great deals

Shop Now or Wait? Here’s What to Buy In After Christmas Sales

December 5, 2018 By Tamila McDonald 4 Comments

After the holiday shopping season ends, retailers around the country hold sales to get shoppers spending. However, not all after Christmas sales are great deals. Knowing what to buy now (and what you should skip until later) can help you save a ton of cash.

What to Buy in After Christmas Sales

Certain items almost always go on sale after Christmas. Many stores consider this time of year the start of a transition away from winter items. Because of this transition, many stores offer deeply discounted goods.

Christmas Decorations

When it comes to Christmas decorating, you should never buy before or during the actual holiday. December 26 marks the start of clearances on Christmas decorations and other holiday décor. Ornaments, artificial trees, holiday string lights, holiday inflatables, and similar goods will all end up on sale for pennies. These discounts are predominately a means of clearing out space and encouraging shoppers to purchase out of season.

By shopping for holiday décor in after Christmas sales, you save money and get a head start on Christmas 2019. However, before you make a purchase, make sure you have space to store your new items. Clean out what you have and make a list of what you need for next year.

Holiday Food and Drinks

Items like eggnog, turkeys, summer sausages, and similarly seasonally popular food and drink products lose their appeal after Christmas. To get the items off their shelves, retailers offer discounts to entice people to buy them quickly.

This is also true for regular food and drink items that had seasonal flavors for the holidays. After Christmas, some shoppers have burned out on flavors like peppermint mocha and pumpkin spice. Stores offer them for less to get them to sell.

New Cars, Trucks, and SUVs

Many car dealerships offer big discounts at the ends of months, quarters, and years. Once Christmas is over, dealers are looking to sell off as much inventory as possible, leading to stellar after Christmas sales and potentially increased bargaining power.

By waiting to buy until after Christmas, you could be making an incredibly smart decision. Just make sure you only buy a vehicle if you genuinely need one, as something at this price point typically shouldn’t be an impulse purchase.

Clothing and Outerwear

Many retailers include shirts, pants, and coats in their after Christmas sales. As mentioned above, the end of December often marks the beginning of a transition as retailers prepare for the coming spring. This means heavier clothing items might be available at deep discounts, especially if they have patterns and colors that distinctly align with winter.

Exercise Equipment

After Christmas is when many people begin planning their New Years resolutions. Getting fit and losing weight are two of the most common, and stores look to cash in on the upward trend in interest by discounting their exercise equipment.

By adding exercise equipment to their after Christmas sales, retailers connect with shoppers who want to have items on hand before January 1^st. However, it is important to note that these sales often continue into January, so, if you don’t find a great deal, consider waiting a week or two and searching again.

Video Games and Toys

Since people spend so much on video games and toys in preparation for Christmas, retailers know that they have to entice shoppers with great prices if they are going to shop more in these categories. You can find exceptional prices on popular video game titles as well as some of the hottest toys from the Christmas season, potentially allowing you to save big.

Plus, some stores use these after Christmas sales to reduce their toy and video game inventories. Since shoppers are going to be spending at levels that are more average, they don’t need to keep the same level of stock. Additionally, they are working to capitalize on video game consoles people received as gifts, encouraging them to buy new games for their consoles.

Gift Sets

Gift sets are a Christmas staple. However, once the gift-giving season passes, interest declines dramatically. This is especially true since many pre-packaged options feature holiday packaging.

Since stores don’t want to keep these items in inventory for long, they offer deep discounts to get them off shelves. Anything from food items to personal care products can be found for less, as long as you don’t mind the holiday packaging and buying items as a group.

What Not to Buy in After Christmas Sales

While tons of other items go on sale after Christmas, not all of them present great deals. In some cases, waiting just a few more weeks can make a massive difference, so bypassing these products now is a wise choice.

Televisions

In many cases, waiting until closer to the end of January is best if you need a television. Sales connected to the upcoming Super Bowl usually result in better discounts, especially if you are looking for a high-end, big screen tv.

Electronics

New models of certain electronics are revealed in January, so waiting until that happens can help you save big on older models. This is especially true for desktop computers and laptops, two high-cost items where buying during a great sale can really make a difference.

Wait until after the International Consumer Electronics Show in January before shopping for electronics. In 2019, International CES runs from Tuesday, January 8, through Friday, January 11, so expect big sales during the next sale cycle.

Jewelry

While there can be respectable after Christmas sales on jewelry, waiting until closer to Valentine’s Day may help you spend less. Most jewelry and department stores are competing for business as February 14^th draws near, so they will slash prices to catch shoppers’ interest.

Fragrances

Unless you are buying gift sets, which can be cheaper during after Christmas sales, perfumes and colognes are usually available at deeper discounts closer to Valentine’s Day. In fact, February can be a great time to buy fragrances for certain spring and summer occasions, like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, as high-end perfumes and colognes will maintain their quality during the wait.

Bedding and Linens

Most stores hold their “white sales” in January, usually near the Martin Luther King Day holiday. By waiting, you can find better prices on sheets, towels, pillows, comforters, and more at most major retailers.

Calendars and Dated Planners

Waiting until after the new year starts can help you save on calendars and day planners with printed dates. Around mid-January, the discounts start to emerge as the peak buying season is over. By holding off for just a few weeks, you can save up to 50 percent, making it worth the wait.

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The Con That Grey Thursday and Black Friday Deals Save Money

November 27, 2013 By Jeffrey Strain 2 Comments

Retailers are trying to con you and they are doing a good job at it. At least they are doing it well enough to be able to con enough people to make the whole Grey Thursday (the new name for those stores that are actually opening on Thanksgiving now) and Black Friday hype worthwhile to them. If you go out and shop on Thanksgiving or the day after, you have fallen prey to the notion that you’re getting a deal and saving money, but the reality is much different. The fact is that when you buy something that you don’t need or that you would otherwise never buy, it doesn’t matter how great a deal it is — you aren’t saving money.

This is an extremely important concept to understand, and it’s one that’s essential if you want to get your finances in order. When you buy into the notion that if you buy something at a significantly discounted price, you have achieved a “great deal,” you lose. That is playing the game on the retailers’ terms and all it ultimately means is that you have a lot of stuff (most of which you never needed or which helps you achieve your true financial goals). Price has little to do with a great deal. Here are some hard truths to digest before you head out the door to score your perceived Black Friday deals:

A deal is never a deal if you are buying something that you don’t need.
A deal is never a deal if you are buying something simply for the price.
A deal is never a deal if you end up buying something that you had not planned to buy.

Those are the types of “deals” that are available on these first holiday shopping days. They are deals to drive you into the store, to make you think you are getting something special so you feel good and spend even more money within the retailers’ building. They are promotions to try to con you into believing you are missing out on something if you don’t participate (why else would there be such huge lines and everyone else wanting to get in?)

I urge you not to play the game. Resist the con. Don’t follow just because everyone else is doing so. Do yourself a financial favor and simply opt out of Gray Thursday and Black Friday shopping. Tell your friend and family to do the same. If you’re still not convinced, here is one simple question to ask yourself:

Is what your planning to buy going to help you achieve your financial goals?

My guess is that it isn’t. If you don’t know what your financial goals are, that’s not an excuse to shop. That simply means that it’s time to sit down and really figure out what you goals are. Once you do, there’s a high probability that they have nothing to do with the retailers’ hopes that you spend money in their stores on one certain day of the year…

How to Get the Best Deals at Thrift Stores

June 18, 2013 By Jeffrey Strain 7 Comments

I have to admit that I really enjoy looking for treasure in what other people consider junk. I love to rummage around places looking for weird and unusual items, whether it be at flea markets, garage sales or thrift stores. I spent several years making a living doing this on eBay and although I no longer do it today, I still get the itch to hunt for those great deals I know are sitting there waiting to be picked up.

I have noticed lately that it has been getting more and more difficult to score good deals at thrift stores than in the past. Part of it might be due to the hit song by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis (Thrift Shop) which has introduced thrift shopping to a whole new generation of people (warning, NSFW language).

While it might be a bit more difficult to score great deals today than a few years ago, that doesn’t mean that the great deals no longer exist. They’re there if you know how to find them. I find that there is a sort of art to scoring great deals while thrift shopping. Here are 10 strategies I use to get the best deals at thrift stores:

Neighborhood Counts

When you go to a thrift shop, one of the biggest mistakes that many people make when looking for great deals is that they go to the closest shop to them. What you really want to do is go to the store which is located nearest those who have the highest income in your area. The reason for this is simple. Those people who donate with higher incomes often donate more expensive items and clothes. While these may eventually make their way to the other stores in the area (stores located in higher income areas often get more donations than they can use and send surplus to other stores that don’t get as many donations, but it is usually items that haven’t been selling on their store, not new items that have just arrived), you have the best chance of scoring a really good deal at the thrift shops located in higher income areas.

Know the Stock Day

Unlike regular stores which constantly restock items on their shelves, thrift stores often only restock a couple of days a week, with one day usually being the main restock day. Knowing this day and getting their early on it gives you the opportunity to look at the newest items on display before anyone else increasing your chances of finding a great deal than if the item had been on the floor for a few days. You can simply ask one of the workers and they will almost always be willing to tell you their restocking schedule.

Return Regularly

If you’re hoping to get good deals, you have to go to the thrift shops on a regular basis. You never know when something great is going to come in. Sometimes great deals arrive weekly while other times nothing good seems to come in for months. Since they don’t carry standard merchandise like regular stores, but simply sell whatever is brought in, it’s important to go consistently if you are to score the best deals. The more consistent you are in going on a regular basis, the better chance you have of being there when that great deal is put out on the floor.

Make Friends with Staff

One of the best ways to score deals at thrift shops is to become friends with the staff. This usually isn’t difficult at all if you are a regular customer. if you tend to buy similar items on a consistent basis, they’ll learn what you are looking for and often let you know when new things that fit your past shopping habits arrive without you even asking. But don’t assume they will. Politely ask them to be on the lookout for your most coveted items and they may even put them to the side for you when they come in to give you first shot at them.

Shop End of Year and Spring

Probably tow of the best times to shop thrift stores for great deal is toward the end of the year and during the spring. In the spring, people are doing their spring cleanings (and many people are getting ready to move) which tends to send more items than usual to the thrift stores. At the end of the year, many people get rid of all the stuff they no longer need to take the deduction on their taxes. In fact, the thrift stores often get so many new donations toward the end of the year that they can’t get all the new stuff they received out until January or February of the next year, extending the quality shopping season. If you live in a college town, a good time to go is when students start packing up for the summer.

New Item Rack

While these don’t exist in all thrift stores, many have a “new items” rack where the latest items to be brought into the store are placed. if a store has an area like this, it’s the best place to start since not nearly as many people have seen what’s there and the likelihood that a great find has been found by another isn’t as likely. If you are visiting a thrift shop for the first time, ask if they have a new item area because often they aren’t marked well.

To Be Displayed Pile

Another excellent place to look is the “to be displayed” pile. You need to be a little more careful with this pile as it isn’t one that you should officially be looking through, but it’s just for that reason that it makes it an excellent place to score great deals. What many thrift shops will do is make a pile of the latest items that need to be placed on the floor in an area in the store near the storage room. These are items that need to be placed on the floor when the staff has time. They sometime create this pile to make it easier for staff to place it on the floor during not as busy times so they don’t have to go back and forth into the store-room. if you can find this pile, you will likely be the first person to go through it.

Rerack Pile

If you are searching for great deals on clothes, one area that many people forget to look is the recently tried on pile of clothes. The reason that this is a good place to score a great deal is because someone thought the piece of clothing was quality enough to try on. That’s a good indication that it was something that they thought had value. Why didn’t they buy it? Maybe the only issue was that it didn’t fit right. Most people walk by this pile without a second glance, but it’s a place where you can find some high quality clothes that others have already found in the shop.

Phone Research

The fact is that when you are looking for deals in thrift shops, you are going to come across things that are beyond your scope of knowledge, and I’ve seen a number of people use their phones as a way to confirm or dismiss whether something they just spied was a wonderful deal. In fact, you can usually tell who in the thrift shop are resellers looking for deals that they can resell at a profit somewhere else by the way that they use their phone to check on things they find while they wander through the thrift store. If you are unsure if something is worth it, but have a suspicion that it might be a great deal, doing a quick search on your phone can be a quick and easy way to find out.

Always Ask for a Discount

Some shops are much more willing to entertain giving discounts than others, but it never hurts to ask. Since most of the merchandise for sale is used, it’s usually possible to find something that differentiates it from being brand new. This differentiation may not be an issue to you at all, but it gives you the opportunity to bargain for a better price by pointing it out. The key to be successful with this strategy is to be kind and friendly when doing this rather than pushy and demanding. Saying, “I really love this item, but I noticed that it unfortunately has a small mark on the side. Would it be possible to get a few dollars off?” gives you a much more likely chance of getting a price reduction than, “Look, there is a mark on the side of this. It’s not worth what you marked it at. I want a discount!”

Do you have any special strategies when you go looking for stuff at thrift shops?

(Photo courtesy of Christopher Sessums)

10 Reasons to Avoid Black Friday

November 16, 2012 By Jeffrey Strain 6 Comments

With Black Friday just around the corner, you might be wondering if you should take a peak at the advertisements and possibly wade into the crowds to try to score a great deal. Don’t! Seriously, it isn’t worth it. You’re only going to end up spending a lot of time and effort to not get what you want (because it will already be gone), while spending money on things that you never intended on buying (the real reason the stores give out the deals in the first place) — all at the expense of spending time with family and friends. If you are someone who wants to seriously improve your finances, Black Friday is a perfect gauge to determine how serious you really are because there are clear reasons why you should avoid Black Friday like the plague. Here are a few of them:

You Don’t Need It

Let’s be perfectly honest here. There is a very good chance that you want whatever you’re eyeing in the Black Friday advertising circulars, but the fact is that you really don’t need it. The Black Friday sales are simply giving you an excuse to justify that it’s okay to go out and make some purchases. While you may be telling yourself that it’s “too good of a deal to pass up,” the fact is that any deal for something that you really don’t need is no deal at all. Plain and simple, buying Black Friday deals in most cases is nothing more than a waste of money.

You’ve Already Lost The Game

Even if you are able to convince yourself that you’re 100% in need of whatever it is you have your eyes on, the fact is that you’ve already lost the game before it’s even started. There are people who spend days, if not weeks, putting together a Black Friday plan of attack strategy to get the deal that you’re also looking at. Because the mostly highly prized Black Friday deals are usually only available in limited supply, unless you have come up with an excellent game plan of how you’re going to actually get what you want, somebody else will end up with it and not you. Since the deck is already stacked against you getting the deal that you want, it’s really not worth your time to even make the effort to go after it.

Your Time Could Be Better Spent

If you are both 100% sure the product you want is a need and you are willing to put the time and energy into creating a plan to get it, chances are it’s still a terrible idea. It would be one thing if you could walk into the store get what you needed and walk out without any delays, but that simply isn’t how Black Friday works. The fact is that you will probably have to spend a few hours looking through all the advertisements determining what is the best deal, a couple more hours laying out a Black Friday strategy, a few more hours in line before the store opens, fight your way through the crowd in hopes of getting what you want, and then spend even more time waiting in the checkout line to actually buy it. Yes, if all works out perfectly, you may end up saving a few dollars over what you could buy the same product for at a different time, but the time spent saving that money has a pretty high time-value loss. My guess is that for the vast majority of people, the time spent getting that deal is much more valuable if spent in other ways.

Is Shopping What Thanksgiving Is About?

Here’s a serious question that you really need to sit down and think about. The Thanksgiving weekend is one of the few times when you won’t have to work, and you have a chance to spend time with family and friends (or do the things that you really want to do that you usually can’t because of work). The choices that you make determine what you believe Thanksgiving is all about. If you believe that Thanksgiving is a time where you are supposed to go out and spend your time trying to get the best deal on consumer goods, then by all means attack Black Friday with gusto. If, however, you believe that Thanksgiving is about family and friends, then that’s really where you should be. Your actions speak louder than words.

Crowds

Is looking for a parking spot at a crowded shopping mall the way you want to spend your time on one of the few free days off work you get during the year? Do you really want to spend hours inside the store buying stuff, that you could get in a fraction of the time if you decided to shop at a time when there were fewer people about? Do you really feel like spending an hour or more waiting to checkout because there are so many other people buying stuff on this day as well? If crowds are your thing, then by all means attend the Black Friday store deals. If crowds aren’t your thing, however, realize that most of the deals that can be found in the store can also be found online these days, and can be bought with a simple click of the mouse without ever leaving the warmth of your home.

Over-Rated Deals

There is a not very well-kept secret that more and more people are realizing. Many of the Black Friday “deals” aren’t really much of a deal these days. Yes, there are going to be a few limited items that are greatly discounted to drive customers to the store, but most of these will not be brand name products. Instead, they will more likely be cheaper, inferior brands. The deals will also be limited in supply so that not everybody can get them. This isn’t a mistake. This is exactly the way the store plans the event to take place. The stores objective is not to give you a great deal, it’s to get you in the store so that you spend money on other things besides what you originally went there to get. They know that once you are there, you are likely to buy something rather than leave empty-handed and feel the entire day was a waste of time. Black Friday deals are no different from loss leaders at grocery stores. The stores know the probability, that once you step foot inside, you’re going to end up buying more than planned. The deals are there to drive you into the store, but not to actually give you the deal.

It Encourages Over-Spending

This is a difficult concept for some to accept, but the entire concept of Black Friday is not to save you money. The concept is to get you to spend money. The stores try to get you to believe that you’re going to save money because you will spend less than what you might normally spend on a product, but if you end up going to a store on Black Friday, money is not going to be going into your bank account. Your money is going to be going into the store’s cash register. Black Friday is consumerism at its finest, and stores have perfected ways to drive you into them and get you to part from your hard-earned money.

Hectic Shopping Isn’t Quality Shopping

When have you ever known a hectic experience to be a good one? The fact is that many of the major components of Black Friday conspire against you having a quality shopping experience to get exactly the things that you want or need. The staff members in the store are going to be overworked and it’ll be difficult (if not impossible) to ask any questions that you might have. There will be so many people around that you won’t have the time to think and consider which of the many like products would be best for your needs. Taking the time to make an informed decision with all the hustle and bustle around will be difficult. Black Friday simply doesn’t lend itself to be a day when you can do some quality shopping.

It’s The Perfect Time To Do Something Else

When you know everyone is going to be doing something, that’s the time to do something else. If you can’t get off during the week, the best ski day of the year is always when the Super Bowl is taking place because everyone is inside watching it instead of on the slopes. In the same way, Black Friday is the perfect time to do almost anything else but head to a store. With everybody else trying to land great bargains, and crowding the malls and megastores, that leaves doing almost anything else besides shopping crowd free. Take advantage of this and enjoy the lack of crowds doing something that you really enjoy.

You Don’t Have The Money

If you don’t have 100% of the cash on hand to pay for whatever you want, then any Black Friday deal is anything but a deal. If you end up having to put your purchases on credit card, any savings that you may have enjoyed from the Black Friday deal will quickly be eaten up by interest charges accumulated for not paying for it right away. You aren’t saving $100 off the price of a product if you end up paying $200 and interest charges over the time it takes to pay it off. If you don’t have the money saved and put aside specifically for the items that you want to buy, any deal that you think you’re getting isn’t a deal at all.

(Photo courtesy of crd!)

The Dangers of Daily Deals

September 7, 2011 By Jennifer Derrick 2 Comments

It seems like daily deals are everywhere these days. Amazon has it’s Gold Box, there are plenty of sites like Woot.com that offer one-day deals on specific items, and the group coupon deal sites like Groupon are proliferating like mad. Even many “regular” retailers have daily specials on their websites. While it is possible to save money using these sites, it’s also possible to waste a lot of money.

I got into a bit of trouble with Amazon a year or so ago. After finding a great deal on something I really needed, I started checking the Gold Box every day to see what else I could find. That led to checking the video game and Kindle book deals of the day, too. Pretty soon, I was buying a lot of stuff at Amazon. While some of it was stuff I needed, much of it was stuff I could have done without. I was simply tempted by the deep discounts and, admittedly, the limited time of each offer made my blood rush a little bit.

Once I realized this, I stopped checking Amazon unless I was seriously looking for something I needed. My spending went way down as a result. There are many people who get into this kind of trouble. When you watch these sites, everything looks like a great deal. It’s hard not to get sucked in. It’s even worse when members of your online communities see one of those coupons that require a certain number of people to buy in for it to be sold and they beg everyone else to buy in so the deal will go through. You think, “Sure, I can use this and help someone out, too.”

A lot of these daily deals are never used. Many people never redeem the coupons they buy on sites like Groupon. They forget about them and they expire, or they decide it really isn’t something they want to do or can use. A whole secondary market now exists to help people unload the daily deals they bought and don’t want. For sites like Amazon, a lot of the daily deals end up in yard sales or on eBay once it’s delivered and people realize that it’s not so great or they have no place or use for it. It doesn’t take long for the, “What on earth was I thinking?” mindset to take over and for buyer’s remorse to set in. If you’re hanging out on these sites every day, get ready for a lot of remorse.

Before you get sucked into the next “great deal,” ask yourself three questions.

Is it really a great deal? Sometimes these deals aren’t really that great. Check other sites to compare prices before you jump on the deal. If you can check the price history of an item (Camel Camel Camel is great for checking Amazon’s history), check to see if it’s ever been lower (and thus likely to go lower again at some point). Make certain the item is exactly what you think you’re getting, too. Is it the latest version? Does it have all the features and accessories? Don’t get tripped up into buying old merchandise or stripped down products unless you are receiving a very deep discount.

Also watch out for deals that advertise a discount of, for example, sixty percent. You need to know if that discount is off the full retail price, or the price that the item usually sells for. Many times a product carries a suggested retail price, but the site usually sells it for less than that. So if they’re advertising 60% off retail, that may only be 20% off the price that it usually sells for on the site. It’s still a discount, but not the huge discount you thought you were getting. Know your prices and realize when a deal is a deal and when it’s just marketing hype.

Would you have bought it anyway? If you’re really in the market for a spa treatment, a 50% off deal can be a great thing. But if you weren’t thinking of going to the spa until you saw the deal, you’re probably wasting money. If the deal is something you were in the market for anyway, you can save some money. However, if it’s something you’re buying just because it’s discounted or looks fun, pull back and think about it. Chances are you’ll realize you don’t need or want it and be glad you saved the money. If, six months down the road, you find you’re regretting not buying that deal on sky diving lessons, it will probably come around again or you can work at finding another deal. Chances are, though, that you will have long forgotten about it.

Are you simply feeling the rush? These sites are genius, in a sick kind of way. They know that people love the lure of limited times and quantities. They know that people like to feel like they’re in on something that other people missed out on. They capitalize on all of this, using slick language, ticking clocks, fulfillment meters, and quantity left countdowns to get you all amped up to buy into this deal. When you’re about to buy something, stop, breathe, and ask yourself if this is really something you want or need, or are you just feeling the rush? If it’s the later, walk away.

As with anything, make sure you read all the fine print and terms and conditions. Know exactly how long you have to redeem any coupons and make sure you can use them within that timeframe. Make sure you understand exactly what you’re getting. If it’s a service, know what’s included and what’s not. Will you have to tip at the spa, for example? That can add on to your bill. If it’s a product, know what features are included. Print out any pages that you might need to resolve discrepancies or arguments that arise if you don’t get what you were promised.

Daily deals can save you some money, but you can also waste a lot if you’re not careful. Be smart when buying daily deals and don’t let the rush (or other people) talk you into things you don’t need and can’t use.

Liquidation Sale Risks: Often Not the Deal They Appear to Be

December 18, 2008 By Jennifer Derrick 2 Comments

One side effect of a down economy is that many retailers end up going bankrupt or closing unprofitable locations. They are then forced to liquidate their assets and have sales in order to clean out the stores. Very often, even the fixtures end up for sale. With more and more retailers going out of business, this is your chance to pick up some real bargains, right? Not necessarily.

Liquidation sales are touted with such lines as “Huge Savings!”, “Blowout Prices!”, “Lowest Prices Ever!” and other messages designed to make you think that no matter what you buy you’re getting a great deal. The problem is that liquidation sales are not always the best deal going. Here’s why:

The liquidators run the show, not the retailer: When a company goes into bankruptcy, the retailer is no longer in charge. The liquidation companies operate the business, not the retailer. That means that they are not required to honor the policies of the retailer. They do not have to price match, price adjust, accept returns (even on merchandise that was purchased before the bankruptcy), or honor service agreements. In other words, everything you loved about your favorite retailer is gone, replaced by a liquidation company that is intent on wringing every dollar possible out of the sale.

Prices are often higher than or, at best, the same as other stores: When the liquidators take over, they often raise prices before marking the items down in order to make a little extra money. They know that people think liquidation sales offer bargains and will often buy without comparing prices. They take advantage of the consumer’s gullibility and there’s nothing illegal about it. So that toaster that was $15 before the liquidation sale now carries a “before sale” price of $20. Then the liquidator marks it down 25% which puts it back at $15. Many people think it’s a deal, not realizing that if they’d bought that same toaster before the “sale,” it would have been the same price.

You can’t use coupons, gift cards, store credits, or even store credit cards: If you’ve been holding on to a coupon, store credit, or gift card and think that a liquidation sale is a fine time to use it, forget it. These payment methods are not likely to be accepted at the sale because the liquidator didn’t issue them and doesn’t want to deal with them. Many won’t even honor the store’s credit cards because the credit department went out of business along with the retailer.

Warranties may not be honored and you certainly can’t purchase extra protection: If you purchase something at a liquidation sale and need warranty assistance, you will have to deal with the manufacturer directly. You will receive no assistance from the retailer. If you purchased an extended protection policy through the retailer before the liquidation, you are likely to find that it won’t be honored once the liquidation starts. And if you’re buying something at the sale and would like extra coverage, like a screen breakage policy on a laptop, you won’t be able to purchase that coverage from a liquidator.

Limited or non-existent return policies If you buy something at a liquidation sale, get it home and it’s broken, you probably can’t return it. Many liquidation sales are final with no returns. If there is a return policy it is likely to be very restrictive and may require return within 24-48 hours with all kinds of exclusions, fees, and hassles. If you really want to dispute the item, you may have to do it with your credit card company, but watch out for number 6 below.

Payment methods may be limited: In addition to not accepting gift cards or coupons, some liquidators won’t take checks. Some even won’t take credit cards so they can avoid the fees. If they won’t take credit cards, you lose any after sale protection your credit card might offer.

So what is the consumer to do? Should you always avoid liquidation sales? The answer is no, but you have to act wisely and not just blindly assume that a going out of business sale is the best deal.

First, as with any sort of shopping, know your prices before you hit the liquidation sale. That way you’ll know if the liquidator is tinkering with the markdown numbers or if you can get a better deal with a coupon elsewhere. (Some competing retailers may take coupons or gift cards issued by the bankrupt store just to get your business.) Often the best deals are found late in the sale after the liquidator has moved all the merchandise he thinks he can at the higher prices. When that happens, the markdowns are likely to get better. Your best bet is to watch and wait for the prices to come to you.

Second, understand the policies and terms of the sale before you buy. Can you return the item? Will the manufacturer honor the warranty? What payment methods are accepted? Will they price match or price adjust during the sale? If the answer to any of these is no or in any way makes you uncomfortable, make sure you can live with it before you buy.

Third, protect yourself because you’ll get no protection from the retailer. Avoid problems by making certain the merchandise is in good shape before you buy. Plug things in and make sure they work. Take items out of boxes and account for all the parts and make sure they’re free from damage. Check clothing closely for stains or tears. Check with the manufacturer of big ticket items and make certain they’ll honor the warranty. Pay with a credit card if possible (but make sure you can pay it off before the due date) to get their consumer protection policy.

Finally, unless you’re getting a stellar deal at the sale that you know you can’t beat elsewhere (and you know the merchandise is in good working order and you won’t have any problems with it), consider buying from a retailer that is still in business. You’ll be protecting yourself from potential problems and helping another retailer to stay in business. There’s nothing wrong with liquidation sales and it is possible to score some deals. Just don’t fall for the hype surrounding these sales. The liquidators think you’re gullible. Show them you’re not.