I don't usually vent or complain about things on my blog, but for some reason, this really has me riled up! I just want to say how disappointed I am in the people who took advantage of such an incredible collaboration by purchasing tons of Missoni for Target merchandise only to resell everything on eBay for up to 6 TIMES the original price!!! Seriously, I saw this throw, regularly priced at $39.99, being sold on eBay for $245!!! This was an exciting opportunity for many of us to purchase Missoni at an affordable price, which is now no longer an option since thousands of [greedy] re-sellers have hoarded the product line only to make a profit. So many of you left comments on my post Tuesday with the same frustrations (except for my client Clara, who SCORED at her local Target!). There were so many of us, all across the country, who excitedly arrived at Target bright and early on the day of the launch, only to leave empty handed (and watch others leave with shopping carts filled with 15 boxes of shoes and 5 suitcases - I really did). I even read on one girls blog that someone tried to steal stuff out of her cart! Really?!! Okay, I just needed to get that out. Anyone else need to vent? Go ahead and leave your comments here! (P.S. - "Anonymous" comments will be deleted, unless you leave your name and/or website).
I couldn't agree with you more. There is absolutely NO way I'll go to ebay and support the greedy people. I was so excited about buying the $39.99 throw - but it won't be heading to my house. It was really said that Target didn't anticipate the traffic to their website. Tried to order it, but no such luck. I think it was out of stock before the west coast even woke up.
I don't really understand the hoarder and greedy behavior of the Missoni for Target shoppers. You can't have style without class.
My brother works at Target. They didn't anticipate the insane rush, although they should have. He did say, "we're a huge company, if those crazy ladies think that was all we had in stock their naive and foolish. Of course there is more to come out. The sale goes on for a month. Keep checking your local store. We're waiting for shipments of more merchandise."
He also said, each store won't restock like day one, but they will be getting "random" boxes of merch to put out.
ahh I can so relate! I actually did end up with some fun merchandise, but that's mostly because I snagged a few kids XL sweaters and convinced myself that they work :) The employees at our Target said women ran in and grabbed clothes by the handful...thousands of dollars worth. Is it wrong that I hope the people who are reselling on ebay get stuck with the extra?
When I got there at 830, I saw the hoarders with their carts full enough to look like a stock carts. Awful. Couldn't agree with you more, I hope no one buys that on eBay. It's so funny to me that if you can go spend $1K on Missoni for Target, you can probably just go out and get a REAL Missoni purchase!
Absolutely crazy. I woke up at 3 am and was able to place my order...now lets just see if I get it. I am SO infuriated with the over 40,000 items for sale on ebay. It is just SO wrong and SO unfair. And whats even crazier are the people buying it !!
It's all just kinda silly isn't it? Julie I say get yourself a real $24 Missoni hand towel. You will love it so much more!
rachel - that's hysterical and so true about prada! and erika - you make a good point about splurging on something small from the actual missoni line :) i love all of your comments! thank you for sharing.
i completely agree with you! i couldn't have said it better myself.
Julie, not just writing to say that you're right in your judgment because usually you are quite logical and reasonable, but I did want to comment now on whether or not some of this sentiment I'm reading on your blog is a bit over-the-top, and making the folks at Missoni and Target even more pleased with themselves, however botched the distribution of goods may have been at stores across the country.
As someone whose blog is NOT fashion or decor-oriented, I'm sort of agnostic about whether everything being offered by Missoni at Target was really so attractive or great -though I had planned on posting last week about the fiasco I expected it to be, but thought better of it, unfortunately- I can't help but wonder if many of the women you know who have been complaining, or even the readers who have commented here, are the very same people who scoff or laugh when they're watching local TV newscasts and see LIVE reports featuring twenty-something guys lining-up overnight outside Best Buy or other electronic/digital retail stores when a new product line is being released. Or anything from Apple!
It's very easy to see the TV newscasts featuring guys sleeping in sleeping bags -in tents- on sidewalks outside suburban Big Box retail complexes and going on and on about some new product, and thinking at home that they need to get a life.
On the other hand, they get the satisfaction, however fleeting, of having something that others want or wish they had. Just like your readers would have if they'd shown up earlier.
I can't help but wonder if much of the fury I'm detecting here is among people were simply out-smarted and late to the party. It's nothing mysterious, simply first-come, first-serve supply and demand, Target-style.
I suspect those electronic-centric guys being laughed at by some of your readers months ago are NOW laughing their heads off at as they watch TV newscasts featuring women across the country complaining about what happened Tuesday, especially those who have fashion or decor blogs and won't admit they were simply either under-prepared or outsmarted.
Sometimes, people have to have their own assumptions rocked before they see their own behavior for what it is.
In this case, I can't really distinguish between the guys who took the time and energy to line-up outside the Best Buy and scored whatever dopey thing they were so ga-ga for, to impress their friends, and the the retail customers -overwhelmingly female- who beat your readers to the punch on Tuesday at Target.
As for people writing in to say that they hope that people who 'speculated' -the word I think you were looking for in your post- lose money on e-bay, well, that rings suspiciously like what really petty sore losers say.
Stylish perhaps, but still, sore losers.
i totally agree with you, though i found the collaboration a bit ridiculous to begin with.
just a question...did the tags not say 'missoni for target' on them? or are the items exactly the same? surely there is some differentiation in quality and material, etc.
sometine it is good to vent! Thank you!
Hmmm interesting post by Dave above. Not sure what think about that.
It is frustrating to miss out and also rather greedy of people to buy up and resell at massive markups but what can we do?
AGREED! I blogged about the exact same thing today. Love your blog :) feel free to vent when needed - we all do it!
who said she was just buying things to sell on eBay. You could tell just by looking at her that none of it was for her. Is that mean??
I really hope no one buys the stuff on eBay!! I will not support them and their greediness. I couldn't agree with you more, this is so frustrating! I really wanted a few clothing pieces and that throw, but I'm really hoping they'll restock soon!
It is just sad about all the crazies that rushed the stores only to sell them for ridiculous prices. It says a lot about those people. My Target was so picked over, I called my mom to look at theirs.
On a completely different subject, did you change your banner colors? Very pretty!
It's called supply and demand. An economics 101 term. Throw into the mix blogger hype and you have a perfect storm. I wonder how many of these Target shoppers had dreams of an authentic Missoni purchase prior to Target's collaboration? Word spread like wildfire throughout the blogging community that it was a must-have weeks before the launch. Just like chalkboard walls, drop cloth slipcovers and beachy-anything. Do your own thing and you won't even be phased by the hype next time. Or end up with yet more crap you don't really need. Hasn't anyone learned anything from the economic downturn? I know the credit card companies are laughing all the way to the ...uh..bank.
Unfortunately the same thing happened when Liberty of London came to Target last year...it's sad that there are people who only think of themselves. I hope Target was prepared this time for this type of behavior and is planning on shipping more pieces to the stores throughout the month.
I had a very similar experience as a lot of the commenters above ... I actually heard a Target employee use the word "carnage" to describe what was going on with the crazed women (and I'm sure some men too). Apparently customers were coming in and scooping everything off of the racks and dumping it into their carts and generally acting like animals from the comments I heard throughout the store. I got to Target at 8:30 (had to put kids on the bus or I would've been there earlier) and I had carefully studied the lookbooks so I already knew what I wanted. When I arrived I saw women with 3 and 4 carts STUFFED FULL of stuff, and heard amounts like $1500-$2000 at the cash registers. Unbelievable. I bought only what I wanted for myself and have no plans to resell. I was pretty happy with my loot -- I got two dresses, a pair of girls' XL leggings (brown with zigs at the bottom), a cute glass nut dish, black pumps, zig zag flats, three vases (glass & ceramic), ceramic platter, 2 frames, CD storage box, a pair of tights, a mug, and a candle. I sadly missed out on the espresso set, prep bowls and some of the melamine, but overall was happy with what I got. But you're right, I was REALLLY disappointed with people's behavior.
in response to dave's (very LONG)comment, i see your point and of course i realize people lining up outside a store in anticipation for a new product or line of merchandise is nothing new! the only difference is that (per your example) the guys lining up at Best Buy to be the first ones to get their hands on a shiny new TV or video game, aren't rushing into the store and filling up 3 shopping carts full of loot, spending thousands of dollars, just to turn around and re-sell it for a profit. people aren't frustrated because they were "late to the party" as you put it. if you've read the other comments here, you'll notice that just about everyone showed up to target before the store opened and still left empty handed, because of a handful of people who rushed in and started shoving things in their cart by the armloads. i am aware that this does happen and people will do anything to make a dollar, it's just disappointing to say the very least. many people are greedy, selfish and inconsiderate and that's something that will never change. i'm not trying to make some kind of statement here on my blog about what's right or wrong when it comes to shopping, i'm simply sharing my frustrations with many others who are feeling the same way.
SO agree with you! I went late in the morning after dropping my little one off at school and got a few things. Mostly for her and a few home accessories that I am going to giveaway to my readers next week. I do not believe in reselling it. I want people to have it and enjoy some of these beautiful pieces.
There are some things I cannot tolerate. Among them are GREED and LACK OF MANNERS. There is no honor in hoarding and re-selling for atrocious prices. Only shame.
i completely agree. the hippie inside of me wants to wail on about how capitalism allows and promotes this behavior, but i prefer to turn up my nose as thoseselling and buying on ebay right now. it may all be missoni designed, but its still target quality. i dont knoww why someone would pay $250 for target flats, go get some new, real luxury shoes.
I know right! I was so sad that I didn't get anything and others loaded up - not fair. They should have had a second stock for those of us that had to work all day.
To Dave: I think another key difference is that typically electronics and games offerings that are likely to be "hot" have a number of items per buyer limit attached to them ( the original iPhone was one per customer if I remember correctly) while the Missoni/Target items did not. So if guy number 60 into the store doesn't get a new Halo 4, its because Best Buy only had 59 copies not because guy Number 1 bought 59 copies and screwed everyone else in line. See the distinction?
That said, I don't think it's all worth crying over to the extent it has been. It's only stuff. You can't take it with you.
I so agree with you! I went to my local Target to find two wine boxes and a frame. I could not believe that there was nothing left! Very disappointing! Oh, a few sweaters for kids but they looked like they had been in a tug-o-war match!
I was a little annoyed..I work overnight so I was online at 12am and the site kept crashing.. there were hardly any descriptions of items that I could navigate to.. I only thought I wanted a throw and the martini shaker. After an hour of trying to look at the offerings.. I gave up thinking I could try again later.. maybe 3 hours later, everything was out of stock. I then went to the store.. the only thing left was the signs advertising Missoni for Target. hahahaha There were totally empty displays all over the store.. it looked like it was going out of business. I had to laugh.. So over it. After all I hyped it to be in my head.. it was really not a big deal that I didn't get anything but felt Target handled the promotion poorly.
Well, it looks to me like all the pre-market hype, that many blogs participated in, has worked!
This is capitalism and how it works...sometimes for you, sometimes against you.
I totally agree with you Julie. In my opinion there should have been quantity limit restrictions in order to allow more people to purchase. After all, this is a limited edition collection that was to only be available for about a month. I was really hoping to score that chevron throw and after visiting 3 Targets and venturing online, I'm left empty handed. However, I'm not losing sleep over it. Who knows, maybe they'll release more products.