My thoughts on the Mulberry sample sale in London (Oct 2017)

Howdy,

I am massive fan of the Mulberry brand, so when I saw they were having a sample sale I decided to look into it further. I found out about this sale from following ldnsamplesales (London sample sales) on instagram. Luckily, the first day of the sale happened to fall on the day my husband and I had planned to go into London anyway. To be able to attend this sample sale you have to pick a day you want to attend and then you will be emailed an invitation, which you will need to show on the day to get you in. You also had to pay a £2 donation that went to The Shelter from the storm Charity.

The sale started at 08.00 and we got there around 10.30, the sale was held at The Music Rooms, South Molton Road, Mayfair which is just off Oxford Street. It is super easy to get to, there were no queues and we walked right in. We paid our £2 then had to check all bags and coats in, I did keep hold of my credit card and my phone. After this you are free to roam in a room of Mulberry goodness, the colours and the smell of the leather make me feel excited, even now.

On one side there were racks of clothing, tops, trousers, dresses, coats etc, all easy to see and get to. Round the outside of the room were metal racks full of bags, in all different colours and styles. Some styles were from a few years ago and some were from just last season. The staff there were constantly filling up the shelves and were on hand to help and answer questions, in the middle of the room were tables containing all the SLG's (small leather goods) again laid out in colour order and the staff were constantly tidying and filling stock.

Two things that stood out for me about this sample sale were how well the bags and accessories looked, every bag I looked at was in near perfect condition. I have seen bags look far worse from an outlet store. The second thing was the fact that people were respectful of each other, it was quite busy in the room but people didn't grab and push, they waited and each took turns to look at the items. To one side of the room it is blocked off to the public, you can see the boxes that were still full of items, the boxes were stacked higher than the height of the people there.

I wanted to go to this sale as I had heard such mixed reviews of these sample sales and overall this experience was very good. I know they won't all be fantastic but that's the risk you take, like visiting an outlet it can be very hit or miss. I had only planned on purchasing something if I loved it and knew I would get a lot of use out of it, as soon as I walked into the room I went straight to a bag I had tried on previously in an outlet shop but here it was £300 cheaper than the outlet price. Making it around 62% off the original RRP. By having this knowledge I knew that I wasn't jumping into the excitement of the sample sale and that I really was getting a good deal on something I wanted. The bag I purchased was in near perfect condition, the only thing I spotted on the bag were tiny indentations that I believe were caused by the bag standing on the metal racks. I think this will gradually come out over time and I am sure the bag would get effects like this or worse just from everyday use. It came with clear plastic over every buckle and button, all four feet have plastic protecting them. The straps are wrapped, the bag is stuffed and comes with its own dust bag. Basically the same as when I purchased a bag straight from the shop.

I didn't look at every price tag on the bags some on the newest bags I looked at were discounted by maybe 30% but then the older/ less popular bag the bigger the discount they had. I did look at the leather jackets (so soft and pretty) they were £300 down from £1800 so that would have been a great piece to invest in.

Sorry about how rubbish my photos are, people were everywhere and so were staff and security. I didn't want to get told off, haha. At least you can get an idea of what it looks like if you have never been.

So would I go again? Yes. Just not anytime soon as I might be tempted to buy again, I am very happy with my purchase and will enjoy that for now. Well I will come Christmas as it is a present from the husband, Christmas is less than 12 weeks away now, scary I know!

Tips

• Go on the first day, it doesn't have to be first thing in the morning but you will have the most choice of items and you won't be left with the dregs everyone has handled and left behind.
• Ask if you can't see something you are after.
• Also ask if they have a brand new version of the item you wish to purchase, maybe they won't but there is no harm in asking.
• Have an idea on the items you would like to buy and do research on the prices before hand

I will reveal what bag I got on my instagram (Kara1818) in the near future. I hope this has been some help to anyone who is thinking of going to this sample sale or to any sale. Keep a smart head on your shoulders and don't be sucked in because something seems like it is a good price.

Sale runs everyday until Saturday 7th October, so there is still time to go and check it out, go to London sample sales IG page (their user name is above) for all the details you need to attend and exactly where it is being held. 

Thanks for reading
Kara xx