Fashion

Jason Wu for Target sells out to eBay, Target Website Stumbles

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Pictured: The dress I purchased from the collection, an online exclusive.

Are you looking to get some Jason Wu for Target? Well then, you’ll have to shop for it on eBay.  There are over 4,000 listings, but the prices are now considerably inflated.  I am so disappointed in this phenomenon.  Why doesn’t Target just open a store on eBay for their budget fashion lines and resell there to stop this nonsense.  Needless to say, I hope savvy shoppers don’t go to eBay for these products.  Let them be returned to the store where you can buy then for the “budget price” intended.  I got several Missoni things on clearance that were returned.

I was online last night at 11:30 pm PST and found a few WU pieces via other links on Target’s women’s & accessories pages. From those link, I bought two pieces just to see what they were like. I didn’t buy any preppy type knit stripped shirts or straw bags, because I know I really don’t need any more of that kind of stuff.   Even at 11:30 pm PST it seemed to me that Target.com was struggling.  I couldn’t get the Milu the cat scarf no matter how many times I tried to load it into my cart.  By 12:30 am PST, most of the collection was available for sale on Target.com. I watched as the Jason Wu stock was purchased, and then reposted at a substantial mark-up on eBay, almost simultaneously,  using the same images as from the Target website and descriptions.

The collection sold out at Target online.  In major metropolitan areas, there were in store sellouts. The conversations on Twitter tell the saga, and it’s the same as the infamous Target Missoni sell out:

We had professional shoppers in line waiting so they could resell online” #JasonWuforTarget– Stephanie D’Introno

I got very frustrated and disappointed.” #Targetwebsitefail Jen Markham

Urgh @TargetStyle cancelled my #JasonWuforTarget orders. Any lucky peeps who managed to place their order successfully???”–Ms. Glitzy

Why do consumers even bother with #JasonWuforTarget? I knew @Target @TargetStyle would be sold out just like the Missoni fiasco!” #pattern– FashionistaFox

Did any of you stay up late last night to order, and if so, did you get a confirmation email from Target.com? I hope so.  I’ll let you know how the pieces I ordered are when I receive them.  Did any of you go to a Target today and see the collection in person? If so, what did you think? I finally saw 2 pieces today when I stopped by my local Target to get a prescription I needed.  The floral print looked nothing like the ad, and the black skirt looked like cheap polyester.  Based on what I saw, Target did a better job marketing this than manufacturing it.

Pictured: Lackluster floral and solid skirts from Jason Wu for Target (photo: M. Hall)
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Since 2008, Mary Hall has been the author of The Recessionista Blog, which is read by thousands of regular readers in over 160 countries. An internationally recognized expert on the art of the living the good life for less, she has been a commentator on local, national, and international radio and TV shows. Her advice has been featured in over 2,000 media outlets, including The New York Times, Reuters, Life & Style magazine, ABC News, NBC News and now The Huffington Post, among many others.

14 Comments

  1. Lisa

    February 5, 2012 at 6:37 pm

    I didn't even bother with Jason Wu after the disaster that was Missoni. I love these Target collaborations, but Target needs to do something about the resellers, otherwise what's the point?

  2. Ana

    February 5, 2012 at 6:53 pm

    I bought the straw clutch at Target this morning. It was the only thing I wanted and I got it for $30. I agree that the smart shoppers will NOT buy from eBay. All of the for Target collaborations are turning into a disaster.

  3. Patti @ NotDeadYet Style

    February 5, 2012 at 7:15 pm

    I agree – this takes all the fun out of it. I'll just wait till the frenzy dies down : >

  4. Target Addict

    February 5, 2012 at 7:26 pm

    MH, as I just posted, I met up with some VERY frustrated shoppers this morning. And from the sounds of Twitter and your post, I think there's going to be a HUGE backlash against Target.

  5. Raquel

    February 6, 2012 at 12:09 am

    Can't wait to get a Jason Wu for Target but with these sellouts Targets needs to have more in stock.
    P.S Please follow back 🙂

    theultimatestylefinder.blogspot.com

  6. browsingb

    February 6, 2012 at 12:21 am

    I was at my Target by 715 and first in the store at 8am. I went for myself because I am a lover of fashion and love that designers pair with retailers for a cheaper version. What I DO NOT LOVE is the lady that grabbed a cart and then grabbed 3-4 of every size…..RUDE. Luckily I got the items that I wanted and they are BEAUTIFUL!

  7. Bev

    February 6, 2012 at 5:18 am

    this was one of the better collections. the cut of everything is flattering, the pieces are versatile, and for once the sizing wasn't a disaster. i shopped online at 6am EST, but my favorite pieces were already sold out so i hopped in a cap to the store and did battle with about 100 other Manhattan shoppers. Madness. Target needs to do a better job of managing these. First off, no one should have a cart. People were using the carts to barricade the racks against other shoppers. They were also throwing entire racks of clothes into the cart and then either bartering with other shoppers like some modern day tammany hall or heading straight to checkout so they can get home to post it all to ebay. It should be strictly what you can carry. Oh, and here's a thought, order enough freaking clothes for all the people who want them. What does Target gain from a limited collection where frustrated shoppers aren't able to spend their money in their store and opportunists are selling it all at markup online?

  8. Heather

    February 6, 2012 at 8:14 am

    I was up last night and was able to get the cat scarf and cat tee online. I headed to a nearby Target around noon and bought the belted navy floral chiffon dress and another cat tee, in case my online order goes poof.

  9. FashionableAsians

    February 6, 2012 at 1:20 pm

    Unfortunately I couldn't get what I wanted but at least I left with something, so it wasn't a wasted effort

  10. Bjorn Karger

    February 6, 2012 at 3:28 pm

    I see this in a slightly different light. Once the bugs are ironed out it might be extremely positive to see more retailers selling on eBay. I suspect we're quickly reaching a point where everything we own, at the time of acquiring, will have a place where we can easily set an eBay “Buy It Now” price … and if the urban-cyclist trend continues, there will be a very good future for bike messengers to go out and pick these things up, arrange for delivery. In the fashion world, this will be revolutionary — DIY fashionistas will put together ad-hoc fashion outfits, and as soon as they go out it the morning (and it will be their new “job” to simply be seen), they can expect someone to place a BIN from their smartphone, and in moments their clothing-items will be bought and sold. A successful fashion-walker will probably go through a half-dozen complete outfits in a day.

    (Packaging services may thrive in this upcoming world, too — I see the upcoming eBay revolution breathing new life into the USPS, as their carriers are also added in with two new classes of employees, couriers and packagers — when a BIN item is sold, eBay sends a notice to the local USPS office, a bike-courier comes out to pick up the item, it's quickly packaged at the USPS office and mailed out. in this way, all 'items' in america will be quickly en route to whoever needs or wants them the most.)

  11. Trina Mock

    February 6, 2012 at 9:47 pm

    I completely agree with you about the ebay reselling. The whole point is that the stuff is affordable, so why buy it at 100% market on ebay. Target should also enact a limit of items that can be bought. Anyway, I rolled into Target at about 10:30 AM. The stuff was picked over, but I managed to get everything that I wanted. The white dress is adorable!

    operationwearmycloset.blogspot.com

  12. The Key To Chic

    February 6, 2012 at 10:39 pm

    I followed links from the TargetStyle account starting at 10:30pm Saturday, and bought online right as items became available, instead of waiting to fill up my cart and then ordering. (This resulted in more than 1 order.) I also shopped in the early morning, and it was worth it! Yes, they need to impose limits on quantities to deter mass reselling. There's a buy/sell/trade FB group, too! Wrote about my experiences on the blog, and was interviewed by a local paper. Thought the dresses were chic and had nice attention to detail. Hope you enjoy your purchases!

  13. Pamada

    February 8, 2012 at 5:33 pm

    i actually thought this went really well in terms of online and in-store (at least for me). i placed multiple orders so things wouldn't disappear from my cart, the UPS guy is going to hate me next week but everything has shipped, including an item i'd gotten notification as delayed. there may have been a point where i was screaming at the computer because the roll out was so slow – BUT, i'm glad they did it that way. i was able to get everything i wanted (minus that damn belize skirt).

    in-store shopping was super smooth – although i was first in line. but the manager kept a close eye on everything (he yelled at me for running, i swear i was just walking REALLY fast), he even said to behave or he'd shut us down. lol.

    i really like the line. the material is as expected considering this still is a Target line. but the cuts are fantastic and super impressive. everything i've tried on has been flattering. i feel like he really tried to put his style into this line, instead of just slapping a bunch of zig zag prints on everything. if you look at his spring 2012 line, you can see a lot of similarities.

  14. Fitz

    February 8, 2012 at 5:59 pm

    With Jason Wu selling out everywhere I had to let you know that the Ponte Vedra Beach, FL Store (just outside Jacksonville) has RACKS of clothing still! I even saw 2 purses and tote left. But they had the long sleeve peach top in every size, trench coats, skirts with many sizes still left. If you know someone in North Florida send them over to get merchandise at the regular price and not on Ebay. Good luck!