If any of you readers out there are like me, you will know and understand what its like to be a serial shopping addict. I have literally had to stop myself from entering stores like TOPSHOP and SELFRIDGES and looking on websites like ASOS and ALL SAINTS in fear that I am going to be at the end of my overdraft in a split second. However, I would be a liar if I told you that I had quit shopping altogether. That final purchase is like my fix... something which I need to continue to look stylish and on trend because as you will all know, the world of fashion is one massive BITCH. Here are some of MY super style saving tips that you could use either now or in the future to get what you want for as little as possible!
- eBay... I know this seems like the obvious, but me and my Mum have come to the conclusion that if you use eBay like a pro, you can get some pretty sweet bargains for literally pennies. The whole idea is to maybe type a brand into the search engine, for example TOPSHOP, or search for a particular item for example Levi's denim hot pants, then change the listings to time ending the soonest, these are usually on a £0.99 bid, and if you literally scroll through and see something you like, you can bid on it at the 9th hour and you can usually get something for under a tenner. Don't be disheartened if you lose the auction, you win some you lose some is mine and my Mum's motto. You have got to be fast but practise makes perfect! Some great items I have won are a Kate Moss for TOPSHOP crochet gillet and a Kate Moss for TOPSHOP black dress with feather sleeves which both had sold out originally! (These are shown in previous 'Purchases' posts on my blog - take a look!)
This screen print was taken on Thursday 26th July at 14:48GMT - at £12 brand new with tags with an RRP of £50 this is an actual bargain! The dress is gorgeous and summery and completely on trend with the minimal, intricate lace detail.
And the winning bid is £12!
- Student discount... This is one of the best ways to save money when doing a spot of retail therapy. Ask EVERYWHERE you go... you don't ask, you don't get. As well as your usual 10% off, you need to be on the look out for student lock in's or student evenings. The most recent one I attended was a student night at the Bullring Shopping Centre in Birmingham. Stores including River Island, Topshop and H&M were all offering a 20% discount, with Forever 21 offering a gimmicky 21%, which doesn't seem like a lot, but I actually managed to get my hands on a white blazer that I had been after for AGES from TOPSHOP with £11 off the marked price. I don't care who you are, everyone loves a bargain, and that extra £11 I saved went towards a night out at the weekend so I could actually wear my blazer!
- Email newsletters... Sign up to your favourite brands in order to be the first to find out when the sales start and what offers they have on. If your a big fan of ALL SAINTS, like myself then this is a good one for you. ALL SAINTS are constantly offering flash sales with big discounts for a short period of time. Their most recent one being 20% off all sale items... so basically 70% off which is a super duper saving! Also, if you get yourself an ALL SAINTS Mastercard, you get an extra 10% off all sale which means in effect 80% off... WOW! Another great site that offers these kind of discounts is ASOS, where their flash sales maybe on a particular item and will run for a couple of hours. These marketing strategies are good for businesses like these in the recession because it means lots of sales for them maybe when things are a bit slow... but they're even better for us because it allows use to look good for less!
- Facebook... More recently, I have been using social networking site Facebook as a tool to sell my unwanted clothes to my friends in order to not only make money to buy new clothes but to also de-clutter my life! What's great about using Facebook, is that you don't incur seller fees like you do on eBay and also you can select who you advertise your items to, I decided to create a closed group and invite I was able to actually make £570 selling my clothes on Facebook! All this extra cash I made went straight to purchasing new pieces to update my wardrobe for the coming season... try it!
- Join ASOS Premier... ASOS Premier is a service that is provided by ASOS for a fee of £12.95 a year and gives you unlimited next day deliveries for an entire year from purchase. Next day deliver is nearly £6.00 so use it twice and you've had your money's worth. What ASOS don't tell you is that you get sneak previews of sale and also flash sales that are exclusive to just ASOS Premier customers. Their most recent flash sale was 60% off to ASOS Premier customers for 24 hours before it became available to the public, meaning your first to snap up all the bargains!
- Fashion Vouchers... Another great website for making super savings on summer style is Fashion Vouchers. They have all the most current and up to date vouchers that are available for online retailers and again, allow you to make big savings on your shopping that maybe able to go towards a night out. Whats great about the site is that they have their 'top 10' vouchers at that particular time and also you can search by brand to see if the brand your about to shop has any deals.
I hope you all enjoyed reading my post and make some super savings in the near future. These tips and tricks actually work as I use them myself and can vouch that they are amazing for getting yourself a bargain and pocketing those extra pennies!
Sophie xo
