Shopping Secrets Revealed....
By now we've all shopped at Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Filene's Basement and even Ross Dress for less.... What do these four have in common??? Designer apparel, accessories and lifestyle items for a fraction of the price. Here's a few tips to assist you on your next shopping adventure....- If high-end names suit your fancy, then Filene's Basement is a must shop.
The real trick is always knowing when to shop. Filene's gets new merchandise every Tuesday and Friday. So head there by mid-afternoon or early the next morning to get first dibs on the best merchandise.
- At TJ Maxx and Marshalls you can expect to find everything from designer clothes to furniture. Marshall's is known to restock each night and a weekly excursion is a must for bargain savvy fashionistas.
1. Don't be surprised if you find the same merchandise at T.J. Maxx and Macy's on the same day but with a significant price difference. That's because T.J. Maxx is an off-price buyer, which means they benefit from ordering mistakes made by mainstream retailers and over-production of items by the clothing makers.
Off-price companies buy that excess merchandise. So if a vendor has enough fabric to produce 600,000 blouses but a department store only ordered 500,000, off-price buyers will purchase the extra 100,000 blouses. It doesn't necessarily mean that T.J. Maxx's inventory is from last season. They promise that at least 85 percent of it is in season.
2. T.J. Maxx, whose parent company also owns Marshalls and Home Goods, is the largest off-price retailer in North America and competes closely with Ross and Big Lots.
3. T.J. Maxx buyers only look for merchandise that can sell for up to 60 percent less than what the department stores sell it for.
4. The only sales you'll see at T.J. Maxx are at the end of the season when all the merchandise that hasn't sold goes on clearance. Anything that isn't sold at clearance is donated to charities.
5. Buyers for T.J. Maxx negotiate with more than 10,000 vendors in more than 60 countries for merchandise.
6. Despite popular perception, less than 5 percent of T.J. Maxx's inventory is imperfect.
7. T.J. Maxx gets three to four shipments of 10,000 new items each week.
8. T.J. Maxx has a high-end boutique called Runway at Maxx within some of its stores to sell clothes from American and European designers. New shipments come in from abroad weekly.
9. T.J. Maxx sells 14-carat gold, sterling silver and semi-precious stones.
10. You can sign up for "What's In" alerts, which are heads-up from other shoppers when they spot certain designers like Dooney & Bourke and Roberta Gandolfi at the local T.J. Maxx.
We all know how daunting at some of these retailers can be, so take a look at what comedian Sebastian Maniscalco had to say about his love-hate affair with Ross. Click, Here.
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