“Shop ‘til you drop” has never been my motto. I’m more of a “shop until you hit the food court” girl, but I have a handful of friends for whom shopping isn’t just an obsession, it’s an addiction worthy of an episode on A&E’s Intervention. (Lisa Winn I'm talking about you.) For these designer clothing junkies the newest trend is invite-only shopping. Think on-line, high-end sample sale on crack, acid, meth and a long line of prescription drugs I can’t spell.

Invite-only shopping offers deeply discounted, limited time deals that hook girls faster than you can say “I’ll take one in every color.” Basically the way it works is you have to be invited to join by a friend (you can also request an invite on the homepage). Then you’re able to view a restricted number of items and reserve them for a few minutes (most sites have a anxiety inducing countdown clock) if you don’t buy the item in time, your dream dress can be snatched out of your cart by another shopper, leaving you with the sinking feeling of “hey bitch, that was mine!”

According to Switched.com the best sites with the biggest designers are Gilt, Shop It To Me, One Kings Lane and Rue La La. I’m grateful for invite-only shopping because my friends love it. Personally, I don’t shop that way because I can’t make a decision under pressure.  Given the choice of tastes great or less filling and I collapse in a pool of cold sweat and just order two beers. So I’ll stick with going to the mall, buying a cute pair of shoes and something from my favorite designer California Pizza Kitchen.

That’s why I’m grateful for invite-only shopping.