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Frugal Tip: How to Save 90% on Kids Clothes
By
Danelle Ice - Home Ever After |
March 12th, 2009 |
Category:
How to Save on... |
12 comments
How to Save 90% on Kids Clothes
We’ve got a frugal tip today that will cut your budget for kids clothes by 90%. Holy thrifty savings, batman! We take thrift store shopping a step further and show frugal moms how to get the deep discounts that not many other people are finding.
That’s right, if you normally spend $20 on a pair of jeans for your little one at the department store, we’ll cut the price down to $2. Does it sound too good to be true? Keep reading.
I’ll be writing about shopping for my daughter’s school clothes at the thrift store soon. Call me frugal, but even second-hand prices seem high to me, especially for pants your child may be able to wear for only a few months before growing out of them. There had to be a way to get better prices from the thrift store, I thought. That’s when I came up with this tip that changed my kids’ clothing buying for the rest of my life.
Buy Kids Clothes at Thrift Stores Out of Season
The big secret to thrift store shopping is to outsmart their pricing strategy. Even at thrift stores, the pricing is designed to mark prices higher on items that are in demand. A Batman Halloween costume for your little tyke might cost $8 at Goodwill during October, but if you found it there in April? You’d probably pay a dollar for the same costume! 
Knowing the price strategy of thrift stores is key to deciding when to shop for which items. At back to school time, the “school clothes” (long sleeve tops, sweaters) will be at their highest prices of the entire year. Jeans and winter coats will be marked up significantly, because the store knows you need them, and your only alternative is to pay an even higher price at a retail store.
You will have a large selection of clothes to choose from at thrift stores when shopping out of season. Think about it – when do you donate your kids old summer clothes? Most likely in the winter time when decluttering boxes of old summer clothes! People always donate things when they are not likely to be used, and for clothes, this means at the wrong time of year. Since thrift stores know that you are not likely to buy summer shorts in the dead of winter, you can normally pick them up for about 50 cents.
By using this handy tip to shop for a summer wardrobe of shorts, tanks and swimsuits in the middle of winter, you’ll be able to pick up kids clothes for up to 90% off retail prices. Check out our thrift store buying schedule next week, with the optimal times to buy all types of clothes and other items for the best savings. If you like, we’ll send you new articles for free so you don’t miss it.
Check out Frugal Friday for more great tips. Unique thrift store photo by back_garage. Summer kids photo ©IS WorldMedia 2009.
Oh my- what a great idea! I have often shopped at thrift stores and gone home frustrated thinking, “I can get new clothes just as cheap if I watch the sales!” I never realized/thought about thrift stores having sales! I can’t wait to see the next article on this! Just signed up for the feed
Thanks so much! 
And how do you achieve this when the thrift stores don’t actually put out of season clothes out when they are, well, out of season?
We are blessed to have a thrift store here that often has $1 bag sales, all you can stuff into a bag for a buck. That is how I bought the kids school clothes this year. Deals like that really help!
Thanks for sharing your great tips!
We shop at goodwill and thrift stores all the time, but now I need to practice buying even my clothes of season. Thanks for the reminder!
I agree that I find even second hand prices too high at my thrift store. Unfortunately, I’ve never noticed deals on out of season clothes where I live. I’ve found better luck with consignment sales here. However, every Sunday our thrift store reduces certain tagged items by 50%. I don’t do much on Sundays, but I might be able to snag some good deals that way!
We’ve done this. It can be iffy to guess on sizes that far in advance, but when you’re getting things so cheap there’s a little more room for error. We sort the clothes by size and store them in big totes at my in-laws house. Right now we’re set through size 4T for my son (and he’s only wearing 18-24 months right now).
@Kaye: Thrift store sales are fabulous, and I always look in the wrong sections (like the shorts in winter time or flip flops). I never pay much for the kids’ clothes! Thank you for subscribing; glad you got the feed and look for part 2 next Tuesday!
Danelle
@TopazTook: Good question. Find a different store that does put them out! lol Seriously though, most thrift stores don’t have a lot of storeroom area to store items until they are in season. Mostly, they’ll put out the items that come in as donations as soon as they get around to pricing them. You’ll aways be able to find long-sleeved shirts and sweaters in summertime, and the prices will probably be pretty low.
Danelle
@Nessa- That’s great! Our local Value Village does sales like that where the entire store is 50% on a certain day. Thrift store sales are such a blessing! You’re welcome, and thank you for reading!
Danelle
@Blossoming: It’s funny you mention that, because I am doing the same thing. Looking for off-season clothes for myself and my husband helps, even though we rarely buy new clothes. It’s nothing like the kids going through several sizes each year!
Danelle
@Brianna – Our store has the half off sales too- and I buy the lowest priced items and get them for half off. I got my duaghter’s schooljeans for 50 cents a pair- no kidding – because I bought them in summertime. Our consignment stores are pretty high priced, but I’ve seen some great ones in the states (we’re in Alaska). Thanks for leaving a comment!
Barbi
@Tiffany – good point that it is hit and miss with guessing sizes, but if they happen to not fit, I put them in my gift drawer to be given to someone later with a present. I stockpile sizes just like you do!
Barbi