Five Tips to Save at J.Crew :: Tip #1 & hints
Here’s my last tip, and the one that will save you the most, in the “How to save at J.Crew” series, and a round up of helpful hints!
- Wait for a sale. Good things always come to those who wait! Patience is the number one way I save money at J.Crew. Whether it’s waiting for a promo price, free shipping, until I can go to a store, or waiting for final sale, just a few days difference can mean spending less!
That’s it! They’re all surprisingly simple, but take this example for how I used the tips for the Striped Chambray Popover (style 02267):
- It was a new item released in June 2013 with the price of $88. On August 1, it went on sale from $88 to $49.99 online. Employing tip #1 and waiting only a month, you could save $38.01. A month!
- In the store, it was marked down to $39.99 at the same time. This is when you could employ tip #3 and go get it and save and additional $10, bringing your total saved to $48.01.
- If you waited a few more days until August 9, a promo code was announced online for 20% off your purchase, bringing the top down to $40.01, very close to the in store price.
- Within ten days time (August 19), a new promotion was announced, 30% off sale items. The popover was marked down in connection with this promo to $34.99. Adding 30% off the new marked down price made this top a steal at $24.52.
- This was one of those rarities that hung around until the holy grail of promo codes was announced, the additional 40% and free shipping on October 7. During the month of September, the top was marked down to $29.99 online and in stores. Talk about rewarding patience. Those that snagged this top at 40% off $29.99 paid only $18.03 for this amazing quality chambray top. The final amount saved on this top was $69.97, and the J.Crew lover lived happily ever after.
Now tell me $70 isn’t worth waiting for?
There are some items that you just can’t wait on though. This isn’t because of impatience, but because there are thousands of other women vying for that same item the moment it’s released. A handful of items sell out before they can even go on sale. I’ve seen things sell out before even receiving the catalog! They’re just that unique and coveted. Case in point from September, the Horsing around sweatshirt. It was backordered and completely sold out in a matter of days in the navy and it only took a few weeks for the gray. If it’s an item that you can’t live without, hopefully you will have saved enough employing the tips above on other items that you can snatch up that new arrival before it’s gone.
Here are a few other tips to keep in mind when shopping at J. Crew to save even more:
- They offer a 15% off discount to Teachers and Students. They can add this additional 15% off to in store promotions that only apply to sale or pants, but when it’s the whole store, they can’t combine the discounts. (Using my student discount on the striped chambray above made my final price $15.33.)
- Call the store to see what the current promotion is. If the promotion online is online only, call to see what the in store one is. If a new promotion online is announced that follows a 30% off final sale, sometimes that sale will keep going in the store. In some instances when it hangs around it becomes 40% off in store.
- Things do come back in stock. For various reasons, an item can come back. No. 2 pencil skirts are notorious for this in my experience. I watched my size go out of stock four times in the indigo this past summer. These are called “popbacks.” J. Crew refreshes the website usually between 3 and 4 AM.
- Keep an eye on the promotion “details.” Notice that after the promo wording at the top of the page, there will be a little “*deatils.” Click on it. Not only are all of the restrictions listed, the end date of that particular promotion is listed. If the current one doesn’t suit your fancy, click there and mark your calendar for when the new one starts. Getting in early on the first day of a percentage off sale makes a huge difference than just randomly finding out. Most items and popular sizes sell out fast.
Use all of these tips together to save the most while you’re shopping! Have you had any success with these tips? Have any others? Please share!
**Links to previous tips for more details: Tip No. 5 ~ Tip No. 4 ~ Tip No. 3 ~ Tip No. 2
Love this and all your tips! Thanks for saving me money.;) also, I was able to get the stripe chambray on eBay NWT for $17 after it sold out in my size. If ONLY I could be so lucky with the horsing around sweater.
You didn't tell me that! Amazing deals to be had on eBay! The sweater will start turning up in Spring on eBay I bet. Or next fall.
AND now, I just got another Chambray stripe popover today as a gift from my MIL!