Once again, daughter and I are headed for NYC. She wants to see a friend who will be there. This is my 4th trip since December!!! I thought I could make this trip without requesting advice from the Fodors board, but I find that I am once again in need of advice/suggestions.

We will again be staying in New Jersey, using Marriott points. ( The 90,000 points we used for our brief stay in the Marriott Marquis in December has made my husband very stingy with his points, and he now demands that daughter and I go to New Jersey for lodging if we want to go to NYC). Thankfully, this time we will not have to go to Edison, New Jersey, but will be staying at the Courtyard Secaucus Meadowlands. Reviews on TripAdvisor of this facility are better than average, (whew), so I guess it will do, although I'd prefer to stay in a posh place on the UES. : ) But, for "free", I guess I should be pleased.

I believe that we can take a bus into the city and be there in 15 minutes. So, that is good.

But, my question is about the shopping that is available in Secaucus. Apparently it is home to some large outlets. From what I have read, these are true outlets and have clothing that is currently available in stores.
(The theory behind this is that items currently available in retail stores are actually "old" to the designers/manufacturers who operate a season (or two) in advance of what is currently being sold retail, and they send their overstocks of these "old" items to the outlets.) Or something like that. : )

Anyway....are the Secaucus outlets worth my time? It is always nice to score some big bargains, and since there may be a BABY in our family's future (I am sworn to secrecy for two more weeks, but heck, nobody here knows us....), I will be looking to buy items that I've not looked at in a long time!

Thanks in advance.
Vicki

If they're major outlets, then you will find in season clothes. Only outlets I've seen your "theory" turned into fact- minor, small city outlets, and a few really crappy (poorly located) designer outlets. Well, and I've heard it also from people who just don't know the secret to outlet shopping! (Dig). Otherwise, location, location!

I work in Secaucus. I personally think they're just okay. A few stores are great but most are not.
First, I want to make sure that you're aware that they're not all located in one big mall. They are in several outlet centers located in various areas of Secaucus. Having a car is best.

Here's a good link with all the stores:
http://www.harmonmeadow.com/pages/secaucusmap.html

My favorite stores are:
--DKNY Jeans. I get all my jeans there.
--Tommy Hilfiger. I get most of my 4-year-old son's clothes there. Great price and great quality. Appears to be same stuff found in regular stores. They have cute stuff for babies too, including girls. Their men's department is really nice. Women's department is so-so.
--Dana Buchman. I have found some really beautiful skirts/tops there at really good prices.
--Andrew Marc. I have bought a couple of beautiful leather jackets at very good prices.

The stores that suck:
--Jones of NY. I've never anything I like in there and they definitely don't have what's sold in regular stores.
--9 West. Definitely the cheap shoes that they only sell at outlets and not at stores.

You can take a bus into the city from Secaucus - but the only time it will take 15 minutes is at 3 am.

Depending on the time you go and the traffic in the Lincoln tunnel I would assume a minimum of 30 minutes to get to Port Authority. If you're traveling at rush hour (in either direction) and there's bad weather or an accident it can easily take 1.5 hours.

Bummer, nytraveler. I wondered if maybe the 15 minutes estimate was too good to be true. : ( So, the NJ train is the better choice for transportation into the city?

Thanks for the info about the outlets, caribtraveler. Outlet shopping is most often disappointing. I'd surely like to find some designer bedspreads and/drapes, though.

Anyone else care to comment on Secaucus outlet shopping?

Vicki

caribtraveler gave you very good advice, you need a car to get around. IMHO It takes a lot of time to drive around and go in and out of the stores just on the chance you might find something.

The outlets I saw in Secaucus weren't like typical outlets. These were more of a warehouse district with each warehouse having a little shop. Though they were clustered together, the warehouses were so big that you would need a car to travel between them. Check opening hours before you go, as many seemed closed on a Saturday afternoon.

About 15 years ago, Secaucus used to be THE outlet mall/city.

I drove by there recently, and now it's more like a sorry excuse for manufacturers to dump stuff that didn't seem to sell 3 or 4 seasons ago. Baby clothes may be OK - they don't care about the latest and good stuff, anyway.