Countdown on for tickets to Spartina’s annual Warehouse Sale. What you need to know
Correction: This story originally listed the incorrect date for tickets to become available for the sale. The date was changed after this story was published. Tickets will go on sale at noon Wednesday, June 8.
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Only one minute.
That’s how long it took for the special “Golden Tickets” for the annual Spartina 449 Warehouse Sale to be snapped up online last year.
This year’s Warehouse Sale for the upscale handbag and accessories brand is scheduled for Friday, July 8, through Sunday, July 10, in Hilton Head Island High School’s gym at 70 Wilborn Road.
Everyone needs a ticket to enter, and those become available at noon Wednesday, June 8.
Tickets are a $5 donation. Golden tickets are a $50 donation.
“People do wait in front of their computers,” said Christy Sheets, Spartina’s senior vice president of retail operations.
Spartina 449 started on Daufuskie Island in 2009 and has grown to become known internationally, with products sold in retail shops, online and its own stores.
Golden tickets
Golden Ticket holders — “Spartina Superfans,” Sheets calls them — are able to enter the sale at any time it is open, are handed a goodie bag and a special lanyard upon arrival, and generally get VIP treatment.
But you don’t have to be a Golden Ticket holder or even the first one in the door each morning to have a great experience at the sale that draws shoppers from all over the United States to Hilton Head.
For the sale’s 10th anniversary, the company is planning a bigger event than ever.
In the works: Themed happy hour events and specials throughout the day; a return of the mermaid wall for photos with your purchases; and more one-of-a-kind prototypes available than ever before.
“Even if you get a later ticket, you could get something special that the morning people won’t,” Sheets said.
Pro tips for shoppers
While shoppers who’ve been to the sale before may have worked out a strategy for once the gym doors open, others may be overwhelmed by the rush and the volume of merchandise available.
“Take your time,” said Sheets, who suggested making at least two passes around the gym to see everything. “It is very overwhelming.”
Handbags, totes and wallets; luggage and golf bags; clothing; jewelry; and items like beach towels and notebooks will organized by price point.
Alexi Drago, Spartina’s director of marketing and ecommerce, said shoppers in line will be given a map so they can find the items they are interested in more quickly.
“There’s nothing quite like it,” said retail coordinator Caryn Lee. “We have a blast just seeing it.”
Want to help?
The sale takes Spartina’s employees but also about 150 others who sign up to help. These are paid jobs that are available during the three-day sale.
“There’s lots of perks for doing so, and get paid as well,” Sheets said.
To apply, email warehousesale@spartina449.com.
Tickets
All ticket sales will benefit a charity; the details haven’t been finalized about which charity will receive funds this year, Sheets said.
Customers can sign-up to be among the first notified that tickets are available at www.spartina449.com/warehouse-sale.
This story was originally published May 16, 2022 at 2:41 PM.
