I was out shopping today and noticed that stores were already putting out their Spring merchandise. The beautiful blue, green, yellow, and even orange hued apparel almost made me forget that it was only 20 degrees outside here in Chicago. But it didn’t make me forget the rows of sales merchandise pushed up against the back walls.
This is the perfect time to shop for sales; even better than those Christmas sales. But it can be frustrating and costly if you aren’t prepared. So here is my 5-part strategy for smartly shopping end of season sales:
1. Make A List (and check it twice) — Don’t go shopping all wily nilly. You will only end up buying things you don’t need just because they are on sale. Do a closet inventory and figure out exactly what you need to add to your wardrobe. A great new brown pinstripe suit, a pair of great jeans, a mango colored shirt to go with those tweed pants? Be as specific as possible. And write every item down. Then…
2. Know Your Limit (that’s how much cash you’ve got to spend) — Don’t just run out and shop with no thought to how much you want to spend. When you are clear on a budget it will help you to avoid over spending on one item. If you have 10 things on your list and a $200 budget, you might not want to spend $75 on a really cool t-shirt. Next…
3. Be a Visionary — When shopping sales, they may not always have your exact size so you might need to be able to envision how well something will work after being tailored. So if those pants are an inch too short, imagine the hem being let down. Or if the size is just one size too big, imagine how well it will fit once a tailor has taken it in for you. When you find great deals, it might be worth spending an extra $15 getting it to fit perfect. I found an Ellen Tracey $700 suit in Bloomingdale’s for a client for only $150. She spent an extra $30 tailoring it. She still saved over 75% of the price and it is classic and well put together. She will have it for years. Then…
4. Breathe and Have Patience — Because it is the end of the season it might be hard to find your size or even sizes close to what you wear. So if you find some items you love, have the sales person check for them in the back stock, on the mannequins, and at other locations for you. They are bound to have your size somewhere — just be patient. The nicer you are, the harder they will work for you. In Banana Republic we got a $300 suit for just a little over $100 but the sales person had to go through a lot to find the right size for us. Lastly…
5. Take a Day Off — This goes hand in hand with number 4. If you go on a day when everybody else is busy at work: one, you won’t have to fight the crowds and there won’t be 10 of you trying to search the same overcrowed rack. And then, two, the sales people will be more likely to have the time to search for your correct sizes at the other stores. Just don’t let your boss know you’re playing hooky to shop.
Now go out there and hit those sales racks. Then come back and leave me a comment so we can all know the great places to shop.
Make sense?
P.S. You can often get an extra 15% off of all those extreme marked down goods if you apply for credit at the store. But as the number 2 strategy indicates, still make sure you have set a budget. When that bill comes, be able to pay it off. This is supposed to be a great way to get quality goods at discounted prices; don’t make it a new way to go into debt.
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