Dec

7

The Best Value in Holiday Gifts

Filed Under Saving Money, Shopping | 2 Comments

Great Holiday GiftI was taught that when you’re asking a price for something in Spain, you ask not cuanto costo, (how much?) but Que Vale (What is the value?) .  There are many definitions of value, and all come into play this holiday season. As a frugalista, I refer to value as getting the best for your money, but as we move forward and out of this darned recession, especially when it comes to gifts, it starts to take on the meaning of valuable, as in, will the recipient get value out of it.

Thinking like that, one of the most valuable gifts we received for our wedding was a $100 gift card for the local movies.  For that $100, my hubby and I were treated to four evenings out, including popcorn.  And we always thought of the the nice relatives who gave them to us, every time we went out.

This year, frugal is in, but does it extend to gifts?  In our humble opinion, give the value, not the gift.  That is, don’t worry so much about how much or how little you’re spending, but think instead of how much the recipient will value it.  Know Your Giftee!  In our humble opinions, the best gifts for Holiday ’09 should replace the little luxuries that people have given up cause they’re cutting back.  Give a massage gift certificate, or one for a manicure or pedicure.  For couples and families, think movies, travel or dining out.  Hotel room certificates can be bought with any cash-back or hotel points you’ve been hoarding, and many restaurants are giving generous rebates.

You can buy discounted cards at PlasticJungle.com, GiftCardsAgain.com, or GiftCardRescue.com.

Special restaurant deals include Red Robin, Chevy’s, Buca di Beppo , Bonefish Grille, Outback Steakhouse, P.F. Chang’s, Yard House, Cheesecake Factory and Applebee’s.   Also, Sports Authority is giving 10 % off of the purchase of the giftee and the gifter gets a coupon for $10 off of a $50 purchase from Dec 26, 2009 to Jan 31, 2010  and  Barnes & Noble is offering a free $10 gift card for every $100 gift card purchase through Dec. 6. The $10 GC may be used as of Dec 26, and is effectively a 10% discount on gift cards. $20 for $200, etc.

Thanks to Julia the Bargain Babe and her readers for some of these.

Most important, always ask for a discount.  Why not?

Happy Shopping.

PS: I put in an application for Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida.  Will keep you posted.

Meanwhile, for some more good shopping advice, click here.

May

27

ConSIGNing Your Life Away!

Filed Under Shopping | 1 Comment

consignment shopMost Saturday mornings, weather and travel schedules permitting, my friend Judith and I scour the local yard sales, searching for treasures and exploring new neighborhoods, and generally having a fun girls’ day,  I have a few times mentioned my addiction to yard sales, thrift shops and the like.  Over the next few weeks we will be visiting a few of these, and we will be providing you with the best ways to find what you want and get it at the price you want.  Starting with the easy stuff, let’s talk today about Consignment shops.

 

Consignment shops are usually nicer than thrift shops and are the best place to start when you have a special occasion and want to wow the crowd. Most good consignment shops offer top-quality, barely used expensive stuff, like LV bags and CK and DK dresses, at a fraction of their original prices. Most of these items have been very gently used, and some have never been used at all, and are actually being sold because of that — maybe they never fit or looked quite right on the original owner, sometimes they’re just out of date (often by only one season, so who cares?).  Sometimes these shops are private, and sometimes they’re affiliated with charities.  Whichever way you go, you’re sure to get a great buy if the store happens to have something that’s right for you. (Plus, if they are charity-connected, you may be able to write off the purchase as a donation.)

 

A few tips:

1) Shop in good neighborhoods.  You’re more likely to find better items.  These stores usually will not accept anything that’s too out-of-date, and generally insist that items be clean and ready to wear.

2) Find out the favorite charities of your socialite neighbors, and shop at the stores that benefit those organizations. (Of course, careful if you attend their functions that you’re not wearing the chairperson’s dress from last year!)

3) Know your size and, wear proper undergarments, and as always, don’t buy anything if it doesn’t fit or needs too much work. 

4) Be prepared for high but fair prices.  These are not thrift stores.

5) Don’t get carried away by things that don’t fit your lifestyle or budget.  You may fall in love with that Versace gown, but will you really ever have a place to wear it? 

6) If you’re shopping for furniture, bring your measurements and your tape measure.  Consignment shops usually sell all items final sale, and if you snooze, you lose.  Be prepared to pay up, or at least leave a deposit, on the spot.  

Following, compliments of Readers’ Digest, are thirteen things your Consignment Shop proprietors won’t tell you. 

1. They love an economic downturn. Some shops are seeing sales up 35 percent from last year.  This makes them less open to bargaining, so be prepared — know your values.

2. Their margins are shrinking like everybody else’s: Consigners want higher prices, and shoppers want lower ones.  So again, be ready.

3. If you’re donating or selling, your items need to be in nearly new condition. Don’t bring a cookie sheet with crumb-and grease sludge in the corners.  Even you don’t want your old crumbs. (Unless it’s Big Crumbs — click for info).

4. Check out the store before you bring in your items. Make sure it’s a good fit for your stuff.

5. “Nice” and “Salable” are not always one and the same. Know the difference and don’t be pushy!

6. People shop consignment stores because they want a bargain.  While your antique whatever may be worth $250 at an antiques auction, if the dealer tells you they can get $75, take their word for it or sell it yourself.

7. If you sell it yourself, you’ll probably get a better price from eBay than craigslist. But online selling is labor-intensive (photographing and describing items, handling sellers’ questions, dealing with the post office) so measure the time/money ratio.

8. Do not bring designer knockoffs. Neither of you want  to go to jail for selling fake merchandise.

9. Charitable shops run by volunteers can pay consigners a higher percentage: sometimes as much as 75 percent instead of 40 to 50.

10. Clean out your closet before the season begins; that way, your fur coat or wispy sundress gets the best chance to sell.

11. There are some things you should never buy at these shops — children’s car seats, for instance. For all you know, that car seat’s already survived a crash or fallen off the roof of the minivan two or three dozen times.

12. Bigger sizes sell faster. If it’s a size 14 and classic, it’ll sell. If it’s a size 6 and classic, it’s harder.  If you’re a size 6 and you’re shopping, you’re in luck.

13. Avoid weekends if possible.  It’s like amateur hour for bargain shoppers.   I like Monday to Wednesday, when the weekend donations have been sorted.

Here’s another 13 from Readers’ Digest’s website:
1. This usually isn’t the place to make a fast buck. Some shops issue checks quarterly—and pay you only if your item sells.
2. Some of the merchandise is brand new: Besides the private donations, when a boutique goes out of business, the stores often pick up the inventory to sell it to you.
3. The recession means times are changing, and so is inventory. Women’s suits and formal wear aren’t selling the way they used to, but smaller furniture for smaller houses is in demand.
4. The stores are not testing toys for lead. Retailers have to, but re-sellers are exempt. Buyer beware.
5. If you get belligerent with any seller, they will not want to build a working relationship with you.
6. Please don’t leave “donations” outside the shops .
7. A Wedgwood urn with a little chip? The stores can probably work with that. They do need complete sets of buttons, working zippers and the rest.
8. If the store says, “That’s adorable, but I don’t have a market for it,” take the hint. They’ve probably been doing this a long time, and they know what will move. It’s not personal, it’s strictly business. 
9. Don’t donate what you wouldn’t use yourself.  They don’t want your garbage, they want your good stuff!
10. Consignment shopping is probably the only consumption that’s environmentally friendly: When you buy an item you’re keeping it out of the landfills, where an estimated 85 percent of used clothing winds up every year.
11. Sometimes it’s a fine line between “vintage” and “hideous.” Jodi Miller of Designer Renaissance asks herself, “First, is it icky? Some materials of old just seem flammable and you can’t see anybody ever wearing it.”
12. Ask about the store’s markdown policy. Designer Renaissance in Nashville puts merchandise on sale every Thursday: If an item hasn’t moved at full price after five weeks, it’s marked down 25 percent, the next week it’s reduced 50 percent, and the week after that 75 percent.
13. Sometimes it is personal: We get to know you through what you buy and what you discard due to boredom, bad karma, or your metabolic ups and downs. “I’m growing old with some of my customers,” says Miller of Designer Renaissance. “When they’re dating they get all these hottie clothes, then they get married and you don’t see them for a while, then in their later 30s their sizes start changing every year, so I get them again. We discuss medical problems, emotional problems, who the good divorce lawyers are. This job’s a blast.”
For more ideas on shopping, please click here.  Keep reading here for more detailed info on garage and yard sales in the coming weeks.