FashBlog.com

By Christina VanGinkel

My daughter called the other morning to tell me about a fantastic clearance sale she came upon. She has been in need of a new swimsuit since last summer. A young mother with a budget, a swimsuit was not a high priority, but a high 'want' as she would say, because she swims year round. In addition, as she said, she had swimsuits to wear, but a new one was definitely something she had been keeping an eye open for every time she was shopping. Prices she had been finding ranged from an ok average of about $20 for a top or bottom, ($40 for a complete suit) upwards to about $60 ($120 for a complete suit). By constantly checking prices, and keeping in mind that in most places, swim season was ending, she finally found the bargain she had been hoping to come across. She purchased a top and bottom for a combined total of $8.00. Marked down to $4.00 apiece, each top and bottom had been originally priced at the highest end of prices she had discovered, at $60.00. She was a bit excited to say the least.

Clearance racks are common in stores year round, when once; you would only see them during very specific season end events. Still, there are better times of the year to find certain clearance items for deep discount in comparison to other times though. Seasonal clothing comes and goes from store racks, but often it is some weeks after the clothing is turned over before you will find a bargain to beat all bargains. Part of it is luck, but a lot of it is persistence and knowing what you want to spend.

At the end of the ski season last year, I started shopping for a jacket for my youngest son to hit the slopes with this year. My husband thought I was crazy at first, as we had just bought him a new jacket. When I tried to explain to him how expensive that first purchase was (Bought during peak season because a zipper broke on the jacket he was using every weekend, and I could not find a seamstress to fix it) I was hoping to find a backup coat so I was not put into that predicament again this coming ski season. Several weeks into my hunt for the perfect jacket, we found it. At seventy-five percent off, plus a coupon that the store was offering for a one day 'clear the clearance' sale, our final cost for a jacket that originally cost $99.99, was the low price of $15.00 (75% off plus an additional $10.00 coupon to be applied to the clearance price of any one item).

There is also always the risk of missing what you want as you hold out for the lowest possible price, but a huge satisfaction when you do snag that ultimate bargain! If you find yourself shopping for a 'want' instead of a 'need', try to hold out for the low price, check clearance racks as often as possible, and join the ranks of successful clearance kings and queens nationwide!