Share: Tell us what you love and hate about Friends & Family Sales!
my answer: I really feel like they come usually in PACKS! Like it won’t just be one brand, it’ll be five brands who all have similar sales going on. I don’t like it when free shipping thresholds are really high (like $100+) or if it’s only 10 or 15% off, which just isn’t that exciting. Otherwise, I love me a good sale!
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I like them in theory, but with sales tax at 9%, I need discounts of at least 20% to make it an actual deal!
They do come in packs, and I suspect that’s both due to their proximity to holiday seasons and because it makes it less likely that you’ll empty their coffers when your buying is spread out over several brands.
If it’s a real deal – like 20-30% off higher end – and comes with decent shipping costs, then I am all on board. Some of them try to sneak around it by tacking on a spending quota, which is just very…be a little less transparent, eh? Either you want to give me a deal or you don’t. Choose one. Most people who buy on the higher end are regularly paying full price as it is, so it’s not like they’re getting overwhelmed with financial loss.
20% off just brings the Canadian prices down to the U.S. prices, so it doesn’t really feel much like a sale, especially when there’s little difference in the exchange rate.
I totally agree with you on all counts. I especially hate when the websites aren’t prepared for the big sales (theBalm, I’m looking straight at you). You would think they learned from previous years but nope. Every damn year, it takes ages just to add one item to the cart. And since all the brands like doing their sales around the same time, you gotta deal with these headaches one right after the other.
Who doesn’t love 20% off everything (yay SEPHORA!)?! Anything less than that doesn’t really motivate me though. I also hate when there are exclusions, which are normally on popular item (I’m looking at you, Ulta), and when the stores can’t keep stock. It’s frustrating when it’s 10 past midnight and the bestsellers are sold out (NARS Smudgeproof. EVERY. TIME.)
yes…yes..(especially Ulta)…and yes.
Yep, they do come in packs. I usually end up using just one, usually Sephora, and completely ignoring the rest. I’m not much a huge spender at sales though because seeing that final price in the cart makes me go back and weed out stuff I don’t really need or have similar enough products of so I can push off the purchase until later. What really bugs me though is when sites crash during sale (THE BALM!!!!), I understand if it happens once, maybe twice but if it’s every sale then I just give up and wait for the brand to show up on Hautelook.
I hate when there’s a high shipping threshold and the site can’t handle the traffic. Two very annoying problems that’ll stop me from ordering altogether if it’s too bad. This one is strictly for Sephora but I hate how they’re doing the F&F sale now. It was so much more appealing when it was open to everyone. I hate how it’s literally for F&F now and the rest of us have to hope to find an employee friendly enough to send out codes lol
Doesn’t Sephora do one for the public, as well? I could have sworn they did on last year, albeit it was on a “tier” system…
I dislike how FAST everything gets sold out, and how there is a huge tendency for the websites to crash, completely.
I don’t normally go out of my way to take advantage of them, especially at the 10-15% off range, unless I happen to need (read: want, LOL!) something at the time, and I just happen to catch the sale in-store. This year, however, I do plan to use the Sephora 20% discount, and grab all of the NARS Dual Intensity Eyeshadows; I rarely make such large, expensive purchases, but I’ve purposely been holding off on these-as well as budgeting! Fortunately, I’m pretty much caught up on my “Wishlist”, so I have the ability to slow down my purchasing a bit.
If you sign up on the NARS website, the have their huge sale i think twice a year. And it’s 20% off too. So maybe youll be able to grab the products you want without as much traffic (ive never had a problem navigating their website during huge promotions)
I’m waiting for this one!
It’s so good. Usually people don’t believe me when I say that I nab most of my beloved NARS products during their sales. Seriously, I have maybe two or three NARS products I’ve paid full price for.
exactly. not to mention that you can get the shades not at sephora. gotten some real faves that way. last tango, bleeker l/s, guy bourdain splendor in the grass with NO ORGASM!!! Really like the Nars F+F. But beware, many of the Audacious are currently sold out, so if they don’t restock beforehand, it’ll be kind of a bummer this year.
I have yet to get a blush palette that didn’t include orgasm ugh hahah. And I figured the Audacious would be sold out since they’re already hard to get a hold of. My lipstick and NARS-loving soul can’t handle it.
Rave: Cheaper items, especially the more expensive stuff. Oregon doesn’t have a sales tax, so I can make out pretty well.
Rant: High shipping prices, high thresholds for free shipping, and items constantly being out of stock. Don’t have a sale if you don’t have the stock to support it.
I love the Giorgio Armani 20% off deal-friends and family
I really prefer if companies can space them a bit, they’re more likely to get my money when I don’t have to juggle the priorities.
I am not familiar with this concept… Then again, Europe doesn’t seem to be very familiar with the concept of a good sale full stop either.
We…don’t have those in these parts (as far as I’m aware). We don’t have a lot of sales at all, actually. Usually only small ones on drugstore stuff. *sigh*. Can that be my rant? LOL!
The more off, the merrier! I just wish I knew when they all were so I could space out my spendings in a more beneficial manner.