10 Insider Secrets To Scoring Seriously Discounted Clothes

As fashion editors, we spend an inordinate amount of time browsing clothes online. It's not technically our fault: in addition to our personal shopping pursuits, researching clothing is part of our actual job description. Accordingly, over the years we’ve amassed several insider tips for shopping smarter and we simply cannot keep them to ourselves any longer! Read on for our secrets on everything from how to score a promo code to knowing the exact time a sale goes live. (P.S. if you missed our earlier story on the best fashion resale sites, be sure to check it out too.)

When To Sale Shop (It’s Not When You Think)

Ask any shopping enthusiast the best day of the year to shop, and she’ll probably answer Black Friday. While there are definitely deals to be had, according to the Wall Street Journal, there are other times of year when prices are lower. The two months when you’ll snag the best deals? Early January and late June.

Hukkster

Our particularly well-dressed Beauty Editor swears by Hukkster to get notifications when her favorite items go on sale. Whether you do most of your online shopping on a computer or mobile device, you can get an email or push notification the second your favorite items are reduced.

Store Inventory Schedule

Buddy up to the local store manager of your favorite shopping haunts and find out which day of the week they get in new merchandise. Often when new clothing comes in, older clothing will be moved toward the back of the store and put on sale. 

eBay Save Search

Is the item of your dreams sold out everywhere? No worries: there's second hope for slackers on eBay. Simply search the brand and style name of the desired garment on eBay, for example “IRO Jony,” and when the search results come up, click on the link at the top that says “save search.” It will give you the option to receive an email when new items matching your search terms are listed. 

Coupon Codes

Often sites will advertise their coupon codes, but occasionally a discount code will fly under the radar, in which case RetailMeNot.com is a godsend. With coupons for over 50,000 sites (recently including an ASOS.com code for 10% off and a Toms Shoes code for $5 off plus free shipping) we never make a purchase without checking the site first. 

Amex Sync

American Express’ Amex Sync program allows cardholders to link their plastic to Facebook, Foursquare, or Twitter to get deals in exchange for sharing a post, checking in, or Tweeting. For example, recently cardholders could tweet #amexwarby to score $10 back on a pair of Warby Parker frames. The no-hassle approach doesn’t require any coupon codes; simply pay with your Amex card and your statement will automatically be credited. 

Shop Off-Season

This may seem like a no-brainer, but consciously planning ahead to shop for fall items in the spring and vice versa can save you a bundle. Sure, buying a bathing suit in September isn’t as fun, but when you aren’t paying full price for that bikini at the peak of next swim season, you’ll be thanking us.

Sign Up For The Store's Newsletter

Increasingly, e-commerce sites are drawing in new newsletter subscribers with the lure of a promotion code. In addition to the easy discount off your first purchase, signing up can be worth the extra email in your inbox when you get advance notice of promotions or access to secret sales.

ShopStyle

In addition to checking RetailMeNot.com, we’d like to add a second step before making any hasty purchases: search the item on ShopStyle.com to confirm that your intended online store of choice is actually selling it for the lowest price. Often smaller boutiques you may be unaware of are selling the same item for less!

Lucky Breaks

The ladies behind Lucky are women after our own shopping-happy hearts. They have an entire Lucky Breaks section dedicated to delivering sweet deals—usually 50% off editor-curated items, ranging from darling earrings to printed pencil skirts.