How to find the best post-holiday bargains

Many retailers offer great sales before the holiday season in attempts to entice you to come into their doors, especially with the Thanksgiving creep. Did you know that often the best bargains are found just after the holiday season? Post-Christmas shopping has quickly evolved into one of the most popular shopping days of the year. The day after Christmas has long been known as "Boxing Day" in many countries. In the United States, there is not a specific name, but it also is a busy retail day.

Image credit: Leigh Goessl

Stores are looking to move old merchandise at the end of the year to make room for the new goods to sell. Retailers realize they aren't going to get full price for seasonal products which have already lost, or will soon lose, value or usefulness to consumers. As a result, they slash prices in hopes of moving these products off the shelves. For consumers, this is a great time to find bargains after the holidays.

In order to find the best bargains, the trick is to figure how to find the best buys without breaking your bank. If you buy something simply because it is on sale and it ends up sitting at the bottom of a closet, you haven't found a good bargain. The key to savings is to find those items which you really covet or need.

Here are a few strategies to find the best post-holiday bargains:

Check the clearance racks

Many stores offer saved dollars and slashed percentages on the clearance racks, but post-holiday they are often really looking to quickly move this merchandise. If it didn't sell in the months prior to the holiday season at lower prices it certainly isn't going to sell at those prices now, so retailers tend to reduce these wares even more. These racks or shelves are great areas to find fantastic merchandise at bargain prices. Not everything is good quality so be sure to examine each item before buying it.

In the clearance areas of stores during the post-holiday period, it is probable you'll find sales upwards of 60 percent, 70 percent or more off the original purchase price. Combine this with a store coupon or other promotional incentive and the potential for savings is even better.

Shop the early bird sales

Many people are off work the day after Christmas and tend to hit the stores. Retailers have correctly been able to assess the fact that shoppers love a good bargain and are willing to wake up pretty early in the morning in order to get it. Several retailers are following the strategy of Black Friday and offer tremendous sales the day after Christmas in hopes of attracting consumers, even opening in the wee hours of the morning and offering great incentives to buy. If you get up early the morning after Christmas you're bound to find great sales.

Don't worry if you can't make it out to the stores this day though, you can still find great deals in the following days as well. In response to the popularity of Black Friday many merchants have raised the bar on post-holiday shopping to offer even more incentives to get shoppers into their stores, so the sales party doesn't end the day after Christmas. The post-holiday sales are starting earlier and earlier every year and the sales may be stretched out a little longer according to news dating back to 2008 during the recession. Since then retailers have continued this trend.

Use coupons

Coupons are a great way to save a few bucks. If you are on a store's mailing list chances are you'll receive a ton of coupons in your regular mail or email box. The coupon sale dates typically begin in the several days after Christmas and last through New Years. If you don't mind a ton of email, sign up for these lists, most retailers are pushing heavily into email marketing as it is a proven method of conversions. Using a throwaway email address is a great way to get the sales without the annoyance.

Store websites also often offer extra savings if you check online also. It is always a good idea to check a particular store's website if you think they are offering items you're hoping to catch on sale because you might find other great ways to save.

Keep in mind if you are using a coupon you received just for the principle of using it up, you won't save much. Save those percentage-off coupons for items you really want or truly need.

Comparison shop online

Online shopping has quickly risen to epic proportions in terms of finding a good bargain. When you shop online you have the fantastic advantage of comparison shopping across several stores and finding the best deals for the products you want. Retailers save a lot of overhead by offering an online storefront and often you can find deals that are only available online as web specials. Before you hit the stores, try looking for your items online. No parking lot traffic, no lines, no pushing and no digging through mountains of clearance and sales items. The best part is you can shop at a time that's convenient for you.

Be flexible

The one drawback of post-holiday bargain sales is that you can't always afford to be picky because you might not find the exact color, size or item you want. However, if you are a little flexible on the items you're hoping to find you have a better chance of finding the better bargains because there are always the more popular colors or sizes which will go off the shelves first.

In the post-holiday weeks, retailers these days tend to offer more sales than ever. Some of these sales even cause retailers to take a loss, but they do it in the hopes of getting people to set their foot in the stores. Most retailers have other displays up to help you "get in the spending mood" and buy other products in addition to the great sale that brought you to their store in the first place.

The main thing is to avoid impulse buying for the merchandise you really don't want or need. If you steer too far off your sale items, you won't be saving at all and potentially create more debt you don't need.