Hey everyone! For as long as I can remember, I have LOVED to shop! I grew up with a single mom, so I was always out there to find the best deal on at the cutest stuff. I guess I fall into the category of “sale shoppers” because I never buy anything unless it’s discounted. In this post, I’m going to share all of my best tips and tricks on How to Become an Elite Sale Shopper!
I mean, my blog name is literally Sequins and Sales so I feel like this post has needed to be written. I’m so excited to write it! If you keep reading, I’m going to share all the places that I love to shop as well as how I find deals! If you wanna know all the details on how I get all of my things, then be sure to keep going!
Where I Love to Shop
Okay so if you want to know all the places that I love to shop and then here is my master list! Generally the place I shop the most is Target. They always have affordable and on-trend clothes for each season! I also go there for cheap home decor too. Lowe’s and Home Depot are always the places I go for my plants (Walmart as well)!
LOFT
Home Depot (Houseplants)
Lowe’s (Houseplants)
My Best Tip for Getting Deals
Okay so now let’s get into the tips part of this post! My best tip for getting deals: SHOP CLEARANCE. I know some people have a huge stigma against shopping sale/clearance, but that’s honestly one of the only places that I actually do shop. The main reason is that I get a thrill when I find an amazing deal, but I also think it’s a great place to find on-trend styles, or really really cheap styles from the previous season. This is great because staples can be worn year to year!
Generally, at the end of winter right before spring, sweaters, jacket, and everything like that will be on sale at the store. They’ll still be in style because usually new seasons start coming out a month or two before they actually are here! That means for winter, I can usually shop sales about two months before spring starts. I’m still able to find on-trend styles, but they’re at a super discounted price or they’re already at clearance!
Finding Clothing Deals In-Store
So where do I find these deals in stores? Most stores have a designated clearance or sale section which is really convenient. I try not to look too obvious about what I’m doing, so I try to browse the full price product first and then I head over to the clearance rack.
This is just what I do because I’m dramatic, but you can literally just walk in and go straight to clearance if you want. After working retail and just being a shopaholic, I can let you know in good faith that clearance and sale are usually at the back of the store. You have to go through all the full price product first in order to get to the discounted product!
Sale is a little bit different because sometimes stores will have sales throughout the store. Always be sure to check the signage and especially the fine print to make sure that you were getting the correct deal on what you want to buy! I don’t know how many times while I was working retail we had people come up and say, “but I thought this was 50% off?!” when the sign actually has “Up to” very very small on the sign.
Just be sure to confirm what you’re actually buying and what deal you’re actually going to get before heading to the register! Another tip is that I’ll also end up looking on Amazon for the same item because half the time they sell the same things at a fraction of the price. I did that with (these) Adidas sneakers and it was the best idea I had ever have! Great to do with name brand sneaker companies.
Thrifting & Second Hand Tips
Another tip on how to get really great deals is by going to thrifting! Now, I actually thrifted before it became a trend. I thrifted because I made like no money at my part-time job in high school and still wanted on brand items to wear. I also loved going so I could find vintage items and re-make them! Thrifting is a great way to find name brand items at a fraction of the cost, and to find vintage treasure you will love.
I have found brand new, name brand items that are in amazing shape! All you have to do is give them like one wash and they’re good as new. I also use thrifting to find a home decor items that I really love, or that are vintage! Right now all of those woven baskets on top of your wall, or above your TV, are in right now. A great place to find them is at thrift stores (whether that’s Goodwill, Salvation Army, or any local thrift stores you have)!
I also love thrifting home decor pieces and then spray painting them. Adding a little extra paint gives the item a complete facelift AND you have a brand new item that is exclusive to you! As an influencer, this is something that I love because then I’m the only one with that item.
Online Shopping Tips
Here are my tips on how to find sales and discounts online! You might already know where to find the clearance section online, or how to get to the sale pages, but this is how I routinely go through them to see how I can get the best deal. I first start by signing up for the newsletters of the companies that I love! This is just because a lot of times you’re not told about sales unless you have emails from the companies. If you’re not already on their email list, be sure to sign up today!
LOFT actually had a warehouse sale and the only reason I knew about it is because I checked my email! They did it exclusively for newsletter recipients at first too. I was one of the first people to be able to shop, and because of that, I was able to get all of the super amazing deals that they were offering! A lot of other companies, especially J.Crew and J.Crew Factory, do this as well.
Another way to save is to go to the clearance pages and then filter on “price low to high.” I know that’s the one thing that I always do, but I don’t know how many other people do that as well! To get the latest trends that are on CLR, I usually filter on “newest.” One easy way to narrow down your search is by filtering on “shoes” (for example) and then sorting by “price low to high.” This allows you to have a little bit more focus on what products you are looking at!
Another tip for shopping online is that if you love something on a more expensive website, say Anthropologie or Madewell, find the name of that item and then google search! I really love Madewell’s transport tote, but it’s retails for around $128. I searched “brown tote bags” (you can even get more specific and say cognac tote bags) and then I looked through the search results! You’re not getting the exact same item, but you’re still getting that style for a fraction of the price. Then you’ll be able to get even more styles that season!
Sale Hacks
In this post, I also wanted to offer some sale and clearance hacks that I have. These are just some things that I picked up along the way, as well as some tips that I’ve learned just from being an avid shopper! The first thing is that the way you can find out when things are going to clearance at each store is by checking online.
You can literally just Google to see what day the companies normally mark down their clearance and sale items! For Target, the day that they usually mark items down for clearance is on Thursdays. If you’re really trying to get that brand new clearance product, be sure to check on Thursday afternoons or Friday mornings!
Another hack is that if you found an item that say, is missing a button, but you still really like that item, ask for an extra discount! You can usually get anywhere from 10-20% off just by asking. Some stores say that they have to damage out items like that, but there are a lot of stores who still let you get a discount on the item!
Sometimes the items in store won’t have sale tags, but they will have sale tags online! I actually found a planter that I wanted in-store, but it wasn’t on sale. I pulled it up in my Target app and I showed the store associate that the price was lower online. As long as you’re able to bring up the discount in real time, they will honor that discount!
Getting the Best Deals on Products You Love
My next tip on how to get the best deals is by always checking products that you love to see if they’ve been discounted! What I do is I’ll either add the items that I love to my cart and check it periodically, or I will add all the items that I like to my favorites and then check them every week.
A lot of times companies have alerts too. If you sign up and you want alerts for the item that you like, all you have to do is type in your email! Then every time there’s a discount on that item, you’ll get an email or a push notification for it! Target is really great about doing this with products.
Another way to find great discounted product is by shopping clearance stores like Marshall’s, Home Goods, and TJ Maxx! These places are gold mines y’all. I have found Free People, Madewell, Athleta, and so many other name brand company items at these stores! They literally still have the $148 tag on them too, but are priced at $39.
It’s also a great place to find really really cheap and affordable home decor that’s still great quality. My best tip for shopping these places is to check back every single week! They literally update product that quickly and there’s no back stock most of the time, once they sell out it’s gone!
OKAY HUGE TIP HERE!! Don’t wait until Black Friday to shop deals. You’re probably like, “girl what are you talking about?” but this is my tip from working in retail since I was 16! I worked retail at the corporate level and at the retail store level so I know all the things. I would say 60-70% of the time, the Black Friday sale will NOT be the best sale the company has this year.
A lot of times the best sales happen between Black Friday and Christmas, or a little bit before Black Friday. Sales are usually better right before Christmas because companies are trying to push out that stock before everyone stops purchasing! So, like I said, sign up for emails and you’ll know when companies are having these awesome sales and when you can get the best deals.
The last way that you can get the best deals on the products you love is by downloading the app of the store that you’re going to! Half the time stores have discounts that are exclusive. Target has Target Circle where you can literally get percent or dollars off of items if you use the app! They also frequently have 20% off Starbucks coupons too.
I also use this feature when going to places like Dollar General because they have exclusive coupons in their app that you can’t get anywhere else! A lot of the time apps work in conjunction with the store’s rewards program, so it’s good to check for both!
WHEW, that was a long one. I know this post was long, but seriously y’all these are all my tips on How to Become an Elite Sale Shopper! I’m realizing now that I’m probably a shopaholic, but hey, at least I’m saving as much money as I can in the process. If you have any tips that you use to get amazing deals on products, be sure to leave a comment below!
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Photos by Hannah Lozano
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