Tips on Shopping

When Is It Open? -- Open hours can vary significantly from store to store -- even different branches of Gap can keep different schedules depending on location and management. Generally, stores open at 10 or 11am Monday through Saturday, and 7pm is the most common closing hour (although sometimes it's 6pm). Both opening and closing hours tend to get later as you move downtown; stores in the East Village often don't open until 1 or 2pm, and they stay open until 8pm or later.

All of the big department stores are open 7 days a week. However, unlike department stores in suburban malls, most of these stores don't keep a regular 10am-to-9pm schedule. The department stores, and shops along major strips like Fifth Avenue, usually stay open later 1 night a week (often Thurs), although not all shops comply. Sunday hours are usually noon to 5 or 6pm. Most shops are open 7 days a week, but smaller boutiques may close 1 day a week; in addition, some neighborhoods virtually shut down on a particular day -- namely the Lower East Side on Saturday, the East Village on Monday, and most of the Financial District for the weekend. But at holiday time, anything goes: Macy's often stays open until midnight for the last couple of weeks before Christmas!

Your best bet is to call ahead or print out the schedule from the store website if your heart's set on visiting a particular store.

Sales Tax -- New York City sales tax is 8.375%, but it is not added to clothing and footwear items under $110. If you're visiting from out of state, consider having your purchases shipped directly home to avoid paying sales tax. As with any shipped purchase, be sure to get proper documentation of the sale and keep those receipts handy until the merchandise arrives at your door.

Sale Seasons

These may be obvious to the serious shopper, but for those of us/you less than serious, here are New York's prime sale seasons:

Thanksgiving: Black Friday, or the day after Thanksgiving, is the beginning of the Holiday shopping season. Many stores inaugurate the season with major sales. Stores open ridiculously early and the crowds become more like mobs. Proceed at your own risk.

Pre-Christmas: "Shoppers! Only three X-Boxes left at these amazingly low prices!" You might hear that spiel just before Christmas. Believe itor don't.

Post-Christmas: With the Christmas returns the day after Christmas, come the markdowns.

Whites: Usually in January, this is a sale of linens and these days, rarely white.

January Clearance: You'll find the European boutiques advertising clearance around the third week of January.

Valentine's Day: Anything red, chocolaty, or with a heart shape will be advertised "on sale."

President's Day: Late February, usually around the long weekend celebrating Washington (and Lincoln's) birthday. The sales will be mostly for winter clothing.

Memorial Day: Stores hold promotional sales on the last weekend in May.

Fourth of July: Blowout sales on bathing suits and summer attire centered around the long Fourth of July weekend.

Midsummer Clearance: If there is anything summer-related left on the racks after the Fourth of July, you'll find them up until the middle of August.

Back-to-School: Oh, how I hated those three words when I saw them in stores advertising sales for school supplies, furnishings and clothing&while there were still a few weeks left in the summer. Usually in middle August.

Columbus Day: Coats and early fall clothing go on sale on this long weekend usually the second weekend in October.

Election Day: Whatever fall merchandise is hanging around after the Columbus Day sales will be offered at even further reduced prices on Election Day.

Additional Sources for Serious Shoppers

If you're looking for specific items, check the shopping listings at www.newyork.citysearch.com, www.timeoutny.com, and www.nymag.com before you leave home.

For an online guide to sample sales/designer bargains, you can't do better than the free registration site www.nysale.com, which will let you in on unadvertised sales taking place throughout the city.

Hard information about current sales, new shops, sample and close-out sales, and special art, craft, and antiques shows is best found in the "Check Out" section of Time Out New York or the "Sales & Bargains," "Best Bets," and "Smart City" sections of New York magazine. New York also runs daily updates of sales at www.nymag.com and Time Out publishes a twice-yearly shopping guide that's available on newsstands for about six bucks.

Other Web sources include www.dailycandy.com, a daily newsletter highlighting store openings and where to find the day's sales, and www.girlshop.com, dedicated to New York insider fashion news. Now Girlshop aficionados have more than just the website: In 2005, the flagship Girlshop Boutique opened in the Meat-Packing District (819 Washington St., between Little W. 12th and Gansevoort sts.; tel. 212/255-4985).