As we have started to enjoy (hot) summer in most parts of the world, it comes with another HOT happening: SALES! Needless to say, bi-annual Sales is one of my favourite times of the year and this is the tactics I usually deploy (yes, the war terminology does suit here- and you can win or lose big time):

– Shoes: it is pretty difficult to get good shoes for reasonable price throughout the year (with some exceptions, see my earliest post about Prada). I therefore head to my favourite shoes’ glamorous stores right at the start of the sales: I usually visit Salvatore Ferragamo and Tods. The usual discount is 30-40% off retail price and they normally don’t get lower as the sales continue, so going there at the start of sales makes most sense as you have higher chances to get the models and sizes you want.

– Outlet villages: these are great places during sales period, as the already discounted prices are discounted yet again. Every brand has a different sales’ policy but for the most, I tend to go around the end of sales period where even if there is a decrease in available sizes and models, the deals are way better than at the start of sales. Note however that in the outlet villages located around popular touristic spots (e.g. Barcelona) some brands don’t play it very fair and don’t provide that good discounts as they pretend to (as anyway they have so many tourists visiting). Therefore typically winter sales are better than summer, as there are less tourists around and the prices get lowered quicker and more drastically. Also, there is much less competition as there are less people.

– Large Department stores: if I am in the US during sales time, I typically go to some large discount department stores and I try to get there around the end of sales period. Century 21 of NYC or Nordstrom Rack are some of the stores I visit. You can get some really good deals on designer clothing (see my earliest posts on C21).

– Internet shopping:

o  Large sites, a la online department stores: I usually keep an eye on yoox.com and outnet.com. Also, I check netaporter.com and occasionally other sites, such as mytheresa.com.

Apart of the latter, as far as I heard the others as of recently became one group. This gave me impression to affect the prices- and not in the good way. That’s what happens when competition is limited (?). I hope it is a wrong impression though and prices will get better (i.e. lower) eventually. Anyway, I haven’t noticed “Warehouse Sale” on Yoox.com that was there in the past, any longer, offering around 70% discounts. Said that, it does post a “Clearance” where the prices are interesting.

Note that prices DO differ depending on where you log in from. Not so cool, Yoox!

My opinion: try the options mentioned in earlier bullet points first before going to shop online if you want to find really great bargains. Online shopping is great for those that don’t have any such shopping places nearby and/ or don’t have time to go out to shop.

Out of the above sites, Yoox is my favorite so far, even if I have not yet found truly amazing sales there- at best, on average what one can get in the outlet at the start of sales period.

o  Brands own sites: most brands still have to work towards appearing attractively for online bargain hunters. There aren’t that many that would provide good deals online, especially compared to larger abovementioned sites. I have not found (yet?) any brand worth mentioning as outstanding for online commerce. Said that, I have a weakness for a quirky Spanish brand which is not exactly luxury, though higher range than most mainstream brands. You might have heard of Bimba & Lola- they do remind me Marni a bit, but are much cheaper. If you connect to their webpage during sales period from Spanish PC, prices are fantastic on their webpage (bimbaylola.com). Prices for the same items can be triple if connecting from PC of another country though- again; not so cool from the part of the brand!

If you have any fabulous tips to share on your tactics during Sales, I would be very happy to hear them! Happy Sales!