Archive for the ‘Monthly best buys’ Category

Graduations, Memorial Day and warm weather all drive the best discounts in May.

Gift cards: These common gifts for high school or college graduates sometimes go on sale this time of year — say, $40 for a $50 card. “The retailers will be pushing the gift cards because they know it’s an easy gift,” consumer site FatWallet spokesman Brent Shelton said.

Travel: Higher prices will kick in starting in June, so book an impromptu getaway now to score the best deals until autumn, Shelton says. “There’s a pretty wide variety of deals. You’ve got to do a little bit of shopping to find them,” he said. Peruse package deals that include airfare, hotel accommodations and a rental car.

Gym fees: When the weather warms up, exercise facilities sometimes offer incentives to persuade you to work out inside. “You’re in a better position to haggle for some sort of cut,” said Lindsay Sakraida, features director at DealNews. “A lot of them will run outright promotions. Like maybe they won’t charge …

Continue reading Travel, gift cards go on sale this month »

Shop for cruise vacations, jewelry for Mom and tablets this month:

Cruises: Although April is traditionally a great month to buy a cruise package, now it’s especially savvy. “Especially this year,” says Lindsay Sakraida, features director at DealNews.com. “We’re postulating that because of a lot of the bad publicity they’ve been getting with the public disasters.

“In particular, I think Royal Caribbean and Carnival were two cruise lines that saw the lowest prices last month, and we’re expecting that to continue into April.” Offers Sakraida has seen this year are already 11 percent cheaper than deals from 2011.

Home and garden: This category “is kind of exploding right now,” says Dan Butler with the National Retail Federation. “You’ll see patio furniture on sale for 20 to 30 percent off. The weather’s turning and people are getting out and working in their yards, so it’s a good time to go shopping for those things.” Insecticide, grass seed and bird baths are already popping up …

Continue reading Savings spring up on tablets, cruises »

March brings a plethora of older electronics dropping in price, thanks to new-model previews at last month’s annual International Consumer Electronics Show. With spring approaching, you’ll also see a few seasonal deals in March:

Automotive: Look for offers on tires, maintenance parts and wax-and-wash supplies. Although Atlanta vehicles don’t regularly suffer the damage from the salt-sand mix northern cities need for traction in the snow, Southerners could still benefit from national deals aimed at consumers planning to spruce up their cars after gritty winters. Consumer site FatWallet.com spokesman Brent Shelton says there’s usually a spike in discounts for tire deals (like buy three, get one free), alignments and tune-ups in March.

TVs: It’s no Black Friday, but March offers some nice deals on TVs. “The new ones will be coming out over the next several months, so you might be able to get deals on last year’s models as the newer ones come out,” says Jim Barry, spokesman for …

Continue reading Deals on laptops, TVs likely in March »

With our mild winter and two holidays in February, it’s an excellent month to buy a variety of goods and services.

Outerwear: Lindsay Sakraida, features director at DealNews.com, says many retailers are stuck with an overstock of heavy coats because this winter has been so warm. “It hasn’t really inspired people to go out and buy,” Sakraida says. “February is always a pretty good month to be getting a great deal on a coat, but especially this year. It sounds like retailers are really trying to push them out the door.” She suggests stacking a coupon on top of a Presidents Day sale.

iPad 2: When the iPad 2 was unveiled, the DealNews team saw deep discounts on refurbished original iPads. Now, “There’s a lot of rumors that iPad 3 will be released at the end of February, which means it will probably be a great time to start looking for deals on the iPad 2,” Sakraida says. If the buzz turns out to be real, sales might spill into March as well.

Ski trips: “We’ve been seeing a huge …

Continue reading Best things to buy in February »

Home sales at the end of January can be a good time to jump on early savings on gifts you want to give to brides.

If the holiday hoopla has you all shopped out, you’re not alone.

“January is really, truly the slowest month of the year for retail sales,” said Dan Butler of the National Retail Federation, “but there is some activity.”

If Santa didn’t get you everything you wanted, or you’re on a mission to stimulate the economy, here are a few best buys this month, plus a look ahead at this new year:

Home decor: People are taking down Christmas decorations, rearranging furniture and reassessing the state of their homes this time of year. All that spurs white sales by month’s end, Butler said.

“The other thing that helps to drive sales all through the spring season is people who got engaged over Christmas or New Year’s often will register at the stores,” Butler said, “so the home sales can be a good time to jump on early savings on gifts [people] want to give to brides.”

Cars: …

Continue reading Best things to buy in January, and for 2012 »

Just in time for the holidays, you’ll see deals this month on toys, Blu-ray movies and other potential gifts:

Bikes: December, not spring or summer months, is actually the best time to find these deals, says Lindsay Sakraida, features director at DealNews.com. More discounts become available this month from such stores as J.C. Penney and Walmart than the rest of the year combined. And sometimes the coupons even apply to outlet stores.

“We saw some really good sales” from performance bike companies last year, Sakraida says. “Ourdoorsy retailers like [Bike] Nashbar and REI had some good sales on bikes in December as well.”

Blu-ray movies: If you shopped Black Friday, you saw selections for as low as $4.99, and Sakraida says you’ll continue to see “just crazy good deals on those. It’s such an easy thing to get for people or to have on hand. It’s one of those good things to stock up on.”

Dan Butler, vice president of merchandising and retail operations for the National Retail …

Continue reading Toys among best deals this month »

Take advantage of free shipping, price matching and super sales this month to maximize your savings.

Kitchenware: “Something people might not think to buy this month is cookware,” says Lindsay Sakraida, features director at consumer website DealNews.com. “[There are] 25 percent more cookware deals in November above average, which is useful if you’re preparing for the big Thanksgiving meal.”

Tablets: Tablets will continue to reduce in price as competitors attempt to create inexpensive alternatives to Apple’s iPad, says Fiona Dias, chief strategy officer at ShopRunner. The newest, and what will possibly be the most successful attempt, is Amzon’s Kindle Fire.

“The Kindle Fire is on fire, and they’re having to make millions more than they anticipated,” Dias says. “Without a doubt, it’s going to be the number one item this season. For consumers, you can get a tablet for a couple hundred dollars. It’s practically a stocking stuffer.”

TVs: “There are going to be great values on TVs,” …

Continue reading Best products to buy in November »

The last full month before Black Friday poses a shopping dilemma: Buy now and maybe miss out on rock-bottom prices in just a few weeks, or wait and hope inventories — especially of popular items — don’t shrink to nada.

Instead of playing shopping roulette, simply focus on this month’s best buys (and stay away from the worst) to stretch your holiday dollar:

Halloween and fall: The savviest shoppers know the day after a holiday is the best time to buy decorations. But if you didn’t plan ahead last year, you can still hit a pre-Halloween sale.

“We see a lot of pretty big discounts the week before,” says Lindsay Sakraida, DealNews features director. “It’s one of the few cases where putting it off until the last minute might be a good idea.”

Also look for discounts on haunted houses and corn mazes from deal websites like Groupon, SweetJack and HalfOffDepot.

“You can usually find those in the first week or two if you want to try to get some sort of discount — but buy early,” …

Continue reading Outdoor, fall items October’s best buys »

Keep your eyes peeled in September for seasonal sales as well as unusual clearances.

New cars: Conventional wisdom has been that the end of the model year is the best time to buy, as dealers try to sell off old merchandise to make room for the new.

“If you are in love with a particular model, you can find it in the color and with the equipment you want,” says Jack Nerad, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com. “There are probably great Labor Day specials all over the place.”

You’ve probably been advised to consider depreciation in value when buying a car that’s already nearly a year old. But Nerad says depreciation isn’t as important “if you’re going to keep it forever.” Plus, with low interest rates, you’ll be able to pay less over the life of a car loan than in previous years.

Car accessories: Looking to pimp that ride, whether it’s new or used?

“There’s an increase in deals on auto goods in September, particularly in the first two weeks — accessories like …

Continue reading Cars, TVs, home goods among best buys for September »

As summer starts winding down, you’ll see sales from old favorites as well as clearance items in unexpected places:

Best things to buy

School, college supplies: “One of the top things is back to school,” says Lindsay Sakraida, features director at DealNews.com. “Especially if you are looking for a backpack, we saw a ton of those sales this time last year.” She says JCPenney featured backpacks for as low as $2 with a $10-off coupon last year, and other retailers including Kohl’s, Sears, Land’s End and Kmart offered book bags for up to 50 percent off. “It’s certainly something that stands out among the back-to-school items.” (Read “The best and worst things to buy in August” here from DealNews.)

But compare prices — and bide your time if necessary. “Don’t get lured in just because it’s a sale,” Sakraida says. Old Navy ran a kids’ sale at 25 percent off last year, only to follow up with an Internet sale of 30 percent off.

August can be the cheapest time to buy college furniture …

Continue reading The best things to buy in August »