Outlet Malls  

Personally I don't like them and steer clear of them, they usually have bad air conditioning and I feel claustophobic in them. We have quite a few in the towns near me. I hate shopping, and far prefer to shop online than to go trawling around the malls. I probably go to my local mall once a week and that's enough. It's either full of kids or busy that you can't move anywhere fast. They also tend to be expensive, because of the rent they have to pay for being there.

I love heading out to the outlet malls, but only for certain things. A lot of times, I head out in that direction for name brands that are less expensive there than at the retail stores.

For instance, I can get the latest release of Air Jordans there after they have gone through the shoe stores. You can usually get them at a $50 dollar discount at times. Or maybe I will head there for some shirts, or some of the stuff from last season that will be good next year (like jackets, sweaters in the summer or shorts and flip-flops in the winter).

There are a lot of good companies that have retail outlets and they have some quality products. We even have an indoor mall here which specializes in having retail outlet shops for these companies.

related resource: air quality

There is an outlet mall about 35 miles from my house. I have purchased things there. I like the kitchen stores, and some of the book stores. I have also shopped outlet malls when on vacation. I have not had trouble with my bargains. Many high end manufacturers have an outlet store line, that has, usually, the same great details, but might be cut a little scrimpier, or of fabrics that are a little less "high end". When outlets first arose, they were for damaged and seconds, but that was years ago. Now you will find good quality.

I usually go to the retail outlets when I am holidays in the UK. There are some fantastic ones there and I have picked up some great bargains which included, jewellery, clothes and even luggage. I went to one here in Ireland yesterday but there wasn't much there to catch my attention so I will save my moneny until I go back to the UK.

I totally love the outlet mall that we go to. They have the same stores that we have at our regular mall such as siblings (kids clothing store), sears, laura secord (candy store, garage (teens clothing store) and you can get great deals if you have time to look...
we go there about twice a year, its about 45 minutes from us...the reason we go twice a yr? we spend too much money lol
(we are in southern ontario, canada :-)

The closest outlet mall where I live is like 45 minutes away. I don't go there very often. It doesn't really seem to be any cheaper than going to the regular stores. Now there's another outlet mall about an hour south of where I live and that one is great. It has a huge selection of stores and great prices and is definately worth the drive. My favorite of them all is Gurney Mills. We only get there like once a year and it's an all day thing for us because it's like a 2 1/2 hour drive but it's the best as far as selection, quality and prices.

I don't live close to any. I must travel about 30 miles to one. I don't think that you get any discounts really. There is a lot of brands to choose from, and a lot of walking to so many stores. But the word "outlet" once ment wholsale prices. It isn't that way anymore. You get exactly what you pay for. I can do just as good at a regular mall. So, I don't bother traveling to the outlet malls anymore.
I gave you a + rating again to help your star points. This is a great posting, thank you sugar.

i love it when i can get to it!! It is a very long dry for me to get to one but when i do my husband better hold on to his wallet for dear life:)

I love outlet malls and find the ones near me carry pretty nice items. Sometimes you do have to search through the crap to find some good items but I just think it's par with having cheaper items. The problem I have with outlets is that I spend more than I would at the regular store because I buy all the things I don't need just because they're at a cheaper price.

Unfortunately, I am a shopaholic, and I have had to keep my credit cards in the freezer frozen in ice cream tubs to avoid getting into deeper trouble than I already am! However, in answer to your question, I LOVE outlet malls! We usually drove to one in Niagara Falls (you have to be very good at spotting deals, though, because some of them are not such bargains after all--and with the cost of gas now, they really have to be discounted a lot for them to be good buys). We also like the ones in Buffalo, but the hubby put a stop to the drive when gas went up above the loonie mark. So, (sigh!) I just go to Costco, which has a lot of good deals if you know what you want. Costco also has coupon books for members and you get quite a hefty discount. My beef with coupon books though, is that you end up buying something you don't need because you think it's a really good buy. The advantage with Costco though is you can get your money back if you get buyer's remorse and bring the stuff back--you can't do this with outlet malls because they stamp your receipt "FINAL SALE-No refunds or exhanges." :-0