ONE savvy shopper couldn’t believe their luck after finding a luxury pair of dining chairs in their local Next store with the price slashed to just £62.50
The items, which had formerly been on display, originally retailed at £250 but were being sold for a quarter of their original price.
A post on the Extreme Coupons and Bargaining group on Facebook read “Lovely pair of Hamilton dining chairs picked up today from Next with a 75% reduction”.
“Where is this please” queried one customer, desperate to get their hands on a bargain
“Worth a look” said another – tagging a friend, clearly in need of new furniture
The anonymous user scouted out their bargain by heading in to their local Next Home store, where the items had been used on display.
They grey velvet chairs have a seat height of 46cm and a diamond quilted backrest, with metal legs.
The deal doesn’t currently appear to be online, but it is worth checking out your local shop to see if they have any similar offers.
Discounts on display items are usually decided in store, so can vary from one branch to another.
Shops often reduce items that are end of line or ex-display top make way for new season stock.
When you’re buying ex-display items it’s worth checking them over first as there may be wear and tear compared to brand new out of the box.
But if you’re happy with any minor imperfections then you could bag a big bargains.
Ex-display items are often sold at a discounted price but they should still be in excellent condition.
It might be that they were on display in the store window or used at showrooms.
They also may be cheaper because there may be no seller guarantee – so it’s always worth checking this before you buy.
The closest we could find to the Next seats were the Shea set of two velvet dining chairs at Dunelm, priced at £99, still £36.50 more than the Next bargain buy.
EXPERTS share their top tips for buying ex-display bargains.
Lysa Campbell, shopping expert and chief operating officer of Sook.com which offers pop-up spaces for retailers, said it’s up to the consumer to hunt down these ex-display prices as they won’t always be obvious.
She said an ex-display model won’t be available to purchase until the very last of the warehouse stock has been sold – therefore it’s often a matter of luck and timing.
She said: “Staff in store should be on hand to point consumers in the right direction if there is any ex-display items available.
“But they tend to get snapped up fairly quickly. It’s best to ask for ex-demo or ex-display items that may now be reduced.”
But this depends on the store, and in some stores these items aren’t necessarily hidden.
She said: “Sofology for example, often has an area of the store and all of their end of line and ex demo models are there.
Meanwhile, shopping expert Leione Lent said that people should also look online for ex-display products.
She said: “Many stores also offer ex-display items on their websites.
“A simple Google search for ‘ex-display products’ will yield numerous options for you to explore.”
She added: “Another option is to attend clearance sales or events, which are often held by retailers or manufacturers looking to clear out their inventory.
“These events present excellent opportunities to secure discounts on ex-display products as well as other clearance or overstocked items.”
It’s not just homeware bargains that are on offer at Next either.
Last week Next launched its summer sale, offering discounts of at least 50% off sale items across fashion, accessories and homeware sending customers into a frenzy.
This season, there are Baby Nike trainers slashed from £30 to £13 , as well as elegant Tommy Hilfiger Cream Webbing High Wedge Sandals costing £55 instead of their original £90.
When hunting around for deals, its important to shop around, and the quickest way to do this is to use price comparison websites such as Google Shopping which allows users to search items using key words or product numbers – to see where online is selling it cheapest.
Or there’s Price Spy which also logs the history of how much something costs from over 3,000 different retailers,
And if you find a great deal online, you should always try and earn a bit extra by seeing if you can use a cashback website when buying your items.
These are websites such as Topcashback that pay you a cash reward when you click through from their site to buy things.
But while price comparison websites are great for online orders – to grab some of the best bargains it is always worth heading in store to see if there are any extra price drops.
Currently stores such as Debenhams are offering huge discounts on furniture items including the Grey Wood Frame Upholstered armchair which is half price at £79.90
And at Homebase, the Evelyn chair has been slashed from £175 to £88.
Supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda all sell furniture and have loyalty cards, which can also help lower the cost of furnishing your home.
