Sniffing out deals on holiday weekends is a bargain hunting tradition. Memorial Day weekend isn't usually as good for sales as July 4 or Labor Day, but there are always notable exceptions. Here's a look at some good deals and average ones.
Mattresses: Slickdeals.com and Dealnews.com say that mattress companies roll out new models in June, so May is a good time to get good deals on last season's models. Trust but verify such advice. Sales associates at Macy's Home store in Edina and Slumberland in Bloomington said this is not clearance time at their stores. A Macy's rep said January and February are better times to find closeout models. Slumberland said it varies by brand but they have very few closeouts now. Ask if the mattress is a closeout and check the price tag for confirmation.
Major appliances: Good deals can be found but many are no better than usual. Best Buy and Home Depot are offering a Whirlpool 4-door French Door stainless steel refrigerator #WRX735SDHZ for about $1,599. That's a fairly low sale price, and it gets a good review from Consumer Reports. Do a little price search history online to see how good it is. According to Slickdeals.net the same fridge sold for $1,499 at Best Buy on Black Friday. Goedekers.com is currently selling it for $1,399 with free shipping and no tax. Consumers can show proof of the lower online price as a negotiating tool for a lower price locally. Most retailers will only price match certain competitors, but a manager may shave some off to avoid losing a sale.
Liquor, beer, wine: Nearly every liquor store has good deals this weekend. Morelli's--Big House 3-liter box of wine $6.97 after rebate, Total Wine (Coors Light, Bud Light, Budweiser, Miller Lite, Michelob Golden 24 pk. cans/ $9.99 after rebate) and Liquor Boy (Canadian Club Whiskey 1.75L $9.99 after rebate with purchase of six bottles).
Other deals worth a look: MN Home Outlets in Burnsville, Coon Rapids and Woodbury (75 percent off most of the merchandise), Chocolat Celeste in St. Paul (50% off the red-white-blue collection), Target and Cub (Pepsi and Coke four 12/pks. cans for $10), Home Depot (Kingsford charcoal 2-pack of 18.6 pounds $9.88, and Vigora brown mulch 5 bags for $10 (2 cu. ft each), Groupon and Living Social (25% off sitewide with code EXTRA25 and SAVE25 respectively), and most major thrift stores have 50% off on Memorial Day (Goodwill, Salvation Army, Value Village, Savers, Unique, Valu Thrift)
Deals for veterans: Go here (www.offers.com/blog/post/memorial-day-freebies) for scores of deals and freebies for veterans during Memorial Day weekend as well as deals for all.
All deals may be good for only a portion of the weekend or on Memorial Day.
