Why high-savings department stores are not your friend

Right by the hospital where I work, there's a Winners. For those of you who don't know, Winners is a chain of off-price Canadian department stores - where moderately high-end products are sold at a discounted price, like Marshalls in the United States.

Bottom line, people shop at Winners because they feel like they can get a good discount, and they feel like they're saving money.

But is this really the case?

Case study: Beauty products

In many Winners stores, the first things you see are the beauty shelves. Mounds and mounds of makeup, nail polish, creams, lotions, powders, bath salts, and everything to tickle a girl's inner pamper. All of these products claim to be sold at a discount - for example, a Joico shampoo I saw claimed "$16.99 - compare to $22.00 regularly!"



Now I'm totally open to the idea of good-quality hair care products. I notice the difference in my hair texture when I use a $16 Redken shampoo versus a $2 Herbal Essences shampoo. But is Winners really the best place to go for bottomed-out prices??

While I was at the mall, I went to a hair salon on the way. They were selling the same shampoo for $14.99.

Key lesson here: don't think Winners has the best deals on products - in fact, most of the time you can buy products elsewhere for much cheaper. The only exception to this rule is the "Clearance" rack - where you can find products at a much more appropriate price range.