Do you pay full price for clothing?

[maggiethemagpie]

It occured to me that I very very rarely pay full price for clothes/shoes these days. Most of the major retailers seem to be forever having 20% off weekends... that makes me think the 'full' price is just the price they think they can get for the item plus 20%.

Then there are sales every five minutes... in the old days there was a sale in January and one in summer, now there are mid season sales, end of season sales, spring spectacular, autumn spectacular... I don't think more than 6 weeks goes by without a sale.

And lots of places eg white stuff, boden, do the 20% off vouchers

Just wondering if anyone actually pays the full price any more? Or is the full price just there to lull us into a sense of being savvy when we get the chance to pay 20% off?

It's all a big con really isn't it!

I guess so, but I do find that best things sell out so if I really want something I pay the full price for it.

Most of my clothes through is purchased through sales or Ebay.

Very rarely. I shop around for vouchers and wait for sales. I will probably pay full price on the occasional item if it is a shop that doesn't do sales, but even Harvey Nichols and Selfridges have a shopping event with 20-25% off so high end items can be purchased at a discount...I am planning to buy a handbag this year!

I'm not sure it is necessarily a con though, I think it is has been part of the plans to stimulate the market since the first 2008-9 recession.

Ah also, I think about whether something is worth the money asked for it, sometimes even in the sale it's not value for money. So £135 for a pair of trousers from Toast that I know that I will wear a lot is still not expensive compared to a pair of £40 trousers from say Zara in the sale that are one-season fashion and made of polyester.

Considering the amounts of codes, special offers, mid season sales it's actually becoming quite rare. Knowing the Black Friday/Cyber Monday thing is coming up in November holds me back from buying more expensive items at full price right now. I also think for a lot of retailers the normal price is deliberately marked up so they can mark it down to appear a bargain.

I don't shop at the high street level much anymore but that's the only place I really consider it as the prices are lower, the discount is too. Their stock turnover is also high, so it isn't a possibility to wait out the sale with those mostly. In general I do tend to have a range of prices I'll pay for things in relation to quality as I've oft been a victim of the 'but it's on sale' mantra in the past, so I just regard the price as it is and that works better than thinking in supposed savings.

I only pay full price if it's something I need and my ability to wait has ended. An example of this is my winter boots (the water proof, good grip but nice enough to wear to work kind) died last year. I watched the sales all year but nothing came up so I finally paid full price, but I still shopped the internet until I found the cheapest offer of the boot I'd chosen. Otherwise I shop sales. I learned a good lesson this year though (from an S&B no spend 2016 thread). I don't want to fritter away money on things I don't need and sales can tempt me to make purchases I wouldn't have made otherwise. So I only shop when there's something specific I'm looking for. I then run through a series of questions to make sure it's not a splurge item, and I'm very good about returning things that don't instantly fit the bill.

Unfortunately it's a bit of a cycle. Retailers started doing more sales during/after the recession, which conditioned shoppers that they won't have to wait long for a sale or promotion. Retailers have weekly targets to meet so if everyone is waiting for a promo they do one in order to actually make some cash. Shoppers see regular promotions and so keep waiting - and so on.

We're seeing a move towards not doing this.

www.retail-week.com/sectors/fashion/fat-face-makes-price-promise-and-vows-no-discounts-before-christmas/7012496.article

Homebase have also said they're not going to do sales any more in order to spread out their yearly revenue instead of taking most of it in January.

As for me - I normally buy in sales but if it's a store that I know won't reduce (e.g. All Saints on their permanent line jackets or Topshop on some of their jeans) I'll buy.

If I see something I really like and can't wait for the sale, I may buy it and then hope there will be a sale or discount within 28 days, in which case I don't see a problem with taking the new item back on the old receipt to get the 20% back. Hassle, but worth it to get a bargain!

It depends. Usually I've found if I've waited they end up in the sale anyway!

Sometimes. But I'm also the queen of the h&m and primark sale rail. If it's a gem I buy it and stash it, I've been the same size for 20 yrs so it'll get worn eventually.

I love a bargain - and use sales, eBay, etc - but if I see something I really like I will pay full price.

If it's something cheap to begin with, then yes I pay full price, otherwise I tend to buy from TKMaxx and Ebay. I don't buy in actual sales ( or rarely) as there's usually only rubbish left by the time I get there. But I do use Sainsbos 25% off weeks.

Within reason yes. It is true, for me anyhow, if i l9ve it it will sell quickest. Also size ten always sells out first and same with shoes size 38 goes first. Also, you want it when it's fashionable and warm enough or cool enough.

I never buy in sales - I hate the chaos, but I do often take advantage of promo codes and there are certain shops I will never pay full price for - Gap, Boden etc as they constantly discount.

I do buy in sales but my regrets are more likely to be sale purchases.

I don't spend much time shopping as it's a pain these days rather than a leisure activity. So yes that usually means full price because I buy what I can find on the one day I've put aside for it. I rationalise that I've had a good few weeks of wear out of the boots/coat by the time the sales come around so price per wear it evens out.

Rarely buy full price - like a pp the exception being jeans which are a constantly stocked item and rarely discounted. Just started wearing 2 dresses from Monsoon end of season sale in the Spring both half price, bought a coat and long cardi a few weeks ago from Debenhams when they had on their 20-30% off offer. Even from my local independent shop I only buy from the sale rail. That being said I hate the experience of the sales!!

Very, very rarely pay full price. Even less often since becoming a student again. I think I'm a fairly focused shopper anyway and don't make many impulse purchases (although DH may disagree...).

I always look for a code before I buy, but many shops restock quickly, so if you wait too long, the item could sell out. In saying that, I'm quite a careful shopper and know what suits me, so I don't often make mistake purchases.

I pay full price most of the time, I never seem to like what's on sale :(

Very rarely. I wait for discount codes - the only company I buy from frequently who doesn't do codes is Jigsaw, who instead do very good sales.

I have my eye on a coat from Reiss but I won't bother as I don't need it straightaway so I'm fairly sure it will go on sale around Cyber Monday.

Not very often, usually manage to get a discount code and never order online anything that I can't get free delivery and returns on.

On the other hand I rarely buy much in the sales as my view is if I didn't want it / love it / need it enough to pay full price ( with discount of course) then I shouldn't be buying it. A lesson learnt after sale misbuys in the past.

Depends on what it is and where from. Never in Dorothy perkins as they reduce every other week. This week it's 25%off everything. Always some form of promo on.
If I ignore asos for a while they send offer codes.
Toys will always get discounted at some point, like smyths 20% off or argos 3for2.