- Make sure you use your student discount card everywhere. It can sometimes be a case of ‘You don’t get what you don’t ask for’
- Retail outlets are brilliant for certain items like jeans and trainers. As long as you don’t mind your purchases being ‘last season’s’ you can get real bargains with prices reduced by between 30-70%. One of the biggest in the UK is the McArthurGlen chain of designer outlets, which has branches all over the UK. Designer warehouse sales are held all over the country but the best is DWS held in London’s King’s Cross.
- Clothes swapping parties can be a great way to get rid of your unwanted (but still in good condition) clothes by trading them for your friends. It can be a fun way to clear out your wardrobe and get your hands on items you have yearned after from your friends for years, all the while remaining ethical and low cost. Designer clothes swapping parties are becoming increasingly popular. Y-Shop organise parties in London but the company will be branching out nationwide in 2009.
- There are a number of websites that help you find out about on-and-offline sales the moment they start. Lynku.com and gooddealdirectory.co.uk provide information of sales including warehouse sales.
- There are a lot of the clothes for sale on Ebay at extraordinarily low prices but double-check whether you are getting a ‘real’ bargain by using a price comparison website such as shopping.com , kelkoo.com etc. If you are unsure about the authenticity of a clothing website, check out e-victims.com. The site offers free, practical and easy to use advice about websites and has details of recent scams, making your online shopping experience even safer.
- If there is something you really want to buy on Ebay or another auction site, don’t start a bidding war with other users. There are websites which will keep an eye on your item for you and allow you to “pounce” on it at the last minute – try bidnip.com , justsnipe.com and auctionsniper.com .
- If you are shopping with a retailer who has both a high street and internet outlet, as most now do, you may be able to get the internet price in-store. Print out the quoted internet price and ask if the price can be matched. This allows you to actually try on the clothes before you buy and take advantage of a lower price.
- Shopping from abroad is also possible via the internet. The cost of shipping and delivery can be high, but the exchange rate means that it can sometimes work out much cheaper.
- If you are a fashion follower asos.com copies the big celebrity trends at a fraction of the price, and details exactly which celebrity was wearing ‘your’ outfit. Similarly wornby.co.uk provides information about where to buy t-shirts and sweatshirts worn by TV presenters and celebrities.
- Check for daily offers on hotukdeals.com which has daily promotional codes for fashion websites as do sendmediscounts.co.uk and myvouchercodes.co.uk.
- Dress-for-less is one of the most popular discount designer sites with many of the big names appearing on the site – DKNY, Tommy Hilfiger and Miss Sixty.
Mandmdirect.com offers more alternative brands, again at 75% off, with stock being updated every hour – lastseason.com follows a similar format. - Laslty, if posible use a cash-back sites, for example quidco.com or topcashback.co.uk , and earn on your spend. If you have a cash-back credit card, use this aswell (althought always pay off in full); You will be getting extra cash for shopping online – money for nothing.
