Lowest Prices of the Season

That tag line doesn't mean much. The prices are the lowest until... well... next week. As the season passes and merchandise languishes on the shelves and racks, prices drop. It doesn't matter what season it is; it's the way retail works. When the season is over, anything remaining goes on clearance racks.

You've got to hunt for these racks sometimes. Stores would rather have you buy the things that just showed up in the store with higher prices, so they'll tuck their clearance racks in a little corner in the back. It's for the same reason that milk is at the back of the grocery store; the retailers are hoping you'll be lured by something else on the way there. I say, put the blinders on and run.

I see all the major department stores (JC Penney, Kohl's, Macy's, K-mart) rolling out their print and television ads promising the lowest prices of the season, and they probably are this week. If you don't really need something now, wait. You'll see the same ad next week, and the week after that, and the week after that, ad nauseum.

Monster Sale!

Oooo! Just the sound of it gets my blood pumping! That was a subject line in my inbox this morning from the Children's Place. Unless it's food or fuel, I hate to spend full price for anything. Next to "sale", my favorite word is "clearance".

The Children's Place is marking down all there summer stuff, and I love buying pretty things for my 6 year old Pipsqueak. I realize prices will drop further in another month, but by then sizes and styles will be limited. Now is when there is good selection at mouth watering prices. I ordered:

• 3 t-shirts
• 1 halter top
• 1 skirt
• 2 pairs of pedal pushers
• 2 skorts
• 1 nightgown
• 6 pairs of socks
• 1 baseball cap
• 2 pairs of sunglasses
• 1 headband

all for under $100, including the shipping. Regular shipping is only $5. That's 20 items, averaging less than $2 each.

You might be thinking, "But summer is almost over. Pipsqueak won't get to wear the stuff for long." Ah-ha! I almost always buy her clothes a year ahead and pack them away by size. Her age and size have always coincided. It won't work for everyone, but it will for some and you can save a lot of money buying at end-of-season markdown prices. Now stop reading blogs and go to the The Children's Place before all the good stuff is gone.

Pipsqueak doing her Paris Hilton imitation. It's obvious she likes clothes and pink.