Friday 13: Great Shopping Sites

  I♥SHOPPING

When I turned 30 I went to New York City with Heather. We flew up Thursday morning and came back Sunday afternoon. We did nothing but shop. We barely stopped to eat. Not kidding. We averaged 10 to 12 hours a day walking around the city. Shopping. We did take one sight-seeing tour. It was a shopping tour of various designers’ work rooms where we got to pick from their stashes for pennies on the dollar. And we went to a couple of sample sales. And we hit the shoe stores in Soho. And I got a birthday present from Tiffany & Co. Nothing but shopping. Thank you for being my shopping bud that weekend, Heather! I would so do that again.

Although I love shopping I do not love paying full price. I’m the one you always see making a beeline towards the back of the store to the sale racks. What was so great about my trip to New York was that I got to do some fabulous shopping at bargain basement prices. My best deal was finding Italian pants, originally $220, my price: $25. I know! I bought three pair. Two black, one cream.

Since then I’ve had to fulfill my shopping habit online. In most places that I’ve lived the good shopping has been a drive to get to. Sometimes hours. The brick and mortar shops do not hold as much appeal to me now as they used to. Not since internet shopping has become so, so, easy. So in honor of my bday trip to NYC and my internet window shopping habit (or as the French say “faire du lèche-vitrine”, literally “to window lick”) I’ve compiled a list of 13 great frugal shopping sites. Because who wants to spend all their money shopping when they don’t have to (I say use the leftovers for travel!)?!?!

These are in alphabetical order because I really couldn’t pick a favorite. Some of these stores I have purchased from, some I’ve just licked their virtual windows.

Friday 13: 13 Great Shopping Sites

1. Bag, Borrow or Steal Fulfill your desire to have the latest, greatest, most awesome designer handbag without paying the Gs for it. You “rent” the merchandise and pay a small fee for being a member. They’ve ventured into accessories as well so you can just bling yourself out to your heart’s (or wallet’s) content. The best thing is you’re not stuck with that weird looking handbag after it’s out of style. You can send it back for the latest and greatest.
2. Charles Tyrwhitt Classic clothing from England. Head immediately to the back of the store (the clearance section). Before that though, click the little American flag at the top of the page so you see the prices in dollars. Sometimes their clearance offerings are insanely low. Great men’s wear.
3. Charolotte Russe Of the moment clothes without having to fork over all the $ you have at the moment. Har har. I’ll stop. I actually have a brick and mortar CR store…an hour away. It’s cheaper to buy online because their shipping is only $6. Gas would be, what, $24 round trip?
4. Christabelle’s Closet Ahh, I cannot express enough love for this consignment site. It puts designer within reach. I’m talking within a “one income budget” reach. One of the great things about this site is you can search by size. No click, click, clicking through the pages past all the great stuff other people are able to wear but not you, so who really cares about that stuff anyway. If you sign up for her email list she’ll send you sale coupons every once in a while.
5. Laila Rowe This is one of the stores we visited in Soho. It’s the kind where you go in and everything is eye candy and you wish you didn’t have to watch your purse because you just want to have both hands free to play and explore and try things on… It’s a great accessories store because who wants to pay a lot for that stuff when you know you’re either going to lose it or lose interest within months.
6. Retailmenot.com and Mallphobia.com A two for one deal (I’m even frugal with my 13 list!). Both do about the same thing. At retailmenot you type in the store you’re interested in and they see if anyone’s posted any coupons to that store. Or if the store has alerted them to any sales. At mallphobia you’re basically at the mall right there in your jammies. It lists most stores that most malls have and even lets you know which ones are having sales at the moment.
7. Newegg This is a techie site. They seem to have some of the best prices out there for electronic goods. This is where I’ve found the cheapest price for Photoshop Elements 6. All that’s left is to actually purchase it.
8. Rue La La, Regent’s Secret, Hautelook.com, Ideeli.comAll of these (and I’m sure there are more) have the same premise. You have to be “invited” to play. This seems to be the new “thing” in online sample sales. They’ve got designer clothing, linens, etc. at discount prices. The sales last for only several days each. To me these really are only good if you want to window shop. But, they give you a taste for what’s in style. And you never know! One day you may find the exact thing you’re looking for.
9. Shop It To Me This is probably my favorite because I don’t even have to strike out onto the internet. They bring me exactly what I’m looking for right into my inbox. You sign up by going through several screens telling them what type of clothing, sizes, name brands, etc. you’re interested in. They send you daily emails with the sale items that match your picks. Could shopping be any more efficient?
10. Smart Bargains, Overstock.com At these sites you can find everything to outfit your house and yourself at discount prices. I’ve found that Overstock tends to inflate the original price somewhat on some things. I bought a punch bowl from WalMart for about $20. I later saw it on Overstock. I can’t remember what their sale price was, but their “original” price was somewhere around $130. I almost spit coke out of my nose (the drink, not the drug). So, just know that before hand. They both have great prices, but you’re not always getting as much of a bargain as you think. But hey, if the price is low, the price is low.
11. Top Button Another site that will bring the sales to you. On their main page they’ve got a bunch of sales listed (along with a scantily clad Paris, so please, no kids). If you click on “Online Values” it will list a couple of online sites that are offering discounts. These are stores that I usually don’t see listed anywhere else. If you click on “Style Society” you can sign up for their newsletter which brings the sales right to your email.
12. The $15 Store The clothes are more for “younger” kids than what I’m starting to become. BUT, that being said, I’ve gotten a couple of great summer tops on here before. And shoes and handbags don’t really have an age limit like clothes do.
13. Woot Ahh, woot. Every morning I check my email and there’s another one from Woot letting me know what the deal of the day is. It could be anything: a Dyson, a computer, an ear bud, pistachios… Shipping is only $6 so whatever it is they’re trying to sell you, you really are getting a good deal. But it’s only good for that day, or until it sells out, whichever is first. The best things though are the woot-offs. During these events they will sell something until it is sold out. Then they’ll sell something else until it’s sold out. etc., etc. People, you better be good at hitting the F5 key, because if you blink too slowly you could miss a deal.

There you have my latest Friday 13. If you’ve got any great shopping sites, please SHARE!