As holidays are approaching, your mailbox or e-mailbox is often flooded by all kinds of sales advertisements with very creative names such as my best customer specials, midnight madness, super coupon savings day, and so on. As a customer, you always want to get the best deal. But very often, it is hard to know if all these sales are really worth. That’s why here you will find some useful tip to get the most of your money during the sales period.

The first advice: Shop around. You will see everywhere sales prices. But keep in mind that a sale price is not always the best price. You can get it cheaper at another shop, so you should compare. But when comparing, make sure that you have the item's manufacturer, model number, stock number or other identifying information to be certain that you do not compare two different products. You can also go online to check your item if it is offered online. Besides, the Internet is quite convenient to compare products.

Second, you should make sure that you thoroughly read sale advertisements, especially the tiny lines at the bottom of the last page. Look for mentions such as quantities limited, or not available at all stores. You can also contact the merchant before going to the shop in order to know if the item you are looking for is in stock. By contacting a merchant ahead, you can also make a reservation on the product in certain cases.

During sales period, people tend to grant too much importance to the price of the item. But they should also take into consideration time and travel costs. If an item is on sale, but the shop is located all the way across town, you will save some money on the item itself but you will spend a greater amount on transportation costs and time.

Fourth, too many people are lured in bargain offers that are based on purchases of additional merchandise such as "buy one, get one free" or "free gift with purchase". In general, if you do not really want or need the item, this kind of bargain is not really a good deal. So, try to avoid such deals as much as you can.

Eventually, you should make some inquiries with the shops regarding refund and return policies for sale items. Merchants may have different refund and return policies for sale items, especially clearance merchandise.