Aug 19 2008
Tips for Shopping at Outlet Malls
I know that a large number of students have already returned to school, but it does not start until September for my daughter (we live in the Northeast). So, this weekend we shopped for back to school. One of the first places we headed was our local outlet stores, about an hour away.
If you want to save money shopping at outlet stores, you need to be careful. There are some stores were you can find AMAZING deals and then others where you may actually end up paying more.
My three favorite stores were OshKosh, Carter’s, and VF Outlets. At OshKosh, a lot of their clothes were on sale, including their jeans for $12 each. At Carter’s, it seemed like more than half the store was 50% off. I was just shocked at the VF Outlet. Not only did I get back-to-school clothes for my daughter, but jeans for $5.97 for me!
However, I will say that I was less than pleased with the Old Navy and Gymboree outlet stores. I know that Gymboree is already an expensive brand, but many items in their store were regular price and not on sale. As for Old Navy, I visited their website before I left. I was surprised to see that some of the t-shirts available online were on sale, but not in their store. Although I did make a few purchases, I was careful with what I bought.
So, if you decide to shop at an outlet mall, remember that you may not always receive the best price. If you know what stores you intend to shop at, visit their websites first. This will allow you to quickly compare prices in-store to make sure that you actually walk away saving money.
