my tips and tricks for shopping the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale.

The Nordstrom Anniversary sale is my favorite one of the year.  It’s seriously better than black Friday.  I always say I wish my birthday was in July instead of January, cause #NSALE.  I seriously save up to shop this sale every year and there’s a reason why.  It’s an amazing sale.  I’ve been shopping this sale for the last 4 years and I’ve gotten really good at navigating it.   Here are my top tips and tricks for shopping the Nordstrom Anniversary sale.

Make a list.  There are literally thousands of pretty/fabulous items in the Nordstrom sale.  It’s easy to get distracted and overwhelmed.  And I think it’s fine to grab that cute top you weren’t planning on because “it’s just so cute!”  But, if there are specific items you’re looking for, make sure you’ve made a list to keep it all straight and prioritize them.  If you are looking for specific items, leave me a comment and I will make sure and find some good option for you!

Check Online first.  Come here first thing tomorrow morning, and I will have a post up that breaks down all the best of the Nordstrom Anniversary sale.  I’ll sort through all the thousands of items for you, and I’ll let you know what I think is at a high risk for selling out.  If you do want to shop in store, this will get you organized, and you can check and see what is and isn’t in-store, and get the items that are online-only before they sell out.

Buy online, pick up in store.  This is my secret weapon.  There are plenty of online-only items that I order and thanks to Nordstrom’s fast and free shipping, they’re at my door in a jiffy, but if it’s in store, you can buy online and select “pick up in store.”   That way when you get there your whole order is waiting in a nice little bag for you.  They even send you an email when your order is ready and it’s so nice/convenient.

Check all the departments.  I know clothes and shoes are the most fun, but there are always amazing beauty deals, and really great kid’s and men’s deals too.  Even the home section has tons of great stuff.  Last year I bought 2 sets of pretty pink latte bowls (they were like $20 a set, such a good deal) and they are our favorite cereal bowls.  The home section of the sale has tons of good stuff.

Check my top menu.  I’ll have a tab right up on top my menu, just like last year, with quick and easy access to all the round-ups I’ve done, as well as any posts related to the Nordstrom anniversary sale.  There will be convenient links to all the items on my blog and it will just make it easier to navigate the whole thing.

If you find something you love, don’t hesitate.  Last year there was this amazing suede jacket that I fell in love with, so I put it in my cart online.  But then I noticed that it was in stock at my local store so I went to try it on.  Loved it when I tried it on, and then thought, okay I’ll just order the one that’s in my cart when I get home.  Well guess what was sold out online by the time I got home that day?  Yeah.  It was like noon at it had already sold out completely.  I’m still kicking myself about that a year later.  Moral of the story.  If you love it, buy it quick and then decide if you want to keep it.  Cause if it sells out, you won’t be the one making the decision. ;-)

If something sells out in your size, buy it in a different one.  I know that sounds weird, but Nordstrom has an awesome long return policy, and they end up stocking the Anniversary sale stuff later on, but at full price.  If you buy it at the Anniversary sale price, and it comes in stock later, you can exchange it for the right size without having to buy it at full price.  If it doesn’t come back in stock, just return it.