This woman found an amazing deal on cookware at T.J. Maxx, but ommenters have mixed reactions about how good the deal really is.
Places like Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, and Ross Dress for Less are shopping havens for people looking to get good-quality items—from clothing to bedding to cookware—within their budget.
These stores are known for offering popular brand names at discounted prices. Frequent shoppers know that the price point often hovers between $15 and $100, depending on the item and brand.
Too good to be true?
“The tj maxx distribution system has chosen me today,” TikToker Sam (@samsreb) said in a viral video. As of Sunday, it has nearly a million views.
For those who aren’t chronically online, this is a riff on the term “cat distribution system.” This refers to how the universe seemingly pairs humans and cats together in the most random ways. Strays sometimes “choose” their human, and the person has no other choice but to adopt the cat.
In this case, Sam is saying that T.J. Maxx chose her to be the recipient of a great deal.
When Sam turns the camera around, viewers see that what looks like a $60 Le Creuset baking dish is being sold for $15.
Le Creuset is a highly coveted and expensive Fench-Belgian cookware company. Its popularity is attributed to its high-quality cast iron cookware available in stunning colors.
When you enter adulthood, a Le Creuset piece easily finds its way onto your wishlist.
Viewers weigh in
However, not all viewers were impressed with Sam’s find.
“The stoneware isn’t that expensive – it’s the enabled cast iron you want to be on the lookout for,” a top comment read.
“Girllll I just got about $450 of le crueset and staub for $90,” a person said.
“The le creuset stoneware that isn’t made in France (this one is made in Thailand) isn’t too expensive so this isn’t much of a deal,” another added.
“You find the best stuff at TJ only to wait in a line for three hours. Then you debate with yourself if you really need it. It’s like a trade-off,” a commenter shared.
Are T.J. Maxx’s ‘deals’ worth it?
Many people shop at places like T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and Ross because they advertise themselves as selling overstock items from brand names at a fraction of the cost.
People see a designer label and excitedly think they’re getting the same item they’d see at the designer’s flagship store. But that’s not exactly true.
Only a fraction of the items at these stores are overstock. TikToker Kattoo (@kingkattoo) explained that these retail stores contract with the labels to make pieces at a specific price point that’s affordable to their target demographic.
While an item may have a designer label on it, if you’re getting it from one of these discount retailers, chances are the quality of the materials and construction isn’t as good as their standard products.
@samsreb IM FEELING LUCKY🤑🤑🤑🤑@TJ Maxx #tjmaxx #lecruset #staub ♬ TY FOR USING MY SOUND – ໒꒰ྀི ๑ ´ ˘ ` ू ꒱ྀིაᰔᩚ܀∘˚🎀🫧🍭
Same label, different quality?
A local ABC News channel and the Krazy Coupon Lady shared some alleged ways shoppers could tell whether an item was part of a brand’s flagship merchandise or if it was an outlet design:
- Banana Republic, GAP, and J Crew (all under the same company) – Outlet items have three diamonds under the Banana Republic name on the tag, three squares under GAP, and two diamonds under J Crew.
- Kate Spade – Bags have a square with a hollowed-out spade on the front.
- Coach – Bags have an “F” in the serial number or a bullseye stamped on the interior leather tag.
- Ralph Lauren – The Chaps, Lauren by Ralph Lauren, and Polo Ralph Lauren are the brand’s lower price point brands.
- Brooks Brothers – This one is easy. If the label says “346” instead of “Brooks Brothers,” it’s an outlet piece.
- Ann Taylor – The label will instead read “Ann Taylor Factory.”
On its website, T.J. Maxx admits, “Some of our merchandise is manufactured for us and some is designed by our own fashion experts, particularly when what we are seeing in the marketplace isn’t the right value for our customers, meaning the right combination of brand, fashion, price, and quality.”
Chase Bank reported that outlet stores don’t only sell overstock items, instead, they also fill their stores with items made exclusively for the outlet.
The Daily Dot reached out to Sam for comment via email and Instagram direct message and to Le Creuset and T.J. Maxx via email.
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