Plan purchases a year early to get bargains
Think about buying next summer's purchases now to get the best deals.
— -- Prices for patio furniture are free-falling this month. Ditto for sandboxes, play structures and plants.
"What's driving the low prices is the retailer's desire to get a large item out of his store and to take a large unsold item off his books," says Robert Long, managing editor of Kiplinger.com.
Timing is everything in bargain-shopping.
"If you're willing to get only one or two months out of that patio furniture this season, you'll get a good deal, and you'll have the furniture waiting for you next spring," Long says.
Long and other experts say the wrong time to buy anything is when you really need it: Then, the retailer has the advantage.
"We encourage people to really look a year out and plan those purchases," Long says. "If you can map out your purchases to those times when retailers are offering the biggest discounts, you really can save hundreds of dollars a year on the big-ticket items."
The best months to buy furniture are January and July, just before new shipments arrive, says Jackie Hirschhaut of the American Home Furnishings Alliance in High Point, N.C.
"The retailers obviously need to make room," Hirschhaut says. "They'll take a first markdown, then a slightly more generous markdown, and by the time it gets to clearance stage, maybe a set isn't complete. That doesn't matter to many buyers now, because one of the most popular styles of decorating is an eclectic theme, where not everything matches."
Stock up on baby products between February and April when retailers offer the most sales, says Reyne Rice, trends specialist for the Toy Industry Association in New York.
Even marriage proposals can cost less if you plan ahead. Amanda Gizzi of Jewelers of America in New York says the busiest months in the jewelry business are November, December, February and May. July is the sweet spot for diamond buyers.
"Summer is a notoriously slower period for jewelry stores, and July is the peak of that slower period. They might be willing to negotiate a better deal then. It's just a matter of inventory sitting in a store," Gizzi says. She suggests first-time buyers visit the Jewelry Information Center website at www.jic.org to research diamonds and pricing before heading to a reputable retailer.
On another front, the calculus of car buying has changed drastically thanks to the Internet, says Dave McQuiston, sales director for Reedman Toll, a 10-franchise dealership featuring 120 acres of cars in Langhorne, Pa.
"It used to be, people who walked in the door would purchase a car from us within 72 hours," McQuiston says. "Now, people start shopping from their desks at work or from home." He said some buyers shop online for 30 to 90 days before they walk into a showroom, and will often question dealers via e-mail.
He says the conventional wisdom that September is the best month to buy a car is being turned on its head this year. Traditionally, bargain-hunters shop for leftover models this month as dealers push out current-year models to make room for the new. This year, recession-wary dealers kept inventories low, and the cash-for-clunkers program drove sales.
"At a lot of our franchises, we're already out of '09s," McQuiston says. "Inventory levels are so low that dealers are not going to have an issue with leftovers this year."
McQuiston says the slowest month of the year for new car sales is still December, especially the two weeks prior to Christmas. Used car buyers get the most options in the spring, he says, when dealers anticipating tax refunds try to stock up on used models.
This fall, online merchants are betting early discounts and shipping deals will bring shoppers online long before Green Monday on Dec. 14. Green Monday is the traditional last day that products ordered online can arrive in time for Christmas without rush mailing.
"We're expecting people to be shopping earlier this fall, and online deals will be extended earlier," says Beth Strobel, PayPal's personal online shopper. "This holiday season, we're expecting to see a lot of offers combined with free shipping, because that's what consumers have come to expect."
Strobel advises shoppers to check websites such as Shopping.com and Bizrate.com to comparison shop before they buy. And she warns shoppers to check return policies whether they are shopping with clicks or hitting the bricks.
Although some items are easier to purchase in a bricks-and-mortar store, shoppers can take advantage of Web resources before they buy, says Hirschhaut of the furnishings group.
"Most consumers don't have the ability to envision a picture they see on a computer screen and determine how it would look in their own home. Would you buy a sofa or a chair without sitting on it?" she asks. Nevertheless, Hirschhaut says the Internet offers resources.
For instance, furniture buyers can plan their room as a designer would, using the floor plans and other tools on the American Furniture Alliance's website FindYourFurniture.com. Unsurprisingly, the site will also likely link you to a store in your area.