Secrets of Savvy Shoppers

Recently I posted about saving styles and not surprisingly we have quite a few savvy shoppers here at Savings.com. I put my colleagues to the test to offer up the best deal they ever scored. I got quite a few responses--along with some great shopping tips.

Here's what the Savings.com DealPros™ had to say on the subject:

There's no doubt that Annie is super shopper. The deals she scores on a regular basis would bring your average deal hunter to shame. Two silk dresses AND a silk top at Banana Republic for $50 total! Insane! (Although I can claim a silk Free People camisole that I scored for only $1.99. Yup--less than two bucks!)

Annie also boasts furniture deals (I bought an insanely beautiful antique, mid-century desk for $100 at the Rose Bowl flea market, and they threw in this rad antique lamp for free.), travel deals (The week after I graduated college,  I scored a round trip flight from Miami to Madrid for $300) and even saves big on housing costs thanks to Craigslist.

Iva also scored a great travel deal saving $800 when she got a free Virgin Atlantic ticket to go home to Europe and visit her family.

Craigslist is a favorite deal source for Sara, Catherine--and me! Catherine scored a dining room set for only $80. The kicker: she turned around and sold it later for twice that! You go, Cate! I got a 27" TV to replace my old set when it finally died--for only $40! Sara used a mismarked price on Craigslist to get her beloved Saab for $6k less than its Kelly Blue Book value.

Let that be a lesson for all: Misprints can be a huge opportunity for savings. According to the FTC, it's against the law to charge more than the advertised shelf price. A while ago I purchased a TV switcher at Best Buy and was dismayed to see the item ring up for about double what I thought the price was. The cashier and I returned to where I found the item and saw that was misplaced, hanging under the price of another (lower priced) item. But so was the entire stock of this particular switcher--and so he rang me up for the lower price.

Misprints aren't the only way to score substantial savings. Slightly damaged goods can offer up a sweet score as evidenced by Katie:

"I found this awesome picture at ZGallery once for over $300. I went back the next week and the frame was damaged on the bottom, so I asked the manager for a discount. He sold it to me for $99. I took my prize home, and spent 10 minutes sanding and staining it and saved myself 200 bucks! Sweeeeeeet!"

Lindsay's a fan of Ebay deals and her score--an old-fashioned Polaroid camera in working condition--cost only 20 bucks.

Jacob H. and Abiy recommend "research" to score the best deal. Jacob used this method to build a computer for dirt-cheap and Abiy's research proved that Skype was the way to go for phone service, saving him hundreds of dollars each year.

Adam recommends "networking" to score great deals:

"When you need something, ask your friends where they go to get that sort of thing.  Once I needed cables for a new TV and asked a friend where he went and he told me about a place I had never heard of (Monoprice.com).  The site had such good quality cables for such a good price that I now recommend it to everyone.  It has saved me so much money and I would never have known about it if I didn't ask around.

That's one of the many benefits of a community-driven site like Savings.com. The best deals are voted on and rise to the top!

Tom detailed his biggest score in a blog post. Not surprisingly it involved beer. But he, Guy and and Yasar all advocate for the art of negotiating. Guy haggled the price of a $250 handbag (Christmas present for his wife) down to $75. And Yasar negotiated a $120 bar tab down to $20.

Heather S. used the "stacking" method to achieve her best deal. See if you can follow the math:

I got a $279 Juicy Couture sweater from Bloomingdales for $18.70
Sweater was marked half off = $139.50
Waited until additional 40% off sale merchandise deal = $83.70
-$25 Gift Card (Bloomie Bucks) given to me by client = $58.70
Returned a $40 t-shirt my mother in law gave my husband = $18.70

I realize the Bloomie Bucks I kind of lucked into. But come on! A $279 sweater for $18.70??

Clarice had my favorite score: the $200 she spent on her adorable, new puppy! Check out the pic of Paka and see if you don't agree!

How about you--what's the best deal you ever scored? Let us know in the comments and if you think you have what it takes to best the savvy shoppers at Savings.com, consider joining us as a DealPro™.