This April I attended the Vera Bradley outlet sale in Fort Wayne, IN and it was amazing. I’m telling you about it now so that you can mark your calendar for next year. The dates for 2014 are April 9-13. Make your hotel reservations now and plan to attend one of the best sales of the year. If you are a fan of Vera Bradley products you do not want to miss this sale!
I attended the sale as part of a press trip and to be fair I haven’t really paid much attention to Vera Bradley products. I knew of them, but it was never one of my “must have” items. My, oh my, how things can change. Vera Bradley welcomed us to the show with the cutest gift (see above) and I was immediately won over. I love this bag. The colors, the size, everything about it is just cute, cute, cute.
Since I had never been to the sale before I was wondering just how large the event would be. Um, it is big! Rows and rows of tables are set up in the Coliseum (Fort Wayne’s expo & event center) and are stacked high with product. It’s every Vera Bradley lovers dream come true.
After seeing how big the event area was I knew there was no way I would see everything. Luckily, when you attend the show you are provided with a map to easily find your favorite items. The map also includes a price list. That was my next question. How low do the prices really go? I mean, is it worth a trip to the sale? Will you really save THAT much money. Well, the prices are really fabulous and get marked down even more during the sale and the trip is completely worth it. Besides the sale there is a lot more to see and do in the area.
Here’s a few more sample of the prices from the sheet you receive when you arrive. Many of these prices go even lower during the sale. My sister bought me a travel wallet for $10!
No worries about checking out either. There were 60 checkout lanes this year. The line may be long, but it moves quickly and there are TV screens strategically placed that offer interesting tidbits that entertain you while you wait.
How The Sale Works
Register online and print off a copy of your registration to take with you. This will save you time at the show. The show is broken down into two parts. There are the ticketed days and the public days. Ticketed days were Tuesday-Thursday and tickets were $5 each for a set time frame. Public days were Friday-Sunday. The advantage of the ticketed days is a much smaller crowd and an energetic staff that cheers you as you enter the showroom floor. (That was actually a lot of fun to see) However, if you can’t make it during the week, no worries, my sister & Em went on Friday and they walked right in with no wait. There is enough room and plenty of product for everyone.
Here’s a super quick video of shoppers being greeted at the sale:
When you enter the sale you are given a pink bag to place your items in. If you change your mind about an item just toss it in one of the many grey bins around the sale area and a staff person will return it to the right location. Ready to check out? Follow the signs to the check out area and have your registration paper handy. When you check out your items are placed in a white bag. There is a spending limit of $3500 per person. If you think you’ll want to spend more be sure to bring a friend or two and a really big van.
Hope to see you there next year!
