We are now in the final days to finish our holiday shopping. Many of us are now trying to find the lowest price on a gift for someone special, or even for ourselves, at a pre holiday clearance sale.
But Kiplinger's Personal Finance says if it's not a gift, and you can wait, you may get a much better price on a number of items right after Christmas, or in mid-January.
When to buy
Cars: The best deals are the year end sales between Christmas and New Year's, though some of the December "events" right now are very competitive. But Kiplinger's says the final week of 2016 will bring you the biggest markdowns, especially as dealerships try to clear out lots and meet sales goals for the year.
Name brand 4KTV's: This is a case where you may want to wait. The best sales are in the two weeks before the Super Bowl, if you missed the Black Friday sales.
Electronics: If you missed Cyber Monday, you will still find some decent sales right now, such as Amazon Kindles and Echoes at Amazon.com's Last Minute Deals.
Coffee Makers, Crock Pots: Department stores likeMacy's andKohl'sare running some great pre-Christmas sales right now on small kitchen electrics, so if you didn't buy them on Black Friday, now is a great time to pick some up (for yourself or someone else)
Furniture and Bedding: January has some of the biggest furniture sales of the year, especially during January White Sales (right after New Year's Day), and over MLK weekend.
Jewelry: Prices are lowest after Valentine's Day, in late February. But you will find a lot of great jewelry clearance in the final days before Christmas.
Luggage: The biggest sales are in March, but check after-Christmas sales for some surprises.
Some pre-Christmas sales are nothing special
But some pre-Christmas sales come with a little secret: The discounts are really not that great, according to The Wall Street Journal, especially on Amazon this time of year.
The Journal says despite the hype, retailers make higher profit margins this time of year than in the spring and summer, which may leave you saying "doesn't that stink."
The Journal also says many of the biggest holiday season markdowns are on items that were never sold at their full price to begin with.
You may remember a recent lawsuit filed by the City of Los Angeles against 4 of the nation's largest department stores, accusing them of phony discounts.
Of course, If you need it by this Sunday, Christmas Day, you need it.
But otherwise, waiting a week (or in some cases until after New Year's) could reap huge benefits, so you don't waste your money.
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“Don't Waste Your Money” is a registered trademark of Scripps Media, Inc. (“Scripps”). The information included in this article was obtained independently by Scripps reporters. While purchases from links inserted in this article may result in a commission for Scripps, no Scripps reporter benefited from that commission.
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