Hi friends.

I decided to pop in with another quick post today because I’ve had several friends asking me about the Dillard’s New Year’s Day Sale so decided to share some tips for shopping the sale with you.

If you haven’t ever attended the sales at Dillard’s, let me give you an overview.  Dillard’s only has a couple of sales throughout the year and their New Year’s Day sale is the biggest and baddest (in a good way).  On New Year’s Day only, all of their marked down items are and additional 50% off.  That might not seem like a big deal but considering that most of the store in marked down this sale is awesome.

I stumbled upon the sale a few years ago just by coincidence and was amazed and the deals and the items I was able to score–designer handbags, boots, winter clothing, holiday tabletop and more.

The Pros:  Major savings on in-season items, designer styles, seasonal items and linens.  The sale also gives you the perfect opportunity to begin shopping for Christmas next year.

The Cons:  This is where is gets crazy.  The store will be mobbed so expect a crowd, some shoving and lots of grabbing.  Specific ares of the store (handbags and shoes) even have police officers stationed in them to help control the mass of people.

SHOP THE DILLARD’S SALE LIKE A PRO:

(After the January 1, 2016 sale, this post was updated to reflect new information regarding the sale)

♦  Get to the store early!!!  Call your local store today and find out what time they open and then plan to be at the store at least 30 minutes before they open.  If there is a specific section of the store you want to shop go to the door nearest that section so you can dive right in when the store opens.

**update:  if you want to shop handbags, I recommend you arrive at the store 1 hour before it opens.  Store in Atlanta opened at 9:00 am and the line outside the handbag dept. starting forming at 7:30 am.

** Dillard’s executives went around to each door and spoke to waiting shoppers asking them to not run in the store, to respect their sales associates and product and to respect fellow shoppers.  

♦  Wear a cross-body bag or back pack so your hands are free.  Trust me, you don’t want to be carrying a handbag when your arms will be filled with items to purchase.

♦  Dress comfortably and think about wearing your running shoes because there just might be some running involved.  I’m kinda kidding but not really.  You will see women running into the handbag department so if handbags are your thing you’ll want to be part of the pack.  And, if you plan on buying shoes, wear a pair you can easily slip in and out of so you can try shoes on in a flash.

♦  Shop and sort later.  This is one sale where you won’t have time in most departments to look and linger.  If you see something your interested in, pick it up and put it in your stash and then head to a quiet corner or dressing room and take time to look through everything and sort out what you want or don’t.

** The local store I shopped at had large cardboard tubs available for shoppers to put items in as they shopped.  It made it easy to grab the items you were interested in and then look through them in more detail before you checked out.

 Here’s my recommendation for what departments to shop first:

 #1   Handbags–pick up everything you like and use the shop and sort method I outlined above.  Many of the women that shop the handbag department are looking for designer labels that they can then sell on eBay and such so don’t be surprised to see women with 5, 10 or even 20 bags in their clutches.

#2  Shoes–many of the shoes that are marked down are set out in boxes (DSW style) so you will be picking through boxes to find your style and size.  There will be sales people on hand but they won’t be much help.

** Because of rowdy crowds, my local Dillard’s changed the set-up for the shoe department.  The area was roped off and only a certain number of shoppers were allowed in at any given time.  Once you were give access to the shoe department, you found the shoe you wanted and took it to a sale associate to get  your size.    Shoes were no longer set out in boxes.

# 3  Seasonal departments–look for holiday dinnerware and linens along with ornaments and holiday decor.  And don’t forget to think about gift giving–hostess gifts, teachers gifts, girlfriend gifts etc.

# 4  Clothing–naturally the women’s and kid’s departments will be much for busy than the men’s so if you’re shopping for him you can do that after you shop for yourself.  And don’t be surprised if you see women trying on things on the sales floor since dressing rooms are hard to come by during the sale.

# 5  Jewelry–you’ll find some great deals in the jewelry department but there is usually lots of product on hand so you’ll find something you love even if this is one of the last areas you shop.

**  Dillard’s had small egg carton shaped trays on hand for shoppers to carry their items in as they shopped–great idea Dillard’s.

# 6 Linens and housewares–January is actually the best time to buy linens and housewares so don’t kill yourself shopping these areas since you’ll find great deals throughout the month.

** one of the best deals you want to look for is faux fur throws.  I scored two dark brown oversized mink throws for $35 (orig. $129).  

And my final tip for shopping the sale like a pro–take your husband along so he can hold your bags and make drop-off runs to the car while you continue to shop.  Promise him a lunch date at his favorite restaurant and he’ll be in for the win.

**if your husband is anything like mine, he’ll be hesitant at first and they he’ll get into finding deals for himself and in the end say to you “that wasn’t so bad.”

Dillard’s just posted all of their sale items on their website so you can spend some time checking it out and making your wish list.  And if being at the store in person is not something you want to do, you can shop the sale online starting tomorrow morning.  Tip:  add items to your shopping cart today so you can checkout in a flash tomorrow!

**  Several shoppers advised me that they had loaded there shopping carts with the intent to make their purchase at midnight only to find that Dillard’s cleared all shopping carts at that time.  Shoppers had to go back and re-select all their items again.  Despite that, the website was working fine and it is still a good option for those that don’t want to go to a store in person.

Good luck and happy shopping!