Weaver s Black Friday 2011

Although it s growing, the selection on these sites pales next to that of even a modest department store, and flash sale sites can leave customers frustrated when supplies run out. Most maintain calendars or blogs that give users a week or so of advance notice, but that hasn t always helped Suzanne Hupy, a former retail executive in Milwaukee. She says she s logged on to Gilt.com to buy clothes for herself and her kids only to find the items sold out sometimes less than a minute after the announced launch. When it s gone, it s gone, she laments. She and other shoppers also point out another drawback in the flash sale model There s often a much shorter time limit on returns than they d see at a traditional retailer in one case, as little as five days after purchase.

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