Technology | luxury goods Fashionistas Chase Fleeting Bargains Online Sites court shoppers with flash sales on designer brands By Laila Weir Posted May 1, 2008 6:58 PM CDT Copied A model displays fall fashion from Diane von Furstenberg during Fashion Week in New York, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2008. Gilt.com recently sold 600 Diane von Furstenberg dresses in six minutes. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) New online shops are hooking up high-end customers with discount flash sales on luxury goods such as designer bags and shoes. Alerting members via text message, the members-only sites sell items in private sales that often begin immediately and can last just hours. The created frenzy works: Customers of one site buy on average within just 45 seconds of logging on, reports the Wall Street Journal. A number of sites have launched in the past six months and report they’re growing fast thanks to word-of-mouth marketing alone. One says it’s growing by 10% a week and already has more than 100,000 members. Company reps call their version of shopping a “game” and “addicting,” as they hawk luxuries (albeit discounted) in an economy that has high-end goods piling up unsold. Read These Next Trump, Johnson aren't happy with pick for Super Bowl headliner. It's being called a disturbing trend: paragliders with bombs. Feds cite ChatGPT evidence in arrest of Palisades Fire suspect. Felix Baumgartner's death attributed to his own error. Report an error