This is under construction, sorry if it’s a tad crude for the moment… hang in there with us and we’ll polish it up for ya!
EASY WAYS TO GET THE BEST PRICES ON WEDDING GIFTS
Comparison shopping and buying sales is standard fare for many of us, when it comes to groceries or buying ourselves a nice, shiny toy. However, this is often not the case with wedding gifts, especially as it doesn’t occur to many folks that there may be lots of ways to save, many of which are super simple!
First off, most registries will gladly mark things off as purchased if you give them a phone call or email, indicating the registry number or couple’s names. This will avoid duplication in the future and let you shop around to get the best possible price. Below are some ways to help you stretch that dollar further when it comes to purchasing wedding gifts. Rest assured, you can get frugal wedding gifts and not come off as cheap with a little shopping around! Here are a few suggestions to get you started.
eBay – If you have never purchased anything on eBay, you should probably quickly search out some first timer tips. I will try to add some more gift-centric ones in the future.
Amazon – This massive retailer often has rock bottom prices on goods. They also offer convenient shipping with gift wrap and personal notes.
Costco– This big retailer will often have dish sets on sale, for very agreeable prices. Unfortunately, the online listings are not fantastic, so you will need to print off a registry copy and meander your way over to one of their stores. An example which is current is the Denby Linen pattern in a box set of 16 pieces for $99. That is approximately $6.19 + tax per piece, while the individual pieces retail for $22-35 each at the Bay.
cardswap.ca – This fairly new company is dominant in the Canadian gift card swapping market and the owner went on Dragon’s Den to get some more backing. This is a great way to save 5%+ immediately on a gift, plus it gives you two options: you can give the gift card which you picked up for a song, or you can then turn around and use the gift card to purchase something on their registry. At the time of writing, these were the discounts for some major wedding retailers:
HBC/Home Outfitters – 5% Discount
Crate & Barrel – 8.5%
Williams Sonoma/Pottery Barn – 10%
Sears – 5%
Pottery Barn/Williams Sonoma – 12.99%
Canadian Tire – 5%
For creative ideas on how to give a gift card, click here (link coming soon).
Craigslist/Kijiji – gift cards, but beware of scams. Best to meet the person, make sure it’s transferable and phone/google the gift card value while you are there.
For more thoughts on gift cards and cash gifts, read Cold Hard Cash and this post by Daisy @ Add-Vodka.
Brick and Mortar Comparison Shopping for Wedding Gifts
Here are a few tips for buying wedding gifts at good prices if you are online-shopping averse (a phenomenon I don’t quite understand, but I know my grandma is internet-allergic).
- Print a list. Most registries are available online and you can print them out. Alternatively, you can often print off registries in-store. Read the list over to ensure you have enough detail. You may want to ask the friendly sales person to point out some of the products to you… then slowly waltz away with any of their potential commission.
- Now that you have your hands on a list, with an idea of what you’re after and the corresponding prices, march out of Store #1.
- Store #2 should probably be a discount big box store, such as Winners ,Home Sense or Marshalls in Canada; TJ Maxx, Home Goods or Marshalls in the US. [I just learned that all of those companies are owned by the same group.]
- Now that you have a list, you can play “I-spy” with any flyers that come your way over the next few weeks or months. Remember that you have a fair bit of leeway about when you send gifts! Then pounce like a lion when you see a good deal.
- You can also use your list to check out competing stores, such as Target, Walmart, Sears, Home Outfitters, Bed Bath and Beyond, Zellers, Canadian Tire (don’t forget they sell a lot of housewares!), maybe even Giant Tiger or Liquidation World.
