On Wednesday at 10 a.m., luxury brand The Row opened their sample sale to the public at The Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City’s Flatiron neighborhood, where people had been waiting since 10:30 p.m. the night before to get a spot in line. obtain.
Founded in 2006 by famed twins Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, the brand sells their simple, understated pieces for thousands of dollars at retail prices, but this coveted sample sale allows hopeful buyers to snag items at prices up to 80 percent off discount.
When DailyMail.com arrived around 8 a.m. Wednesday, the line was already nearly 200 people long, spanning two blocks and around West 19th Street and Sixth Avenue.
Some people we spoke to had even taken a bit of a break from work that day and called in sick, while others balanced their laptops on their legs while ‘working remotely’.
First in line for the sale extravaganza, which takes place Saturday, was a young man named Brian Patterson, who had been there since 10:30 the night before – except he wasn’t there to buy clothes for himself.
At 10 a.m. Wednesday, luxury brand The Row opened their sample sale to the public at The Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City’s Flatiron neighborhood — and people had been waiting there since 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night to get a spot in line.
First in line for the sales extravaganza, which runs Saturday, was a young man named Brian Patterson
“Some people have tents, some people just lie on the ground on boxes and/or bundles in chairs for the most part,” Patterson told DailyMail.com on Wednesday morning
Patterson works for a company called Same Ole Line Dudes LLCwhich allows people to hire others to wait in line for them.
“Some people have tents, some people just lie on the ground on boxes or nestle in chairs for the most part,” Patterson told DailyMail.com on Wednesday morning.
Robert Samuel, the owner of Same Ole Line Dudes, told DailyMail.com that they charge customers $25 per hour, and another $15 if they start before 7 a.m.
Patterson couldn’t tell us exactly how much he made for this gig, but confirmed it was less than $1,000.
In this case, Patterson had secured the best spot in line for his client, who had hired him a month ago and was scheduled to show up at 9 a.m. to take over from him.
His secret to getting the best spot?
“It’s called being on time, that’s all I can really say,” Patterson said. “Even if they give you an accurate time to be here, try to get here a little earlier.”
Samuel told us that there were fifty line employees working on the line.
In this case, Patterson had secured the top spot in line for his client, who had hired him a month ago and was supposed to show up at 9 a.m. to take over from him.
Robert Samuel, the owner of Same Ole Line Dudes, told DailyMail.com that they charge customers $25 per hour, and another $15 if they start before 7 a.m.
“This is our Christmas,” said Samuel, explaining that The Row’s sample sale easily saw the cake as their biggest performance, replacing iPhone releases
Patterson couldn’t tell us exactly how much he made for this gig, but confirmed it was less than $1,000
They even had to bring in backups from their backup team, not to mention their core team of 26.
“This is our Christmas,” Samuel said, explaining that The Row’s sample sale easily ranked the cake as their biggest performance, replacing iPhone releases.
‘We have fifty [inquiries] within the first day of the email announcement,” he said, joking that his “life was ruined at 4pm last Monday when the email announcing the sale went out to customers.
One of Same Ole Line Dude’s customers, Defne, 23, decided to hire a line sitter this year after waiting in line for nearly 10 hours during last year’s sale.
“I met Robert at the Missoni sample sale earlier this year,” Defne said. “So I thought I’d hire them.”
One company, Future Reference, a resale platform, even used the sale as a business opportunity, arriving early in the morning to hand out free coffee and flyers for their website.
Others, however, decided to wait it out themselves, like customers Ali, 42, from Westchester, New York, and Grace, 29, who lives in the West Village.
Ali’s husband dropped her off at 11:15 the night before, and Grace arrived twenty minutes earlier, both hoping to find a bag, jacket and shoes from the coveted brand.
Others, however, decided to wait it out themselves, like customers Ali, 42, from Westchester (right), and Grace, 29, who lives in The West Village (left).
One company, Future Reference, a resale platform, even used the sale as a business opportunity, arriving early in the morning to hand out free coffee and flyers for their website.
When DailyMail.com arrived around 8 a.m. Wednesday, the line was already nearly 200 people long, spanning two blocks and around West 19th Street and Sixth Avenue.
The two, veterans of The Row sample sale, became fast friends while waiting in line overnight, only to become numbers 29 and 30 in the long line.
“I ordered a pizza,” Ali, who waited 10 hours last year, told DailyMail.com.
“We talked,” Grace added, explaining that the person next to them had even started DJing.
But despite the grueling overnight wait, they both agreed that it was worth it to get your hands on a few new, discounted pieces and not have ‘FOMO’ – the fear of something to miss.
“I don’t want to look at someone else’s loot, I want my own,” Grace said.
Others skipped a day of work for the momentous occasion, like Marie, who used a different name for anonymity, who had been following the details of the sale on TikTok for a week.
She was trying to figure out the best strategy to pick up some shoes and knitwear – and that required a phone call from work.
“I said, I’m not participating,” Marie, who works in academia, told DailyMail.com.
Others skipped a day of work for the momentous occasion, like Marie, who used a different name for anonymity
“I ordered a pizza,” Ali, who waited 10 hours last year, told DailyMail.com, adding that someone else DJed while they waited in line overnight
Marie arrived around 7.30am and was at the back of the queue when we spoke to her, along with her friend Ian, who also used a different name for anonymity.
Ian was about to pull out his laptop to start working remotely.
While we were there, Marie revealed that the line is not without drama. She said that last year some people used the Jimmy Choo sample sales line, which was significantly shorter and located in the same building, to sneak into The Row.
She was trying to find out if people were doing the same this year.
“I would definitely consider it, I mean this is New York City, movers and shakers,” she told DailyMail.com.
“You have to work quickly,” she added.
For Winnie Wong, who works in Democratic politics, today’s sale wasn’t her first rodeo.
She told DailyMail.com that she had actually been to the private sale for The Row’s friends and family the day before, but returned around 9am today for ’round two’ as she lives just a few blocks away.
“I’m determined to wait until my battery life runs out, because when my battery runs out, I have to go back to my desktop,” Wong said.
“I’ve had a few work visits that were substantive and important, but could be done standing up on a nice day,” she added.
During the private sale, Wong bought two silk shirts, a long skirt and a pair of sandals, but this time he was looking for a T-shirt dress.
“I really like The Row, I think what they’ve done with the brand is smart, strategic and definitely profitable,” Wong said.
“But would I pay full price for Row items even if I could? No.’