John Dermott was loading up his minivan with dozens of plants he had just purchased at Lowe's, at big Labor Day sale prices.
"I heard about the sales, and since I just bought a new house, I wanted to buy some flowers for the house," Dermott said.
Another woman, with a cart filled with autumn mums, said "the prices are real good this weekend."
She's right: The three-day Labor Day weekend is the biggest sale weekend between summer and Black Friday, and even better, doesn't have the Black Friday crowds or competition.
Given that it's the last weekend of the summer, though, many people don't feel like shopping.
Big sales at home improvement stores
Activities like painting the house are probably low on your list. But you should at least consider stocking up on paint, because you don't often find paint sales like this.
"It was $40 off a 5-gallon bucket," one Home Depot shopper told us. "And you can't beat that, so I went ahead and got 15 gallons today."
- Home Depot has a big sale on its top rated Behr paint.
- Lowe's has discounts on its Valspar brand.
- Ace Hardware is running deals on its also top-rated Clark Kensington brand.
The website DealNews.comsays home improvement stores are also slashing prices on patio furniture, fire pits, grills and other outdoor items, as they have to make room to set up their Christmas displays in the coming week.
Big sales on appliances, TVs, beds
This is also a great weekend to buy appliances, with prices even lower than on Black Friday, according to Deal News.
- Sears has 40 percent off select Kenmore appliances and up to 60 percent off on beds.
- Lowe's has 35 percent or more off many name-brand appliances and Dyson vacuums.
- Best Buy has 35 percent off many appliances and big screen HDTVs (though TV deals are not as good as they will be on Black Friday).
- hh gregg has 35 percent off select appliances, and special markdowns on Maytag washers and dryers. It also has some big markdowns on Samsung TVs.
- Ashley Furniture, Morris Home Furnishings, Furniture Fair and other stores have 25-50 percent off living room and bedroom furniture.
- Tempur-Pedic mattress stores are having their biggest sale of the year this weekend.
Summer clothing deals
Mall stores are all running final markdowns on spring and summer clothing. Look for super deals at Macy's, Kohl's, and Dillard's.
These sales include swimsuits and golf gear, which is great to stock up on now for next spring.
Don't expect big sales on fall and winter gear, however: Those start in November.
New car rebates
Swapalease.com says it is seeing more markdowns on new cars this weekend than they normally see on Labor Day.
The site says August car sales were slower than expected, leaving many dealers with too many 2016 models on their lots.
Those 2016 models need to go, so automakers are offering between $1,000 and $5,000 incentives on many models.
Sales to hold off on
DealNews suggests you hold off on buying Apple products for two more weeks.
The new iPhone 7, and updated Macbooks and iPads, are expected on Sept. 16. At that point, prices will be slashed on current models.
If you want a new laptop, you are best off waiting until Black Friday, DealNews says.
And while Best Buy, hh gregg, and Amazon have some good markdowns on select 4K HDTVs this weekend, it says prices will be lower starting in mid-November, and on Black Friday.
So get out to the stores this weekend if you want to save, so you don't waste your money.
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