August is a great month for deals, and not just because it includes a weekend of tax-free shopping.
On Aug. 9 - 10 you can avoid sales tax on a range of items — visit the Georgia Department of Revenue website for a complete list of exemptions and price restrictions — but you can also score other deals all month long.
“[Shopping] starts to pick up in August. There are quite a few good deals,” says Mark Di Vincenzo, author of “Buy Shoes on Wednesday and Tweet at 4:00: More of the Best Times to Buy This, Do That and Go There,” (William Morrow, $14).
Some deals make more sense than others when viewed through the law of supply and demand, he says.
While there is a great demand for backpacks this time of year, the average price has gone down instead of up.
“Backpacks have been getting discounted over the last few years. Retailers have been using backpacks to lure shoppers into their stores,” Di Vincenzo says. Some retailers offer backpacks with discounts of 40 to 60 percent off, as well as other incentives.
Laptops follow a similar trend, he says. Laptops are a back-to-school essential for college-bound students and some high school students. You can find this must-have for 10 to 20 percent off this month along with bundle deals such as free printers or free software. Small electronics such as MP3 players and iPods may also go on sale this month as new models come out in September and October in anticipation of Christmas, Di Vincenzo says.
The more obvious items on sale this month include lawn mowers, swimsuits and other summer accessories. Swimsuits, which are delivered to department stores in January, start getting discounted in July. By August price cuts can can reach 50 percent depending on when you shop, Di Vincenzo says. The same goes for flip-flops and some sunglasses.
A few weeks before Labor Day you should see good deals on flowers and plants. “Nurseries don’t want to get stuck with them and they realize after Labor Day there is very little planting going on,”Di Vincenzo says.
And remember, August is a non-gift giving month, a month with no holiday or special occasion. That means it is the last month of the year to get true sales on jewelry, says Di Vincenzo. In come cases you may find discounts of 20 to 30 percent.
Finally, for the investors among us, Di Vincenzo says stocks are another good thing to buy in August. “August is the worst performing month of the year for stocks. If you are serious about buying low and selling high, August is a really good month.”
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