not sure where this should go so it ended up here. Gawker had a funny take on sample sales vs. the Lucky Shops and New York Magazine's Best Bets shopping events:
"... magazine-sponsored shopping events really don't excite us. You wait in line, you're spoon-fed some glossy bullshit, and then you and your fellow cattle are herded into a chaotic shopping corral. So maybe you'll save $6 on that Mario Badescu cleansing gel -- but would you have even bought it in the first place if it weren't available in some advertising event disguised as a discount bonanza? Sample sales strike us more straightforward: no shilling, no fliers. Just you, the product, and a hundred other bitches fighting for the best items. It's pure, like conspicuous consumption should be."
I've never been to any of the sponspored events so I can't speak to whether they are worth the price of admission, but I too often get "sample sale goggles" and buy crap I wouldn't consider buying at a regular shop.