Members Only Sites - Good or Bad?

I'm still debating whether it makes sense to join or be a part of these "members" only sites that offer designer duds for up to 80% off. In some sense, it's nice that a bargain could be had, but on the other hand, do I really need the temptation? It's almost like window shopping or going to the mall, there will be temptation, I may see something that I like and then want to purchase it. However, if I never went shopping in the first place....

Generally, unless I need something, I don't go to the mall or go window shopping. I don't want the temptation. I don't want to be surrounded by nice new things that are just beckoning me to take them home. This is probably why I prefer to shop online. I can specifically search for what I want, comparison shop, and see if there are any discounts available. It's so much easier. I do feel a little guilt because I feel some responsibility to support my local merchants, who are likely losing sales.

Whether I shop in a store or online, I'm sure that marketers are trying to find ways to get people to open up their wallets. My junk email box is inundated with offers from various merchants that I frequent. I regularly get free shipping offers, and offers to take a certain percentage off of my orders.

That's probably why these members only sites seem to be popping up all over the place. ideeli.com, ruelala.com, gilt.com are some of the sites that seem to be gaining in popularity. I guess to differentiate themselves, they offer deeply discounted "designer" clothes and accessories. I believe that they are able to offer such discounts because their prices are not disclosed to anyone except members (and thus search engines are not able to access the sites and disclose the prices to the public), and designers may be more willing to offer discounts so that they get some name recognition and expand their audience, especially to sites where members specifically sign up for this type of product.

The problem with this, for me, was that I generally didn't buy designer clothing, and even at a discount, the prices were still higher than what I would normally pay for such items. There is a temptation though, that I'm getting something for 80% off (!), but really, would I normally pay more than $49 (after discount) for a tunic or shirt? No. Plus, these sites are filled with designer names that I'm not familiar with. I get emails alerting me that certain designer items are on sale, and they seem to want to create a frenzy by stating that the sale is only on for a limited period of time and once you put an item in your cart, you only have about 10 minutes to complete the sale.

I think that I'm going to avoid these sites from now on because I don't need the temptation to buy - I was perfectly happy before I knew of the items available for sale and I'll still be happy in oblivion. Sure, I may miss out on some great sales, but maybe in the long run it's better to just buy what I really need and then search for the best price then instead of buying in anticipation or suffer from buyers remorse. Plus, I need to save my money for more important things.