(MONEY Magazine) – Designers on sale: Sample sales, where manufacturers unload overstock and samples at the end of the season, allow even underpaid editorial assistants in the fashion press to dress like the people they cover. At a recent Hermes sale, $300 belts went for $75. For details on sales in major cities across the U.S., check out the Sales and Bargains Website, www.samplesale.com.

High-end outlet mall: Central Valley, N.Y. isn't Madison Avenue, but you'll find Giorgio Armani, J.P. Tod's and Versace stores there at Woodbury Common Premium Outlets (914-928-7467). The deals are remarkable: Barney's New York slashes its prices by as much as two-thirds. And at Brooks Brothers, a $248 cashmere sweater was selling recently for $89. Woodbury Common is just an hour's drive from Manhattan.

Wedding gifts: First, check the tony department stores where the couple-to-be have registered. Then pick up the phone and dial the Ross-Simons catalogue (800-556-7376), where you'll likely find the same stuff for 20% to 70% less. A Wedgwood Strawberry & Vine five-piece place setting that usually costs $105 at Bloomingdale's is $73.50 (plus shipping and handling) here.

Status pen: You expect office superstores like Staples and Office Depot to have great prices on highlighters and Scotch tape, but luxury items? Yep, both have hard-to-beat prices on the ultimate writing instrument: the classic black Mont Blanc ballpoint. It's $165 at Bloomingdale's but only $115 at Office Depot and just $110 at Staples. If you order by phone from Staples (800-333-3330), you'll get it delivered to your door by the next business day, gratis.

Gifts from Tiffany: That blue box. That snow-white ribbon. There's no doubt that a package from Tiffany & Co. (800-526-0649) gets noticed. The question is: Will it break the bank? Not if you opt for silver. For $95, you can buy a sterling zodiac pendant designed by Elsa Peretti. Less personal--but more practical--is the silver screwball key ring for $45. It won't cut it for your anniversary, but it's attractive and has a service plus: Built into the product is a "return to Tiffany" tag and ID number. If the keys are lost and returned to Tiffany, they'll be sent back to the owner.

Car seat: You'll get the best deal by shopping at Midas. That's right, Midas. The muffler company sells the Century 1000 STE Classic car seat (for kids between 20 and 40 pounds), which was highly rated by Consumer Reports. At $44, it's a healthy discount off the $60 retail price.

Bag for baby: Fashion-conscious parents may be willing to plunk down $180 for a chic Kate Spade diaper bag. But the Lands' End Deluxe Diaper Bag is not only cheaper ($49.50 plus shipping; 800-356-4444) but far more practical. Parents rave about its durability, four bottle holders and attached key ring.

Kids' clothing: Shopping at Gymboree can be a bargain--if you time its sales. According to retail analysts, when Gymboree introduces a clothing line (every four to six weeks), items are sold at full price for only six to nine weeks. Then they're marked down 25% to 30% for one to five weeks; eventually, the discount reaches 40%, 50%, even 70%. Hint: The sales racks are in the back of the stores.

Running shoes: If you've ever blown $100 on running shoes only to discover that they don't feel as good on the road as they did in the store, you'll appreciate Road Runner Sports' 60-day unconditional guarantee. The San Diego-based mail-order company (800-551-5558) will exchange or refund anything you buy from them, even if you've thrown out the box, lost the receipt and trekked 100 miles through the mud. Diehard harriers might also want to join the Run America Club. For $19.95, you get 5% off merchandise, a subscription to Fitness Runner magazine and--most important--a heads-up when your shoe of choice is about to be discontinued.

Golf club: With top-of-the-line oversize golf clubs tipping the scales at a hefty $600 each, the one that started the bigger-is-better trend in the early '90s has become a bargain. While it's no longer state of the art, the Callaway Big Bertha is still an enormous improvement over your old woods. And the price is right: Brand-new Big Berthas with the so-called War Bird soleplate can be found for as little as $150.

Baseball glove: At a Rawlings Sporting Goods outlet, some gloves are considered seconds--we saw one recently with a misstitched logo--but they can be a steal. For example, the Trap-Eze (or six-finger) model, popular among major league infielders, retails for almost $300; at a Rawlings outlet it's $109. There are three locations: Reading, Pa. (610-378-0461), Myrtle Beach, S.C. (803-236-5038) and New Braunfels, Texas (830-620-1626).

Shopping trip to plan a vacation around: With its special "Shop 'til You Drop" packages to the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., Northwest Airlines (800-800-1504) is making the nation's largest shopping mall accessible to almost everyone. Round-trip tickets from Cleveland, New York and Denver run as little as $330 a person (about $100 more from California), including two nights at a nearby Best Western Hotel and transit to the mall (for kids 17 and under, about $90 less). While you shop, your kids can check out the aquarium, the miniature golf course and the seven-acre indoor-amusement park, Camp Snoopy, which offers roller coasters, flume rides and, of course, the top dog.

High-performance jet plane: Eastern bloc governments are selling their cold war fighter planes at fire-sale prices. The best bang for your buck: the 630-mph MiG-15 UTI, a two-seater originally used by the Soviet air force to train pilots in the 1950s and '60s. Price: $35,000 in a crate, $110,000 ready to fly, from Fantasy Flyers in Santa Fe (505-471-4151; www.jetwarbird.com).

Cooking gear: It would be easy to blow a month's salary on cooking paraphernalia you don't really need. Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, the Food Network's Too Hot Tamales, suggest these essentials: First, the Forschner 10-inch chef's knife with a Fibrox handle and a stainless-steel blade, $25.93. Available from the Knives Express International Website (www.knives-express.com). "Cheap knives tend to tear food," says Milliken. "This knife holds its edge well," and the Fibrox handle won't house bacteria. Second, the Banton by Vic Firth wooden pepper mill is $25.50 for a three-inch maple mill, $38.50 for an eight-inch cherry mill. Available at Bloomingdale's and Williams-Sonoma. "It will last 20 years," says Feniger. "If we could start a national campaign to throw away all pre-ground pepper, we certainly would."

Cookware by mail: Enameled cast-iron cookware by Le Creuset combines looks and performance. But it's pricey. The solution: 21 outlets and their mail-order service (800-827-1798). Recently, the two-quart heart-shaped casserole regularly priced at $84--an ideal wedding present--was $44.99 plus shipping via UPS. Around Christmas and July Fourth, discounts are even better. All pieces carry the standard warranty.

Consumer ed: To be a savvy shopper, see www.consumer.gov. It's a one-stop link to a host of federal information resources, where you can find everything from how to spot an unscrupulous home-equity lender to why the Evenflo On My Way infant car seat/carrier has been recalled.

ON THE NET

Books: Amazon.com (www.amazon.com) has a million more titles than competitor Barnesandnoble.com--and generally lower prices on rarer reads.

Music: Music Boulevard (www .musicblvd.com) doesn't charge for shipping if you order three CDs. (See Virtual Consumer on page 145.)

Flowers: The online version of 1-800-Flowers (www.1800flowers.com) does exactly what the telephone version does but with a lower service charge. Plus, you can order as late as 2 p.m. and get same-day delivery.

Museum gifts: New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art is known for its great gift shop. Now the shop's stock--from a Faberge egg pendant ($18) to a reproduction of an Egyptian pyramid ($195)--is available at www.metmuseum.org. The best time to buy: during the holiday clearance sale from Jan. 15 to March 31. Expect discounts of 30% to 50%, plus an additional 10% off for museum members.