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The Differences Between Online Outlet and Brick-And-Mortar Outlet

What's the Difference Between These Two Kinds of Outlet Stores?

An online outlet store is just like a normal outlet store, except that it is selling its heavily discounted products over the internet. "Brick-and-Mortar" outlet store just means a real outlet store that is built out of bricks and mortar and really exists somewhere.
There are some advantages and disadvantages that come with shopping at either of these kinds of outlet stores, though great deals can still be found at both.

Online Outlet Stores Are Convenient, but You Can't Be Totally Sure of What You're Getting.

The best thing about shopping at an online outlet store is definitely the convenience of shopping in the comfort of your own home. You don't need to take a long trip way out into the suburbs to the outlet mall and then search through giant stores and tons of merchandise to find what you are looking for. You can stay at home and browse through the store's inventory at your leisure.
However, there is a drawback to shopping at an online outlet store: you can't touch and closely look at the goods. Remember, outlet stores are usually selling out-of-season goods, or used or damaged products. Or, they are selling lower quality goods that are especially made just for the outlet store. When you may be buying a potentially imperfect product, you may really want to take a good look at it and examine it closely before you decide that it is good enough for you to buy. When you shop online, all you see is a photograph and pictures can be misleading. So, buyer beware! Good deals are out there, but you can't be sure of what you are getting.

Brick-And-Mortar Outlet Stores Allow You to Get a Good Look at Products, but the Stores Are Far Away and Can Be Crowded and Poorly Organized.

Brick-and-Mortar stores are almost always built far outside of the city, usually alongside a major highway. This is because the rents are much cheaper out there and also because a brand does not want its outlet store to be taking business away from its own retail stores in the city. This means that it may take you a very long time to get out to the outlet store. If you drive an hour just to get there you may feel like you "have to" buy something or else you will have "wasted your time." However, you don't want to buy something you don't want just because you had to take a long drive in your car. In this situation, as disappointing as it seems, you are really better off buying nothing and chalking up the day to experience.
Another issue is that outlet stores can get quite crowded, especially on holidays and weekends and the stores are usually not as organized as a retail store. Products are stuffed onto shelves all over the place.

Of course, there is a big advantage with brick-and-mortar stores: you can really get to examine the products closely before you buy them. Outlet store goods may not be perfect, so it is a very good idea to check them out with your own eyes and hands before you decide to pay good money for them. There are some very good deals to be had at outlet stores, but you may have to search for them and have a good idea for quality. If you are prepared to work a little for it, you could find something wonderful at a terrific price.