When is the best time to shop for seasonal clothing in regards to price? Traditionally, I have always heard that you want to buy out of season to get the best deals. But I have noticed that when warmer weather comes around, a lot of stores have sales on their shorts. Anybody know the actual trick to this?
I'm not sure if there is a trick really. I suspect that when summer wear goes on sale in the middle of July, it's because the store isn't selling as many units as predicted.
There is a cycle to the time the stores move the clothes in the stores. All though you can get a good price on summer items atthe first of the season you get a better price when the next season comes out. We purchased t-shirts for the next summer last year in late September. It is hard when you have growing kids to purchase at the end of the summer, the clothes may not fit by time the next seson comes around.
Typically at the end of the season you will get the best prices, but that doesn't mean you won't find deals at other times. You probably won't find them, though, going into the season. It's always better to wait, if you can, until the season is a least well under way.
That's easy! Buy them out of the current season! Always buy the hottest, trending items out of season. Wholesale companies may give them to you even cheaper if they have too much overstock. Most stores will sale winter items at clearance during the spring, and summer clothes will be on sale during the winter.
It really depends on where you shop as many places have items all year around. Most stores concentrate on the big items for winter coats and things in September and summer items come out in March. Usually there is always a sale around a holiday or some discount weekend so that can be a good time to buy as well.
I tend to find the best deals at the end of a season, or during the post-holiday sales. My problem with these sales is that I’ll often find an item I like, but my size won’t be in stock. There have been a few times I’ve gotten super lucky though, found my current favorite jacket in a post-holiday sale last year and I’m still impressed that happened.
So based on everyone's feedback it seems that there is no exact answer. The end of the season tends to have the best deals, but you can also get deals at the beginning of the season as well. I try not to rely on holiday sales because like others have said, you don't know if you will even be able to find your size especially if it is a unique size.
The best time is to buy either the season before or once the season is almost over. For instance if you were looking for summer clothes, stores usually pull it out when spring starts and its always on sale or if you want more summer clothes for the following year you can buy them when the current season is ending, that's when they have the best clearance sales!
It varies from what store you buy in. Most of the stores where I'm from would have clothes for summer during colder seasons with cheaper prices and vice versa so I usually buy my clothes off season. However, there are some stores that have huge sales when the season's just arrived and I guess that's a great strategy as well. My favorite time to buy is after Christmas or Holidays. Everything's cheap because they're just trying to sell out and get rid of all the things they've released for that season (which are a lot since it's the holidays).
I do shop for clothes out of season because I get the best deals. Usually when a season is in the middle towards the end of that season that's when I see prices go down.
I don't know how things work where you reside, but here, you can get the best deals when you buy winter clothes in summer or vice-versa, for example. I'm sure you catch my drift. Though this is not a general rule and if you search for clothes this way, you might end up disappointed if you do it in big retailers because they usually put a fixed price on clothes and they let it that way for a very long time.
It might sound silly, but I shop for seasonal clothes out of season as they are much cheaper then as the shops are trying to shift it to get their new gear in. The kind of clothes I wear don't really go out of fashion either, I just put them away until summer or winter rolls around again.
I have always found that if you're looking for summer clothes then you should shop during the winter. They usually have pretty good deals because no one would want to buying a swimsuit during the winter. It won't get used unless you swim inside. The same things goes if you're looking for boots in the summer. Chances are you aren't going to be using them because it's summer.
I usually try to get to the store sales at the end of the season if there's something I know I'll need the next time that season comes around. I've been able to pick up some real bargains that way - including clothing that didnt even cost $1. I was just in the right place at the right time though to be honest. I always check out the clearance section of stores too. I managed to pick up some Christmas themed socks that were buy one pair get FOUR pairs free! One pair was I think $0.75 if I remember correctly, so I was able to pick up 5 pairs for $0.75. They had character socks in there as well, like Disney ones for example, although I only picked up the ones that had a snowflake design and a reindeer design personally. Over the Christmas period these were retailing at $1.50 a pair so it was a bargain really. I wouldn't have bought them full price but at their reduced price they were a bargain!
I worked in retail for many years and I have to say it really depends on the weekend. I would say closer to the end of the season is the best time to seasonal clothing. For example, stores start coming out with their spring items as early as February. This is when they are going to be most expensive. Wait until May or so to start buying shorts (once short season has officially begun) and you will see a drastic decline in the price. Stores are about 3-4 months ahead of the season, so wait until a few weeks/months after the items have come out to shop. Now is a great time to shop for winter apparel! As well as after the holidays when stores are starting to clear out their old inventory.
I too would agree - end of season sales are very definitely the best times to pick up great deals on clothes - especially as most stores and particularly high end clothing stores generally have end of season clearance sales - where they clear the entire stock leftover at the end of each season. In fact I always take full advantage of these times and stock up on any clothing that needs replacing - as not only are bargains virtually guaranteed - but as the majority of items are usually marked down way below half price and often more - it saves me a huge amount of money.
Purchasing at the end of the season when seasonal clothing goes on clearance is the best time to purchase clothing for the following year. For example, at the end of summer, when stores start putting in their fall fashions, it is the best time to purchase summer shorts, short sleeve shirts, etc. Stores put the items from the previous season on clearance in order to make room for the new season's items.
I do tend to shop during off season such as buying hoodies and jackets when it's warm weather or nearly warm weather and I do get to save a good amount of money because of this since they aren't as expensive as they would be at the appropriate season. However, a massive downside is that the choices aren't as varied because stores probably are prioritizing their seasonal clothes the most at any given time but as long as you are not too picky or have a good eye then you'll make a few good purchases here and there.
As a lot of people have already said, the key is to buy everything off season. It can be a little bit uncomfortable to try the clothes, but the prices are so low in comparison that it's worth it.