The stores and the websites are packed with bargains! Here’s a guest post from Jon Lal, founder of coupons and cash back website BeFrugal.com with some tips:
As one season ends, new merchandise fills stores and the older merchandise becomes drastically reduced. It’s a great time to make purchases on the cheap! With the flow of inventory often coming in before items are actually in season, you can shop end-of-season sales and score deals on the most current items.
For example, spring styles tend to be introduced at fashion stores in the late winter. In many areas of the country it’s far too chilly outdoors to wear these garments at the times they are stocked on shelves. To make room for these new items, the styles that had been occupying the same space in the stores must be moved and tend to end up on a clearance rack for way less. While the items in the clearance sale may not seem as shiny and new, you can usually use them immediately and pay a reduced amount for them!
In addition to low pricing, there are ways to save additional dollars off the tag price:
- Sales on top of sales.
- Often stores will temporarily lower their clearance prices even further by offering a sale on their sale items. For example, clearance pricing may be 50% off and an additional 25% off sale could be available for a limited time during a holiday weekend. Stay in the know by following deal bloggers, coupon websites and the stores, which will spread the news on their website, social media and by email.
- Always look for a coupon.
- If you plan to shop at a store, identify coupons for the stores you intend to shop at. Many stores – especially department stores – will provide printable coupons for an additional percentage or dollar amount off your clearance purchases. You can find these coupons online from coupon sites, the store websites and by email if you are on the store’s mailing list.
- When you make your clearance purchases online (which may yield an enhanced selection), look for coupon codes for additional savings. These are often available on coupon websites, stores’ websites and store’s social media accounts.
- When shopping online, click for cash back.
- Cash back websites offer rebates to their members who simply visit the cash back website first before making purchases at their favorite stores. It’s simple and fast to earn cash back. Just go to the cash back website and log in or join, identify the store you want to shop at and the cash back site will take you to the store’s website where you shop as usual. After completing your transaction with the store, the cash back site will keep your earnings for you in a free online account until you are ready for your payment.
- Carefully select your payment method.
- Using a store credit card may yield an additional percentage off. Some retail stores offer more savings for credit card holders when they pay with their store credit card. If you have a store credit card, the store will most likely notify you of opportunities to save by email or with a notice on your credit card statement.
- You can also purchase store gift cards at less than face value and use your reduced price gift cards as your form of payment. This method will shave another couple of dollars off your total. After you know which store(s) you’ll be purchasing from, go online to a site like Cardpool to purchase a gift card below face value, then use that gift card to make your purchase. When purchasing gift cards from a site like Cardpool, visit a cash back website first to earn cash back on your gift card purchase.
- As an alternative to making a purchase with a gift card, use a voucher from a daily deal site. Often a $40 store credit or offered at half price on these sites.
This is a guest post from Jon Lal, founder of coupons and cash back website BeFrugal.com. BeFrugal.com offers cash back for online shopping at 3,000+ online stores with a current average rate of 7%.