NY Mag: Gilt selling merch made for Gilt

Does the origin country/country were product is made matter in the price to quality factor? And if the product is produced in a country known for counterfieting, than what does that do to brand reputation built over years of investing.

I wonder if Sade made that album specially for Gilt.

I graduate business school were taught that a majority of the consumers in luxury goods market shop for brands rather the quality and craftmanship. For example, there are some members here that are good tie and shirt makers, that produce high quality products. Outside this forum, and Ask Andy, many luxury consumers would not consider a brioni multi fold to say a Sam Horber hand made tie that takes I will to produce and made of very high quality silk if both were in Saks 5th hanging side by side. The luxury consumer will consider Brioni on sell at 60% offf vs. Sam Horber at full price and delayed gratification. I don't own either brand, but have handled many Brioni ties and only read good things about Sam Horber.

The point is that we haver been conditioned to shop by brands, and only have enough room in our consideration set for the top 5 brands in a given product category.

Just my 2 cents.

im not sure this is the case with most of their sales merchandise. i can only speak from my experience with gilt , items from john varvatos, marc jacobs, caruso, steven alan, prorsum, jil sander and the such that i have purchased i have seen once or twice at the boutiques and is the exact same thing. also the merchandise came with the original tags that you find in the boutique, for example the last jv suit i purchased, came with the exact looking tags and bar codes and everything you find from the store. ( i had to return it of course due to fit).

the quality? same. im not well versed in fabrics and clothes making, but from my limited eye and feel on things, the quality, stitching, etc is the SAME. if there is anything different , it is so subtle, i would suspect how that would even generate any more profit for them on saving expense on these things?

im not a proponent of gilt, nor against them, i just state matter of fact. i complain about gilt a variety of times on their affiliate thread, and also commended them. on a variety of issues. i go both ways with this company.

i would suspect their lower quality goods like penfield, AA, skechers and the like that are now bombarding the site, are the brand names in question here who may be guilty of the topic here.
for example, i never heard of penfield until here. i asked around about the quality of their jackets and puffer jackets, and the overall consensus is the quality is decent and DEFINITELY worth the price at a 100 dollars mark down from 250 for their puffer jacket.

i got the jacket and it had a quality issue, not just an anomaly, but an issue i think is inherent in that line of jackets ( i can tell, by how thin the lining is and you can actually make out all the feathers underneath!)
it is not worht even 20 dollars of my money imho. i had wondered how people here would recommend this jacket for 100 dollars ,but then i learned those who got that jacket got them from other affiliates who carry a regular stockist of penfield, or they got them from a b&m store. they mentioned that is strange, they never had that kind of issue with their penfield merchandise. however, a couple of poeple here who bought the same jacket from gilt, had the same issue as me.
so thus, i suspect this is the case with only the plethora of b rated merchandise labels on gilt, not the known names like ralph lauren.

haha

Originally Posted by Naf Nasitra

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I wonder if Sade made that album specially for Gilt.

Just to throw STP under the bus too... I've received a couple of Isaia items from them that were absolute crap compared to the Isaia stuff I own from Barney's. I kept one of them because it was so dirt cheap, but one pair of pants just had to go back. It was seriously one of the worst pairs of pants I've ever handled.

But don't you see that there's an essential difference: you're able to return things to STP & get your money back; with Gilt, they stick you with credit.

Originally Posted by AlanC

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Often you'll see STP note 'overstock fabric' or something similar. STP can be a way for makers to keep the employees working. And, as you say, if the quality is there, and with STP's return policy, it's not an issue. Made for GILT merchandise somewhat undermines the GILT argument for no returns.
I have no problem with STP selling Isaia suits. But as the Gilt article points out, details may not be the same. You simply don't know. Suits stay in STP inventory until they sell. So it would seem STP is subject to the same rules as Gilt. That is, manufacturers sell them merchandise discounted below typical wholesale prices but in return STP must assume all risk of loss on items that don't sell. For the manufacturer, knowing that they won't need to offer credit for unsold merchandise takes a significant unknown variable out of the equation. So, are the profit margins for Isaia lower, higher, or the same for what they sell to STP as compared to what they sell to Neiman? I don't know. And I don't care. I'm happy with my Isaia suit from STP. I feel I got a quality product at a fair price. Nothing else matters.

Originally Posted by sjmin209

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But don't you see that there's an essential difference: you're able to return things to STP & get your money back; with Gilt, they stick you with credit.
There is a limit to the number of returns you can make to STP. Return too much (>75%, I believe), and they warn you. Continued abuse would probably result in them closing your account. Last year, someone posted an e-mail they received from Gilt after having made one too many returns. A search of the archives would turn it up.

Originally Posted by Naf Nasitra

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I wonder if Sade made that album specially for Gilt.

Before singing, Sade was designer for men's clothing

This makes total sense now. I picked up a couple Duncan Quinn shirts from Gilt that were made in Italy and had MOP buttons. Nothing amazing but I liked the fit for the price. When more DQ shirts came up again I jumped on the chance to get a couple more. This time they were made in Turkey with plastic buttons. I didn't notice unfortunately until after I had washed them and couldn't return them. Certainly left a bad taste in my mouth.

Originally Posted by ChiliPalmer

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There is a limit to the number of returns you can make to STP.

Return too much (>75%, I believe), and they warn you. Continued abuse would probably result in them closing your account.

Last year, someone posted an e-mail they received from Gilt after having made one too many returns. A search of the archives would turn it up.

This is not quite accurate. The thread you're talking about is here. The letter they sent him asked him to make better use of the customer service department to avoid such a high rate of returns. It wasn't a warning or a threat.

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

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You should retitle this thread "NY Mag: Gilt selling merch made for Gilt"
That change got me to click on this thread. Some company that relies mainly on marketing to generate sales should hire you!

Originally Posted by sjmin209

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This is not quite accurate. The thread you're talking about is here. The letter they sent him asked him to make better use of the customer service department to avoid such a high rate of returns. It wasn't a warning or a threat.
What he left out is that STP takes you off the list for the DealFlyer e-mails once you get that letter. If you do business with STP, you know they seldom mass publish discount codes. You can only activate dealflyer e-mail coupons by clicking through the link embedded in the e-mail. Those e-mails are customer specific. Newegg does the same thing. So, by taking you off the e-mail list, they effectively prevent you from using coupons and obtaining additional discounts, thus limiting their relationship with you. This is not a condemnation of their business practices. I'm just pointing out that their unlimited return policy has unmentioned consequences.

Hmmm I wonder about their watches.

is hautelook the same company as Gilt?

dl