Now that it is autumn, the leaves are changing and some of us are starting to think about what to get everyone for Christmas. There are a few things that retailers are doing now, before the prime shopping season, to draw in customers.

Discounts are going on right now on some of the summer merchandise that stores are trying to clear out. Right now you can get great deals on things like swimsuits, charcoal grills, and patio furniture. The source article does say that right now is a great time to get a lawnmower up to 40% off, but I don’t know. I went to purchase a lawnmower a week or so ago and it wasn’t on sale at all, as a matter of fact it seemed like it was more expensive.

Another thing is if you go to get a swimsuit now, you will likely be picking over what no one else wanted to buy throughout the season.

You can also find deals on last year’s models for new cars as well. At dealerships, you can get up to 20% off the previous year’s model.

This month, you can find discounts on clothes because the back to school sales have ended and sales people are trying to get rid of the racks of jeans that may have not sold.

Another good item to go pick up through the fall is the fruits and veggies that farmers are harvesting and there are ample amounts of. Fall veggies are some of the best in my opinion and this time of year is apple season. If you like apples, you can get your fill cheap!

Surprisingly, right now (before Black Friday) you can find pretty good deals on electronics. A couple of years ago, we actually bought our television a month before Black Friday. Then again, if you want a really big ticket item, you could wait to see what will be on sale for Black Friday. Usually starting around now, you can go to websites like bfads.net to see what items will be on sale at which store weeks before the ads actually come out.

Source

The Cash for Clunkers program seemed to be a hit for those automakers while others got left behind. However, the problem will come up over the next few months when no one is purchasing autos through the fall. Even with clearance specials that come out at the end of the year, automakers and dealerships will likely not see the volume that they saw over the past month.

Thanks to the program, sales of cars and fuel efficient trucks in August increased almost 30% from just a month earlier. The program also led to the first increase in year over year gains since October 2007. That means that August 2009 car sales were greater than August 2008 sales.

Like I said in the past, the program will undoubtedly leave the dealerships wishing for business for some time after the program ended. Now there are thousands of new cars on the roads and people are still going to try to make their cars go further. This will only lead to an even greater slowdown in auto sales in my opinion.

Cash for Clunkers did one thing right, it led to less emissions coming out of fuel inefficient cars. And when I think of clunkers I imagine a black smoke cloud coming out of the back of the car as it putters down the road. This program helped clear some of those cars off the road. The amount of carbon emissions that won’t be in the air anymore is also a pretty big deal when you start thinking about the entire program as well, which is what I thought was the main point of the program.