Seasonal Bargains

I’m wishing I bought the greatly reduced patio furniture back in October. It’s full price now. What should you buy in late March & April?

·         Television and other electronics made in Japan because the Japanese fiscal years ends in March. They are now last year’s models.

·         Houses. Yeah, houses. Those who plan to sell are putting their houses on the market. A crowded market makes for a motivated seller. It’s easy to point out that the house down the street is going for $30,000 less.

·         Cookware and kitchen essentials are on sale, probably because all the big cooking holidays and it is time to fire up the grill. (Grills are not on sale.)

·         Digital cameras, which would be perfect for your vacation. Digital cameras aren’t the must have item they used to be with smart phones, but still better as far as photo quality and getting your photo off the camera.

·         Thrift Items because people are spring-cleaning. Check weekly. Monday is the best day since people tend to drop off items on the weekend.

·         Home Improvement Items. There are sales on everything from blinds to paint.

·         Sneakers. There are several winter shoe clearances going on right now. Get boots for ridiculously low prices now.

·         Vacations. Not the spring break kind, but those after all the college kids leave, especially cruises.

·         Seasonal clothes- most stores already have summer clothes in stock, which means major clearance on winter and even spring clothes. I noticed J.C. Penney’s is already on their 80% off on clothing.

Zulily Review

If you spent any time on social media, then you’ve seen Zulily ads. What is it? I thought at first, it was only a larger woman clothes site. It isn’t. Sure, they do have a large variety of women’s clothes, along with children’s, shoes and household items.

The items that interested me the most are the clearance or LAST DAY items. These items go fast. I ordered a pair of pants, a maxi skirt, a tank top, and a sundress all for $68. Shipping was free.

When the items arrived, I noticed they ran a bit small. I currently wear a 10/12. I ordered size large, which they specified would fit a 12-14.  The lightweight sundress and pants would require constant ironing. Thankfully, the skirt and tank would not.

The quality was cheap not anything I would expect to last more than a season. It was similar quality to the current summer fashions available in Macy’s, Dillards and Kohls at less than half the price.

The pants didn't fit. A shame since they were cute. I called to find out how I could exchange them. No exchanges are available on last day/clearance items because there aren’t any more left. The helpful customer service rep advised me to give them to someone they would fit and credited my account.

I went back to last day clearance and ordered another sundress since I knew how they ran. I’d give Zulily two thumbs up. You can also earn $20 in merchandise credit by telling your friends. Haven't tried it yet, so I can't report on the procedure 

The only drawback to the company is shipping is not fast. Expect it to take at least two weeks.

Want to check it out on your own? Here's the link.