Do You Care Where You Shop?

[Giant Ninja Robot]

We were talking in chat and I was "insulted" with something along the lines of "I bet you shop at Hot Topic too!" (you know who you are ) and it got me thinking.....I don't care what rep a store has, if it has merchandise I think is cool at reasonable prices, I'll shop there.

IMO, it's just a store. They have stuff. Cool stuff. On clearance. So I buy it, I walk out, and it spends it's life in my closet or DVD rack or on my car bumper. POOF! No longer has any association with the store in question be it HT or any other place.

Mind you I don't wear brands for the most part, and I never shop for clothes that have a brand plastered over the front. So if it isn't branded does it matter where it's purchased?

I also wont buy from a place that is full of jerks and legitimately supports shitty behavior/ethics, and by that I don't mean clothing style or something superficial I mean extreme prejudice and whatnot.

What do you think?

[fcbayern]

Well I agree and I disagree,, (is that allowed?) Here are some examples

Certain brand clothes fit a certain way while others dont, take jeans for instance. I really like GAP jeans and Lucky brand Jeans. THey have a certain fir that dont get from say LEvis. NOw you cant buy GAP Jeans except for @ GAP and so on. So yes sometimesI am forced to shop at a certian retailer simply because of the selection.

NOw on the other hand certain BRAND names are available in various locations like Calvin Klein, Tommy, Ed Hardy (LOL), And such. As an example of this: I purchase a lot of dress shirts for work, I can buy all the same brands no matter if its at MAcy's, Bloomingdale's or Marshalls, TJmaxx.

SO summary sometimes I shop at a certain store for certain clothes and some times not. Regardles of the reputation of that store.



PS never shopped at hot topic not really my style,, I'm more of an A&F type of guy..

[Giant Ninja Robot]

no thats pretty much what I meant lol forgive me for the rambling.


I shop at Marshalls all the time good place especially for formal clothes and nice jeans.

[fcbayern]

no thats pretty much what I meant lol forgive me for the rambling.


I shop at Marshalls all the time good place especially for formal clothes and nice jeans.

They even have Ed HArdy there,,, Maybe they will have EH shisha soon too!!!

[Stuie]

no thats pretty much what I meant lol forgive me for the rambling.


I shop at Marshalls all the time good place especially for formal clothes and nice jeans.

They even have Ed HArdy there,,, Maybe they will have EH shisha soon too!!!

[sleeperhit]

Yes I do care with some.
Some places are known for their tactics on selling. I stay away from certain locations because of this.
Others are well known for their great customer service.
I don't care about what people say about a place being for 'posers' or 'bros' or what have you. I just care about what I'm interested in.

I can also care less about the location. Like if it's in the ghetto or some snobby area. If it has what I want I'm going there.

Much like when I need a good piece of meat.
Mexican meat markets always have the best cuts and plenty of them! Plus the best sweat bread!
But they're usually in the ghetto. Which for me works out great because I live there

Unless it's a WallMart...then I stay away like the pleage...

[Vampy6997]

I walked into an Express store once. I was dressed ok. My friend was buying. The dude didn't say hi to me. He said hi to everyone except my friend and I. We ended up going to The Limited instead. Why? I reasoned with my friend that this dude had no CS. experience, and I'm not sitting in a store that assumes that the way I'm dressed means that I'm not going to buy anything.

It's like a car dealership avoiding the dude in torn jeans and a t-shirt, not realizing he's a millionaire. a&#holes.

If I'm ignored while everyone else gets greeted, I don't shop there. If *nobody* gets greeted, then it's not just me, so it's not a big deal. :-p

I like Hot Topic, although now that all my cousins wear all the stuff in there (I set an example I guess)...it's kinda...weird. Their Lipservice clothing can be bought elsewhere though...

And on the topic of branded...I tend to avoid "branded" clothes as well.

[Dr. B]

It isn't necessarily what the store can be stereotyped to be promoting, it is more about the what styles they actually stock. While speaking of clothing, I can say for certain Hot Topic is a magnet for degenerate youth because no other brick-and-mortar store sells shirts that say shit like "Mom should have aborted me" or "Down the highway, not across the street". Those might be extreme examples, but my point is that the clothing available breeds presumptions, somewhat justifiably.

If you're shopping at Hot Topic because it's local, has decent deals, and most importantly isn't the only place (including online) you can find merchandise: then no beef. For instance, I can understand going there and not wanting to be stereotyped for buying cheap band t-shirts, but if you're buying a boatload of Skelanimal gear and chains and pants with zippers where zippers don't belong... sorry, but you fit the mold. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it gives people a basis for evaluation.

Unless I'm shopping for something specifically (like a band T-shirt), yes, I do care where I shop. I say this comfortably because I tend to settle when I buy clothes, and if a store doesn't cater to my style, I would rather not browse there.

Don't care if you know you don't fit the mold; but if you do, don't complain when people make presumptions. Edited August 28, 2009 by Dr. B

[Giant Ninja Robot]

It isn't necessarily what the store can be stereotyped to be promoting, it is more about the what styles they actually stock. While speaking of clothing, I can say for certain Hot Topic is a magnet for degenerate youth because no other brick-and-mortar store sells shirts that say shit like "Mom should have aborted me" or "Down the highway, not across the street". Those might be extreme examples, but my point is that the clothing available breeds presumptions, somewhat justifiably.

If you're shopping at Hot Topic because it's local, has decent deals, and most importantly isn't the only place (including online) you can find merchandise: then no beef. For instance, I can understand going there and not wanting to be stereotyped for buying cheap band t-shirts, but if you're buying a boatload of Skelanimal gear and chains and pants with zippers where zippers don't belong... sorry, but you fit the mold. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it gives people a basis for evaluation.

Unless I'm shopping for something specifically (like a band T-shirt), yes, I do care where I shop. I say this comfortably because I tend to settle when I buy clothes, and if a store doesn't cater to my style, I would rather not browse there.

Don't care if you know you don't fit the mold; but if you do, don't complain when people make presumptions.

yes.


and no no and more no.


I suppose what I like to do is shop a variety of places and styles and mix them into my own personal style, which I'm sure most would catagorize as hiphop/skatepunk/slacker or some crap like that.


What I'm trying to get at is I think it's silly to stereotype in general Hot Topic does have some of the coolest kids T-shirts I can tell you that. I got a SWEET Darth Vader T for my 5 yr old there.


This was mostly to get some opinions, realistically I shop at Hot Topic maybe 2-4 times a year

Thanks for playing with me!

[no longer welcome]

I used to care when I was single and going out all the time. Life is just too expensive now for me to be worried about things like that, you can find good clothes anywhere, I like Loehmans, they have all the name brand cool stuff too, only it's half the price and maybe not the latest and greatest. Also, living in SOCAL you don't need tons of clothes.
I make sure my kids get quality stuff, not necessarily expensive. Oh, and then there's the wife, she knows how to shop smart so it's not the biggest deal for us, we have fun, look good (at least in our opinion) and not worry too much about name brands,
JOhn

[Giant Ninja Robot]

thats more or less the way we are. our kids always have nice clothes and we more or less get by looking reasonably nice or at least in the style we prefer.

I must say I have more fun dressing my kids up than I have shopping for me Kids clothes are way cooler than they were when I was young, although something is to be said for cotton parachute pants.

[russianwizard]

I do 90% of my non food shopping online. For clothing I'm the kind of person that buys the cheapest as long as it will last. I have 5 pairs of pants for hot and 5 pairs for cold weather. I have 10 tshirts a lot of socks and about 10 pairs of underwear. As long as I do laundry twice a week I'm fine

I don't get why people enjoy being human billboards for some douchebag-esqe clothing company, there were people in high school that wore that crap every day. Paying more money to advertise their product just seems downright stupid. >.<

I only take into account the frugal advantages/disadvantages from buying from a retail store. I'd insult someone that bought a PC from best buy, just because it would be 1/2 the price on newegg, not someone who bought some black pants with billions of pockets and zippers from hot topic.

[Genie]

I do check reviews of a place before I order from them. I want to know WHY someone doesn't like a particular vendor. It may not be a reason that is a concern for me, or it might be one that matters to me a lot

The main reason I choose any vendor is because they have the most of what I want. I won't order just one or two things from anybody, hate wasting money on shipping costs unless I'm going to load up on stuff at a particular site.

[Jeff_T]

I tend to buy a bit of stuff online, because it's usually much cheaper. If I shop in store it's for sale stuff. I really like Marshalls/Ross for clothes and stuff, can find some really good deals there. For food, etc. I try to go to Trader Joes, Metro Market or local, sometimes it's much easier to drop by Safeway though... I never shop at Wal-Mart. Edited August 30, 2009 by Jeff_T

[joytron]

I tend to buy a bit of stuff online, because it's usually much cheaper. If I shop in store it's for sale stuff. I really like Marshalls/Ross for clothes and stuff, can find some really good deals there. For food, etc. I try to go to Trader Joes, Metro Market or local, sometimes it's much easier to drop by Safeway though... I never shop at Wal-Mart.

how is shopping at safeway any different than shopping at wal mart?

[NIGHTS OF BAGHDAD]

i used to hate walmart because of the stories id hear on how they treat there employees..making them skip there breaks and no benefits and low pay..but when i saw how cheap most of there things are especially blu rays im sorry i had to shop..lol

[ashes87]

I shop where I find the best prices and where I find stuff I like. To me, it does not matter what the store is, but if they carry something I like, then that is all that matters.

[ryno]

Of all stores you had to pick Hot Topic... I try to avoid that store at all cost (at least in my hometown) due to remarks I've had said to me there... Including "fucking hippies" as me and some friends were walking out.

For the most part though, I shop where theres a sale. I actually like to get pants and shorts at Aeropostale, mainly because they are cheap and fit me really really well. I'm sure most of you think of that as a preppy store, and I'm nowhere near preppy.

[gaia.plateau]

Yes. Mostly.

Apparel stores have reputations for a reason. It's an indicator of what demographic the store caters to, and inevitably marks up the prices due to the extra these sectors of society will pay to satisfy their personal identity, which is all-important.

La Senza Girl or whatever it's called, has a reputation for being a store which appeals to young girls that like to dress like prostitutes. Would you go there to buy your clothes, or would that reputation deter you?

I wouldn't shop at Hot Topic because I don't want to pay extra money to be catered to as a vamp or goth or whatever kids call themselves these days, because I'm not one. I don't shop at high end accessory stores for $400 Oakleys, or at brand name clothing stores for $300 UFC T-Shirts, because, not being a douche or a poser, I don't require these things to satisfy my personal identity and I'm not willing to pay 1,000% markups. I make my decisions to avoid these places because of their reputations, which indicate which sort of demographic they cater to.

My apparel falls into three distinct categories... extremely cheap, vintage stuff that I wear to the movies, or shopping, or school, etc., mid-range functional gear that I wear for trekking, rafting, climbing, etc., and rather expensive, highly stylish clothing that I wear to important social events such as parties, dates, etc. or to work if I have a job that calls for it. So if a store has a reputation for selling brand name stuff, which cannot fall into any of these categories, I will avoid it. Reputations are helpful.

[Arcane]

i shop at certain stores, not because of their reputation...but, because i know how their clothes fit. then i go straight to the sale rack. i'm not into fashion. i rock board shorts, t-shirts and wear slippers 90% of the time i'm out of uniform. it covers my unmentionables, it's comfortable....what more do i need?

[ColibriDon]

I wear plain colored, non-branded, no-pattern t-shirts from America Apparel and jeans that I've had for a long time (all legitimate tears, none of that $100 "vintage" stuff, real wear and tear). I mention the brand because I got 48 of them at a really good price and think people should check them out. I don't like having a brand displayed on my shirt, or on my jeans.

I am guilty of paying 300+ for sunglasses, and I have 3 different pairs that all cost about that. I'll admit it, I love Oakley and can't walk into that store without spending $100--I don't go there often. hahaha

Ultimately, I don't care about particular rep of a store unless I know it does something really heinous (We agree on this, GNR). I do stay away from stores who give me bad experiences though. I shop at Wal-Mart because they always have 24 packs of Diet Coke on sale and it's really economical. I do, however, hate going there because it always takes 20 minutes to get out. Why have 50 registers if you're only going to operate 4?

I do like going to independent places if I can just to support a local business; I wish most people did this.

[joytron]

Of all stores you had to pick Hot Topic... I try to avoid that store at all cost (at least in my hometown) due to remarks I've had said to me there... Including "fucking hippies"

A compliment if you ask me

[Jeff_T]

Safeway would be a huge difference from Wal-Mart in their business practices/ethics. How they treat their employees, how they treat their current vendors, "competition" they create for small town businesses, price undercutting practices that are on record, etc, etc. Their environmental awareness and green efforts. There are a lot of differences.
Was that question serious?

how is shopping at safeway any different than shopping at wal mart?

[sleeperhit]

WalMart is a big no no for me.
Besides the fact that half of their crap is either beat to hell or missing parts. It's always jam packed and dirty as rest stop toilet. One thing I will do however....since I travel a ton for work, I have no problem renting a humidifier or TV from them during my stay at a hotel if I ever need one. Or anything else since walmart will let you return just about anything. Then they throw it right back on the shelf for you all to buy. They aren't keeping my money, thats for sure.

I'd rather be anally raped by a pineapple then shop at walmart. Edited August 31, 2009 by sleeperhit

[ZAGO]

i usually have no reserves for any particular place. however the shops i do not visit are the ones whose clothing style and fit i do not ie: the brand stores(in my eyes) AE, A&F and those types of places. and its mostly for the prices. for $40 instead of buying one shirt i would rather go to Burlington( where nearly everything i need is 90% off) or Ross/Marshals and get some new work slacks and a couple dress shirts. when it comes to clothes i get cheap not in quality but in price. i have had some Alien Workshop tshirts since 2002 that have now only begun to get holes, and my wife had to damn near strangle me into a store to buy new clothes.
but if what i want is novelty items like patches/stickers HT usually has them. also if any store has At the Drive-In anything im pretty much there. Period.

and i guess ill add to the walmart topic. yeah its bad there. its dirty and regardless of how many renovations they do it will NOT change its image. Edited September 1, 2009 by ZAGO