The best way to achieve this in Taiwan is to look out for the big sales! The best times to find bargains, however, are just prior to: Chinese New Year (January/February), Mother's Day (May), Mid-Autumn Festival and Father's Day (August). August is also a good time to make bargains simply because, according to Chinese tradition, it is the Ghost Month.Another common reason for a sale is the anniversary of a department store or shop.

Generally speaking, even when shopping for more expensive items, it's always a good idea to ask for a "good price" even at stores where prices are normally fixed, for there is often a promotional price reduction. This is also true for department stores.

The bigger department stores in Taiwan are: Sogo, Mitsukoshi, Far Eastern and in Taipei there are also: Taipei 101, New York New York, Takashimaya and the latest among them all, Bellavita in the Xinyi area. Eslite Bookstore can also be considered as a department store since they have a considerable amount of other items except books. A "heaven" for gift shopping is the Taiwan Handicraft Promotion Center, Hsu Chou Rd. / corner of Zhong Shan S Rd., which is a government-sponsored store that offers a wide selection of Chinese handicrafts. Open 9.00 am – 5.30 pm daily. English is spoken.

In the big cities, outlet stores are often opened for a few days/weeks with brand name items; a few are permanent shops. A good venue for a fun and cheap shopping spree is among the street vendors and the markets.

Now here is a tip for visitors to Taiwan : watch out, even if you can't read the Chinese characters on shop tags – you can read the numbers. A number 5 is easy: 50% discount! A number 8 is 20% discount and a number 1 means you just pay 10% of the original price – so yes, go for it : it's a 90% discount!

When buying discounted items, though, always inspect them very carefully before purchase, as bought items usually cannot be exchanged.