Buying Children's Clothing at Deep Discounts

I'm always on the lookout for super sales and clearances when buying clothing for my son. He's the first little boy in the family, which means unless I want to dress him in pink outfits adorned with butterflies or princess motifs I have limited hand me downs to help round out his wardrobe. Realizing that kids grow so fast, I like to buy good quality clothes at affordable prices whenever possible since they won't be wearing them for very long.

Here are a few of my strategies for buying affordable kids clothing:

Always run through the kids clothing department to check for any clearance merchandise.
This week on a quick grocery shopping trip to Walmart, I stopped by the baby department and stumbled upon a few great clearance items. Mixed in on the shelf with the other feeding items was a Baby Einstein dinnerware set (bowl, sippy cup, fork, spoon) marked down to just $3. I suspect this item will no longer be sold at this Walmart location as the box was super dusty, but it was unopened and not broken making it a great find. I also found a clearance clothing rack where I purchased organic cotton khaki pants for only $1.00!

Keep on Top of Online Deals
There are tons of online deals that you can take advantage of to score great clothing at inexpensive prices. I try to post the best deals that I would be sure to purchase like this deal that was available last winter through Kohl’s.com on affordably priced Carter’s fleece outfits. Sometimes online deals go quickly, but it’s definitely worth following them to score great prices all from the comfort of home.

Shop The Outlets and Use Coupons

I love the JCPenney’s outlet where we recently purchased winter coats for our son for next year. I know it’s strange to purchase winter coats when it’s hot, hot, hot outside. But they were marked down to only $4.99. I applied a 25% off your entire purchase coupon and only paid $3.75 for each coat. I purchased them in a couple of different styles and sizes, since I wasn’t 100% certain what size my son will be wearing next winter. The coats that don’t fit him I will donate. Churches often run winter coat drives and there are several charities that collect winter coats. It’s great to donate, especially at such affordable prices. I paid less for 3 really nice coats (2 will be donated to charity), than it would cost for just one of those coats if I purchased it in season!

I also stopped at the Children’s Place Outlet on the way to visit relatives. They typically have one rack of clothing marked down to $.99 in the back of the store. On this trip, they had nice long sleeve T-Shirts in a huge selection of sizes and styles. I picked out my favorites in a variety of colors and sizes. I came home with a ton of shirts for only $.99 a piece.


A few things to keep in mind if you decide to put these strategies into action:

Make sure you have a little extra space for storing clothing. Typically, to get rock bottom prices you’ll need to plan ahead and figure out what sizes your children will need for the next season and store the clothes until they fit and are in season.

Organize Your Purchases. Organization is the key to making buying clothing ahead inexpensive. If you can’t locate the items you purchased and you need to go out and buy something new in the meantime, you really haven’t saved any money. Especially if you can’t find the item until after your child has already outgrown the size.

Don't Go Overboard and Buy Too Much
Although it's great to save money and buy items you need inexpensively, don't buy too much simply because it's a great deal or super inexpensive.  If you buy more than you need or too much of the same thing it could be more of a burden than it is worth taking up your valuable time to get rid of the excess.  The cost savings really isn't a savings at all if you can't use what you purchased.  Also, it's nice to not completely clean out a store and allow other shoppers to get a great deal too.  Just use your best judgment and learn as you go on what works for you and your family.

Overall, there really isn’t a lot of risk to buying clothing ahead inexpensively. If you accidentally purchase a size that doesn’t work you can always pass it along to another family who could use it, donate it to charity, or even sell it on eBay and likely recoup the money you put into your purchase.
Happy Deal Hunting and Shopping!

This post is linked to Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom.