J.Crew, Banana Republic, and Gap are all holding massive sales right now after fashion missteps. Now you can compare those prices to their factory merchandise, which is also available online.

Gene J. Puskar / AP

J.Crew, Banana Republic, and other retailers that had a rough start to the year are offering big discounts this month on full-price and sale items, in an effort to clear through a glut of unsold clothes that failed to resonate with many of their core customers.

Some of those discounts, it turns out, are so steep that they're selling regular clothes cheaper than similar items in their outlets — which are designed to be the lower-cost version of the brand. And thanks to the introduction of separate "factory" websites, consumers can now examine this strange pricing conundrum side by side.