Bargain Shopping in Dallas, Texas: Secret Discounts Buying Wholesale! (What the Underground Shopper Won't Tell You)

When most people think of Dallas, Texas, they probably don't have serious bargain shopping in mind. However, most people just don't realize that Dallas is a huge distribution and wholesale sales center for the garment industry and allied industries, and so you can find great bargains in Dallas on clothing, shoes, accessories, and even home decor--not to mention all the other great places to shop in Dallas. So put on your old clothing, dust off those comfortable shoes, pack up some snacks and your digital camera and a notebook, and get ready to save some serious cash! With more retail stores per capita than any other city in the world, shopping in Dallas is an art form!

Got here by mistake and don't live in Dallas? Or wish you had opportunities like this in your own town? Try learning to bargain shop wherever you live.

(Note: some of these stores are technically outside of the Dallas city limits; however, all the stores are in the immediate Dallas area with the exception of the Dillard's Clearance Center, and I have determined that that store is worth the drive.)

There are several very good chains that have multiple locations in Dallas, and they are definitely encouraged: Marshall's, Ross Dress for Less, Big Lots, Tuesday Morning and T.J. Maxx all have wonderful products at great prices, and you should definitely give these stores a try, if only to have a good comparison for prices and products. In addition there are numerous great thrift stores, consignment stores, and resale stores in the Dallas area, and all of them have great bargains on anything imaginable, from antiques to toys. And there are even so-called "outlet" stores, especially in the outlet malls, but some of these stores can be almost as pricey as the original stores. However, this article focuses on the one-or-two -of-a-kind shops in the city of Dallas, TX and its suburbs, where overstocks, samples, and more are tucked away for the discerning bargain shopper to find at incredible prices.

Sam Moon should be your first stop if you love accessories and handbags. In fact, Sam Moon is famous for them! The prices and selection are fabulous. Enough said. Here's the map.

There's only one place to go for herbs and spices in Dallas; that's Penzey's Spices, on the southwest corner of Preston Road and LBJ Freeway. Their dried herbs and spices are as fresh as they come, and if you live in Dallas and buy from Central Market or another high-end store, you're buying Penzeys and paying the markup. Sign up for Penzeys mailer, and receive coupons good for free spices! Penzeys also carries soup bases, salad dressing bases, rubs, spice mixes, cocoas, and more. The store is bright, large and clean, the cashiers are fairly knowledgeable and always friendly and helpful, and the selection of herbs and spices is fantastic. In addition, the store is child-friendly, with a table set aside for them to sit and draw while you browse. If you come to Dallas and you love to cook, this store is a must! If you aren't near Dallas, try the Penzeys web site.

Around the corner (back to the west) from Penzeys, in the parking lot right next door, is the best-kept secret in shoe stores--Off-Price Shoes. Usually shoes are $9.99, and boots are about $14.99. Hit a lucky sale and you could walk away with shoes for half price. Just look for the white building that says Shoes $9.99 (or less if they're on sale). Yes, they have women's big and small sizes.

While you're there, check out the dresses at Terry Costa, across from Penzeys. If those dresses are your type of thing, you can find great bargains there, too.

For the best bargains in Indian ingredients, food, and clothing, head over to the southwest and northwest corners of I-75 and Belt Line Road. Three Indian groceries (at last count) and a number of stores selling Indian clothing, cookware, religious items, and more, all at extremely cheap prices. How about two pounds of tahini for $4.99? Some groceries will carry exotic items, such as fresh Indian vegetables. They all carry Indian spices and ingredients, drinks, and some even carry jewelry. The produce is priced much cheaper than at most Dallas-area groceries, and for dried beans, peas, lentils, and other dried foods and teas, the prices are real bargains! Because of India's close historical relationship with Great Britain, you can also find English brands of some products not available in regular groceries. And if you get hungry, there are several Indian restaurants around with delicious food and reasonable prices, or some of the stores have lunch counters inside with prepared foods available.

If you sew, or you need fabric for curtains or another home decorating project, such as reupholstering furniture, head on down to Perth Street in Dallas for the best deals around. Simply start on Perth Street at Best Fabrics, and work your way around the dozen or so wholesale fabric stores located on this street. Don't get excited and buy too soon, as you may find your best deals at the third or fourth store you visit. Don't forget to check out items like notions, trims (including upholstery trims and nailheads), beaded or lace collars, and designer buttons. Then head down the block a little south on Harry Hines to Golden d'Or, which supplies retailers all over the country with some of the most beautiful fabrics you've ever seen. Don't forget to check out their fabulous bridal fabrics and the clearance room at the back of the store! On your way out of Golden d'Or, be sure to sign up for their email list so that you'll be alerted to their clearance sales. And if you don't sew, Golden d'Or offers free sewing classes!

Heading south on Harry Hines towards downtown Dallas will give you an astonishing array of stores selling just about everything from cabinets to floors, lighting fixtures to carpet. Go in, scope the place out, make a few notes, and hurry down the street to the next place. Find the best deal, then go back and buy it fast before it disappears! 

If you have a day to spend exploring, turn on Lombardy Lane back west, and drive up and down the side streets. If you see a store, simply walk in and ask them if they sell to the public. If no, the person you ask will often point you to a nearby store that does sell to the public. I have found incredible bargains! 

Vantage street is anchored by Vantage Shoe Warehouse, which carries clothing, accessories, and, of course, shoes! Prices are usually at least 60% off and often 80% off of designer brands. Vantage Shoe Warehouse is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays, and their 9,000 square foot showroom stocks thousands of pairs of shoes. Of course, you can (and should!) go exploring the neighbourhood, which, like all warehouse and distribution districts, changes its composition from year to year. The question to ask the store is, "Do you sell to the public?" If they say no, smile, and say "Thank you. Do you know someone who does?" If it's a nearby warehouse store, you are in luck!

(There is an art gallery on Vantage Street. Don't expect bargains there.)

The venerable U.S. retailer, Sears, built its long-standing reputation on offering serviceable and durable goods at reasonable prices. But some items just don't sell, and then they go to the Sears outlet store in Carrollton (just north of Dallas). Refrigerators, stoves, ovens, dishwashers, tools, washers, dryers, lawn mowers, trimmers, edgers, and some home electronics such as televisions can all be found at quite reasonable prices. Depending on current policies, stores may or may not be able to negotiate further. However, it doesn't hurt to ask "Is this your best price?" Appliances will most likely be the highly-rated and usually reliable Kenmore brand, but other brands may be available from time to time.

Along with several other stores, Crate and Barrel has an outlet store in Dallas. While not as great as some of the bargains you can find elsewhere, if you really love something Crate and Barrel carries, it's worth looking into. Try next door for more housewares. There's also the Simmons Mattress Outlet, and several other outlet stores that, obviously, come and go with the vagaries of the economy, but if you're in the area, it's worth a stop to check out.

One item of note for those who sew: the Crate and Barrel Outlet sells fabric remnants (very small) for 95 cents per pound. They're not big enough remnants to make a scarf or anything, but extremely useful and cheap for such things as covering buttons, making patches, or doing patchwork quilting.

For those of you who love the Tuesday Morning stores (and who doesn't love them? even my father will go to them!) they always have great bargains and many convenient locations. But did you know that even Tuesday Morning has an outlet store? It's open only on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, so plan your trip with an eye to their schedule. Although the outlet store is quite small, you can find real savings on the kinds of things Tuesday Morning sells (a Ralph Lauren rug for $6.00, a framed wall mirror for $8.00, and so on). The Tuesday Morning outlet store is a great place to look for out-of-season holiday items as well, so if you have a fantastic new idea in March for just how to decorate your house for next Christmas, the Tuesday Morning outlet store could be exactly the right place to start realizing that idea. Just north of the main Tuesday Morning store on the northwest corner of Inwood Road and Langland in Addison, the Tuesday Morning outlet store is a real find for all kinds of housewares and clothing, as well as great decorative items.

While most people are familiar with the Habitat for Humanity charitable organization, you may not know that they have "Re-Stores," where the organization sells donated but unused material. The items in their ReStores are new materials or salvage materials that have been donated to (but not used by, or leftover from projects built by) Habitat for Humanity. I have seen sinks, tubs, laminate flooring, cabinets, countertops, lighting, construction materials, and many more items, so if you are building or improving a room or a house, the ReStores are definitely worth a look to see if something takes your fancy. The Habitat for Humanity outlet store has real bargains on everything in their stores and is completely worth the trip. As if that were not enough, each month they have specials of up to 50% off their already discounted prices! With two Dallas locations, the Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity ReStores offer you not only great prices, but a chance to support a worthy cause, as well!

The Floor and Decor Outlet has three stores in the Dallas area: I've been to the one in Dallas, where this outlet store features Armstrong and Bruce laminate flooring (as well as some lesser-known brands), hardwood flooring, ceramic, stone and glass tile, underlayments, flooring accessories (threshholds, etc.), stone and glass sinks, kitchen cabinets and countertop materials, and hard surface cleaning products, including the line of hardwood and hard surface cleaners from Bona. There are only hard-surfaced materials here, so for carpet you'll have to look elsewhere. There's a lot to see in this warehouse-type store, so if you're looking for flooring, be sure to take good notes to be sure of what you're seeing, and go already knowing the prices and your budget. There are also two other locations in the D/FW area: one in Plano and one in Arlington. Most locations are open 7:00 am to 9:00 pm, Mondays through Saturdays, and 10:00 am to 6:00 pm on Sundays. If there's not a store near you, you can still shop with the Floor and Decor savings through the Floor and Decor Outlet website.

Seconds and Surplus is another well-recognized outlet for home improvement supplies in Dallas, TX. With two locations, Seconds and Surplus has great prices on laminate, tile, bathroom sinks, granite countertops, lighting, cabinets, and many more items — even hardwood flooring. Be sure to check the Seconds and Surplus website for coupons and sales, and their products are new, ordered directly from manufacturers' surplus stocks. Featuring both entry-level and high-end products, Seconds and Surplus is well worth a visit for even the most mundane home improvement items (like replacing your toilet roll holder), and there is no telling what you will find. Even if it is not in the store, one of their staff may be able to locate and order an item for you at significant savings.

Brinkmann, long a trusted name for grills and smokers, has opened an outlet store in Addison, just north of Dallas. Their outlet store carries gas, charcoal and electric grills and smokers, grill accessories, landscape and handheld outdoor lighting (including solar outdoor lighting), pet accessories, Remington clothing, turkey fryers, camping equipment, and boat covers. In short, if you need anything at all for enjoying those summer evenings outdoors, you can't go wrong with Brinkmann (I have one of their smokers and I love it!). This outlet store is only a few months old, and it will most probably expand over time, as most outlets tend to do. The Brinkmann outlet store is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sundays from 1p.m. to 5 p.m.

The Weir's Furniture chain has both regular stores and outlet stores; sometimes the regular store and the outlet store are housed together in the same building. However, their Farmers Branch store is only an outlet store. Weir's Furniture offers a wide selection of furniture and accessories, from the rustic to the sleek and modern, and reasonable prices for real wood furniture (no flat packs here!). Remember when you look at the prices that this is real quality furniture, not cheap knockoffs, so there is no particle board and the prices will reflect the quality. Pieces range from console tables, to individual chairs, to bedroom or living room suites. If you're planning on using high-end furniture in your house, Weir's Furniture is definitely worth a look!

The Dillard's Clearance Center (okay this is a stretch since it is in Arlington, not Dallas, but it's so great I will make an exception for it) has out-of-season new clothing and shoes up to 75% off the original retail price with occasional sales (usually on holiday weekends) of up to 50% off the clearance price (you would pay 12.5% of the original price). Inside one of those "zombie malls," the Dillards Clearance Center is dimly lit, dusty, and the fitting room people and managers are rude, but if the price is right, it's worth the trip. Called "Dirty Dillards" by the insiders, it offers mostly women's and men's clothing and shoes, occasionally other items such as furniture, and the children's selection may be limited, but when it is there it is a real bargain. The place is huge, so allow 4 hours or longer for completely exploring the Dillards Clearance Center.

If you love to read, and have been shopping regularly at Half-Price Books, you'll be enthralled by 75% Off Books! All of the books, software, CDs, DVDs, and audiobooks here are brand new, many still in their original packaging. The selection is odd, and not that well sorted, but is a great place to find remaindered books and other items (the last time I went, there was a sale on small tools, including precision screwdrivers). There are books from all categories, but their selection of children's books is especially good. Don't go looking for a specific book; just go with information in mind and you'll be pleasantly surprised. Remember, even the coffee-table books are just $5 or less. It is still easy to go up to the counter and find that you've spent over a hundred dollars, but if you are shopping for Christmas gifts for readers, this is a great place to start!

Obviously, I can't list every outlet store. For one thing, these kinds of stores go in and out of business so often, I wouldn't have time to do anything more than maintain this web page! Take a digital camera and a notebook with you to jot down notes, and so you don't get caught up in a buying frenzy. Instead, go back out to your car, sit and think about what you might want, and check your budget. If you intend to shop at an outlet store of a chain, call them up and see whether they take their own gift cards. If so, by buying a gift card on eBay, or at Cardwoo at a discount, you could save even further!

These stores are not in posh, upscale neighbourhoods. Use your own judgment about what is safe, take someone with you, and be aware of your surroundings. The stores are going to be dusty and some may not even be heated or air-conditioned. If you want Nordstrom's, go to Nordstrom's, but you'll pay Nordstrom's prices. These are the best of the best discounts, and yes, it's a little inconvenient and the surroundings and service may be not what you're used to. But the prices won't be what you're used to, either. :)