A few questions after pondering sales after reading forum comments.

1) Do you actively look for sales or discount codes?
2) What sales model do you like (20% off on all items, End of Season sale, spend and save, or a Nordstrom sales model)
3) Do you have good success with purchases made on sale - can you find pieces you like and in your size, and do you like them still later?
4) Any other comments?

For me..

1) No I don't actively wait for sales - but I sometimes do take advantage. Online I might be attracted by Spend and Save, in store more likely with a clearance rack. Quite when the sales are - well I lose track. There are always Boxing Day Sales here and more recently NZ has started doing Black Friday Sales (when we don't even do thanksgiving).

2) I prefer the End of Season clearance model - I don't really like the consistent sales that some retailers tend to have. There are a handful of retailers whose continual sales mean I would never buy when they weren't in sale mode (Briscoes and Rebel Sport for the NZers).

3) I don't think I have more or less success with sales items in general. But I have certainly got it wrong when shopping on sale.

I think sales can leave a sour taste in people's mouths when items are purchased and then on sale a week later. They distort what the true price is (if RRP is $100 but it is always available at $70 - people view $70 as the price).

But I can see that at the end of the season retailers want to create space for the new stuff - and haven't always got it right - so they discount. To a degree that helps - but it also encourages consumerism.

There are other models now - presales and preorders are gaining in popularity here so retailers know what to produce, or some companies going for a more timeless collection that they don't discount because it isn't last seasons.

That's a bit of a muse, but I find the psychology of sales interesting.