Online outlets

Sarah Winfrey — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:58:01 +0000

Some of the fondest shopping memories of my childhood involve outlet malls. The sheer number of stores managed to be exciting, enticing and overwhelming, all at the same time. I remember shopping all the live-long day with my mom, going to store after store, taking trips to the car because we had too much to carry. When they built one less than half an hour from our front door, we were in heaven. I have been to that mall so many times over the years that I know where my favorite stores are and what the most efficient order to hit them is (even though it's in Colorado and I'm in LA).

Now that I live far, far away from any outlet malls (well, at least an hour), I do most of my outlet shopping online. Here are a few of the best:

Land's End Overstocks

Good selection of their general merchandise. Often 1-3 seasons behind.

Eddie Bauer Outlet

Decent selection. Other sites have steeper discounts, but not the EB quality.

Sierra Trading Post

Lots of outdoor brands, and searchable by brand name. Often has seemingly random items.

JC Penney Outlet

Consistent selection, good prices. What you'd get in the store, only less expensive.

Crate and Barrel

Good price cutbacks. You can tell why they didn't sell many of the items the first time, but it's a good place to treasure hunt.

REI

Great for that hiking/camping/backpacking trip you're planning this summer.

Spiegel

If you like their stuff, this is a great place to find it for (sometimes) a lot less.

Coleman

Small selection, good pricing.

Adidas

Prices could be cut back even more, but this site offers good deals on their gear.

This article is from Sarah Winfrey of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: