Clark's Big Book of Bargains (11 page)

As you read this chapter, think about some of the things that have become necessities, that really are optional, and be flexible in how you spend in many of these areas.

* CLOTHING *

As frugal as I am about everything else, I’m extra cheap when it comes to clothing. I recently broke the $10 shirt “barrier” when I paid $12.96 for a dress shirt at Wal-Mart. It was the first time I paid more than $9.99.

I used to buy irregular dress shirts, but the last few times I went shopping, I couldn’t find the selection I wanted in the irregulars, so I had to spend a little more.

Clearly, I don’t buy what the stores call “fashion forward” clothing, because I believe today’s trend is tomorrow’s donation to Goodwill. Some people might consider that dull. Others might say I prefer classic styles. I accept dull, because dull is more affordable.

But even if, like most people, you spend more on clothes than I do, I have some wonderful strategies that can help you cut how much you pay.

A great way to save is to buy at the right time of the season. Retailers are always out ahead of the weather. They put spring clothes out during winter, fall clothes during summer, and winter clothes during fall. If you buy ahead of the season, as the retailers want you to, you’re going to pay too much. But if all you do is wait until the actual season to buy, you’ll save a tremendous amount of money, as retailers mark down the merchandise in order to move it. Retailers refer to spring clothes that are still for sale during spring as past-season goods. For them, the season is already over. This technique works no matter how much you normally spend.

Where you buy your clothes can help you save as well. The clothing market has shifted away from the traditional department stores to specialty retailers, because people want both fashion and low prices. That trend has helped fuel the rise of Kohl’s and Target, two stores that have found the right blend of fashion and price that consumers want.

Target, for example, sells very stylish clothes, including a brand called Mossimo which used to be sold only by high-end retailers. Sonja Kashuk, a well-known makeup artist, has her own line of cosmetics at Target; women rave that her products are as good as those sold at expensive makeup counters in department stores.

But even with discounters such as Target and Kohl’s, you can save a substantial amount of money if you follow the calendar.

When my wife and I first met, saving money on clothes just wasn’t a concern to her. But she picked up a few things from me, and now the student has become the master. She is absolutely fantastic. She has a wonderful eye for fashion and she’s very patient. She’ll even buy true past-season clothes, stuff that goes all the way to the bargain rack. Summer may be over, but she’ll buy the good stuff that’s left on the rack knowing she can wear it next summer. She doesn’t try to buy a whole wardrobe, because the selection at that point is limited, but if she sees something that will fit into her wardrobe, she buys it. It’s been a fascinating transformation.

You can get some great deals if you are willing to buy something you may not wear until next year. A leather jacket you buy at the end of winter could be half off its original price—maybe more—and you’ll wear it year after year. Pick up next year’s swimsuits and shorts at the end of summer. Are shorts going to go out of style?

One problem a lot of people have with clothes is they buy something and then never wear it. I have some shirts I bought and then never wore, even though buying them seemed like a good decision at the time. Buying clothes is both a practical and an emotional decision, and you’re going to make mistakes. There’s really no good solution to it.

Men often are reluctant clothing buyers, especially when it comes to suits. We’re worried how we’re going to look in a suit. People wonder whether it’s okay to go to one of the discount clothing stores such as Men’s Wearhouse, K&G, or S&K. I have purchased suits from discounters and have been absolutely thrilled with the quality. I routinely pay $100 to $130 and the suits look great. I’ve never bought one that I’ve been embarrassed to wear. I’ve also purchased used suits and been happy with them, and the best deals for men on used clothing are the dressy clothes. A lot of guys will buy a suit and then gain weight, so they’ll get rid of the suit. A used suit will cost very little. I bought one for just $1, and the most I’ve paid is $25. I wore a suit for a TV commercial that I had bought for $2.75 at a Goodwill store in Dayton, Ohio. The savings are tremendous. And many of these suits have never been worn.

I was giving a speech to a military trade association, and when I arrived and opened my suitcase, I realized that my suit wasn’t there. I had left it on the bed back home. The speech was that evening and I knew people were going to be decked out in their best clothes. Going in my tennis shorts and dress shoes wasn’t an option. So I pulled out the local phone book and started driving around to used-clothing stores. I had to go to three, and in the third one I found a really nice suit for $6. So I mentioned it in my speech. About five minutes into my speech, I asked the person who introduced me to stand next to me, and I asked him how he liked my suit. He liked it a lot, and was surprised when I told him how little it cost. After the speech, people were coming up to me, one after another, to look at my suit.

Buying used clothing can be a great way to save money. One of my producers, Kimberly Drobes, wears very nice clothing—she favors vintage, 1950s-style clothes—and she buys about 70 percent of her outfits used. Kimberly goes “thrifting” regularly at her favorite used-clothing stores. On one trip, she bought a cotton dress for $3.99, a button-down shirt for $1.99, a handbag for $2, and a pair of jeans for $4.99. Her friend bought dresses for $3.99 and $4.99, and a pair of jeans for $5.99. Kimberly says thrifting is hit or miss. Some days she comes back with an armful of clothes, sometimes nothing, so it’s not a good way to shop for a specific item. Some used clothes are so worn they’re nearly mutilated, Kimberly says, while others still have the price tag on them. So you have to look for something that suits you.

When you buy new clothes, you don’t know how well they’re made or whether they will hold up over time. Used clothes have already passed that test. When I buy a used sportcoat or suit, I turn it inside out and check to see if any of the seams have ripped, to make sure it’s in good shape. It’s funny, but most of the time I have trouble with something like a broken zipper if it’s on a new item, not a used item. I bought a past-season leather jacket for $49 and the zipper broke. So it wasn’t that well made. A used jacket would have stood the test of time.

You can find local used-clothing stores in the Yellow Pages under “Thrift Stores.” Some cities have local chains. Chicago, for example, has City Discount Thrift. Salvation Army and Goodwill stores also are places where you can find good used clothing.

Buying used clothes is an especially good idea for young, growing children, because their sizes change so quickly. Buying new clothes for a child is very expensive. Some parents think it’s beneath them to put used clothes on their child. So what I recommend is, go look for a nearly new item for yourself, something you would be proud to wear. Buy it and wear it, and if you get past your reluctance for yourself, maybe you’ll be able to get past your reluctance to buy used clothes for your child.

One fun place to pick up some great used stuff is from the unclaimed baggage center in Boaz, Alabama. I bought a beautiful Lord & Taylor men’s overcoat for $65 that looked like it had never been worn. Someone had left it in an overhead bin on an airplane, and it ended up in Boaz. People generally travel with their nicest clothes, and when baggage gets lost or things are left behind on an airplane, the airlines wait thirty days to try to reunite them with their owners. Then they go to the unclaimed baggage center to be sold.

Outlet Stores

Outlet stores have been touted as a great way to save, but a lot of that reputation comes from long ago, when factory outlet stores really were attached to the factory, and the bargains they sold either were irregulars or were goods that had been returned because the retailer had gone out of business. I used to buy dress shirts at an Arrow factory outlet for $2 to $6. The $6 shirts were great. They might have had an irregularity in the shirttail that wasn’t visible when I wore it. The $2 shirt might have had a tear in the sleeve. That kind of clothing is more appropriate to wear when you’re painting the bedroom.

Outlet stores today, conveniently located by an Interstate exit next to 150 other stores, are not true outlets. They’re shopping malls, and the merchandise sold at this sort of outlet usually isn’t a bargain. Modern outlets have proliferated because department stores, trying to prevent comparison shopping, sell more private-label merchandise than ever before. That has forced the brand-name manufacturers to create their own stores to sell their goods.

If you’re really sold on a brand name or a designer, the selection at an outlet will be far superior to what you’ll see at a department store. But the prices won’t be any better. Modern outlets actually have split into three sectors—stores that sell lower-priced goods, stores that sell mid-priced merchandise, and stores that sell high-end merchandise.

The deals in an outlet store are not the merchandise that’s well displayed at the front of the store. The bargains—mostly irregulars or past-season merchandise—usually are in the back of the store, maybe even in a separate room. So if you shop outlets, walk past the high-priced stuff and look for the deals.

Going-Out-of- Business Sales

When you see a sign that says a local store is going out of business and marking everything way down, be careful. Most going-out-of-business sales are rip-offs, because instead of selling the remaining merchandise in the store for less, the store sells all of its merchandise in one transaction to a liquidator. The liquidator then brings in all kinds of new merchandise, and marks it with supposedly big discounts. It might bring in a sofa that supposedly was $1,400 before the store had to sell out, and now sells for $300. But the sofa never sold for $1,400. It was brought in to make money during the liquidation. In a given liquidation, this sort of “fake merchandise” might make up 20 to 80 percent of everything being sold.

If you’re going to shop at a going-out-of-business sale, shop only for merchandise that you have an opportunity to compare to similar merchandise in other stores, or for things that you know well enough to be able to determine whether the 60-percent-off “sale” price is hype or a true bargain.

Some stores are constantly “going out of business” but never actually close. That’s a deceptive business practice that is illegal in most states. Oriental rug shops have become infamous for pulling these fake going-out-of-business sales. Most states now limit such sales to a certain number of days, and require that the store close at the end of the sale. But these laws are widely abused. Obviously, you should stay away from fake going-out-of-business sales.

Online Coupons

Coupons are a great way to save money, and you can find online coupons very easily. Go to your favorite search engine and search for “coupon code” and you’ll see a variety of Web sites with discount offers. If you see a deal you like, maybe for free shipping, use the special coupon code like you would a paper coupon.

• Tips on Clothing •

• Wait until the season actually begins, rather than before the season, when retailers want you to buy.
  

• Skip the department store and try fashion-oriented discounters such as Kohl’s or Target.
  

• Men can buy good-quality suits at discounters such as Men’s Wearhouse, K&G, and S&K for $100 to $130.
  

• Save by buying nearly new used clothing.
  

• Be careful at outlet stores. There are very few bargains, and those are usually in the back of the store.
  

• Most going-out-of-business sales involve merchandise that was brought in for the sale and labeled with fake discounts by a liquidator.
  

• Look for online coupons by typing “coupon code” into a search engine.