Bargain Shopping Tips
At the beginning of my career, I took trips during holidays, eager to exploit. Later, I figured that I have missed a lot of good opportunities for bargain shopping. Holidays, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas, are the best time for good deals. Nowadays, I don’t travel so often. Even I travel, I don’t want to miss any good deals.
There are two major reasons for stores to have sales.
- Inventory Control: Seasonal sales belong to this category. Stores in small cities are more likely to offer good deals since they have smaller customer base.
- Costumer Attraction: There were not so many customers for Fry’s during most of 2006. In last Thanksgiving, it offered deep discounts on softwares to attract customers.
The practices below are useful for catching good deals:
- Locate stores near where you live/travel and understand the game code. For example, there are Macy’s, ROSS, Big 5 Sporting Goods, Sears, Kohl’s, Fry’s, and Staples near Sunnyvale, CA. Further, Macy’s credit card provides 10% discount, and Kohl’s card offers card holders 15% off 4 times a year plus holiday savings. Local folks could help you out if you are on a trip.
- Understand what you want. Good deals are normally “now or never”. You have to act quickly when you see them. For example, if you know the brand Kenneth Cole, you will know that $10 for a pair of Kenneth Cole Reaction dress pants is a very good deal. COSTCO had a pair of Perry Ellis dress pants on sale for $10 for one day. The next day, the price was changed to $16.99.
- Work hard. It is worth reading categories and visiting online sales sites often. It is important to visit stores frequently and to be there early. More importantly, spend enough time in the store so that you don’t miss any good deals. For example, the $10 Kenneth Cole deal mentioned before was a hidden deal. You had to talk to cashier to get it.
Back to myself, my latest success story is a pair of high-quality Rockport dress shoes from ROSS. I paid ~$24 plus tax while its original price was $100. I cannot be happier. Hey, readers, do you have some good stories to share?
