5 Warnings to Shoppers From Former Gap Employees

1 | Employees are pressured to push the store credit card.

We've all been there before: You've tried on all your potential new clothes, weighed the cost of everything and made your decisions, and you're waiting in line to get your things and go, but the sales associate doesn't seem to want you to leave just yet. Instead of simply ringing you up, it seems like they're set on getting you to sign up for the store's card first. Well at the Gap, all the pressure put on consumers to get these cards comes from management. "It was all about the Gap cards," former Gap employee Tony Turner said during one of his Youtube videos. "No matter what incentives management threw at us, if people don’t want one they aren’t going to get one.” Plus, he says the card is really only worth it for the first purchase and the discounts afterwards aren’t better than the sales the store has on a regular basis.

2 | The credit card has a huge interest rate.

In addition to creating competitions among employees around getting customers to sign up for the Gap card, making payments on it is linked to a much higher interest rate than other cards. In a Reddit thread titled "Does anyone know what it actually takes to get approved for a Gap Inc card?" commenter No_Eggplant1108 responds that “the interest rate for the card is over 25% which is astronomical compared to other major cards. They add that there’s tons of other cards that give you more benefits, save your credit & skip any brand cards!!” If you know you’ll pay your balance in full, the card could be an asset to you. However, if you aren’t able to make payments then it’ll definitely catch up to you with interest.

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3 | Never buy anything full price.

Gap has discounts and sales running constantly, so if there is something specific you’re looking for it’s best to wait for the right time to get that product for as cheap as possible. In an article on the Krazy Coupon Lady, a former seasonal employee named Joanie outlines all the sales that happen throughout the year in a handy graphic. Hint: there is at least one (usually two) every month. For example, October has a long weekend sale offering 40 percent off  the whole store and June offers 50 percent off tanks, tees, and dresses to kickoff summer. So really, you don't ever have to pay full price.

4 | Skip the sales that only offer $25 off jeans.

The Gap has always been known for their denim. Can't you just picture the famous ads with a model or a celebrity in simply jeans and a t-shirt? The denim selection is vast with a wide range of sizes, but it's not the cheapest thing in the store. So you may be lured in by their $25 off denim sales, but you can actually get your Gap jeans for even cheaper. According to Joanie's schedule, all denim goes on sale from 40 to 50 percent off in February. If you don't want to wait until then, any storewide sale for 40 percent off or more will be your best bet. Be sure to check online, too, where there is always a deal happening.

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5 | Branding is a big deal.

Sure Gap is known for its basics, but not everyone wants their t-shirt to have a store name on it—one of the downsides of the Gap. They've had more or less the same branding for years and logo-ed clothing has truly become a Gap staple that is not easy to avoid when shopping. "They are huge on branding which is why 40 percent of their clothes are plastered with the logo," says Turner. Of course, you will always be able to find those classic white button-ups and denim, but if you're looking for cotton basics and workout gear you may just become a walking advertisement.