Hello!^-^ I am still quite new to Ciao, but thank you to everyone who rates my reviews, leaves me c...
Hello!^-^ I am still quite new to Ciao, but thank you to everyone who rates my reviews, leaves me comments and such like! As I am new I don't really understand a lot yet, .. so bear with me!
Member since:23.11.2006
Reviews:30
Members who trust:1
For those of you unsure about what kind of shop TK Maxx actually is, it is an outlet store selling designer brands at knockdown prices. It sells clothes for all the family (womans, mens, kids) shoes, homeware, underware, luggage, bags, beauty products, toys, and probably more but I can't remember!However, it is not quite that simple. Different stores vary to the extreme. My local, the Inverness branch, could not be cleaner, tidier, and have a great variety of stock in all of its sections. The staff are never anything less than friendly. It is also an individual warehouse- not part of a mall-so I think that if you shop in a smaller branch you probably won't find all the items I listed above, and probably not as much variety of stock. However, when i went visiting family in Glasgow, I popped into TK Maxx there, and most of the clothes were on the floor, and the shop itself was dirty. See what I mean by 'it varies' ?
Okay. Onto the nitty gritty! They really do sell designer clothes at quite a fair bit less than what you would expect to pay. But don't just expect to walk in, see something you like, and then walk out again. If you do really want to find something, set aside at least an hour. Seriously. The shop is set out in departments, womens clothing in one bit, mens in the other etc. When you get to the clothes, they are set out in rails according to what type of clothing they are (like a rail of skirts, rail of jeans) and then on the rail it goes along in sections
according to your size. A lot of people don't like this, but I find it more helpful as I can go straight to my size and see what is on offer- not like seeing a great pair of jeans and then finding out they don't stock my size.
I would say that yes, a lot of the stock is last season, but I don't really care about that. I care about fashion, but as long as I look good and my clothes look good on me, then I couldn't give a crap whether they were 5 years or 5 days old. For example, I have found a Hooch miniskirt for only £15- £30 less than the RRP. I also found a cute playboy boxer and lacy vest set for under £20- and I love Playboy and know that it would cost at least double that normally! You really can get some great clothes and bargains if you are prepared to sort your way through rail upon rail of clothes- it isn't a hard task, just tiring.
There are some negatives about shopping at TK maxx though. Most of the time the stock will be discounted because it is last seasons, although sometimes this is not the case. I would strongly advise you to check your item thouroughly before buying- sometimes the stiching can be coming loose, there can be stains on the material, and there can be rips. It doesn't happen often, but it is wise to check. Also some of the labels are ones you will never have heard of, but who cares if it fits and looks good? There can be some simply hideous clothes that are good for a laugh- there no point in asking why those are 60% off!
I've mostly talked about the clothes, but the beauty, bag, shoe and underwear departments are well worth a look. There is a also a 'bit' of the shop that sells sunglasses and basic girlie stuff. Out of all of them, the shoes department is the most disorgaised, although usually because of lazy customers thowing unwanted pairs of shoes back on the shelves (or floor!) any old how. Sometimes you can find a really good pair of shoes (I found Nike Shox trainers for half price) but I have to admit that you only find good shoes on rare occasions- mostly they are ugly or in extreme sizes (like size 1 or 11- no offense if you are those sizes btw).
The beauty department is great for presents, but can be good if you want to treat yourself. They have a lot of nice soaps and smellies at great prices. The designer stuff can also be found well priced- but do read the boxes. Soemtimes I have been thinking Im getting a Carolina Herrera perfume when it is the matching soap! Saying that, you can get great perfumes cheap- but again check for breakages. Also, for the really posh expensive stuff, like Elizabeth Arden Skincare Set, don't expect to pay TOO much less than RRP. Another example is when i found THE most amazing pair of POLICE sunglasses, RRP £119,but they were only reduced to £79.99. Cheap for that brand, but again, don't expect any miracle bargains, if you know what I mean!
My favourite section is the Bags. I am a bagaholic, and I must say, I nearly always leave with one new bag. The selection is great, and sometimes there is the odd really well known brand bag in there. They also sell wallets, and there are pretty good quality for cheap. That reminds me- since most of the stock is genuine designer, it is of pretty high quality if you get a good find, like Italian leather bags for £20 (there I go again with the bags!) The underwear section is good, but you really need to rummage through and it isn't set out well. There are usually some pretty good bargains lurking in there though!
One aspect I HATE is the checkout format. there are never enough cashiers on, and the ques are usually pretty big. Another reviewer mentioned an express lane, and I totally agree. I can't count the number of times I have been in a que with about 2 items, standing behind an irate woman with a trolley load of goods. Also, even though the staff are pleasant, my god, they are slow at the tills. They seem to take more interest in packing peoples items in a particular way in bags when you can see the customer itching to do it themselves because it would be about 20 times faster! Apart from that, and a few other niggles, everything is great!
Overall, I would really reccomend checking TK Maxx out. It may not be to everyones liking, but it is well worth a try. You never know, you might just find those designer jeans (or bag!) you've been lusting over!
Locate your store here: http://www.tkmaxx.com/find.asp
Main Site: http://www.tkmaxx.com/index.asp
Thanks for reading!
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