Best End-of-Summer Sales

Summer's a great time to catch some amazing bargains. But how do you get the best deals this season?

Amy Goodman, senior editor at All You magazine, gave the lowdown how to make the most of this year's deals.

Goodman explained this weekend is a great one to do major shopping because many states are having a tax-free weekend.

The following states have tax-free weekends that begin this weekend:
Alabama
Illinois
Iowa
Louisiana
Maryland
Missouri
New Mexico
North Carolina
Oklahoma
South Carolina
Tennessee
Virginia

Goodman explained it looks like Illinois residents will reap the biggest rewards with the highest sales tax at (6.25 percent) and the length of time we they will be participating in this promotion (10 days).

Goodman said you'll have to check your particular state for details, but usually this means anything clothing or school related, under $100, is tax-free.

In addition to tax-free incentives, summer's end is a huge sale season for outdoor entertaining items. Goodman said stores are trying to move summer inventory.

Goodman suggested these sales on "The Early Show":

Outdoor Entertaining Sales:

LOWE'S GRILL:
Special Value on Char-broil Commercial Series 4 burner gas grill #314400 at LOWES
Original price: $299
Sale price: $249
Savings Discount: 16 percent
Four Burners with and 50,000 BTUs provide enough power for even cooking across the surface of the grill
Heavy-duty porcelain enameled cast iron cooking grates create a wonderful sear
Convertible to Natural Gas with a kit (sold separately)

KIDS GARDEN SET:
Why not have the children have fun on the deck or in the yard with this themed set at drastically reduced price -- just $15 for the whole set!
Watermelon umbrella and 2 red chairs.
Kids' umbrellas Original: $27.98 marked down to $19.97 then $9.97 and finally the rock bottom price of $4.99 each while supplies last (lots of inventory still out there).
The Chairs were originally $16.88 marked down to $9.97 and now $4.99. They will on sale for the remainder of the season or until the inventory is gone.

Kids Garden Set Patio Furniture available at LOWES.

PATIO UMBRELLA
Aluminum 10-foot Patio Umbrella
Was: $186.03
Today: $83.99
Patio umbrella measures eight feet high and 10 feet in diameter. Aluminum patio furniture features eight ribs for strength. Outdoor umbrella has a tilting top and hand crank. Comes in an array of colors.

Aluminum 10-foot Patio Umbrella, available at Overstock.com.
WHITE SALES
Goodman said this is the time of year when numerous stores have home sales and white sales (for household linens) fall under that. As the month progresses, the sales get progressively deeper.

VERA WANG TOWELS
"Simply Vera" - by Vera Wang - exclusively at Kohls
SVVW Cotton Blend bath towels - These prices are only applicable 8/9 - 8/14
Buy one get one free. Exceptionally soft. Pamper yourself with these spa-quality bath towels. In a range of solid shades to match your decorating needs.

Hand Towel
Retail: $15.99

Bath Towel
Retail: $19.99

Bath Sheet 33"x68"
Retail: $35.99

Wash Cloth
Retail:$11.99

BEDDING:
Studio Dots Queen 8-piece Bed in a Bag
Original Price: $140.00
Sale Price: $55.99
Savings: $84.01
Percentage Off: 60 percent
This lively Dots 6- or 8-piece bedding set features a comforter that reverses to dark mocha with blue dots. Six or eight-piece bedding set includes: reversible comforter with polyester fill, pillow sham(s), tailored bedskirt with 14" drop that fits footboard, 200 thread-count sheet set with fitted sheet, flat sheet and pillowcase(s).

PILLOWS:
JCPenney: Buy one, get one for $1.00 on our entire stock of bed pillows

The sale runs Friday, August 6th and Saturday, August 7th with special store hours (opening and closing). Call 1-877-FIND-JCP for stores nationwide.

All of the products are available online at jcp.com and in JCPenney Stores nationwide. The sale runs Friday, August 6th and Saturday, August 7th with special store hours.

Call 1-877-FIND-JCP for store location details.

ELECTRONICS
Goodman explained this is the second time of year that it's savvy to load up on electronics (Dec/Jan being the other time of year). It piggy backs Back-to-school sales when students are in need of the latest electronics to prep them for the school year.

GPS:
Don't get lost to your next barbecue- with this great price on a GPS found at TARGET
GPS in from Target:
TomTom XXL530S GPS
Original price: $189.99
Sale price: $129.99
Percentage Discount: 32 percent
This sale is good until good until Saturday, August 7th.
Has 5" touch screen and speaks street names. Preloaded with maps of US and Canada.

LAPTOP:
Compaq laptops happening now for $329.99 through Sunday both online and in-store. They were $379.99. There will be similarly priced deals on other brands next week as well. So that's something viewers will be interested in and should keep an eye out for. This laptop features a spacious 160GB hard drive so you can store important documents and files and a 15.6" LED high-definition display with BrightView technology for a clear view of graphics and photos.

PHONES:
Samsung Vibrant for T-Mobile
Sale Price -$149.99 with qualifying new or upgraded 2-year agreement and $30/mo. Android data plan
Bonus $50 RadioShack Gift Card (netting $99.99 total for eligible new or upgraded customers with qualifying contract).
Offer available both online and in stores
Prices valid 8/1/10 - 8/7/10

Trade&Save Program:
RadioShack has a great Trade&Save program that allows customers to trade in their used cell phones, accessories, laptops, etc., in exchange for a dollar value on a RadioShack gift card to be used towards there next purchase.

For more information, visit the RadioShack Trade&Save program page.

And you can find other great deals for Laptops on Fat Wallet.