Feels like a marketing scam built on price gouging and fake scarcity
I’m extremely disappointed with how the recent Parke x Target collaboration was handled on Parke’s end. For a brand partnering with a major retailer like Target, the lack of inventory and overall customer experience was honestly shocking.
I had items in my cart within a minute of the launch and went straight to checkout, only to have them removed because they were already sold out. The entire process felt chaotic and frustrating. It didn’t feel like a real opportunity to shop, it felt like a race most customers were set up to lose.
What’s even more frustrating is that this doesn’t feel accidental, it feels intentional. The ultra-limited stock, instant sell-outs, and inevitable resale markups create the impression of artificial scarcity to drive hype rather than a genuine effort to serve customers. People are left refreshing pages, dealing with glitches, and competing with bots or resellers for a chance that barely exists.
On top of that, pricing items at a premium while making them nearly impossible to actually purchase comes across as materialistic price gauging for self-benefit, not building a brand that’s truly accessible to the masses. It sends a clear message about priorities, and it’s not the customer.
At some point, people are going to start seeing through this. The cycle of overhyped, understocked drops isn’t sustainable, and it erodes trust quickly. What should have been an exciting collaboration instead felt stressful, frustrating, and honestly off-putting.
If this is the direction Parke is going, it’s going to push loyal customers away. There has to be a better way to manage demand and create a fair, accessible experience for the people who actually want to support the brand.