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Handy reminder: Get your calendars for cheap tomorrow!
These are seriously nice calendars -- big, glossy pages, or fat planners, or gorgeous art collections. Among the brand names available will be the Sierra Club (their planner is currently retailing for $13.89 on Amazon.com or $13.95 on the Sierra Club site), Taschen or Pomegranate.
You can hit Pegasus Bookstores at 5560 College Avenue (Oakland), 1855 Solano Avenue (Berkeley) or 2349 Shattuck Avenue (Berkeley). Buy your calendar early, spend the afternoon penciling in all your personal finance and consumer spending to-dos.
I swear, I have no connections to anyone at any of the bookstores. This is just a great sale for those of us who still like using a paper-based calendar to remind ourselves where we are in a particular year.
| December 31 2010 at 09:28 AM
A great reason to hold out for some stores' sales
The September 20, 2010, issue of the New Yorker has a profile of J. Crew C.E.O. Millard "Mickey" Drexler ("The Merchant") that's worth trackign down in the library and reading for this quote alone:
What the clothes were telling [Drexler], apparently, was that J. Crew may not be charging enough for them. He mentioned some competitors and said, "They sell at five times cost. We sell for three times cost."
Or, to translate that back into English: If a shirt costs $72 in the store, it probably cost $24 to make.
Now, not all clothing retailers are priced equally -- and some sell items as loss-leaders because once they've snagged the customer loyalty on the cheapie stuff, that customer will be back to buy other, higher-margin goods.
As Drexler remarks later in the New Yorker story, after the decision's been made to hike the price of a madras shirt by $3 to $72.50: "A guy, once he trusts the brand, doesn't worry about price."
Do you think that's true? Are you less critical of how a favorite clothier prices things? Or do your sale-hunting instincts bow to no brand? Share your thoughts on when -- or if -- you pay retail versus when you hunt for markdowns at dollarsandsense@sfgate.com.
| September 21 2010 at 01:55 PM
The state of back-to-school shopping, 2010
The people who get paid to read retail's tea leaves have been trying to figure out how this back-to-school shopping season will shake out.
For example: According to ForecastIQ, Costco, Ross Dress for Less and TJ Maxx will probably clean up among parents doing back-to-school shopping, while Old Navy will not. This prediction is based largely on "comps," or same-store sales. The logic goes something like this: If sales at stores that have been in existence for more than a year go up, it's because shoppers are spending more at those places, or because more shoppers have begun patronizing them. Either one is good news. During last year's back-to-school season, Old Navy was one of the few retail outlets that reported positive comps; the question is whether or not they'll improve on last year's sales figures, or whether shoppers are taking their money elsewhere.
BigResearch found, on the other hand, that:
It may be a hit-or-miss Back-to-School season for some retailers, as consumers send mixed signals when it comes to the economy and spending…while confidence failed to improve in August [retailers lose], fewer consumers are feeling practical [retailers benefit]. While nearly half of consumers (44.8%) still say they'll remain practical and realistic when spending, this figure has lowered 4+ points from last month (49.1%) and declined from Aug-09 as well (48.2%).
Students headed back to school may have an easier time this year convincing penny-pinching parents that they need a new netbook, e-reader, or mobile device…more than half (53.5%) still say they’re focused on necessities when shopping, but this percentage has lowered from July (58.0%) and Aug-09 (55.9%).
For those of you still focused on the practical, back-to-school shopping is as much about what not to buy as it is what to stock up on. For example, you (or your kids) should still be able to lay hands on the protractor/pencil sharpener/ruler/pencil case that worked the year before. If you're a stockpiler, you'll want to stick with plain-cover notebooks and folders (the last thing you want is your kid turning to you in 2012 and saying flatly, "I'm not using the Team Jacob notebook").
And maybe you'll want to consider checking out the August sales guides to see where your money should go. For example, August is the month when garden goods, summer clothing and outdoor gear all typically go on sale at major retailers -- just in time for our warm Septembers and Octobers. (In theory ...) So maybe skip the sweater specials (they'll be back around Columbus Day and Veteran's Day) and put your practical dollars into stocking up on swimsuits and shorts.
| August 12 2010 at 02:36 PM
Watch movies like it's 1989
It is amusing and appropriate that on the same day that Consumerist reports on tickets for Shrek Forever After in IMAX costing $20 in NYC, KGB deals is offering a chance to buy AMC theatre movie tickets for $4.
The deal expires in two days, so hop to, y'all.
| May 21 2010 at 03:27 PM
Three great reasons to hit a local bookstore
ONE: Books Inc. -- rightfully known as the West's Oldest Independent Bookseller -- is holding a big after-holidays sale: 30% off Holiday Books, 30% off all books over $39.95, 50% off Christmas cards, 30% off 2010 calendars, 30% off Moleskine 2010 Planners and 30% off selected new titles.
There are Books Inc. locations in the Marina, the Castro and Opera Plaza in the city; on the peninsula, you can hit Books Inc. outlets in Mountain View, Burlingame and Palo Alto; in the east bay, there are stores in Berkeley and Alameda. All addresses are here. I can't speak to other Books Inc. outlets, but the one in Alameda's got a well-curated collection of titles and endlessly enthusiastic staff with good taste in reading material.
TWO: On January 1, 2010 at 10 a.m., the local Pegasus and Pendragon bookstores will be holding their annual calendar sale. You can get some very, very pretty or useful calendars for a fraction of their normal price -- one calendar for $3.99 or three for $10. The store says it has:
Over 750 titles from Te Neues, Workman, Amber Lotus, Brushdance, Graphique de France, Sellers, Browntrout, Pomegranate, Taschen, Tidemark Universe and Sierra Club.
Pegasus has three locations: 1855 Solano Avenue in Berkeley, 2349 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, and Pendragon Books on 5560 College Avenue in Oakland. (I highly recommend the last one; it's across the street from the Crepevine, so you can celebrate your calendar haul with a delicious brunch. There are worse ways to start the new year.)
THREE: 2010 could be the year to start supporting the 3/50 project. The aims of the 3/50 project are modest, and fairly easy to do here in the Bay Area: Pick three locally-owned businesses and spend $50 between them monthly. Start in January and you'll end up with a hefty book and calendar haul.
Got a local business that's running a blowout sale and deserves some attention? Share it at dollarsandsense@sfgate.com.
| December 27 2009 at 09:15 AM
Retail remembers the law of supply-and-demand
Earlier this year, it was possible to get a lot of different luxury goods for a song. After all, the house-as-ATM model of personal finance had imploded, wiping out the conspicuous-consumption crowd, and folks who still had money wanted to hold onto it. So retailers ended up slashing prices.
Now, however, upscale retailers have adapted to changing consumer patterns. They're now paring back inventory, which has two benefits: It reduces the odds that retailers will be left with excess inventory, and it creates a sense of urgency among shoppers, so they're more likely to snap things up. A telling quote:
"Upscale stores want to train the customer that luxury equals exclusivity and that they cannot assume they can wait and they're able to buy it on sale," said William S. Taubman, chief operating officer of Taubman Centers, a mall developer and owner.
I have to be honest: I'm a little more concerned about the national Eggo shortage (projected to drag into 2010) or the Libby's canned pumpkin shortage (projected to affect a lot of last-minute shoppers next week). But for those of us who are still a fan of nabbing designer merchandise on the cheap, may I recommend LuxGoddess? You set up a profile on the site with your sizes, the types of apparel and accessories you like, and the brands you prefer, and the site will send you a daily roundup of items that meet your criteria.
How do you scout for luxury goods at bargain prices? Share your sites and strategies at dollarsandsense@sfgate.com.
| November 19 2009 at 04:11 PM
Mark your calendar: The 45th Annual Big Book Sale
All these can be yours for less than $100.
Bargain-loving book hunters, rejoice. The San Francisco Library's annual sale is next week! And it's the best kind of sale: the proceeds go toward a great cause, in this case, the library's literacy programs.
From Thursday, September 24 through Sunday, September 27, bibliophiles will have the opportunity to peruse more than 300,000 books priced at $5 or less. And for those showing up on Sunday, the books will be reduced to $1 per volume. The sale's at the Fort Mason Festival Pavilion.
Plus, if you join the FunCheapSF mailing list, you can enter a contest to win two free passes to the members-only book sale preview from 4-8 p.m. on Wednesday, September 23.
| September 18 2009 at 05:02 AM
Saving money in September
There's nothing like flipping over a fresh page on the calendar ... and seeing what product categories retailers will be putting on sale for the month. Kiplinger's recently did a month-by-month breakdown of which consumer goods go on sale when, and here are the September standouts:
-- Holiday airfare. 'Tis the season to snap up cheap fares during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's periods. Remember, you can follow airline Twitter feeds for special promotions, or open an account at a fare-tracking site like Fare Compare.
-- Landscaping plants. Start stalking your local nurseries or big-box home improvement stores, because a lot of plants are going to be on clearance this month. And since the soil's pretty warm in September, all you have to do is plant your cut-rate lovelies now, baby them a little this winter, and they will take off in 2010. (We planted a flat of creeping thyme we got for 50% last October, and it went bananas this spring.) And if you'd like to shop locally, there's a plant sale at Vallejo's Loma Vista farm on Tuesday, September 8.
-- Automobiles. Traditionally, September was a great time to be a car shopper because dealerships were looking to dump old models. However, all of 2009 has been a great time to get a bargain on an automobile, so if you're the type of person who thinks spending money on a new car is a smart use of your resources, hit the dealers this month. Just be sure to do a little homework first and make sure the new offers are at least as good at what's out there right now.
-- Appliances. Stores typically roll out new models in October, so check your sales circulars all this month for the everything-must-go closeouts. Check with your local utility firms for additional rebates for energy-efficient appliances.
| September 01 2009 at 08:22 AM
Throwing yard sales for fun and profit
My neighborhood's annual block sale is tomorrow, and to say I've been looking forward to this is a serious understatement. Each year, it's a chance to unload the things that no longer fit in our lives, talk with my neighbors all afternoon, and end the day with a heck of a lot less clutter and a few hundred dollars more, probably in singles.
We've got the yard sale thing down to a well-oiled drill in my household. I thought it might be helpful to pass along what has worked for us Read More 'Throwing yard sales for fun and profit' » .
| August 28 2009 at 08:52 AM
Last-minute back-to-school sale alert
Those who put off shopping for their kids' new clothes might be on to something: Lands' End is running a "Last Minute Savings on Back to School" sale.
The clothes aren't just for the classroom: boys' rashguards are now $10, marked down from $25.50 and kids' printed rain hats are now $5, down from $15. (Now here's hoping we get some rain this winter...)
| August 27 2009 at 08:45 AM
Dollars and Sense is about finding new ways to inject dollars, cents and sensibility into your everyday spending.
By Lisa Schmeiser, Read Bio
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