Macy's has just launched a store closing sale at its downtown Cincinnati store, which it is shutting after 25 years.
You may be considering stopping down for the store's final sale.
But shoppers are claiming few great deals, and we found some prices that are lower elsewhere.
Where are the great deals?
Signs everywhere tout markdowns "up to 30% off." But early shoppers like Jenny Waitman were a bit disappointed.
"I was looking at the purses, and they were only about 10% so that's not so great," she said.
Angela Dubois says she found lower prices before the sale started. "The sale was good, but with some of the prices they had better prices before," she said.
Prices have been reset to full list price on almost everything except clearance and Last Act items.
So we we went inside to check.
The first thing you'll notice in these first days is that most items are 20% off, not the 30% shown in the "up to" signs. Designer handbags are just 10% off.
Which means you should not expect to find great deals yet.
We found a Michael Kors packable down "puffer" jacket at 20% off the list price of $190, bringing it down to $152.
But on Macy's own website,it's cheaper, currently on sale at $139. (The in store price check kiosks are closed, making it hard to compare).
We found a Nike Brasilia XL training backpack, marked down 20% off of $55, which is $44. That appears to be a good deal, until you check Kohl's.com where it's on sale for $34, 10 bucks less. (It is also cheaperat Dick's Sporting Goods).
Where's the designer clothing?
Meantime, we found a lot of designer names already been moved out -- possibly to other stores.
A wall of Ralph Lauren ladies fashion wall was instead filled with a rack of off-brand American Living dresses made in China (a brand you can find at Walmart for less than $30 per dress).
Sundy Blume says she'll wait for bigger discounts. "I'll definitely be back, I just work across the street, so I will be back," she said.
Macy's is not doing anything wrong. This is typical of "store closing" sales, where it takes a week or two to see any big savings.
Items are typically marked back up to full list price, and then the discounts start from there. Usually, by the third week, you'll start finding 50% or bigger markdowns.
Bottom line: with any store closing sale its usually a pretty good idea to stay home the first week, and come back later so you don't waste your money.
___________________
“Don't Waste Your Money” is a registered trademark of Scripps Media, Inc. (“Scripps”).
"Like" John Matarese on Facebook
Follow John on Twitter (@JohnMatarese)
Sign up for John's free newsletter byclicking here
For more consumer news and money saving advice, go to www.dontwasteyourmoney.com
Click here for more WCPO.com consumer reports
Contact John at jmatarese@wcpo.com
