Just in time for Halloween, Opera Australia decided to have a massive costume clearance sale over the weekend. The outcome was more than anyone had bargained for…Â
Sydney is known for its vibrant population and it’s no secret that we Sydney-siders like to dress up. I know I do! So when a friend told me that Opera Australia were having a costume clearance sale, immediate plans were made to spend the day in Alexandria and give my wallet a workout.
Saturday came and that tingling excitement of a promised day of shopping was the presiding feeling amongst our group. But that feeling soon fizzled when we got a glimpse of the line that we’d have to traipse to the end of. Hundreds of people were lined up around the corner and down the street and the doors had only just opened! Over the course of two hours of waiting we discovered a number of things working against us…
1)Â Eager beavers had been queuing since 6am just to ensure a look-in!
2) After one hour of business, a system had been put in place letting shoppers enter in groups of 25 every half-hour.
3) There were at least 600 people in front of us.
After a quick bout of maths we concluded that our odds of getting in were slim to none and gave up. As we were making our way back to the car we checked the Facebook event and got an idea of just how ‘good’ the turnout had been:
The awesome connecting power of social media is truly the culprit of my sunburnt shoulders and lack of period costumes. That, and the general fact that everyone, including the geniuses that posted the event on Facebook, underestimated how popular this sale was going to be. According to the Events page, the turnout was well over 3000 people with 3.3K ‘attending’ and 13K ‘interested’! Add to that the people who were dragged along by friends, and it could have been the Easter Show!
Image credit: marieclaire.co.uk
It just goes to show that social media, public event pages, and basic word of mouth are still the most powerful pooling methods. It also illustrates just how much us Sydney-siders like to dress up! Looks like next time will require a 4am alarm!
Any cool queue stories? Leave us a comment below!
