Yahoo Finance 6 Strategies for Scoring Deals at Outlet Malls
Outlet shopping malls, known for their bargains, are often in far-flung towns away -- although increasingly, they are turning up in the suburbs -- and the drive, the company you keep and the anticipation of deals ahead can feel like an adventure. If you do snag great deals to boot, what's not to like?
But as with any shopping excursion, there are no guarantees. Not everyone who goes to an outlet mall will save. You could easily spend more than you would elsewhere, especially if you must drive a distance and factor in the gas money you're shelling out.
But, hey, nobody's trying to rain on your shopping parade. If you enjoy outlet malls -- and you want to enjoy them even more by saving more -- try these outlet-mall-shopping secrets.
Understand what you're buying. Outlet stores are known for selling overstocked and discontinued items as well as slightly damaged but still perfectly functional merchandise. So you might find, for instance, an Old Navy store in an outlet mall carrying clothing not available in its other stores. Whatever you're looking for, the merchandise is likely of good quality; it may be in the outlet store because it's slightly out of season, or because it's part of a discontinued line.
Factory stores, like a Banana Republic Factory Store, have a reputation for offering basically the same products that you'd find in a retail store, but they're known for using slightly less expensive materials, resulting in a cheaper price. That doesn't mean the product isn't good, but it may not be as good as what you'd find in the non-factory retail store.
Complicating matters: Not all of the stores at an outlet mall are outlet or factory stores. These days, many outlet malls also have regular retail stores on the premises. The retail store wants to capture the money of all the shoppers who come to the outlet mall for good deals; the outlet mall is happy to have the retail store around as another big-brand name to attract shoppers.
So, yes, it gets confusing, and none of this may matter to you if you like the product and it's affordable; but if you do want to know exactly what you're getting, you'll want to ask the sales staff exactly what they're selling.
Study the outlet mall. Stephanie Freeman, who works for a college and lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, is an avid outlet mall shopper; she worked in a traditional shopping mall for four years and as a secret shopper for two years.
Her advice: If you really want to take advantage of the sales, you have to know something about the stores ahead of time. So visit the website. Sign up for those emails your favorite outlet mall will start sending. Get a sense of how the place operates -- and then pounce.
"You have to know when to shop and the sale patterns of the stores you like to visit. For example, some stores do additional markdowns on Thursdays, so shopping on Thursday will yield better deals," Freeman says.
Which leads to another strategy.
Avoid the crowds. Go to the outlet mall during the week instead of the weekend. If the weekend is more practical, aim for a Saturday morning versus a Saturday afternoon. As the Saturday wears on, those clearance racks with the great bargains are going to empty out.
In other words, fewer shoppers means you'll likely find more products on the shelves, leading to better deals.
That said, there are often sales on Saturdays, which gives you good reason to go when the crowds are there. Just know: "The competition is much more intense," Freeman says.
Look for coupons. You probably will find good bargains and sales simply by walking in the store, but before you go in, visit the outlet mall's customer service office, says marketing-firm owner Marti Mayne, who used to work for T anger Factory Outlet Centers, which is in 43 locations across 26 states and Canada.
"Each day, I was surrounded by wonderful outlet bargains," Mayne says. "I'm a confirmed bargain hunter from way back."
Mayne says that you can often get coupons or coupon booklets from customer service. They create these booklets for motor coach tours and other groups, but they might give you a booklet if you ask.
And sometimes they sell the coupon books, says Kimberly Kong, a Baltimore-based fashion blogger who writes SensibleStylista.com and who often frequents outlet malls. She adds that if you're a member of the AAA, you may be able to get them for free. She also advises getting on stores' email lists.
"Many outlet stores offer additional promos and discounts to subscribers," Kong says.
And don't forget to look for outlet and factory store coupons. Sites like RetailMeNot.com and CouponSherpa.com will likely have some. At the time of this writing, for instance, RetailMeNot.com had a 40-percent off coupon for the Gap, and CouponSherpa.com had a "get $20 off $100 or more" coupon.
Shop the opposite season. Outlet stores are known for selling overstocked items, and so you might fare better if you aim to buy what people are no longer buying.
"You'll find the best prices on summer wear in the fall and before Christmas," Mayne says. "Look for winter wear right after [the] Christmas season when summer wear arrives."
Be extra aware of the return policies. That is, there may be no return policy. Many stores won't take things back, especially if the merchandise has been discontinued or was overstocked. You also may have to bring the item back to the outlet mall versus taking it to the regular store. For instance, according to the Abercrombie & Fitch website, if you buy something at an Abercrombie & Fitch outlet and decide you don't want it, you must take it to an outlet store, not the Abercrombie & Fitch at your nearest mall.
Not that anyone expects to return items, but it happens, and it's definitely something to consider, especially if you're driving, say, 80 miles to an outlet mall in the middle of nowhere, all to score some great savings. Gas is cheaper lately, but it isn't that cheap.
But all of the planning and trouble really can be worth it, says Mayne.
"Here's the thing that gives me a thrill," she says (and we'll see if you can follow all of this). "Last night I hit the LL Bean Outlet in Freeport, Maine. I found women's outdoor vests that regularly retail for $59. They'd been marked down twice to $19.99. That alone would be a deal. However, the outlet then offered an additional 30 percent off. I had an LL Bean coupon from buying something for $50-plus earlier, a promotion they have going, which I used, and that brought the total for the two vests to $18.99 for a purchase that would have been $124.50 otherwise. Now that's the kind of bargain you can only find at an outlet."
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