Every time you log into your email or social networking sites, you probably see a dozen advertisements for different online stores where you can supposedly get expensive brands for discount prices. Are any of these sites legitimate? I made an account on beyondtherack.com to find out for myself.
Unlike a regular shop online, you need to make an account to log into BTR. It’s annoying but if it delivers good deals then it is worth it. After logging in, you will notice that not all of the brands are available at all times. There are particular “sales” that usually last only a few days and may or may not be sold out of the items you want to purchase. This is also irritating but if you check out the times for the sales on the particular brands you want to shop for and plan to check the site as soon as the time has started you can get a great deal on a designer item.
I was a little unsatisfied by the sales though because I was looking for the Dolce and Gabbana selling times only to realize the only D&G; items available for the discount sale are watches.
On the plus side, BTR doesn’t only sell discount designer clothing and accessories but also house wares, fragrances, furniture, and even high quality electronics. If you want to save on a variety of products I suggest using this site to find sales but for designer clothes and accessories, I must admit I was disappointed.
Some of the brands are great and I look forward to seeing the discounts on True Religion swim wear and Micheal Kors sunglasses, but after checking out the discounts on women’s clothing from the Ralph Lauren sale I was confused. What sale? The prices were still high and the selection was mediocre. I’d be better off going to the retail store and looking at the clearance rack. I also noticed a lot of kitsch brands. The tacky brands were the only ones with discounts and I can’t imagine why any little boy would want Ed Hardy boxer briefs and I suppose that is why they were discounted to such a low price (which is still too much).
Not all of my shopping experiences were bad on BTR, I found a great sale on Prada handbags which delivered a huge selection and discounts (though enough of a discount to matter in my opinion). The styles were relatively new and I had seen some of the items in the store only a few months ago. The only downside is that other than being sold out, items can also be reserved by other shoppers. So you may really want to purchase an item that is technically still available but you won’t be able to because it has been reserved by someone else. This is another part of the site I don’t like. On reserved items, there is a small box that says come back in 10 minutes to see if it is still reserved.
I found that some sales were great, like the Juicy Couture sunglasses sale which had decent prices and great selection, but I found that most sales didn’t amount to much discount or variety. I also don’t like the way the sales work or that the best items are either reserved or sold out. Running to your computer to catch the sale is an option or just use another site.
