Homebush DFO: Insane scenes, huge crowds at Boxing Day sales

Photos and videos shared online showed huge crowds at DFO Homebush, an outlet centre in Sydney’s inner west, that claims to house bargains on goods that come straight from designers’ factories.

Hundreds of people could be seen at the shopping centre’s entrance and in its carpark as shoppers vied for the best Boxing Day deals.

Inside the mall itself, dozens of people queued simply to get inside some stores. Other footage, taken outside, showed lines of backed up traffic on the motorway leading to DFO Homebush’s nearest exit.

“PSA: Do NOT go to DFO Homebush today,” one person captioned an image of the crowds.

While the scenes were clearly frantic, some veteran shoppers claimed DFO, which has discount outlets across Australia, doesn’t have particularly dazzling bargains.

“Or just never go to DFO Homebush,” one person wrote, garnering a reply explaining the outlet’s supposed flaws.

“It’s going to mostly be old s**t that doesn’t sell in the retail stores sold at a slight discount, or second tier c**p manufactured to go direct to outlets,” the second person explained.

“You can get better deals online on clearance items at the retail stores on far more current end of season items, or just from regular rotating sales.”

Another person added: “Last time I was there it wasn’t significantly cheaper, maybe 20 per cent cheaper than big stores. But I found it was old season, all obscure sizes. If you’re an average sized person you’re going to have trouble finding stuff.”

Others said the outlet mall could be worth a visit on a different day, or warned against buying into Boxing Day altogether.

“I bought a really nice Oroton wallet and bag for half price. It’s worth it but not THIS worth it. This would kill my soul,” one person wrote.

“Bigger PSA: Don’t go shopping literally anywhere today. It’s a giant mosh pit for the privilege of getting a tiny discount on shit you probably wouldn’t have bought anyway,” added another.