Monday, August 25th, 2008...6:14 am
The Uptake on Outlet Shopping
One of the best parts of our annual summer trip to New England is getting to go outlet shopping in North Conway, New Hampshire, Kittery, Maine and Freeport, Maine. Each of these shopping meccas is within an hour or so drive of my mother’s Maine home, which is home base for us whenever we go to the Vacationland (that’s Maine, in case you’re not familiar with the Pine Tree State’s license plate).
Over the years we’ve learned many tips and tricks for outlet shopping, which we’ve used not only when shopping in New England but at other outlet stores we may find ourselves perusing. Since many families choose to do their back-to-school clothes shopping at outlet stores, I thought it would be timely to share some advice for making the most of your outlet shopping.
* Choose outlet stores in tax-free states
While Kittery and Freeport (home to the original L.L. Bean store) have reputations for being great places to outlet shop, Maine is a state that taxes clothing. So should you find a great deal at one of Maine’s many outlets, keep in mind that you’ll have to add five percent, the sales-tax rate, to your purchase. On the other hand New Hampshire does not tax clothing so, in essence, shopping at the outlets in North Conway, for example, will save you five percent over similar shopping in nearby Maine. Similarly, neither New Jersey nor Pennsylvania tax clothing, meaning that when you buy clothes at the outlets at Liberty Village in Flemington or down near Atlantic City, in New Jersey, or near Peddler’s Village or Lancaster in Pennsylvania, you’ll avoid paying each state’s sales tax, which are seven percent and six percent, respectively.
* Buy when you find a bargain, not just because you’re at an outlet
I think that too often you can fall into this mentality that because you’re shopping at an outlet, you are automatically getting a great bargain. This is not always true. While outlets may have at one time been the place that retailers sent their overstocks from the clearance rack, these days many retailers make original clothes that are destined for outlet racks only. Of course, there are still stores where their outlets are, in fact, their outlets. Nordstrom Rack, for example, may not have outlet in its name but having shopped there a number of times, I can tell you that you can find clothing that didn’t sell at regular Nordstrom stores (looking at the various markdowns on the price tag is the biggest clue) and now is significantly discounted at Nordstrom Rack. Basically, this means that when you find yourself shopping at an outlet store, make sure that you’re making a purchase based on an item you like, believe would add to your wardrobe (or home, depending on what you’re considering purchasing) and is truly a good deal.
* Shop with a plan in mind
Just like the advice above–to hold off buying unless you are really, truly getting a bargain–you should approach an outlet-shopping trip with a purpose in mind. For example, when we hit the L.L. Bean outlet store in North Conway, I knew that I wanted to make a beeline for the winter coats. As you’ll recall I’d returned my busted Bean winter coat earlier this year, and had received a gift card for its value in return. While it was nice to get the money back, the bottom line was this: come cold weather, I had no winter coat. So once at the store, that was my mission–to find a coat. And I did, for $99, which is about $100 cheaper than the coat I’d originally purchased.
* Be thoughtful with your return options
Last year I received a Gap gift card for Christmas and couldn’t wait to break it in buying myself some new clothes after the holidays. One day I decided to visit Franklin Mills, an outlet-like mall on the outskirts of Philadelphia, which has a huge Gap outlet, among other major retailers. I found a couple of items, used my gift card to make the purchase, and went on my merry way. A few days later I tried everything on again, doing a mix-and-match with clothing I already owned, and I decided that I didn’t like one pair of pants I’d purchased. So I decided to return them. However, I made the mistake of assuming that I could visit my local Gap in the mall–the regular Gap, that is–and return the pants. No such luck. I found out that since I’d purchased the pants at an outlet, I had to return them to the outlet. That annoyed me to no end, since the gift card I used was good at Gap stores, Gap.com and the outlets. And had I used that gift card to make a purchase online, I could have brought it back to a regular store. I don’t think it’s fair that I couldn’t make an outlet return at the regular store. Anyway, this was a lesson learned and mistake I wouldn’t make again. In fact, when we were outlet shopping this past weekend, my daughter picked up a birthday present for a friend at Aeropostale. I made sure to ask if there would be any problem returning these items (with a gift receipt) at a regular store, and the sales person told me that, unlike other retailers, Aeropostale stores in outlets are the same as the stores in the malls. Which, again, is why you might not find mind-blowing bargains at a store like that.
* Bring your own bags, and park and walk
I wouldn’t be staying true to this blog’s mission if I didn’t remind you to add a little green to your outlet shopping. That said, make sure that you bring your own bags to carry your purchases, and try to find an outlet center where you can park once and walk to all of the stores. In Kittery, that was a bit of a challenge, because stores were located on either side of U.S. Route 1, and let’s just say that the traffic and the traffic lights weren’t very pedestrian friendly. However, at Settler’s Green in North Conway, New Hampshire, the outdoors outlet mall was very walkable–and dog friendly, too. Similarly, when we lived in Michigan and would visit the outlets at Birch Run, we were able to walk to all the areas of the outlet. That’s not to say that this didn’t involve a lot of walking. I mean, in our day in North Conway last week, I wore a pedometer and logged nearly 10,000 steps from shopping alone.
Have you discovered additional secrets for smart outlet shopping? If so, post a comment to let us know.
This is a great post. When people tell me they’re going to Atlantic City to shop the outlets, I suggest that they also go to the Pier at Caesars, which is a few blocks away. I’ve found great deals on clearance racks at the Banana Republic in the Pier — much better than what I’d have gotten at the oulet.
I’m with you! Great tips. One I’d add is this: visit only the stores on your list. Resist going in just to “see what they might have.” It cuts down your time, makes for a shorter and less tiring day. Can you tell I Drop easily when I Shop?
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[...] saving money when shopping for back-to-school clothing, and is one of the reasons that when we go outlet shopping, we like to target states with no sales tax–such as New [...]