The Next Sale. 6am.

I shop online for Next but never have i gone in store for 6am.

I had to get petrol yesterday on the way to pick up an elderly relative and while getting it at Tesco noticed about 30 people queuing to get into the main large store at 08.45 ready for them to open at 9. I couldn't believe that people were actually queuing to get into bloody Tesco on Boxing Day.

They tell you when you work there about working the sale, people are really moaning, saying how horrible it is, surely if it was that horrible you would get something else, especially as the pay will be minimum wage

My cousin used to queue round the block for it when her kids were small.

My daughter worked there as a student . 5am start 20 miles away - nightmare. She was able to tell what shite items would end up in the sale as soon as the autumn collection arrived.

I will never understand why they have to open at 6am . The sake items will still be there if they opened at 9 🤷🏽‍♀️

For those all saying it's all rubbish.There are some bargains to be had...if you are a VIP member and you get in quick. I've got loads for the kids, the quality may not be as good as it was but it's still better than the supermarkets imo.

I can’t believe they persist with this bollocks.

There must be interested customers for them to bother doing it. No one is forcing anyone to go.

Shopping in big heavily promoted sales is the last way to get a bargain

Better ways...
Buy off season - swimwear& holiday gear in november, winter coats in may/june/july, Christmas bits in jan & feb
Buy at quiet times of year - july, when lots of people are off on holiday
Buy older models of tech items just when new versions are announced

Why work there if you didn't like it?

Not a lot of choice for a college student who needs to be committed to their course but wants a bit of extra cash.

Happily dd left in the January. The wages were woeful even for a 17 year old in 2011.

Yes, similar. I feel very sorry for the staff.

About 7/8 years ago DD had left University and was still to get the "proper" job. Over the Christmas period she applied for retail jobs. Next was a possible but I was hoping she would get somewhere else because I knew what their Christmas hours were and how much this would disrupt out Christmas.

Thankfully she got a seasonal job at Boots. She still had to work Christmas Eve and Boxing Day but the hours were reasonable and it was in a town entre location that was easy to get to. Also they seemed like quite a nice employer. She quite enjoyed her time there.

I know. I drive past the spot fairly regularly and always turn my radio off in respect.

That's brutal!!

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/how-senseless-murder-student-anuj-22575111

Went online, had a look, left.. I guess most people will do the same. They used to be SUCH good sales. Mind, all the same now.. I was only discussing Dunelm's last year's sale with my DD the other day, was looking forwards to this year's. Absolute rubbish. Went on M&S, put a few diffusers in my basket, nipped to the loo, came back & they were all sold out.. managed to get a few cheap bits for stocking fillers for Xmas 2025 from Boots. That's my lot for sales 2024..
Tbh I don't know why the shops still bother.

Whenever I hear about the early start next sale I remember the man who was murdered in Salford. He was on his way to to the next sale at 4am :(

I queued in 2015 and 2018. After that I cottoned on to getting a vip slot which suits me much better. The quality of the clothes were much better then and lots of the babygros were worn by all 3 of my kids and didn't bobble or shrink. Dd2 has also worn lots of her brother and sisters clothes. Clothes that I had purchased at the same time from ASDA or H&M did not stand the test of time. I don't tend to buy dd2 new clothes from there as I find the next own quality isn't as good now. I do still get particular brands of coats from there.

I find you need to get an early vip slot if you want particular things. Sets of kids pyjamas always sell out quickly.

There's always one

I used to go to the Next sale years ago, when post Christmas sales were proper sales, when I worked in corporate advisory, and needed to wear suits.

This must have been pre-2010, and I used to get some right bargains around 7am (I never queued, or went to the sale right from the start), which saved me sooooo much money.

I would never go now as not only do I not need to, I've heard it's full of absolute rubbish these days.

I remember it well, always on the news. We used to have around 400 people waiting outside our store, but now we will probably have less than 50 tomorrow.

Very true, although I doubt there'll be much left by then.
I had a vip slot on Sunday and most of the good stuff was gone by the evening. 10 years or so ago it would have been equal for everyone but nowadays they are pretty much ensuring that the vips/account holders get first dibs.

Remember when the Next sale queues made the national news for a few years.

Yes, childrenswear is always the first department to be busy with customers and then the home department in my experience.

Probably for young children's clothes, I think people buy the next size up, most that queue will be getting these as they probably won't have an account to get a vip slot as they just want some cheaper clothes for their children.

Yes people still queue outside that early in the morning although not as many as there used to be.

A few years ago I had to go to a M&S at 9am at opening time on a Saturday, I needed something specific and was under time pressure that morning. A group of 4 or 5 women were also waiting outside the door, the only other people there. When the security guy opened they started running and shrieking, they nudged each other on the escalator up to the women's section shouted and ran all the way. I hadnt noticed any sale signs around. When I got upstairs I saw there was 1 circular sale rack, literally. Still shouting, grabbing, screeching while staff looked on. I was gobsmacked but I reckon they are the Next 6am sale types. It's a hobby that's all, a rather pathetic one IMO.