How to Purchase Clothes at Outlet Shops

When a clothing manufacturer can't sell items for full price, its loss is your gain. Outlet shops stock slow-sellers and slightly flawed products, typically at 25 to 75 percent off the retail price.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Call the outlets you want to visit and ask about upcoming sales where already-reduced prices are sometimes slashed even more.

2. Use the Web to familiarize yourself with the retail prices of the items you'd like to buy, so you'll know what kind of bargain you're getting at the outlet. Set priorities.

3. Examine garments carefully for flaws. If you find a flaw in an item that isn't marked as a second, ask for an additional discount.

4. Ask about the store's return policy. You may be looking at a long drive back to the store, and many outlet purchases are nonreturnable. Find out if you can return clothes to a store's non-outlet location near you, and get the answer in writing.

Tips & Warnings

• While most retail shops sell clothes for the following season, outlet shops usually offer the current season.