Suggestions for tracking manufacturer quarterly and seasonal sales

[crafter]

I hope I'm posting in correct place. I've heard mention in media and noticed myself that manufacturers put sales on their items quarterly or at specific times during the year. I'm hoping to find some resources to put together a spread sheet for product sale times and to estimate how long I should stock up for. For me, it's more economical to pay cash for a shorter period than to stock up for a year and put the purchases on credit.

i.e. basics like meat - beef, pork, chicken, turkey and bacon (I've noticed that some go on sale after holidays)
Also paper products (for me, I like buying Cashmere, I've noticed that it seems to go on sale every month or 2 for low prices)
Also coffee, juice, cereal, dairy etc.

Any suggestions or resources would be greatly appreciated.

[blueeyetea]

The best way I know is to start and maintain a pricebook. Start documenting the prices via your receipt and flyers, and eventually you can figure out how often the sales come around and stock up just enough to last you until the next sale. For example, at my grocery store, the packs of 16 yogurts come up for sale every 4 weeks.

And like you said, somethings are related to a specific season, for example, whole turkeys are available in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Ham is popular at Christmas and Easter.

Something like toilet paper is used as a loss leader - sold cheap to lure people into the store where they are likely to buy other stuff.

[crafter]

The best way I know is to start and maintain a pricebook. Start documenting the prices via your receipt and flyers, and eventually you can figure out how often the sales come around and stock up just enough to last you until the next sale. For example, at my grocery store, the packs of 16 yogurts come up for sale every 4 weeks.

And like you said, somethings are related to a specific season, for example, whole turkeys are available in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Ham is popular at Christmas and Easter.

Something like toilet paper is used as a loss leader - sold cheap to lure people into the store where they are likely to buy other stuff.

Thanks for the link to the price book. That's exactly what I've been looking for! I think I'll try an excel version of this. Great find on your yogurt as normally good for a month.

[PurpleBunny89]

The best way I know is to start and maintain a pricebook. Start documenting the prices via your receipt and flyers, and eventually you can figure out how often the sales come around and stock up just enough to last you until the next sale. For example, at my grocery store, the packs of 16 yogurts come up for sale every 4 weeks.

And like you said, somethings are related to a specific season, for example, whole turkeys are available in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Ham is popular at Christmas and Easter.

Something like toilet paper is used as a loss leader - sold cheap to lure people into the store where they are likely to buy other stuff.

This is what I used to do. I made a spreadsheet type thingie and tracked the prices, where on sale, the size of the product and then the next time it went on sale I added to the dates section.

Now I've been doing it for so long I rarely ever use it anymore because I remember how often stuff goes on for.