How to Save Money Shopping Department Stores

Here are a few tips to save a few dollars when you need to shop the department or chain stores.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A little time for some research

1. Before leaving for your shopping trip, make a list of the things and need and stick to it (if you can). Impulse buying is one way to overspend in a hurry.
   
   If you have a large vehicle or a family member or friend has one, split the gas money and shop with a friend and make a day of it. It will be much for fun for you and less of a chore and your friend and you can both save money by car pooling shopping trips.

2. If you know what it is you are looking for, instead of driving from store to store, look online for the items you need and write down the prices from each store then choose the store with the best pricing that you can find in your shopping area.
   
   You can either purchase online and have them shipped (paying for shipping as opposed to paying for gasoline for your car) or drive to the store with the lower price and purchase it there.

3. 
    

   Try to coordinate your shopping trips, doing all your shopping one day a month or twice a month, instead of once a week which will save you time and gasoline from making so many trips.

4. Don't be afraid to shop the Dollar or Discount type stores, you may have to pick and choose around brands or choose a brand you are unfamiliar with, but you will save money in the end and you won't be out much money if you find you don't like a particular brand.

5. If shopping for clothes remember to shop online first and see if the item or items can be purchased online. Ebay usually is a great choice for new and used items just watch for inflated shipping charges. I find setting my preferences to lowest prices first is the best bet. When you get to the section where the prices are a bit too high, quit looking and move onto something else.

6. When going to your local department store, head for the racks in the back of the store first as this is where they house the sale items. They do this for a purpose, by placing the sale racks in the back they are forcing you to walk past all the new arrivals and higher priced items they are marketing. Hoping to catch your eye and spend some cash before getting to the sale racks.

7. If you can shop the off seasons. After Christmas through the end of February is the time you will find the best deals on fall and winter clothing items. Shop right after holiday and the ending of a season for the best prices.

8. If you are not sure when the seasons start, call the store and ask them when their new lines are coming in. Most clothing stores bring in their spring lines in March through April and then put those left over items not sold at the higher prices on sales racks in the back of the stores by early to mid-summer and so on with the summer, fall and winter lines.

9. Costume jewelry in these stores usually have a markup of 900% Yep, that's right NINE HUNDRED PERCENT MARKUP on jewelry and accessories and the clothing markup isn't that much lower for most stores. So even when they mark something down 75%, or sell something 2 for the price of 1, they are still making a nice profit. So put on the blinders and walk past the stuff that isn't on sale and look for the sale items first.

10. If you see an item that is out in the beginning of a seasons line change, put it on the longest layaway plan that they allow and before picking up the items off layaway, ask the clerk to check for the current price before paying for the items. Most items will on sale while in a layaway and you can get the item for the sale price, even if you have to return and re-purchase it right then and there it is usually worth the extra couple of minutes to do so to get the lower prices. (I once purchased a long leather coat on sale at about $125.00 2 months later when I picked up the layaway, the coat had gone down in price to $49.99. so I got a $300 dollar coat for $50.00 bucks. Can't beat that deal right? It pays to ask them to check the items that might be on sale!

11. If purchasing something such as a travel coffee mug or thermos type item, don't automatically go to the Household/Kitchenwares section to find the item. I have found that with travel coffee mugs that checking the Automotive section of a store will turn up different travel mug options with lower pricing than in the same stores Housewares section! I have saved anywhere from $2.00 to over $5.00 dollars per travel mug by checking the Automotive section before making a final purchase!

12. Don't forget to check the end caps on aisles for sale items, especially in stores like Walmart, Target and others. You can find some really great clearance items by checking out the items placed in the back sections of the stores on the end caps of the aisles!

13. Use coupons, just be sure to check the expiration dates as you don't want to be surprised if a store clerk won't take a coupon because it is expired.
    
    Don't be afraid to ask a store if they will accept a coupon from a competitor. Example: If you have a Home Depot coupon and are at Lowes, Lowes will accept the Home Depot coupon for the item because they don't want to risk you going to their competitor to make the purchase at the lower pricing! Most stores won't advertise that they take other competitor coupons but most do take them!

Tips & Warnings

• Don't forget to check the stores online selection or call them for pricing before traveling to a store, especially if you are just looking for one or two items. Doing a little research first can save you not only gas money but money on the purchase of the actual item.
• Keep in mind that not all stores keep the same inventory online that they keep in the retail stores and vice versa.
• Create a junk email address with a free email service and then add your email address to the stores that will send you notices for special sales. It will help you to plan your trip when you know in advance what is coming up for sale.

[Haunted]

on 11/18/2008 Great tips, thanks.