Summer is not just the time for vacations, sun bathing, and garden parties. It also brings with itself the long-awaited/dangerous (depends on how you look at it) summer sales.
I’m actually convinced that there’s no word more powerful than “sale”. Just watch a video of how people are actually fighting with each other for a discounted barbecue set on Black Friday. Funny? More like terrifying in my opinion.
And while that must be an extremity and most of us do not want to climb over someone else for a discounted shoe, sales times nevertheless do have powerful and can have harmful effects on all of us – and our wallets.
It makes us desperately want things we do not really need, just because it seems like such a good bargain.
But what is a good bargain again? For me, it’s buying something that I really love/need/would buy for a full price for a fraction of it.
A bad bargain is buying something exclusively for the fact that it’s cheap. Disregard the fact that we don’t need it, probably won’t wear or use it, that it’s not good quality or it might have a shorter life span than your lunch – the magic words of “50% off” just override all other decision criteria.
Well, that’s a bad way to go into sales season, and I can guarantee that at the end you’ll have a bad taste in your mouth.
So, how to navigate sales season to ensure that you actually make good bargains instead of bad ones? How to ignore the sneaky, clever marketing tactics of shops and avoid making very expensive mistakes?
Here are some tips that could mean the difference between making good bargains and making a bunch of unnecessary purchases.
+ Never, ever buy something just because of the price. A good bargain is one thing. Buying something just because it’s dirt cheap usually does not end well. You either won’t wear it that much because you haven’t really liked it in the first place, or it wasn’t the best quality to begin with and it goes to the trash after 1-2 wears. Ask yourself: do I really need/love it? Or do I just love the price? The usual questions you should ask yourself before a purchase apply to these situations as well.
+ Scout the ground and make plans. Never go sales shopping without a plan. It will end badly. Make a list of what you really need and would like to buy. Look around the shops you frequent and select some pieces that would fit your criteria. And then monitor whether they go on sale.
+ Keep yourself to the plan and only let yourself buy 1 exception. Now that you have a plan, keep yourself to it. Don’t settle and don’t be seduced by other temptations. If there’s a really good bargain, something that’s not on your list but you fall in love with, AND the quality and price are both good, then go for it. But make it the exception, not the rule.
+ Set a budget. Decide how much it is you’re comfortable spending. Try to stick to it and make plans regarding the best distribution of that amount.
+ Always keep an eye out on quality. 90% of what I see at a store goes back to its place when I look at the tag and see it’s full of plastic. Don’t forget to check whether the item is really good quality and try to buy natural fabrics. Also, always check the state of the clothes. Sales shopping sometimes closely resembles a jungle fight for the best pieces and often clothes are left with war wounds. Check to see that there are no rips, lost buttons, and stains on the desired item.
+ Consider more expensive, but timeless pieces. Sales season is actually a good time to buy investment pieces and still save some money. Especially as a lot of great pieces, even if they’re good quality, are frequently overpriced. You can actually make great deals if you keep an eye out on classic pieces or bigger investments.
+ Don’t let FOMO dictate your decisions. One of the biggest dangers of on-the-spot sales shopping is the lingering feeling that we miss out on some great bargain. Let go of these psychological chains and treat sales as normal shopping. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, usually you don’t buy something just for the sake of it, right? Don’t think you cannot leave a store with a grandiose sale without actually buying something. To be honest, it’s actually a really good feeling to remain strong and realize you were able to resist temptation and remain a smart shopper.
Approaching sales shopping in a smart way, making plans and keeping yourself to them (at least in 90%) will ensure you get the upper hand, save a lot of money, and end up with purchases you actually feel really good about.
No post-sales season regrets this time, OK?
Fore more shopping tips, take a look at this list.
xx
Great post, and I wholeheartedly agree with all your points. I’m knee-deep in summer sales right now, but I think I’m doing pretty well with planned purchases. For me, my main guiding principles are looking for natural fabrics (eww to polyester) and also spending a little more for quality. I do always ask myself though: does this have resale value? I recognize that I still make mistakes, so I’d rather plan for it, then deal with the consequences later.
Thank you! And I absolutely agree with you. 99% of my purchases fail at the polyester test. I take one look at the label and it goes back. So rare to find natural fabrics nowadays.
I’m so bad at resale though, not even sure where to start. Any tips?