May

5

Shopping New York — Native New Yorker Style (Part 3: Sample Sales)

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sample-sale-photo1Most people who live outside of a major fashion city like NY or LA have limited knowledge of sample sales, where manufacturers sell off their overages and close-outs at a fraction of their retail prices.  For many, I think, the media has best publicized the phenomenon in those images of Wedding Gown Sales, where brides-to-be storm the racks, knocking each other over and sometimes coming to blows in pursuit of the perfect gown at a deeply discounted price.

 

Is that what a sample sale is really like? In a word, or two, very often.  Not all sales include the fisticuffs and name-calling, but at some, I think the manufacturer sets it up like that merely for the entertainment value.  However, in reality, those plain brown paper or blue plastic shopping bags carried throughout New York’s Garment District often signal the very best values out there.

 

Unfortunately, my recent trip to New York was not on a good Sample Sale day.  I did find one great sale on Agnes B,agnes-b-prices (check out these prices — the discounts are somewhat typical) but nothing was cut for my size 12 American body.  But for those who are planning a trip to New York,  here are some tips. 

 

First, give yourself a full day with comfortable shoes, lots of cash (some places, but not all, take credit cards and checks), and nice underwear, as you may find yourself undressing in an open dressing room, or even on the sales floor!

 

Next, check the internet.  Search sample sales at www.DailyCandy.com, search sample sales and the city you’re in on Google, and sign up at www.soifferhaskin.com for emails as sales come up.  By following these steps you will have a starting point. Take one of the west side subway lines to 34th Street.

 

Once you arrive in the garment center, things should take off on their own. Walk up Broadway from 34th to 40th Street, then across to 7th Avenue, and then down 7th.  If there are any sales going on that day, you will find circulars taped to lampposts, and guys giving them out on the street.  Ask anyone you see with the above-mentioned shopping bags if there are any sample sales going on, and walk along the side streets too — it’s common for people to enter the smaller office buildings and ask the lobby personnel for leads.  

 

Although many of the sales, especially the higher-end ones, may have the merchandise actually sorted by size or style, you need to be prepared: many have things hanging on racks in no particular order.  After all, it’s the thrill of the chase.

 

Be bold, be determined and be nice, even when you have to stand up for yourself.  (“I’m sorry, that dress is mine — PLEASE get your dirty paws off it.”)  You should come out with some really incredible buys.  (One of my all-time faves was a purple silk Tahari suit, absolutely beautiful, which was never put into the line; therefore a one-of-a-kind Tahari Original, for under $100!). 

 

Of course, if it’s a quiet day, you can head over to 32nd Street, which has the best selection of dollar stores I think in the country.  Or if all else fails, there’s always Macy’s.

 

Now, the market is finally realizing that not everyone has access to these sales, and in the past few months I have discovered a number of sites that do online sample sales for shoppers everywhere.  My next post will highlight a few of these where you can sign up and shop wherever you are, and take advantage of the highly discounted prices. 

 

For more tips on Shopping NY like a New Yorker, please check out my posts on Chinatown and Street Vendors.

TheTopSecret

Apr

29

Shopping New York — Native New Yorker Style (Part 2: Street Vendors)

Filed Under Making Extra Money, Shopping | 3 Comments

Day 2 — New York:  Went to see a show last night called “Sessions” an off-Broadway musical about therapy.  Good show, good price — $30 tickets through Goldstar events, which sells discount theatre and other tickets in California, Las Vegas, Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York or Boston.    Also, you can look into TDF, TKTS, and Audience Extras, all good for the same purpose.  

But I digress, although shopping for tickets is a fun bargain adventure in NY.   BTW, if anyone knows of a discount ticket 

clearout nyservice that’s offered elsewhere, please let me know!  

Up early on Day 2, first stop, financial district.  After a moment of silence at Ground Zero, I cheered myself by heading across the street to Century 21.  Now with 6 stores, all in the NY/NJ area, this is one of New York’s shopping landmarks. Though officially a specialty store since it doesn’t sell furniture, Century has arguably the best selection in the city of designer apparel and accessories, shoes, lingerie and home decor at a great discount. Picked up a pair of designer sunglasses (something I would not buy on the streets, as they are often knock-offs with headache-causing cheap lenses) for a song. 

 

Heading north and veering east, my next destination is the East Village.  Stopped along the way to pick up a piece of fresh fruit from a street cart, 

ny fruit

 beautiful and cheaper than any supermarket.  One of the things I miss about NY is the street food.  Better than anywhere except maybe Paris. Would have eaten more 

 

but I was on the way to meet my friend Joey for lunch at a trendy little vegetarian restaurant with a great lunch special, for roughly half of what one would spend in the same place for dinner. Delicious lunch for less than $10.  Wandered through Chinatown (Click here for a full report) and Little Italy, up to the West Village where I visited a small flea market where a building used to be (nothing exciting there) and into the East Village to meet Joey.

En route to the restaurant, I crossed St. Mark’s Place, which I think is one of New York’s prettiest streets, where I was assured to find a plethora of street vendors hawking everything from clothing to jewelry to hash pipes.  In the market for a gift for my sister, I found a beautiful embroidered shawl in her favorite color, purple.  Asking price was $12, already a bargain as in a store if would cost much more.  The man at the stand (Mr. Standman?) offered me 2 for $20 but wasn’t budging any lower.  I did, however, get him to do $10 for one. Told him I’d come back. (This is usually a good bargaining technique.)sale ny

After lunch, back to St. Marks.   Mr. Standman did remember me but still wasn’t budging.  I bought the scarf for $10, a win-win transaction.  Paid cash, tax included.  Mission accomplished.  

I dropped Joey off at the subway station, and again headed north up Sixth Avenue.  Outside a famous corner Hot Dog restaurant, I spoke with a street vendor and house painter called Fitz.

Fitz

We had a fun conversation, I bought a vintage Miami ashtray from him for a dollar, and I continued up 6th Avenue, with the purchase I couldn’t help but buy, to the Ladies Mile.  The Ladies Mile is a stretch of 6th Avenue known for its beautiful architecture and its shops.  In the early 1900s, the quarter-mile strip housed such elegant New York stores as B. Altman, Arnold Constable, Lord & Taylor, Tiffany, and Brooks Brothers.  The Ladies Mile got its name because in the old days of New York, it was where the rich uptown men dropped their wives while they visited their mistresses, whom they kept in the adjacent (and now very hip) residential area known as Chelsea.

Now, the beautiful buildings house a variety of big box stores, including Barnes & Noble, TJ Maxx, Bed Bath & Beyond and Filene’s Basement.  I walked into one, only to find lots of people with full shopping carts, and dozens waiting in line to pay.  No recession here, it seems.  But I have a promise to myself that I will NEVER stand in line and wait to give people my money.  I walked back out to the street.

 

Continuing up 6th Avenue, vendors lined both sides of the street, selling bags, belts, cell phone accessories, artwork, 

ny street artscarves, flowers, food and more.  I picked up two belts for myself ($8 for both), flowers for my host ($5) , a case and charger for my cell phone ($10 for both) and headed uptown to the home of a friend for a haircut and color for less than most people pay for a blow-dry.  (I can’t even say what I paid for that, but let it suffice to say that he hasn’t raised my price since maybe 1980.)

Out to meet another friend for dinner (less $25 from Restaurant.com
) and a movie (discount tickets from the Entertainment Book), and the Bargain Finder Extraordinaire (me!) winds up another day of living the good life for less. 

Next week we will talk about a shopping technique somewhat specific to New York but now spreading to the internet — Sample Sales. 

pict00141

Happy Weekend.

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