Quince’s first-ever sample sale sold out 6 hours early

Experiential Marketing // September 2, 2026 Quince’s first-ever sample sale sold out 6 hours early By Julia Waldow Screengrabs from TikTok A four-block line. A two-and-a-half hour wait time. And hundreds of towels, candles and cashmere sweaters. These were the key elements of Quince’s first-ever sample sale, held Aug. 14-15 in its hometown of San Francisco.

Quince, which officially launched in 2020, is a digitally native lifestyle brand known for its $50 cashmere sweaters. Now, after surpassing $2 billion in sales, the brand is increasingly testing out physical retail.

This year alone, Quince held pop-ups in New York City, Los Angeles and Toronto to show off its full range of merchandise as it expands into new categories. Its sample sale, which sourced inventory worn by its models or used in photo shoots, is the latest example of how Quince is gauging customer demand and interacting with shoppers in real life.

“We spend a lot of time talking to consumers and building insights from conversations — but that’s usually happening in our DMs or over the phone or on a Zoom call,” Dakota Kate Isaacs, head of brand strategy and narrative at Quince, told Modern Retail.

“As a digital-first brand, we don’t really get to be with them in real life on a Saturday morning, with a coffee in hand, their dogs with them, and see how Quince actually fits into their life. [At the sample sale] we had people pulling out their phones, showing us their living rooms [filled with Quince].”

While Quince expected a large turnout for the sample sale, the weekend “very much” exceeded the brand’s expectations, Isaacs said. Customers stood in long lines wrapping around the block, with many getting there three hours early. Inventory ended up selling out six hours ahead of the planned closing time.

Home goods and sweaters were especially popular, as were coats. All in all, Quince processed 600 transactions, with the average shopper buying three items. The sample sale was a true sample sale, in that it sold samples Quince had in its HQ in San Francisco to use for website shoots. After a model wears an item, Quince puts it back on the rack.

The system means that Quince has “rows and rows and rows” of clothes in its office, and it needed to free up space, Isaacs said. Many items at Quince’s sample sale were curated to be one-of-ones — a different proposition from other sample sales that source from excess inventory. Quince was “blown away” by the turnout, Isaacs said.

But the hours-long line wasn’t the biggest thing she noticed. Instead, it was the “depth of the affinity” and customers’ love for the brand, Isaacs explained. Customers standing in line showed her pictures of their favorite Quince chairs and swapped stories about Quince cookware.

“Quince is not just a place they go to for cashmere sweaters anymore,” Isaacs explained. “It’s a place that they are increasingly building out their lives with.” Indeed, social-media videos from the sample sale showed customers ooh-ing and ahh-ing over all types of merchandise.

One TikToker ended up buying three $35 sweaters, a $30 pair of jeans and a $10 linen pillowcase. Another TikToker, who stood in line for two and a half hours, said, “I was surprised that there was a lot of men’s clothes. I ended up getting my boyfriend four items and myself two.”

What has helped with this is that Quince has expanded into more categories over the years. Initially known for women’s apparel, the company has since branched out into fragrance, wellness, men’s shoes, linen bedding, wine and furniture. Quince sources this inventory directly from factories and is therefore able to keep costs down.

At the same time, Quince wants “to earn the right to enter a category,” Isaacs said. The sample sale, she explained, provided live insights into what categories are proving popular and what adjacencies may arise from that. Soft home — specifically towels and bedding — was a huge hit.

Because of Quince’s large assortment of items, shoppers stocked up on all kinds of goods. “We noticed people coming in for one thing, but leaving with a very different category,” Isaacs said. “A lot of people in line would talk about, ‘Oh, I want to see if they have this cashmere sweater.’ The first thing they ended up picking up was linens or bath towels.”

Many people attending the sample sale had already bought from Quince online. But others were new to the brand, drawn in by the sight of hundreds of people standing out in the sun. “A four-block line also becomes its own kind of customer acquisition vehicle, right?” Isaac said.

“People see it, and then they ask what everybody’s waiting for, and then suddenly, they’re discovering Quince. &#