Tri-State Shoppers Flood Stores For Post-Christmas Sales, Returns
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It's the day after Christmas, and you know what that means -- shoppers are back in the stores to cash in on their gift cards and cash out on unwanted holiday gifts.
Post-Christmas Shopping Tips: Sales, Returns And What To Buy
Macy's in Herald Square opened at 7 a.m. on Monday, with eager shoppers already flooding the store, CBS2's Tracee Carrasco reported.
"I came here for the sales and there's some bargains," Will Summers, a shopper, said. "I got some shoes, a wallet, a lot of shirts."
Lisa Plante and her husband got there early to make sure they had their pick of all the sales today.
"It wasn't very crowded yet," Plante said. "I think it's going to get a lot more crowded in there that's why we came so early."
New Jersey shoppers headed over to the Shops at Riverside in Hackensack to cash in on some post-holiday sales, WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported.
"I bought a bag, and I got 40 percent off the price," shopper Mei Lu said. "We were expecting more deals, but didn't find them -- a lot of exclusions."
According to DealNews.com Features Editor Benjamin Glaser, if you plan to hit the stores, clothes should be your focus.
"That's especially true for winter apparel, heavy winter coats, accessories like hats and scarves," Glaser said. "They saw decent sales on Black Friday, and leading up to the holidays, but they don't really see those clearance level prices until about now."
You may also be able to find some deals on select electronics too.
"Not the laptops and TVs that are big before the holidays, but headphones, sound bars, digital cameras, Android smart phones are really great prices," Glaser said.
As for returns -- at least two thirds of people return at least one holiday gift. If you fall into that category make sure you know the return policy before you go out to make the exchange.
You can also consider donating your items to charitable organizations, like Staten Island organization Where To Turn.
More: NYC Charities, Drives Accepting Holiday Donations
"Instead of it going in your closet, just donate it to Where To Turn and we'll get it to somebody that could use it," founder Dennis McKeon said.
McKeon started Where To Turn after 9/11 ans has redistributed thousands of gifts through the years.
"The way we get rid of them is we work with other organizations," McKeon said.
For more information on how to donate, click here.
