Clearance Rack Shopping Tips

I brought three pairs of jeans up to the cash register,  when the cashier rang them up she said “hey, you got three pairs of jeans for the price of one pair of full-price this season’s jeans”.

Another amazing thing, it is September a month when I should be finding shorts on clearance, not jeans.

Call it bargains hunter’s luck if you wish but I call it God’s provision as I was about to have a 12-year-old son with naked legs come rapidly approaching cooler temperatures.

Here are some of my bargain hunter’s tips to help you find your own clearance rack scores.

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1. The best sales racks have to be searched for

Deep discounted clearance is rarely found in the front of the store to be clearly seen by all.

The best approach for finding the 75% off or more racks, is to walk the entire perimeter of the store keeping your eyes peeled for signs that say “75% off or More”, or “50% off already reduced prices”.

In small stores I generally find the best clearance racks in the back of the store near the change rooms.

In large big box stores, it takes a bit more searching but usually you will find the best markdowns by taking the time to walk the end of each row and glance down every aisle as you pass it looking for clearance shelf tags that are often either red or yellow. In many big box stores the clearance is actually right at the end of the aisle (known as the end cap).

2. Deep discounts are rarely advertised

Most deep discounts are best found by dropping in the store whenever you happen to be driving by it  and spending just a few minutes scanning the clearance racks.

You can try visiting the clearance area of store websites with some frequency as well but in general I find better discounts in store.

3. Take the time to go through the whole rack

If you find a rack with 75 percent off or more take the time to go through it item by item as sizes and styles generally tend to get mixed up fast.

4. Check several stores for the best selection

I found one pair of these jeans at an Old Navy we stopped at on our way to an appointment Friday and the other three pairs in a store we passed on Saturday on our way to a meeting.

5. Shop with a list

A  steal of a deal is not a deal at all if you did not need it in the first place. Stick to a list.

Take a few moments every so often to go through your closet and those of your kids and write down what upcoming and current needs are. Put this list in your wallet, or write it in the notepad section of your smartphone or i-touch.

Want to Further Your Clearance Find Check out Part 2 of This Post.

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