For Seller

By: Richard Doble

Suppose you could always buy on sale. Imagine how much money you would save. While this seems impossible, it is really quite simple. Many products go on sale regularly throughout the year. If you know ahead of time, you can plan.

You can find annual and semi-annual sales on everything from cars to furniture, clothing to appliances and candy to stereos. These sales often happen when seasons change or when new models come out. There are even annual sales on used items. The following tips will help you find the best deals month after month.

Don’t be afraid of last year’s models. As a salesman at a national electronics store told me, “All models are discontinued eventually.” So, for example, a brand new stereo that is being phased out can be a very good deal.

Be aware of the particular time when products change. For example, almost everyone knows that new car models come out in the fall. However, if you buy after the new automobiles are actually on the showroom floor - known as the new model introduction or NMI - you will get a much better bargain than you would have gotten just a few weeks earlier.

Some items like clothes may be discounted long before the season is over. For example, summer clothes can go on sale right after the Fourth of July because stores need to make room for fall clothing and back-to-school merchandise.

When you see an annual sale catalogue, save it and file it away. You can bet that this sale will occur again about the same time next year. Also save newspaper ads for recurring sales such as founder’s day and annual clearance sales.

Keep a calendar just for making notes about sales that occur during the year in your area.

The schedule of sales varies somewhat between regions of the country, especially north to south, since seasonal changes occur at different times.

Be flexible. Since you are buying inventory that is left over, you will not find the same selection you would have found earlier in the year. Purchase something that suits your needs, but don’t worry if the color is not exactly right.

Get the same warranty as new. When you buy a discontinued new item from the previous year, you should get the same guarantee as the latest brand new product.

There is one exception to annual sales: don’t buy anything around Christmas. Almost nothing goes on sale from Thanksgiving to December 25. Yet immediately after, you can find remarkable deals.

If you think of these sales from the stand point of businesses, they need to get rid of their old inventory so they can pay for and make room for new products. A business benefits by getting rid of last season’s stock and you benefit by getting products at deep discounts. Happy bargain hunting!

Richard Doble, M.A. is editor of Savvy-Discounts.com, a ten year old frugal living web site. Information from his Internet site has appeared in Reader’s Digest, Woman’s Day (6 times) and ABC-TV’s TheView. He was interviewed on the MSNBC cable channel. His simple, down-to-earth strategies can save thousands of dollars every year. His tips cover finding discounts for groceries, telephone costs, clothing, automobile expenses, utilities and travel. He is author of the book, Savvy Discounts, published by a division of Penguin Books. For a detailed month by month list of annual sales at Savvy-Discounts.com go to the annual sales calendar section. Find more money saving tips at http://www.savvy-discounts.com