Designer clothes at consignment store prices? Five shopping tips.

2. Check the tags carefully

Melanie Stetson Freeman / The Christian Science Monitor / File
Pairs of "gently worn and gently priced" mens shoes are on sale at The Closet, Inc., a Boston consignment shop with mainly contemporary clothing, in this 2000 file photo. Make sure to check the tags to see how long an item has been on sale.

Consignment stores usually mark down items 20 percent after 30 days and another 20 percent after 60 days if they don’t sell. By looking at the ticket, you can usually tell how long it has been on sale. Whether to buy the clothing now or wait till another markdown depends on how badly you want the item. If you can wait, you will save 40 percent off the ticketed price after 60 days.

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