Trying to outfit the children for back to school is seldom a joyful task. It is not like holiday shopping where you get the joy of opening presents and a holiday dinner with friends and family. It is simply an annual expense to be absorbed into the budget along with long explanations of why $100 sneakers do make sense in the eyes of a 12 year old. There are some ways to keep both the stress and then budget in check however while getting the essentials that will leave the children satisfied.
The internet has made shopping for most everything easier in the last decade and school clothes are no exception. A simple trick to use to make the internet even more effective is to change what you are searching for when clothes shopping. Try searching for particular types of stores instead of particular brands or types of clothes. Search terms like “wholesale clothing” or “wholesale and retail clothing store” will yield results. More common terms like “discount clothing” are used by too many stores and will not filter the results effectively.
Just as you can save in some brick and mortar stores with a particular marketing approach of fewer frills and a split between business and personal use customers, you can do the same on the internet. Around many towns you will find Sam’s Club and Costco as examples (though there are many others). Many people also use co-ops for groceries. The marketing is based on larger volume purchases and lower aesthetic appeal to the facility but passing along increased savings.
On the internet there are a large number of wholesale vendors that cater primarily to smaller retail shops and resellers but that are perfectly happy to sell small quantities or even individual items directly to the consumer. They are not paying for the paid placement and advertising on the internet like most big name retailers and those savings are reflected in the pricing. If you do not have a resale certificate you will need to pay the sales tax (though depending on state you may not be taxed on internet purchases anyway).
E-tailers like ebrookes specialize in this type of marketing but 15 minutes on google will find a good number of choices to shop from carrying a large number of brands. For even greater savings, combining orders with family members, friends, or shopping clubs can realize even greater savings with larger quantity purchases. If you are purchasing well-known brands it really does not matter where they are purchased from, you will be able to rely on the brand quality.
For purchases of specific label clothes you will likely need to stick to the traditional stores as exchange policies for fit are generally not as generous but for a good percentage of annual purchases of t-shirts, undergarments, socks, and casual work pants or jeans you can complete your shopping in an hour or two without spending any gas or standing in any lines plus enjoy sizable discounts sometimes approaching wholesale pricing.
Its always important to save money on back to school clothes
I always look for the best deals and prices – no matter what I’m purchasing!
I scan clearance isles always an yard sales,,you can get some new clothes there sometimes really cheap an 2nd hand stores too
Starting in the spring of the year when school is winding down with only a few weeks to go I start thinking of school deals for the following fall. This has saved me a bundle over the years. I follow several bargain bloggers on facebook and I pay attention to their post on my facebook timeline. I like using facebook because you get maximum amount of info in such a short amount of time. I not only scored cheap name brand clothes. I also scored some free. For example Olympia Sports offered one free t-shirt to every customer with no purchase necessary or age limit. The same year I scored uggs for all the kids for $14 a pair. That was awesome. What I liked most was like you said no lines and you save gas from traveling to and from the stores. We don’t have any shopping clubs around here but that would be awesome.
With 2 kids in school and my third starting next year, I have to start really getting prepared to start school shopping on a budget.