Tips for Shopping in New York City This Holiday!

Hundreds of thousands of people come into New York City during the holidays to shop. And there are certainly very cool things to see and very good places to shop. I commute to New York City daily, so I am in the perfect position to provide some tips to make your holiday shopping in NYC go smoothly:

Shop Monday and Tuesday - Monday and Tuesday are slower days in NYC. For one, Broadway is dark on Monday, so fewer people will be there to see shows. And in general Monday and Tuesday have less people in town. Most people come in Wednesday through Sunday.

Shop Between 10am and 3pm - THOUSANDS of people use the subway system and commuter rails from 7-9am and 3pm-7pm. You will find less crowding on the trains and on the streets between 10-3pm. I overheard shoppers getting on the 4:43 train back to New Jersey complaining about how crowded it was at that time. After 4pm is rush hour and you can count on all mass transit being crowded.

Avoid Paying Tax On Your Purchases - According to About.com "...there is a year-round exemption from New York State sales and use taxes for clothing, footwear, and items used to make or repair exempt clothing, costing less than $110 per item or pair. The exemption does not apply to locally imposed sales and use taxes unless the county or city imposing those taxes elected the exemption." So if you don't need to buy a $115 purse - then don't to save on the taxes.

Matinee Wednesday - People from all over come to save on Broadway tickets and see a matinee. Unless you are going to NYC for the matinee, avoid coming on this day.

Use Mass Transit - Don't bother with a car. Parking is horrendous and parking lots are outrageously expensive. Buy a one day unlimited one day fun pass Metrocard for $. Also, go to the MTA website to see the various discounts you can get around town with a Metrocard.

BONUS RETAIL SECRETS TIP! - If you have time to take in a museum, go to The Museum of Natural History. All though they list prices, they are merely SUGGESTED DONATIONS. If you just want to see the museum, then you can pay whatever you want. It could be $1 or $5 or $.50. Again the prices they list for GENERAL ADMISSION are suggested donations. Don't pay the full admission - unless you want to.