If there’s one thing I have learned about shopping is that stores absolutely hate storing items in the off-season.  Many stores will do practically anything to make sure that they don’t have inventory until the next year.

This means that, if you plan ahead and have a little bit of luck as well, you can score some great deals.

Here are a few things you can score some big markdowns on if you shop at the end of season.

1. Clothes – Not only do retailers not want to take up the storage space necessary to store clothing, they don’t want to get stuck with items that will be out of fashion the next season.  If you’re a non-typical size, you’ll often have really good luck here.
2. Yard care – My father-in-law got bags of Grub-X, which typically go for $30 or so, for $7 at the end of the year.  Why? Because Lowe’s didn’t want to stock them.  Keep an eye out for yard care stuff, especially since most of it will last a long, long time.
3. Cars – When automakers start rolling out the new year model cars, dealers don’t want the last year’s models on their lot for any longer than they have to.  You’ll have to be flexible on things like color and features, but you can often find a pretty good deal if you’re car shopping.
4. Computers – When newer, faster parts become available, the models that featured the older parts still have to be built into machines.  Check the clearance section of most websites for computers that can be 40% or more lower than current prices.  It won’t be as feature packed as the brand-new stuff, but chances are it’ll be a big upgrade from what you currently have.
5. Cell phones – See above.

Surely, there are many other items that can fall on this list.  Next time you’re shopping at a store that has a seasonal rotation, keep an eye on what’s there.  If there’s something that you think you would like to have that you would be willing to take a chance on, add a calendar reminder to check it out at the time when you think they’ll be taking down the stuff from that season.

You could just end up saving yourself some huge bucks.

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