You might have heard of Covet.com or Gilt Groupe, promising exclusive savings and deals on the hottest apparel, accessories, and even décor and travel. If you’re to believe their hype, you’d think you could pick up a magazine, pick out a few outfits and a weekend getaway, and go online to find it all at 20-80% off. Is this possible?

Well, yes, it could be. Are you ready to shop at a moment’s notice? Do you have disposable income ready to snap up that hot bargain pair of jeans or that all-inclusive resort? Are you obsessive about never paying retail? OK then, let’s talk!

These sites offer good deals, and with a little check-in at Plastic Jungle, you can save even more. Here are some tips:

Get Thee to Covet.com

Covet’s hook is that you take a preference test, they call it the “Stylyzer”, based on the looks you like. They use familiar celebrities with trademarked looks: think Reese Witherspoon’s “Classic Preppy” JCrew looks, or Kate Hudson’s Hippie “Boho” Free People outfits, or Pink’s Urban melodrama via Diesel or Moschino.

After you finish your Stylyzer quiz, you get sale alerts for apparel and accessories that fit your profile. “Shop without Sin” is their tagline. In their sale alerts, you can buy sale or clearance merchandise from all over the web – Nordstrom to Ann Taylor to Zappos and plenty of other merchants whose DISCOUNTED GIFT CARDS you can purchase here on Plastic Jungle.

So: You get an alert for a sale, you jump onto PlasticJungle.com, purchase a discounted eCODE for the merchant with the sale, and wham-O! By the end of the day you’re saving an extra percentage off an item you’re very psyched about that is already on sale. Coordinating merchants include Nordstrom, Zappos, Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Banana Republic, and many more.

Try also: Shop It To Me

As “Your Personal Online Shopper”, the Shop It To Me web bot crawls through department store and boutique sites looking for sales on the brands and designers you love. At your request for frequency, they’ll send you a “SaleMail”, an email loaded with items from your faves the minute they go on sale.

Other sale sites, such as Rue La La, Gilt Groupe and HauteLook (more designer clothing and haute travel), or Zulily (moms and kids gear), or One King’s Lane (amazing home décor), have awesome sales “boutiques” that sell items direct from the designers. You need to sign up, and there are no personal profiles to select specific brands, but the savings are substantial and come right to your email inbox. (Super Shopper Hint: these sites are amazing for introducing you to new brands.)

Remember, if you have a favorite brand, such as Armani Exchange, Coach, Victoria’s Secret, Ann Taylor, even Burberry (or a hundred more merchants), you can always check Plastic Jungle for discount gift cards. If none are in stock, set an alert so that when one does come into stock, Plastic Jungle will automatically email you so that you can snap it up to get up to 35% off.

Because the cards are interchangeable, you can use this information to check the balance on Gift Cards from all Gap, Inc. Brands:

•Gap    •Old Navy       •Banana Republic      •Athleta          •Piperlime.com

When you look at it, about 1.3 million people “Like” Gap stores on Facebook. That’s a lot of people – and helps demonstrate the versatility of the apparel-maker’s easy style. With that many customers even willing to say it out loud, it’s likely you, or at least one of your friends, like Gap brands too.

By keeping inventory fresh in stores and online, Gap keeps shoppers’ interest piqued; lucky for us bargain hunters it means they’re also clearing out stock on a regular basis with sales from 20-70% off (see their “Sale” tab at Gap.com)  – not to mention the hot clearance deals to be found at GapOutlets and GapFactory stores. (See the Store Locator link, below.)

Discounts at Gap and Gap.com
Need to know what Gap’s promotions are on right now? Go to the store-affiliated Gap-Coupons.com blog for the latest on Gap sales and deals: this includes discount offers, free shipping offers, sales, coupons, deals and of course, Gap news.

Still, you can get an even bigger bargain when you buy a discounted gift card from Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Athleta, or Piperlime.com here at Plastic Jungle. On Plastic Jungle, the cards will ship for free and have no fees. So set an alert on any or all of these interchangeable gift cards, and you’ll be the first to know when the gift cards come into Plastic Jungle inventory, and a fresh discount is to be had.

One Card, So Many Apparel Options
That’s right: the Gap GiftCard may be redeemed for merchandise at any Gap brand, Old Navy, Banana Republic, or Athleta location, including GapOutlet and GapFactory stores. Gap GiftCards may also be redeemed for merchandise at gap.com, oldnavy.com, bananarepublic.com, piperlime.com or athleta.com. The cards from all five retailers are interchangeable. For more information specific to eGift Cards, go to the Gap Brands eGift Card FAQ page.

Checking the Balance on a Gap GiftCard or eGiftcard

ONLINE: Go to the Gap GiftServices page where you’ll be able to check balance in a few clicks. Or, you can check the balance on a gift card on the Billing Page in “Checkout” or in “Your Account”. In both places, you will see a link to “Check Balance.” You can then enter the 16-digit gift card number and the 4-digit PIN on the back of your card and click “Check Balance”.

IN-STORE: Check the Gap Store Locator (includes GapOutlet)

BY PHONE: Gap Customer Service: 1-800-427-7895 (1-800-GAP-STYLE)

Sell or Exchange Your Gap GiftCard or eGiftCard
Once you’ve acquired your Gap GiftCard balance, you can sell or exchange your Gap brand gift card to Plastic Jungle. At Plastic Jungle, you can also trade your Gap GiftCard for an Amazon.com Gift Card, Facebook credits (on Facebook.com), and even fund your PayPal account.

To know how much your Gap Gift Card is worth in exchange on Plastic Jungle, on the main page, click “Sell Gift Cards” at the top of the page. Look up “Gap”, enter the gift card balance you’ve just acquired, and you’ll see instantly what your gift card balance is worth in cash or trade.

Check other Plastic Jungle blog posts for the same “Check Your Gift Card Balance” information for other stores, including Sears, Land’s End, Macy’s, Best Buy, Lowe’s, and more.