Sometimes I think there should be addiction meetings for Baby Gap. I cannot seem to stay out of the store and pretty much every collection they roll out contains at least three pieces that I must have. Luckily I have figured out a pretty good system of shopping there so that I can find most of the pieces that I want at a deeply discounted price.
First, never shop there on a Tuesday. Their sales cycles are usually Thursday through Sunday, so if you shop on Tuesday you will most likely pay more than if you had waited until Thursday. They also run promotions frequently that have a declining discount throughout the weekend, with Thursday offering the best sale (40% off on Thursday, 30% off on Fridays, etc.). Always go on Thursday.
Second, always compare the price at the store before buying on their website. Their store and website sales do not always sync up, so if you’re looking for a particular item, it may be cheaper at the store than it is online.
It goes without saying, but never pay full price. I worked at the Gap for brief stint in college and watched the inventory turn rapidly. If you wait 3-4 weeks, the item you want will go one sale. Keep an eye on the sale racks and, again, go on Thursday to find the newly discounted item in your preferred size before the weekend crowd hits the store.
Don’t give the associate a bum email address when you check out. We’re all guilty of it sometimes. You get sick of getting an inbox full of store promotions everyday so you decide to stop giving the entire world your email address. This is one time when you probably will benefit from giving it out, though. The store will often send specific sales for their store to your email and they can be an additional 10% off the store’s regular sale, but you sometimes have to bring the emailed coupon with you.
Finally, for the best discount possible it may make sense to sign up for the Gap credit card, but only if you are diligent about paying the balance in full as you are walking away with your purchase. I tend to buy the items with the store credit card, then walk to the parking lot and pay the bill from my iphone. If you are late with a payment the late fees will completely cancel out any discount that you received on the purchase.
