that much, lol.
For the life of me I cannot figure how why Target's website is so crappy. Like, you're one of the biggest retailers in the country. Have a functioning website.
They could at least limit the number of items per customer. There's no reason that with extremely limited stock, they should be letting people buy an entire cartful of the stuff.
But this is t like stocking up on 12 packs of coke. From my understanding, people are buying numerous items, but not necessarily the same item.
Couldn't they at least limit the number of items from this particular collection, since it's a unique, extremely limited edition thing?
Also, I don't understand why the stock has to be SO limited.
But this is t like stocking up on 12 packs of coke. From my understanding, people are buying numerous items, but not necessarily the same item.
Couldn't they at least limit the number of items from this particular collection, since it's a unique, extremely limited edition thing?
But why? Each item is different. I'd want the bowls, plates, mugs, and glassware from the collection. Are you telling me that I can't have those if I got to the store first, just because someone else might want them?
Why not make more? It isn't like they were surprised it was popular. Lilly fans are nuts and have broken websites before. The whole scarcity strategy really irritates me.
This is how all the Target special collections are. They are all small, limited to a few racks of clothing and household items. That's the whole point- a small, limited-time collection.
Couldn't they at least limit the number of items from this particular collection, since it's a unique, extremely limited edition thing?
But why? Each item is different. I'd want the bowls, plates, mugs, and glassware from the collection. Are you telling me that I can't have those if I got to the store first, just because someone else might want them?
This makes sense for the housewares collection, but it sounds like the clothing is where the real issue was. There's no reason that if you only have 5 of each item, one single person should be allowed to buy 3 of every one of them.
Why not make more? It isn't like they were surprised it was popular. Lilly fans are nuts and have broken websites before. The whole scarcity strategy really irritates me.
This is how all the Target special collections are. They are all small, limited to a few racks of clothing and household items. That's the whole point- a small, limited-time collection.
Which is the other thing, this is the way the collections have been from the beginning. It's not like they changed the business model just for this collection. I was reading the "there's going to be a re-release!" stuff and shaking my head. This is what, the 4th year or something that they've been doing the collaborations, and they haven't changed in the model at all.
Who was responsible for providing the stock here? Was it LP or Target? If LP only provided a limited amount of supply, doesn't at least some of the blame shift to them?
But why? Each item is different. I'd want the bowls, plates, mugs, and glassware from the collection. Are you telling me that I can't have those if I got to the store first, just because someone else might want them?
This makes sense for the housewares collection, but it sounds like the clothing is where the real issue was. There's no reason that if you only have 5 of each item, one single person should be allowed to buy 3 of every one of them.
That's not what you were saying, though. You were saying 3 items from the collection. There were shirts, maxi dresses, fug rompers, etc. So you could make a whole wardrobe of Lilly if you wanted without duplicating clothing item. Plus, who is going to try on the items when the store is a madhouse?
Side note: I can't believe I'm defending Target, but being that they are a local company I have seen them get quite a bit of justifiable outrage and also some misplaced outrage.
Who was responsible for providing the stock here? Was it LP or Target? If LP only provided a limited amount of supply, doesn't at least some of the blame shift to them?
Stock numbers would be a part of the agreed upon deal. These designers still want to be exclusive. They're not looking to have a large discount line.
I'm convinced a good portion is going to end up back in Target stores. People think they're going to be able to unload it on ebay, but I will be surprised if a majority can. The price point of regular LP doesn't support that. Maybe it will for the plus stuff that LP doesn't usually make, but for the rest? I will be surprised if it sells for a profit on ebay.
Effing genius marketing. Target and LP have received millions of dollars of free advertising. The naysayers are going to be drowned out x1000. So worth it for them.
Also, from my experience with limited run cloth diapers (shuttup), yeah there are scalpers out there but I don't think they're nowhere near as rampant as people are making this out to be. The immediate knee-jerk reaction, always, is that "THEY'RE JUST BUYING IT TO SELL ON EBAY!"
I mean, LOL @ this. This bag was $15 retail. It's an adorable print, and if I would have seen one for $15, I would have bought it most likely as a pool bag or something.
One other thing about ebay, is that people bid up auctions for shits and giggles, or to up their own price. I would guess that out of all of the listings going for $$$ about 1/3 of them are real.
Also, from my experience with limited run cloth diapers (shuttup), yeah there are scalpers out there but I don't think they're nowhere near as rampant as people are making this out to be. The immediate knee-jerk reaction, always, is that "THEY'RE JUST BUYING IT TO SELL ON EBAY!"
There are currently 30,245 ebay listings for Target Lilly Pulitzer, so I don't think this is an incorrect assumption.
The whole point of the Target collection is that it's Lilly Pulitzer, but cheap! If it's not cheap, why not just buy...regular Lilly Pulitzer?
Because Lilly Pulitzer generally doesn't come in plus sizes.
So anyone who wears above a 16 is generally SOL.
Now your point is well made about the other items. But I can understand why someone who is a size 20 (like me) would pay maybe $50 for the dress that was $38 at Target or maybe even $75 or $80 or $100. That person can't just buy an actual LP dress.
Also, from my experience with limited run cloth diapers (shuttup), yeah there are scalpers out there but I don't think they're nowhere near as rampant as people are making this out to be. The immediate knee-jerk reaction, always, is that "THEY'RE JUST BUYING IT TO SELL ON EBAY!"
There are currently 30,245 ebay listings for Target Lilly Pulitzer, so I don't think this is an incorrect assumption.
ETA: there are 8,326 sold listings as well.
Out of how many people that went to Target yesterday? I would also imagine that some of those are just people who got the stuff for themselves, then saw what was happening on ebay and went to make a quick buck.
Ebay is pretty much a web of lies. You can look at the numbers, but they don't really mean anything.
This is how all the Target special collections are. They are all small, limited to a few racks of clothing and household items. That's the whole point- a small, limited-time collection.
Which is the other thing, this is the way the collections have been from the beginning. It's not like they changed the business model just for this collection. I was reading the "there's going to be a re-release!" stuff and shaking my head. This is what, the 4th year or something that they've been doing the collaborations, and they haven't changed in the model at all.
And of all the things they could change about how they do the releases, the limited nature of them is the one thing that is never ever going to change. Part of the reason the designers are willing to do these collections is because of that.
I don't really even care that much about this. But I am seriously annoyed that the media is making it seem like poor Target was just so overwhelmed with these crazy women! Who knew women would go soooo crazy for clothes? Oh, those broads....
I don't really even care that much about this. But I am seriously annoyed that the media is making it seem like poor Target was just so overwhelmed with these crazy women! Who knew women would go soooo crazy for clothes? Oh, those broads....