Approach sales with caution

One of the best things about sale shopping is unexpected finds - but keep a mental note of what you need. Picture / Glenn Jeffrey

To many, winter has only just begun and it seems somewhat crazy to be rummaging through the racks for a great sale bargain. It's an international trend, which New Zealand is following - in Sydney the winter sales began at the beginning of June. While retailers may not be so happy to part with their wares in the middle of the season, it can only be good news for shoppers - there's nothing better than picking up something you've eyed up for a few weeks at a much lower price. However, shopping during sale time does take skill. Endless numbers of people come home with shoes that don't fit, a top they would never have bought otherwise, or a budget completely blown. Here are seven secrets to doing it right. Use them, but don't forget that shopping is meant to be fun.

Timing

For a full selection make sure you visit your favourite stores as soon as they start their sales, as the most-sought after pieces will have limited sizes and colours left.

If there are only one or two items left of a piece, buy it then and there to avoid missing out. Hold off if there are a few left, remembering that as the sale continues, prices may continue to go down. Don't be fooled into thinking that everything will be out during the first few days of a sale - keep going back and checking for new stock. Often the best finds are bought last. Shop around

Even though time is of the essence, don't forget to look around. Stores that stock the same products are likely to offer them at different prices - there's nothing worse than buying something at one store only to see it at the next stop for $50 less.

Remember not to buy something just because it is a label you've always wanted to own. For many, the sale season is the one time they can buy a brand they've always wanted but never been able to afford. A small piece of cotton sewn into the back of a garment is not a reason to buy it - buy it because you love it, not because of the status you think it will give you.

Know your wardrobe

Have a clear idea of what suits you and what you already have in your wardrobe. Make a mental note of this and use it when trying on various pieces.

What you buy needs to work for you and with things you already own. This can easily be forgotten in the rush and adrenalin of a sale. Often you'll see someone else try something on, think it looks fantastic and buy it, only to get it home and realise it doesn't look the same on you. If you are going for a complete overhaul, financially speaking sales are a good time to begin. But sales assistants won't have the time to help you as they might at other times.

Invest in classics

Pieces that sit high in the fashion stakes will always seem the most enticing when they're on sale, but remember these have the shortest life span. Next season they will probably sit in the back of your closet.

However, don't completely write off buying current trends - now that sales begin mid-season, you will have more of an opportunity to wear them, but don't use all of your savings on clothes that will take you through only the next couple of months. Think ahead, not only to summer, but to the following winter.

While you may not be able to predict what will be filling the pages of next winter's fashion magazines, invest in key pieces that will never date. If well-chosen, a good coat, cashmere jersey or pair of boots will hold a place in your wardrobe for years. Look out for one-off samples and odds and ends that can transform old outfits.

Make friends with assistants

An ongoing friendship with salespeople can reap many rewards. A great assistant can be a shopper's best friend. More often than not knowing your wardrobe better than you do, they will easily pick out pieces that will work for you and tell you honestly that the $600 dress you are about to buy doesn't actually look that good.

If you have built up a good relationship with a store, come sale time you will be the first to know when the sale begins (try and get on to a mailing or phone list), and will probably be given the option of holding discounted items overnight.

Set a budget

Yawn. Undoubtedly the most boring piece of advice - if there are two things that don't seem to go together it's shopping and budgets. But let's be honest, if there is a time where it's easy to blow your budget, it's during sales. With almost every one of our favourite haunts on sale, it's hard to resist buying something from everywhere.

While there are serious savings to be found (who could beat a pair of Seven jeans from Fabric reduced from $350 to $195?), there are certain sale traps that are all too easy to fall into. I recently did just that - lured in by a "20 per cent off" sign I ended up spending $150 on lingerie. Would I have bought it if it wasn't discounted? No. Was it in my budget? No. Did I need it? Definitely not. Therein lies the trap - we buy simply because something is on sale, not because we need it.

We think we've saved money, but we spend it only because there is a discount, so are in reality not saving money. It's funny how the mind works - suddenly something we hadn't even looked at or thought about buying becomes appealing because it has $20 off. Admittedly budgeting takes some of the fun out of shopping - we all need a blowout sometimes - but before you buy something stop and ask yourself if you really need it.

Be sure you like what you buy

If there's one time of the year when stores enforce a "no-returns" policy, it is during the sale season.

While it might seem like it's no problem to return the top you didn't even try on because of the queues, if there is a sign stating there are no returns, the store you bought it from doesn't have to exchange it.

The irony is that this is the time when we are most likely to buy things we regret, because most of it is done on impulse - stores won't hold sale goods, queues of impatient shoppers waiting for your changing room, and if you put something down for a second someone else is likely to snap it up. It's a time when you need to shop decisively, but also not take it too seriously.

It would be almost absurd to suggest going sale shopping with an exact idea of what you're going to buy in your mind - one of the best things about this type of shopping is coming across unexpected finds - but keep a mental note of what you need.

Try things on unless you have bought them before and know they fit. And if you struggle with decision-making take someone along with you.