Discount Rant - YouLookFab Forum

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Discount Rant

Sadie

Maybe it's the year I have had but I am exhausted trying to keep up with the current cycle of discounts. It seems every purchase I make is even more heavily discounted 2 or 3 days later, and it's either repurchase-and-return or endure the feeling of being "had". I miss the old days of post-Christmas sales and rare highly anticipated annual sales like Talbot's used to do!
How do you all keep up, and at which point do you just settle for the current purchase?

General

16 replies

Latest reply was from unfrumped

columbine(erin)

Veteran

I'm on a shopping ban basically, but I don't feel bad about some purchases that have later gone down in price, since I know my size sells out fast. If I need something I will find the promos and deals if I can and then buy it. No guilt. If you know your size doesn't sell out fast or the company restocks often it would pay off to be patient and stalk the item for awhile. With companies like Lands End or Eddie Bauer it pays to be patient, there will be a 40 percent off coupon sometime soon.

Thistle

Veteran

Yep, ironkurtain had a post on this a while ago.

Totally agree. And you know they mark up their prices so they can run the sales. Very frustrating and leads to dissatisfaction for many who find the item they just bought 2weeks later for less.

Thistle

Veteran

To add to Columbine,

Ann Taylor 40% off is regular price with all their sales
Ann Taylor Loft same as above
Macy's - constantly running 25% off sales
GAP- also regular 40% off sales
Old Navy30%
Banana Republic - I don't follow as much, but I see 40% off all the time
Talbots - 40% off during the holidays, 30% the rest of the year

Aziraphale

Veteran

I have a rule: if it's on sale but I would have bought it anyway for full price, I will buy it. If it's on sale but I couldn't have afforded it at full price, I don't buy it. This saves a lot of mistakes, and a lot of running around!

Anonymous

I completely agree. It is exhausting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I finally gave up shopping all together at the stores that had the most notorious reputation for this type of thing. The store I am thinking of in particular is Talbots. Every single time, I bought something there, it was cheaper the following week. I know because I worked right across the street from them. It got to the point where I didn't even want to buy at a deeply discounted price because I just knew it would be cheaper the next week. I got to hate them and their products. I haven't experienced that with any store other than Ann Taylor. If Gap does it, it is not as obvious to me.

Anonymous

If I feel good about the price I paid, whether full price or "on sale," I'm okay if the price drops down afterwards. My size is usually sold out if I wait until the price hits bottom, so I'd rather just buy when I feel I'm getting a good deal and not fret about it. I do find all of these so-called sales irksome, but not enough to cause me to lose sleep. I don't want to buy something just because it's on sale. Those "deals" are almost always my buying mistakes. I'm learning that planning my purchases and trying to take advantage of sales when possible is the best I can do. I can't catch all of the crazy good deals, but I rarely pay full price for anything. I guess it all balances out in the end, and I have a wardrobe that works for my lifestyle and personality.

N-Marie

Veteran

With these stores, I just wait for a sale to come around and almost never pay full price; I don't usually have to wait long. I shop ON and GAP so much for my kids, that I end up checking on a weekly basis and can usually thrown in enough kid-sized socks to get free shipping They seem to stock well in my target size, so I rarely have to worry about my size not being available by the time the sales roll around.

Anonymous

My statement was very generalized. If I know that a store runs frequent sales, I never pay full price at that store. I don't mind paying full price for something that fills a genuine need (shoes, for example) when I'm able to get most of what I need and want for a significant discount. I also add self-imposed restrictions such as color, style, fit and quality that prevent me from overspending.

retailgirl

Veteran

I'll buy if I really love it at full price, but I buy most of my things from talbots or Brooks brothers and there is usually some kind of sale. I have waited for a sale at these two stores, and the item I wanted was sold out when there was a discount available. At that point I say, " not meant to be!" If something is 30% of or 40% off, it is not that big of a difference. I won't wait for an additional 10%.

rachylou

Veteran

It's kinda like trying to decide when to upgrade your cell phone... buy now and have something better come out in 6 months or wait and face production delays.

I figure you gotta jump and not look.

Re. discounts... I like to look for things that are 75% off. That's pretty much the last stop.

Sadie

Thanks for all your replies. I feel better now! My size also often sells out quickly so paying full price if often the cost of getting my choice. I'm just irked that I bought an expensive Christmas gift only to have the site offer 30 % off two days later- that hurt a bit!
Yes- the usual culprits are AT brands, BR/GAP, and Talbots. I know to wait for sales there. It's the rarely shopped at places (usually at Christmas and usually gifts for others) where I am caught off guard.
We should start a list of retailers and their customary discounts for reference!

Windchime

Veteran

I like what Rachylou said about eventually needing to jump and not look. I usually wait for some sort of discount--if it's a more expensive item, I'm willing to wait longer, hoping for a bigger discount--but once I buy, I don't check back to see if the price went even lower. Life is too short!

I remember doing the math once on an item which later was further discounted; the savings difference between a 25% and 40% discount was less than $3. Realizing that helped me to move on without looking back once I commit to buying.

K.M.

Veteran

Sadie, I know the feeling. My size also sells out quickly, and I've missed many items because the color also sold out, so if I feel OK about a price, I'll buy it.

This season, however, there seems to be even more sale after sale, promotion after promotion. I've been told that Black Friday was disappointing for businesses and I think there are more promotions than usual. That's great, of course, but it also adds to this constant anxiety of waiting for the best deal or feeling duped for missing out...

But one thing I've conditioned myself to do is not to check again (if I can avoid) to see if a store or website has a discount after I make a purchase. Not knowing is bliss!

Classically Casual

Veteran

My experience is that this fall/early winter have been especially unpredictable regarding sales. It must really be dog eat dog in the world of retail this year.

Increasingly, I only shop online. So, one has to factor in the shipping/return policy in effect at the moment, as well as what they do about sales tax (that's another 10% in my locale). It seems that some items are always on sale, and that those items rotate in and out. And some stores are price matching. But when one scores on a special item, victory is especially sweet.

For the last 2 years, I've scored on Amazon's 75% off winter coats which occurs near Black Friday. That's been great for gifts. And for myself, I just bought a nice EF poncho for 68% off, free shipping and no tax. Yay!!

But it's certainly a lot more complicated than it used to be!

Dimity

The thrift shop I go to has most things for $3, sometimes $4. But twice a year they have a 'everything $1' sale and then that two bucks they've conned from me has gone to providing water to a kid in Ethiopia or somewhere. Damn. : )

Actually, I do sympathise. If I've bought something at full price and see it on sale later, I usually try to feel better in my mind by thinking that the business wouldn't be there for me to buy from if they only ever sold things at 40% off. My SIL loved a certain shop in her little town but only ever bought things at deep discount. Then it went out of business, and now she can't ever get anything from them anymore and has to drive an hour to the next town for clothes.

unfrumped

Veteran

Oh, yes, it's crazy.

I am still shopping AT but they will do 40% one week and 50% the next, sweaters one day and total purchase the next, suiting only sometimes, then "sale items" are true small markdowns and they put those at 40, 50, to 60% off! And many items and some colors are online-only with no free shipping, so it lures you into adding things on because the minimum is $175, so the better the sale, the less likely to hit the minimum! And then if the discount of the week goes down another 10%, it would have paid for the shipping to just get a single item!

It really makes you focus on whether you really need something, regardless of the price, and also, what things might be year-round staples vs. need to wear in the current season. Almost like coming back around to year-end sales--if it wasn't worth it this season, either it's not that great or it's so classic that I identify something that I don't need this year but think has good longevity and it'll be fun to get on deep discount or just live without it.
I had put several things in my cart and could have hit the button on 50% and 60% off when it just hit me, I don't need any of this.

BUT I think if you get comfortable with what you know they're doing, you can time a few purchases correctly, and you can ask yourself, can I live with it at 30% off or is it something that I'll forego until or unless it's 50% (or whatever). I can never worry about getting the lowest price, though or it would drive me crazy.