Bargain hunters

EVERYONE loves a bargain. Whether it's a two-for-one offer on our favourite shampoo or an everything-must-go extravaganza at a local furniture warehouse, we just can't resist the chance to save a bit of cash. But how do we know we are actually getting a bargain? And where can we get good deals all year round, not just in the January sales?

The answers to these questions - and many, many more - can be found in the latest edition of The Good Deal Directory. Compiled by Noelle Walsh, who holds a discount designer fashion sale at Ripley Castle, near Harrogate, every October, this bargain hunter's bible is packed with details of 3,300 value-for-money outlets around the country, offering everything from designer fashions to sofas, sunglasses and silverware.

When it comes to clothes, she pinpoints numerous outlets in our region, including Midas Clothes in Little Stonegate, York, which is an exchange shop offering a good mix of designer labels and high street names.

"It's always helpful to be included in directories like this," said a spokesman for the shop. "It gives our profile a nice little boost.

"We have been in business for 13 years and are going from strength to strength. On the selling side, customers like it that we offer them a 50/50 split, and on the buying side they like the variety of clothes and accessories we sell. Some exchange shops deal exclusively in designer labels, but we have learned over the years that customers like a good and varied range to browse through."

The McArthurGlen Designer Outlet on the outskirts of York also wins honourable mention, as do smaller stores such as High Society in Easingwold; Labels in Northallerton; Brandmart in Ripon; Harriets in Knaresborough; Hawick Cashmere in Harrogate; Burberry in Whitby; and Tog 24 in Scarborough.

It's all very well knowing where to go, but what do you do when you get there? Never fear, Noelle is here with her bargain hunter's ten commandments:

1 Don't ignore dress agencies as a way of saving - and making - money. You can buy clothes you couldn't otherwise afford or sell off your mistakes and items you no longer like wearing and make a bit of cash into the bargain.

2 Someone else's rubbish might be your treasure. If you're doing up your house and want, for example, to put floorboards down instead of carpets, check out the architectural salvage experts first. They might have floors that have been taken out of old school rooms or manor houses at very reasonable prices.

3 Visit large exhibitions such as Gardener's World or The Clothes Show Live on the afternoon of the last day. Exhibitors don't always want to take the stock on their stand home, so will often sell it off at rock-bottom prices.

4 If you read women's magazines, always check out the small ads at the back where lots of companies advertise end-of-line fabrics, direct-from-the-factory spiral staircases, factory shop sofas, architectural reclamation services and the like.

5 The best buys at discount shops are always the most expensive items. So large items such as sofas, beds and carpets offer the best bargains. White goods, such as fridges, washing machines and vacuum cleaners, have quite a small mark-up - 20-28 per cent compared with 110 per cent for furniture and up to 280 per cent for clothes - so don't expect huge discounts on these items.

6 The advice for clever bargain home buys is the same as for fashion: buy classics. The classic tin of white or cream paint, cream fabric or white tiles are always good buys, and you can always introduce some splashes of colour later to add interest and excitement.

7 Remember, the price of something can be divided by the number of times you wear it, so if you see yourself getting a lot of wear out of something that's still a bit more than you would normally pay, it's probably worth it.

8 Buy baby equipment such as prams, pushchairs and car seats in late October. These are all fashion items, so the fabric cover gets replaced with a new design every year. The big trade baby show with the new designs and colours happens at the beginning of October - after that, shops drop their prices on last year's ranges.

9 Don't go food shopping every week on the same day. Delay it by one day each week so that you're extending your shopping cycle. Instead of making 52 trips to the supermarket a year, you'll make 44.

10 Re-examine your regular expenses. For example, if you have your hair cut every six weeks, lengthening the time to six and a half or even seven weeks will cut out one visit to the hairdressers a year.

Updated: 09:45 Tuesday, January 21, 2003