My Experience at the 2013 Vera Bradley Outlet Sale

Yesterday was finally my day to shop at the Vera Bradley Outlet Sale. Let the countdown begin for next year!

I wanted to share with you a few notes about my experience and some pictures I took along the way. I shopped with my best friend Tricia and our moms. We are all veteran VBOS shoppers although I have the most sales under my belt.

We got to the coliseum about an hour before our 11:00 sale session began. There was already quite a line, but we ended up being on the first floor which was a first for us. Once we found the end of the line, we sat down and began making our battle plans on our maps. The wait really didn't seem very long and once the sale started, the line moved quickly.

 We were on the sales floor very shortly after the doors opened. Having a plan of where to go first definitely helped. I grabbed a lot of stuff and shoved it into my bag. I was trying to find a new style of purse, so I just grabbed any I thought I might like.

Once I found my group again and we started sorting our stuff, I ended up narrowing it down to one style after much debate. I ended up putting back quite a few things I had grabbed. Once we made our decisions and made last visits to the tables we wanted to see again, we headed to the checkouts. We pretty much breezed right through the checkouts. I was very surprised that we did not have to wait in a long line. We checked out around 1:00 or so. We were walking to the car at 1:20.  

Things I Liked This Year

• Our tickets were scanned as we got in line. This worked much better than last year when our tickets were scanned at the door to the sale. This made is possible for us to walk straight into the sale.
• The maps were detailed. Last year's map was vague and made it impossible to find things quickly
• Lots of patterns available especially newer patterns. I was surprised to see a lot of Ribbons, Go Wild, Dogwood, and English Rose.

Things I Didn't Like This Year

•  Strollers! I saw lots of strollers this year including some double strollers. It was crowded on the sales floor and I sometimes had a hard time getting through by myself. It must have been very hard for strollers to navigate through the crowd.
• Lack of markdowns. Since it was the third day of the sale, I expected more markdowns. There were several silver star balloons around the sale marking the markdowns, but they weren't on anything I bought. Some of the prices also weren't the best deals. I did buy something that was not marked down very much, but because it was an older pattern that's not regularly available, I got it anyway.

So, let's look at what I did buy...

Glenna in Island Blooms
Turn Lock Wallet in Ribbons
Mini Hipster in Watercolor (This is for my mother-in-law)
Mini Notebook in Blue Lagoon
Headband Duo in Dogwood

I also bought a few other things, but they are gifts, so I can't post them here. I did not get flip flops because there were only a few large left and they were not in patterns I liked. They did not have any Sweetheart Coin Purses or Clip Lights. I will probably make a trip to the outlet store this summer when I hear of a good sale.

I did consider a Turn Lock Wallet in Go Wild, but decided that since it was newer, I could probably get it next year if I still want it. I also considered a Towel Set in Paisley Meets Plaid, but decided it wasn't really worth $20.

I did not get a Stephanie because I was not in love with any of the colors available. I did grab one in Summer Cottage but decided that with the amount of white in the pattern, I'd have to wash it a lot. I'm going to be extra careful with my Glenna and probably only use it during the summer. Luckily, most Vera Bradley bags are easy to wash if needed.

The Mini Notebooks took me awhile to find and they were only available in two colors: Blue Lagoon and Barcelona. My mom wanted some Binder Clips, but when we went to the table before checkout, all they had left were the Jumbo Binder Clips. Might have to look for them at the Outlet Store.

I have to admit I did spot a few things in Night Owl, and every time I saw one, I picked it up and considered it, but it was never something I really needed.

After the sale, we had lunch at Cheddar's. It was very good and I really enjoyed it. The portions were generous and the price was great. We just got one in our area and I can't wait to try it with my husband.

After lunch, we went over to Jefferson Pointe to check out the Vera Bradley store. They had all the new summer stuff out. The sea animals on the different items are really cute. Trish and I also checked out the baby stuff. The packaging on those items is super cute. I also got to check out the Kiss 'n Snap Wallet. It's cute, but I'll stick with my Turn Lock Wallets.

I was disappointed to see Old Navy was no longer at Jefferson Pointe. It seemed like there were more empty storefronts there this year.

We had a great day of shopping and I can't wait for next year's sale!

Have any questions about the Outlet Sale or Vera Bradley? Feel free to ask them in the comments or over on the Argyle Love Facebook page.

What did you get at the Vera Bradley Outlet Sale?