When I originally signed up to be a 31 Gifts independent consultant, I have to admit that I was a little surprised at some of the prices. Some products are very reasonable, especially considering the quality, but others, seem a little on the high side. In fact, price is the main issue that I’ve heard commented on from folks when I have shown them some of my 31 bags: “I wouldn’t pay that much for a bag!”

I agree. And you do not have to pay full price for many of the 31 products, at least you don’t if you follow a few tips I’ve used myself to get great deals. For example, pictured above are two bags I use just about every day. The largest bag is called the Cindy tote, and it normally retails for $70. How much did I pay for it? I paid half of that, $35!

So before anyone dismisses 31 Gift bags as costing too much, here are some tips you should use so that you can get quality products at bargain prices:

• Check the current monthly special. If you go to my 31 Gifts web site, you will see rotating images that have information about new products, contests, and the current monthly special. Every month, the company has a deal of some kind, normally a purchase with a purchase type deal. For example, when I bought my Cindy tote, the monthly special was spend $31 and get another select bag for half off. I selected the Cindy tote as my half off item.
• Check with me (tammy powley @ yahoo dot com) about future monthly specials. Since I am an independent consultant, I get to know about future monthly specials coming up. Sometimes I will know what the specials are for the next two months coming up. This way, you can find out which works best for your needs and plan ahead.
• Host a 31 Gifts party and get discounted and free products. You do not have to have a bunch of people come over to your house. I can set up a web-based party for you, and as the host, you just need to invite a few friends. They can shop on-line or through a hard copy catalog. I will write a post sometime with more details about how a web party actually works, but as far as bargains go, this is how that works: A party has to have a minimum of $200 in sales. With that, the host receives $25 in her choice of free products, an opportunity to purchase any item of her choice for half the retail value, and a chance to purchase special discounted products only available to the host. As the sales go up past the minimum, so do the host’s benefits, meaning more freebies and more discounts.
• Host a web party during your favorite special. As a double whammy, keep an eye on the monthly specials, and then when you see one that you like, schedule your party (with me of course) so that you get double the goodies, free products plus extra discounted products.

My strategy is not really groundbreaking. Just like any place you shop, it’s really all about the specials and discounts and timing your purchases around these. If you go into any department store, you will see lots of bags that are regular price, but if you are like me, you head to the back where the marked down bags are kept. The difference with 31 Gifts is that you don’t have to trudge to a mall or buy bags that have been handled by a zillion other people, and many of the bags and other 31 products do not have a department store equivalent anyway. Instead, you can relax at home and flip through a catalog, either on-line or in your hands, and you still get an opportunity to get plenty of bargains.