Mens_HealthUSA_December_2016

December 2016 | MensHealth.com 75

Illustrations by BILL BROWN

Learn to Decode

Any Label

We’re used to seeing

p r i c e s e n d i n. 9 9 , b u t w h a t

d o e s i t m e a n w h e n a 7, 4 ,

o r 1 i s t h r o w n i n t o t h e m i x?

That’s an indication that

the retailer wants you to

know they’ve squeezed

every last penny out of

the price to bring you the

best value possible, says

Bell. So go ahead and

splurge on it, but do it

quickly. Odds are, limited

quantities remain.

Shop Like a

Woman

Clothes from seasons

past get a second life in

discount stores that

women have frequented

for years. Guys are now

catching on. “Traditionally

female-oriented stores

with marked-down prices,

like T.J.Maxx, Marshalls,

and Nordstrom Rack,

have great menswear

deals too,” says Marshal

Cohen, an industry ana-

l y s t a t t h e r e s e a r c h f i r m

NPD. Finer retailers, such

as Saks Fifth Avenue,

Neiman Marcus, and Bar-

neys New York, have

their own “warehouse”

stores where you can find

huge markdowns on

brand name items.

Coupon Codes

Ready to check

out? Wait a sec. Do

a quick search on

RetailMeNot and

CouponCabin for

discount promo

codes and perks like

free shipping before

buying. You can

also install Honey

(joinhoney.com),

a browser plug-in

that’ll automatically

search for and apply

the best codes avail-

able at checkout.

Price Comparison

Smart buyers know

they need to shop

around before com-

mitting. So use Goo-

gle Shopping or

browser extensions

like PriceBlink to

do the price com-

parisons for you.

When you view an

item, options from

competing mer-

chants will pop up

alongside them so

you can quickly

locate the best deal.

Discount Alerts

Don’t waste time

checking to see if

that high-priced

coat you love went

on sale. Instead, sign

up for Shoptagr, a

browser extension

that will send alerts

when the price

drops or the coat

runs low in stock.

If you’re an Ama-

zon shopper, use

CamelCamelCamel,

which also tells you

the best time to buy.

Click Tricks

E-commerce

algorithms adjust

prices based on

popularity or loca-

tion, says David

Bell, a marketing

expert at the Univer-

sity of Pennsylvania.

Delete your cookies

or turn on private

browsing to see if

the price changes.

Or leave items in

your shopping

cart and wait for a

promo code email.

Nautica shirt

Frye boots

Uniqlo belt

$98

$328

$20

98

328

20

10% off from

RetailMeNot,

plus free

shipping for a

$75+ order

Email offer for

30% off final

sale price

50% off on

clearance

Land’s End coat

$249 24

40% off, plus free

shipping for signing

up for the email list.

$88

$10

$160

$149

How to Score

In-Store Deals

These tips can

help you spot

a steal in seconds.

PA R T 3

PHOTOGRAPHS BY CLAIRE BENOIST