Super Bargains at the Top Stores - Get Ready for the Sales!

Tuesday December 23, 2008

It's that time of year, when the UK's major department stores - and lots of other shops as well - clear everything out with mega sales. Not very long ago, the only time that shops like Harrods, Liberty, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols put merchandise on sale was January and July. Busloads of tourists traveled in from the country to stand in line for the openings. Heck, plane loads of passengers traveled in from the US and Europe.

Nowadays, most stores have something on sale, in a limited way, almost all the time - a reduced rack, here and there. But the big clearance sales are still wonders to behold. They go on for weeks and weeks and the longer they last, the cheaper everything becomes.

Someone sale-savvy once told me that if I spotted a woman with a notepad or clipboard and a red marking pen I should follow her around. She was a buyer, identifying sale goods to mark down even more. I took her advice. That's how I scored the cruel shoes - a pair of the most delicious, coral suede designer stillettos with embroidered vamps - for about 10% of their originally astronomically expensive price.

This year, because of the state of the economy, the bargains are likely to be even better than usual. So, shophounds planning to visit London from just after Christmas and through January should plan to get their skates on.