Are you like me and have expensive taste but don’t have the budget for it? This is the story of my life. Like many of you I don’t have a lot of extra money to spend on bras. It’s funny because for a living I write and educate women on how to go bra shopping and take care of their bosoms, but can’t really afford the bras I highly recommend to my clients. Isn’t that ironic? Just because you can’t spend $100 on a bra like me doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice fit or quality. In this post I’m going to share with you some easy and effortless ways how you can buy quality bras for cheap! What if I could tell you that I could save you anywhere from 40% to 80% off on high quality bras that retail anywhere from $40 to $100? I think your boobs and your wallet will be singing hallelujah! Also, I’m going to tell you the best time of the year to buy your bras to maximize savings. You’re welcome.
The first step to saving money is staying connected with lingerie merchandisers. To do this I highly recommend you sign up to get a stores newsletter and emails so you can be notified when sales and clearances are happening. By being in the know you’ll start to see trends in sales and you’ll be able to tell if a sale is a really good one or not. One perk of joining a rewards program or opening up a debit/credit card with a lingerie store or merchandiser is that you get exclusive access to sales, promotions, and sometimes you can get points for every dollar you spend. This is something to consider and can help you get money back to go towards future bra purchases.
The second step is to always shop the sales and clearance racks. Easy peasy.
Nordstrom Rack
Hands down my most favorite place to get my bras is Nordstrom Rack. If you have one close to you, you’re blessed, if you don’t, don’t worry, you can shop on their online store! The reason why I love NR is because all of their bras are quality and they have a good wide range of sizes which is very important.
The key to scoring big savings at Nordstrom Rack is you have to know what size you are. If you don’t and go in there, it can cause nausea, a headache, and make you want to punch a wall. They don’t have certified bra fit specialists there so being able to find someone who knows how to fit you properly is not likely, unless I’m there in the same NR as you are. If you don’t know what size you are, go here to read my sizing guide where I walk you through step by step on how to find your size.
There’s always two different types of racks in the lingerie section of NR. There’s the “kind of reduced” priced bras and there’s the CLEARANCE section. I never look at the “kind of reduced” priced bras. Yes, they’re reduced, but where you’ll find the really good deals is on the CLEARANCE rack.
Here’s the million dollar secret. The great thing about NR is that they have this thing called Search and Send. Let’s pretend you can’t find your size in a particular bra, or in specific color, or say you found the bra and size you need, but they don’t have another one in the store. A sales associate can use their handy dandy iphone to search all of the NR stores in the country to see where that item is located. The awesome thing is that 95% of the time they can find that bra at another store. What they’ll do is they send a request to that other store and that store will send the item to you! Shipping costs $7 and even with the additional $7 shipping charge you’re still getting an amazing deal. Isn’t this a God send?
I’ve helped many clients and myself to get bras for way cheap this way. One thing to note is when you see bras that are marked really cheap like around the $10-20 range, it’s most likely because the color or style is being discontinued. So you might not be able to find that exact bra in another store, but you’ll have more luck finding it online like Amazon.com. So if you find a bra you really like on clearance at NR, I highly recommend you do a Search and Send and buy more.
How the Search and Send works is find a sale associate, they often wear green t-shirts, they’re pretty easy to find. Hand them the item you want them to search, they’ll scan it in their iphone, and they’ll ask you what color, if you’re not sure what color the bra is, look at the tag, it will say there. Once they locate the bra at another store they’ll send a request out to that store. They’ll get your mailing information and you’ll pay for it right there, and then they’ll print you off a receipt. The charge doesn’t show up on your card until the search has been fulfilled. You’ll get an email letting you know that your bra was fulfilled and it will give you the date of when to expect your item.
I recently did a Search and Send for this Wacoal Bra that was normally $65 but it was super discounted for $9.97!!!! For some miracle the only one they had left was in my 30D size (it was meant to be), but because they were so cheap, I wanted to order another one. The sales associate did a search on her iphone and found only two left in the entire company. She sent the request and a day later I got an email notification that my request for this bra had been fulfilled and I should expect my bra in 5-6 business days! Yahoo.
I’ve noticed a week ago when I went into my local NR that all of the bras that were part of the Anniversary Sale in July and August were all there on the clearance rack. If you time it right, go to NR in the beginning of October, you’ll find all of those bras you wanted to get during the Anniversary Sale even cheaper!
One thing to note about NR’s clearance rack is that it’s harder to find basic colors like nude and black. You’re more likely to find colored and fun printed bras on the clearance rack. So if you’re looking for a nude or black colored bra, get there in the beginning of October so you have first pick of the Anniversary Sale stock.
Nordstrom
Just because Nordstrom is known for being pricey doesn’t mean they don’t have good sales. The Anniversary Sale is a great route to go to stock up on bras that are new for the fall and winter season. They also carry a lot of basic colors during the Anniversary Sale like nude and black. They’re normally around 40% off. Not too bad at all. The Anniversary Sale only happens once a year in July and goes until August. The prices on those bras go up in August.
If you missed the Anniversary Sale, that’s ok, not all is lost. The Half Yearly Sale which happens twice a year, every six months is also another great time to snag on savings. I find that the price of bras during the Anniversary Sale go back to that same price during the Half Yearly Sale. So you have two times to cash in on these savings. Here’s the Half Yearly Sale breakdown.
-Half Yearly Sale for Women and Kids (May)
-Half Yearly Sale for Women and Kids (November)
Dillards
Dillards can’t be left out. They have more yearly sales then Nordstrom does. I called up my local Dillards and talked to the friendly Lingerie Department manager and she told me when the best sales are. She said the best sale of the year is January 1st where all of their bras are 65% and then you take an additional 30% off. So she said this is the time to stock up. Dillard’s also has sales almost every third week of the month for a couple of days where they have a selection of bras that are 40% off. Not too bad.
Macy’s
I wasn’t sure about when Macy’s sales happen so I called up my local Macy’s and had the hardest time getting any information about their sales. The lingerie associate was very rude and not helpful in anyway. I did later find out that their One Day Sale is the best times to buy bras because they’re stock is anywhere 50-80% off regular prices, and with purchase you get an extra 15% off.
Macys One Day Sales are usually the third weekend of the month. Stores are typically open from 9am – 11pm, with special doorbuster deals from 9a-1pm on Friday AND Saturday.
Amazon
I really like buying bras from Amazon.com. I’ve purchased my nursing bras and have my online bra clients buy from here too. Most of the time I can find discounted bras that I can’t find in brick and mortar stores and bras that are cheaper than in stores. Also, they have a wide variety of sizes, brands, and colors. I try to find bras that have Prime shipping because it’s free. If you buy from an third party, make sure you double check the return policy. Sometimes buying multiple bras from different vendors on Amazon can be pricey, especially if you’re paying shipping for each of those items.
EBAY
Some people might cringe at the thought of buying a bra off EBAY but I can reassure you I’ve done it and have had good experiences. I wouldn’t recommend you buying an used bra, but most of the bras for sale on EBAY are new and being sold from independent sellers and sometimes you can score big savings here. You have to be patient and this takes more time. But the odds of you saving a lot is pretty good. If you do go this route make sure you read the description, if you’re not sure about whether or not the bra has been worn, email the seller. Make sure to check out the return policy because you wouldn’t want to be stuck with a bra you hate.
I hope this helps you to save lot’s of money on your next bra purchase(s). Nothing feels better than scoring an quality bra for cheaper then the price of cheap date. I’d love to hear where are some of your favorite online and brick and mortar stores to get great deals on bras? If you have questions please leave a comment below.
To learn more about how to schedule an in person and online bra consultations, go here.
If you like these posts, you’ll heart these:
Why You Shouldn’t Buy Victoria’s Secret Bras
How to Transition into Different Bra Sizes While Losing Weight
Why You Should Never Buy a White Bra Again
The post How to Buy Quality Bras for Cheap appeared first on Fry Sauce and Grits.