5 things that are always on sale

By Liz Pulliam Weston

On many purchases, it's pretty easy to tell whether you're getting a good deal. Often it's as simple as consulting a shopping search engine, like MSN Shopping or Google Product Search (yup, looks like I paid too much for my copy of the latest Harry Potter).

With other transactions, though, comparison shopping is incredibly difficult. Either the item is unique, or it's made to seem that way by the sellers. Constant sales can offer further confusion: You know that other people aren't paying list price, but how much less should you really pay?

Here are five things that can be incredibly tough to shop for, and some suggestions for getting the best deal.

Mattresses

Most mattresses are relatively simple boxes made of springs, foam and fabric. That should make them commodities -- in other words, basically interchangeable -- and thus ideal for comparison shopping.

But manufacturers and retailers deliberately make comparison shopping for mattresses extremely difficult for consumers. The same mattress, perhaps with slightly different trim, fabric or quilt pattern, will have different model names at different retailers, making it tough to know if you're comparing apples to apples.

• Talk back: What items do you never buy at full price?

Prices are extremely fluid, which means the same basic box-spring-and-mattress set can cost hundreds of dollars more or less depending on the sale, the persuasiveness of the salesperson and your own negotiating prowess.

Here are some basics from Consumer Reports to help you navigate the minefield:

• Reliability and durability of all brand-name mattresses -- Sealy, Serta, Simmons and Spring Air -- are typically very good. What matters most is comfort, and that's an individual thing.

• Spend at least 15 minutes lying on any mattress you're considering buying to make sure it's comfortable for you in all positions.

• Specialty mattresses from Duxiana, Select Comfort and Tempur-Pedic are rarely discounted, but you should be able to get 50% off the list price of a conventional innerspring mattress if you wait for a sale or bargain hard.

Jewelry

Jewelry often has such huge markups -- 100% to 200% is routine -- that even seemingly blowout sale prices still leave plenty of retailer profit intact. Because of that, jewelry typically isn't an investment. Try to sell a piece back to a jeweler and you'll be lucky to get one-third of what you originally paid (if the jeweler will buy it at all).

There are also no rules about how much to spend on jewelry -- including engagement rings. The notion that people should spend two months' salary on a ring was a creation of clever marketers.

Also, few gemstones are entirely without flaws. An ethical jeweler should be able to point them out and discuss their effect on the stone's value.

• Video: The recipe for bargain shopping

To shop wisely for jewelry:

• Understand that the big markups mean there's usually room to haggle down a price. Shoot for at least a 10% discount.

• Buy from certified gemologists who belong to the Gemological Institute of America, American Gem Society or Jewelers of America.

• Make sure you're allowed at least 30 days to return jewelry for a refund.

• Pay to have expensive jewelry evaluated by an appraiser not affiliated with the jeweler. Make sure the appraiser is certified by the American Society of Appraisers.

College educations

Most people don't pay the list price for college educations anymore.

About two-thirds of those who attend college get some kind of financial aid, and many colleges tweak their aid packages to benefit the students they most want to attract. If the marching band needs a talented flutist, for example, someone who fits the bill may get a financial-aid package loaded with "free money" -- grants and scholarships -- while a less-desired student with the same financial need might get loans.

Continued: What discounts to expect

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