All of us luxury addicts out there know that we should wait for a lot of luxury pieces to go on sale. Especially if the item is not a classic piece it will go on sale. But sometimes we cannot wait. We might “need” it for an event, or season, or just because we feel we do. So when that happens what is a fashionista to do? Below are the steps I take whenever I “need” an item I know will go on sale.
1- Check the Other Country’s Websites (especially the European ones)
Check out sites like MyTheresa, Luisaviaroma, FarFetch, Italist, Tessabit, Ssense, Matchesfashion, and Selfridges. Since a lot of these sites are based in Europe they often pass on their cheaper prices to you. A lot of these sites also do not require that you pay taxes and if you spend over a certain amount (aka most luxury goods) the shipping is free.
But of note-depending on where you live you will have to pay taxes ( I can tell you as a CA person I always have to pay tax if the company collect taxes). Plus if the item is over $800 you will likely have to pay import duties. With some of these sites the duties are already included in the good and with others the duties are included at check out much like tax.
2- Check Ebates and TopCashBack
One way to save money, albeit not at the time of purchase, is through cashback sites. My two personal favorites are Ebates (now referred to as Rakuten but still the same service) and TopCashBack. I have been using Ebates since December of 2016 and TopCashBack since April of 2018. The highest cash back I have ever seen was 15% and the lowest at 1%.
Out of the two I prefer TopCashBack because they pay out as soon as the purchase is confirmed and they are paid by the retailer so that means money is always rolling in. Ebates does this slightly differently and pays out for a couple months on a specific date. But ultimately both pay out so I normally go with the site that has the higher percentage.
Plus you can easily do tip 2 in combination with either 1 or 3.
3- “Wait” for a Sak’s or Neiman’s Promotions
Both Sak’s Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus run roughly monthly sales where you either get a discount if you spend so much or you get a gift card when you spend so much.
The discount when you spend so much if obviously going to impact how much you are spending at the time of sale but if often has heavy brand restrictions which can be beyond frustrating. (Think of basically anything you want to buy on sale and its probably excluded- sometimes you get lucky and Saint Laurent, Loewe and/or Chloe will not be excluded.) Also I noticed that the amount off (especially if it has a unique discount code) will vary based on person. So one person could spend $1,000 and get $100 off and another person could spend $1,000 and get $200 off.
My personal favorite is the gift card promotions. The gift card promotion often includes more brands and the gift card is like a normal department store gift card. That means the gift card can be used on any item in store including Gucci and Chanel which are often excluded from every promotion. I have seen gift card amounts range from $20-$500. Make sure if you are trying to use this promotion that you buy the items that qualify for the promotion AND put in the code.
Also with both of these sites make sure you are getting free shipping (especially on Saks). You often have to enter a specific discount code or log into shoprunner if you have that service.
And as always there is the preloved option especially if you are looking at handbags. Even if its not a handbag you can also check Tradesy, Poshmark, Mercari or Depop because you never know what people might be selling!