Summer Sales: What's Worth Taking Advantage Of, And What's Not?
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Summer sales tempt us with seemingly too-good-to-be-true bargain prices, but some good deals are really out there.
And as CBS2's Scott Rapoport reported, there are other summer sales you should perhaps take a pass on.
The sales are seemingly everywhere -- stores, newspapers, and the Internet -- offering ever-increasing savings for summer on everything imaginable.
"Twenty percent off, to 50 percent off, to 70 percent off," said Cheryl Whitaker of Brooklyn Heights.
With so many choices come some practical questions -- including, for all the bold, blaring promises, what can you really get?
"I mean of course I'm skeptical," said Oliver Dibroba of Brooklyn Heights.
According to the website DealNews, which tracked trends from a year ago, back- to-school apparel and swimwear are particularly good buys in July. In some cases, they are up to 50 percent off, according to last year's figures.
Surprisingly experts said air conditioners are good deals too. Expect them to be about 14 percent cheaper than the month of June.
DealNews also recommends buying laptops -- especially 15-inch laptops that in the coming weeks prices will be dropping.
But the website said to bear in mind that the best deals may be in August or September, which over the last two summers saw additional discounts of 8 percent to 25 percent.
And perhaps most importantly, what should you avoid?
DealNews said the answer is HD televisions. That deals in the summer are scarce, and this month is no exception.
And for one final deal – a trip to Europe. DealNews cited a recent study saying a one-week European trip has declined an average of 11 percent.