puckstopper1

Good evening all!

After months of research I've decided I'm going to go with a Tumi carry-on set up and briefcase. It came down to Travelpro Crew 9 and the Tumi Alpha series. I recently visited a Tumi outlet and that raised a few questions...

1.) Is the quality of the Tumi Outlet merchandise less/worse than at the Tumi boutique or a department store like Nordstrom's?

2.) I did notice slight differences from their website after I looked at the outlet. I looked at the 022020D (at least that was what was on the plaque)...I noticed that the small leather monogram patch is missing and the zippers are tucked behind the fabric. Other than that everything appears to be the same. Are their differences or even a different line?

3.) Pricing. I looked at the 022020D Int'l Carry-on-msrp: $595.00 MARKED DOWN TO: $499.00 and the Alpha T-Pass Medium Expandable Briefcase-msrp: $395.00 MARKED DOWN TO: $299.00. These are in the black color. They had an identical set at the outlet in a brown color that has an additional 25% off, but I'm sold on the black.

Is this a good price? Do the outlets ever have any sales? Should I wait for the boutique or dept store to go on sale if ever?

Just curious as to whether or not I should pull the trigger on this. I do have time on my side and not in a rush to buy this.

Thanks in advance for everyone's thoughts.