Sunday, Sep. 06, 2009

Tax free, save more?

It might be worth waiting to buy back-to-school items after tax holiday

Families looking to save on back-to-school items from laptops to high-tops make South Carolina’s annual sales tax-free holiday every August the second-biggest shopping weekend of the year.

It was especially true this year as families struggle through a lingering recession in a state with the nation’s sixth-highest unemployment rate.

Saving state and local sales tax — which ranges from 6 cents to 8 cents for every dollar — helps, but is it really the best time to buy during the back-to-school shopping season?

We priced 20 items — from sneakers to software to sheets — at four Columbia-area stores before, during and after the tax-free holiday.

Many prices were cheapest during the tax holiday, but we found that in some cases, it paid to wait until after the tax-free weekend — unless you’re really picky.

With or without sales tax, some items didn’t stay on shelves long.

And we talked with experts who said the period right around when the first class bell rings might not be the best time to get everything on your back-to-school shopping list at the best price.

LET’S GO SHOPPING

Buying on tax-free weekend in early August guarantees shoppers a 6 percent to 8 percent break on clothing, backpacks, pens and paper, bedding and bath items, and computer equipment before school starts.

Shoppers saved $45.50 on a $649.99 Asus Intel Core 2 T-6500 laptop from Best Buy on tax-free weekend in Lexington and Richland counties, where the sales tax is 7 percent.

An analysis by The State newspaper of 20 items between July 24 and Aug. 21 at four mass-merchant retailers in the Midlands — Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Belk and Office Depot — showed:

• Four items were gone either by tax-free weekend or two weeks after, including a Sony laptop, a Tug rolling backpack, a pair of Steve Maddox high heels and a Wamsutta comforter set.

• Six items were cheaper two weeks before or after the weekend, including Nautica towels, an HP printer, Lorena Garcia bedding, a Blue Sky planner and a White Stag khaki skirt.

• A dozen items were cheaper the weekend of tax-free shopping — mainly because of the sales tax break. They included all three computer laptops and notebooks surveyed as well as a Canon printer, a pair of Converse sneakers, a package of Sharpie pens, a Disney Princess lunch bag and a pair of Gamecock basketball shorts. In a couple of cases, shelf prices fell during tax-free weekend —an HP graphing calculator at Office Depot dropped by $15, while a Microsoft Office program at Best Buy slid by $50.

(The Sony laptop and rolling backpack were cheaper during tax-free weekend, but gone two weeks later.)

Chain stores in the area don’t have much control over pricing and supplies. They get their orders from corporate offices.

“We don’t run any specials just for the event,” said Chris Carey, general manager for the Best Buy on Harbison Boulevard. Still, he added, Best Buy received increased stock of all electronics for the tax-free holiday.

Office Depot also doesn’t run specials specifically for tax-free weekends, spokeswoman Melissa Perlman said. Instead, they have weekly promotions on back-to-school items throughout the season, including 10-cent scissors, she said.

Efforts to reach officials at Belk and Wal-Mart were unsuccessful last week.

Even though there were some definite savings for tax-free shoppers — ranging from 41 cents to $60.50 on the items surveyed, it could pay to wait, retail analysts say.

“All of the major retailers (during the past two weeks) are having bigger sales than they did that weekend,” University of South Carolina retailing professor Richard Clodfelter said. “Their whole strategy is they keep moving that price down until they move that product.”

Belk offered a 20 percent off coupon two weeks after the sales-tax holiday, helping customers save more on items than they could have during the weekend.

A khaki skirt at Wal-Mart went on the clearance two weeks after the tax-free weekend, taking the price to $7.49 with tax from $12.

And an HP Photosmart printer at Best Buy was $14.50 cheaper before and after the tax-free holiday.

Even if prices might slip because of the tax savings, it could pay to buy an item on your shopping list as soon as you see it. A candy-stripe Wamsutta bedding set spotted at Belk on July 24 was sold out by the tax-free weekend two weeks later.

“You can wait too long,” said Britt Beemer, chairman of America’s Research Group. “You may be able to buy a backpack, but the backpack you want might not be there.”

SHOPPING STRATEGY

Developing a money-saving back-to-school shopping strategy can help if you’re looking to save now or stocking up in January for next year — but you have to want it.

“It takes work,” said Richard Clodfelter, retailing professor at the University of South Carolina.

Clodfleter said he picks one or two favorite stores that are nearby and walks through them every couple of weeks to get a feel for the true price of certain items and find out when they typically put things on sale.

“Some people don’t have that kind of time,” he said. “If you do have that flexibility, you’ll feel much more comfortable in knowing that you got a much better price.”

The key is picking stores near where you live or work. Otherwise, you’re wasting gas getting there.

Here are some of his tips:

Clothes. The later you can wait in the season to buy clothes, the better deal you will get. Stores mark down apparel as the season wears on to make room for new lines. They likely won’t reorder — especially if it’s trendy — so if they start running low on your favorite color or size, make the purchase.

Shoes. Don’t wait on sales. If you see what you want and they have your size, buy as soon as you can. Shoe departments can only stock a few of each size because there are so many styles. If you wait, chances are your size could be gone by the time a sale rolls around.

Computer equipment. Spring might be a good time to find sales because new models often are introduced then. Or, if you don’t mind camping out in the parking lot, you could get a deal on a computer the day after Thanksgiving when many stores offer an ultra-low price on a certain item to draw in customers. Even then, you’re taking your chances on getting one that fits your needs.

Standard school supplies. Notebooks, pens, pencils and paper typically are going to be cheaper during tax-free weekend, such as a 25-cent box of crayons. It’s a good idea to go ahead and buy them because you’ll need them. However, if you can wait later on a new backpack or lunch bag, you might get them on clearance when stores start to put out their holiday items.

Home items. You might want to furnish your dorm room before school begins. But if savings are more important and you can wait on a new comforter set, you might get a better deal later. “White sales” traditionally have been held after the first of the year, but department stores have started holding them at other times in recent years. For example, Belk offered a 20 percent off coupon two weeks after the tax-free holiday. You could have gotten a Lorena Garcia bedding ensemble for $99.99 with no tax during the holiday versus $85.79 with the coupon two weeks later.

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