Dec 28, 2008

After-Christmas sales don't seem that great

We went to a few stores on Friday and Saturday, and I noticed a couple of things. First, there seemed to be fewer people around than in years past. The parking lots weren't completely packed, and there was plenty of room inside the stores and mall. There weren't any checkout lines in the stores. Even the kids' areas at the mall we went to was actually kind of empty. It was nice.

Second, the deals weren't as great. Maybe the stores did a pretty good job of managing their inventories and getting people to buy with steep pre-Christmas discounts. I found the clearance sections to be surprisingly sparse. In fact, even though I said that I would wait for a 90% clearance to buy wrapping paper, the selection was so small compared to years past that I ended up picking up a couple of rolls at only 50% off. Their cute patterns aren't holiday specific, and are colorful enough to use for kids' birthday gifts, which is exactly what I needed - and I was afraid that if I waited a week for a bigger discount, these patterns would be gone.

What about you? Have you found any great post-Christmas bargains?

11 comments:

Ginny said...

I found the same thing. The stores weren't as busy & the deals weren't that great yet.

Anonymous said...

This was the first year in at least 13 years that my sister and I did NOT go shopping the day after Christmas. We knew we didn't have the money and the deals wouldn't be unbelievable anyway. We'll see if there's anything left in a few days that is worth scrounging up some bucks for...

Anonymous said...

I have no idea how big the sales were. At the mall near us, there wasn't a parking spot to be had anywhere the entire weekend following Christmas. I have never seen it such a madhouse!

Anonymous said...

The only thing I found a good deal on was the floor model Christmas trees at 75% off. I needed a new tree and have always wanted a nice full expensive one but they've always been gone by the time I got there. Target had their 250.00 tree at 62.00 so I got a new tree for a great price otherwise.. not that great of deals. Will wait for the 90% off to see what's left

Bargain Briana said...

I bought some stuff 50% off at Target because there is nothing I need in stock at 90%...I needed tags, some bags, and wrapping paper. I did find some holiday marshmallows @ 50%...making them .56! Woo hoo! We also found some cute plates & cups to use as Bingo Gifts for the kids next year.

We found our best deals at Pac Sun...pretty much everything was makred 50% or 70% the lowest price. My daughter found a ton of stuff and used some money she received. (I normally don't let her shop in there because the prices are too high!)

We also found some good deals at Old Navy.

Paula Wethington said...

My best bargain find was a brown suede blazer at Elder-Beerman ... original price $58, final price $16.

Since I did need some new clothes and I had an El-Bee gift card, well, this was a great find.

But I didn't pick up any paper or bows; and didn't find any clearance candy or foodie boxes that I wanted to spend the money on.

Milk Donor Mama said...

I went to Target, Wal-Mart, Old Time Pottery, Dollar Tree, Meijer, Big Lots, Walgreens and CVS (routine shopping at Meijer, Wags and CVS, and doing a return at Target).

Wal-Mart- 50% off and tons of stuff on 12/27. Hardly anyone there. I got craft kits, wilton baking stuff, and Christmas socks.

Target- 50% off on 12/27, tons of stuff. Hardly anyone looking. I just got one set of ornaments- I'm going to hold out till the discount increases.

OTP- 75% off and many items picked over on 12/26. I got stickers, treat sacks, and candles.

Big Lots- 50% off and tons of people there on 12/26. I got gift bags. People were grabbing the yard decorations.

Meijer- 50% off, not much selection, no one looking.

Walgreens- 50% off 12/26, 75% off 12/28. Busy but they had lots of stock. I got cookie tins, towels, oven mitts, potholders, and stocking stuffers and candy.

CVS- one store had 75% off some stuff and 50% off other stuff. Other store 50% off all Christmas. Lots of stock, few people looking. I got a few things but will hold out for a better discount.

Stacee said...

I only went to Walmart (had to return the vsmile cyberpocket we bought for our ds b/c it didn't work - grrr) -- there were a decent amount of people there, but not as many as I remember in recent years. I did pick up some cute plastic bowls to be used for ice cream for $1 each (at 50% off) and a set of generic mp3 speakers -- they were originally $5 - supposed to be 50% off, should have been $2.50 - but rang up $3.50 -- I pointed it out to the cashier and she said that no $3.50 was 50% off ... uh, noooooooo it's not. I bought them anyway (at $3.50) but the Christmas stationary rang up full price - I pointed out (again) that it was supposed to be 50% off to which she replied that "they" told her that they were to charge the price it rang up, so I opted NOT to get the stationary. I pretty much gave up after that!

Anonymous said...

My best score was from Rite Aid.99 cents for Goody boxed hair sets (41 pieces)combining 50% off with a $2 coupon from Goody.com - great non Christmas gifts. Also scored great buys on the Bliss candy at Walgreen's 75% off + coupon = .32-.39 cents per bag and I got red for Valentine's/Green for St.Pat's.
I am waiting on holiday decor and wrap for 90% at Target as I still see a lot today at 75%.

Kim said...

I found the same thing. Very little Christmas merchandise was left and it is still only at 50% off. It's curious to me that all we hear on the news is how bad the retail sale are. You'd think that if they wanted to sell more, the prices would be better.

Chief Family Officer said...

Interesting that some have found tremendous deals while others have not!

I went to CVS and Walgreens today, and thought that some stuff was still overpriced. I did buy a box of cards at Walgreens at 75% off, just because, as I mentioned last week, it's hard to find cards that meet my specific criteria (and in fact, I could only find one such box at Walgreens, even though I would have bought several). Based on what I saw, I think there might be a couple of things worth getting at 90% off, though, like wrapping paper.