• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

jet

Persian Bro
Joined
Jun 9, 2006
Messages
22,391
Reaction score
11,133
It would be rather pointless to have founding member status if there is in fact no sale then the generic 30 off. Would leave little reason for me to buy little if anything.

My money is going to sp, sw and tbs.
 

kindofyoung

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2012
Messages
4,577
Reaction score
12,865
I'm just gonna go ahead and leave this right here (works on H&MMM):
only in US
mad.gif
 

palma

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2009
Messages
562
Reaction score
21

I actually really like Porter's approach..giving early access to people who've spent over a certain threshold.


But, if that volume is accumulated at 50% off how does it benefit Porter? Most of their margin gets cut out. I think it should be a random pleasant surprise for all those receiving their email messages with a limitation of 10K (maybe a bit high) so people don't start flipping **** on ebay
 
Last edited:

DesignerValet

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
783
Reaction score
102

This is false. What it seems to have happened (this is based on inference from the posts here) is that Porter has recognized its best customers, those who have spent a over certain of threshold during the year the and given them a shot before the founding members. In fact, i've seen no evidence this year that founding members will be recognized with sale access before the general public.


Makes sense. I'm a "founding member" but have only bought a couple things at 80% off.
 

DesignerValet

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
783
Reaction score
102
Marni outlet Orlando presale, 11/17-11/22. This is the outlets' outlet, so the prices are as low as you'll find but the inventory is a bit hit and miss (mostly miss).

Additional 40% off FW 2010 (70% off retail)
Additional 70% off FW 2008 (85% off retail)
 

LA Guy

Opposite Santa
Admin
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2002
Messages
57,381
Reaction score
36,222

But, if that volume is accumulated at 50% off how does it benefit Porter? Most of their margin gets cut out. I think it should be a random pleasant surprise for all those receiving their email messages with a limitation of 10K (maybe a bit high) so people don't start flipping **** on ebay


That volume is not accumulated at 50% off. A common business model is to give VIP status to those who spend a crapload at retail. The 50% off just allows those shoppers to feel special and feel justified about a small splurge.

Also, there is absolutely no reason to put a ceiling on their purchases because they are afraid of flipping. First of all, the majority of those who are spending thousands at retail are unlikely to flip anything on Ebay. Second, for professional jobbers, the margins just aren't there. A big chain like TJ Maxx buys out at something like $0.08 on the dollar, which is actually on the high side. A big store will sell excess inventory to them or Yoox because it's convenient to just get rid of a crapload of stuff and recuperate some of your costs. A small jobber will pay a bit more - I've heard in the $0.10 to $0.15 on the retail dollar. And even then, if you sell at $0.30-$.40 on the retail dollar, you have to do pretty well to make up your margins. Buying at $.50 on the retail dollar from Mr.Porter, what sort of margins do you think you can get? And factor in that you only really have a couple of months to move all your inventory, because after that, the same stuff will go for $0.30 on the retail dollar, from Mr. Porter itself, without all the uncertainty that buying from a random guy on the internet entails.
 

akatsuki

Distinguished Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2008
Messages
2,652
Reaction score
201

That volume is not accumulated at 50% off. A common business model is to give VIP status to those who spend a crapload at retail. The 50% off just allows those shoppers to feel special and feel justified about a small splurge.
Also, there is absolutely no reason to put a ceiling on their purchases because they are afraid of flipping. First of all, the majority of those who are spending thousands at retail are unlikely to flip anything on Ebay. Second, for professional jobbers, the margins just aren't there. A big chain like TJ Maxx buys out at something like $0.08 on the dollar, which is actually on the high side. A big store will sell excess inventory to them or Yoox because it's convenient to just get rid of a crapload of stuff and recuperate some of your costs. A small jobber will pay a bit more - I've heard in the $0.10 to $0.15 on the retail dollar. And even then, if you sell at $0.30-$.40 on the retail dollar, you have to do pretty well to make up your margins. Buying at $.50 on the retail dollar from Mr.Porter, what sort of margins do you think you can get? And factor in that you only really have a couple of months to move all your inventory, because after that, the same stuff will go for $0.30 on the retail dollar, from Mr. Porter itself, without all the uncertainty that buying from a random guy on the internet entails.


They should just go on pure profit rather than revenue when calculating status - who cares if people buy on discount if they make you more money?
 

Hype1234

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2012
Messages
731
Reaction score
270
That volume is not accumulated at 50% off. A common business model is to give VIP status to those who spend a crapload at retail. The 50% off just allows those shoppers to feel special and feel justified about a small splurge.
Also, there is absolutely no reason to put a ceiling on their purchases because they are afraid of flipping. First of all, the majority of those who are spending thousands at retail are unlikely to flip anything on Ebay. Second, for professional jobbers, the margins just aren't there. A big chain like TJ Maxx buys out at something like $0.08 on the dollar, which is actually on the high side. A big store will sell excess inventory to them or Yoox because it's convenient to just get rid of a crapload of stuff and recuperate some of your costs. A small jobber will pay a bit more - I've heard in the $0.10 to $0.15 on the retail dollar. And even then, if you sell at $0.30-$.40 on the retail dollar, you have to do pretty well to make up your margins. Buying at $.50 on the retail dollar from Mr.Porter, what sort of margins do you think you can get? And factor in that you only really have a couple of months to move all your inventory, because after that, the same stuff will go for $0.30 on the retail dollar, from Mr. Porter itself, without all the uncertainty that buying from a random guy on the internet entails.



I agree. I doubt that the majority of individuals purchasing high volumes of expensive clothing spend their time flipping on the B&S forums and ebay. They are probably out in the real world, making large salaries...so they can spend them.
 

jet

Persian Bro
Joined
Jun 9, 2006
Messages
22,391
Reaction score
11,133
:lol:
 
Last edited:

zissou

Distinguished Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Messages
9,351
Reaction score
8,851

I agree. I doubt that the majority of individuals purchasing high volumes of expensive clothing spend their time flipping on the B&S forums and ebay. They are probably out in the real world, making large salaries...so they can spend them.


I seem to recall one of the resellers on the RRL thread whining about having to sink a hundred grand on inventory (on steep sale) just to bring in enough to live on each month. That's about the point when I stopped reading that thread.
 

LA Guy

Opposite Santa
Admin
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2002
Messages
57,381
Reaction score
36,222

They should just go on pure profit rather than revenue when calculating status - who cares if people buy on discount if they make you more money?


You don't make more money. If you sell everything at discount, you are taking a loss, and eventually go out of business. Running a business takes a lot of overhead. Retail is a notoriously tough business. I think that only the margins for restaurants are more slim.

Do some quick calculations on the back of an envelope, or take a business class.
 

ImaPro

Distinguished Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2010
Messages
1,242
Reaction score
136
Some of the biggest margins I've seen on small businesses were from restaurants, but I guess it depends to what you compare it to.

Agree with the other part though, almost any kind of store needs a really big margin to survive(and grow).
 
Last edited:

Lionheart Biker

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2011
Messages
3,079
Reaction score
1,483
This is false. What it seems to have happened (this is based on inference from the posts here) is that Porter has recognized its best customers, those who have spent a over certain of threshold during the year the and given them a shot before the founding members. In fact, i've seen no evidence this year that founding members will be recognized with sale access before the general public.
This. I didn´t receive anything about fouding member´s sale. And I didn´t get any VIP one because I´ve only shopped 3 times (6 items overall I think). Sucks if there really isn´t going to be a previous sale before going public :/
 

LA Guy

Opposite Santa
Admin
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2002
Messages
57,381
Reaction score
36,222

Some of the biggest margins I've seen on small businesses were from restaurants, but I guess it depends to what you compare it to.
Agree with the other part though, almost any kind of store needs a really big margin to survive(and grow).


Some restaurants do awesome. But I was just reading something about 50% of restaurants failing within the first year. And a lot of it, ime, has not been due to ****** food or service, but due to inefficiency and miscalculations - you have to dump a bunch of produce, it's money down the drain. You sell out of your special too quickly? Also money down the drain. Too many servers on a slow night? Money down the drain. Not enough servers on a busy night, and the queue is too long, so patrons leave? Money down the drain.

Same with stores. I know small retailers who built out their own space, and didn't take a single day off, for 24 months, or hire any additional help, to just start to make a profit. And these were were guys who had been around the business for a long time, had extensive customer lists, and so on.
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 35.3%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 61 39.1%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 17 10.9%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 27 17.3%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 28 17.9%

Forum statistics

Threads
505,207
Messages
10,579,345
Members
223,892
Latest member
cprice
Top