It’s Back-to-School time… which means clothes shopping… which means trips to crowded malls and big box stores… which means combing through clearance racks and piles of clothes. More and more, we’re deciding to stay at home and make those same purchases online as traditional retailers like Old Navy and Target and most recently H&M have made buying from their brick & mortar and online stores interchangeable, meaning a seamless shopping experience and less hassles with returns.

At Ben’s Bargains, we’ve found that some of the best deals online are apparel deals, due to the high markup involved in that industry. The single main drawback to purchasing clothes and shoes online — buying without trying on — is offset by increasingly common free shipping deals, simplified returns at brick & mortar locations or sometimes free return shipping (especially with online-only shoe stores) and, most importantly, the ability to quickly scan if your size is available or not. What a relief!

Here are 10 recent deals we’ve seen around Ben’s Bargains that will make your Back-to-School online clothes shopping a fun and money-saving experience:

1) Pick up cheap shoes from 6pm.com, the Zappos outlet, where standard shipping is always free. You can find casual sneaks like the Reebok Lifestyle Club C Men’s Shoes for $37 shipped (over $50 on Amazon) or dressier shoes like the Bass Amherst Men’s Dress Shoes for $29 shipped ($69 on Amazon). No free return shipping, but prices are low.

2) If you’re looking for some fun clothes, hipster T-shirt site Threadless is offering their wide selection of artist-created graphic T-shirts (at right) for $10 each + shipping (around $5) through August 16th. These shirts are usually $20 + shipping.

3) Nike Store is taking an extra 20% off clearance apparel and shoes through August 20th. Nike Store only runs this deal occasionally, and the clearance prices are often the best that you can find. Shipping runs about $8 but you can return any Nike.com order to any one of their official retail stores or outlets.

4) Get ready for winter with 40% to 50% off Past-Season Clothing from Patagonia. Shipping isn’t great (around $9 to $11), but it is free on orders over $75. These are good outlet prices. No free return shipping but you can return to Patagonia retail stores in 17 states.

5) Through August 15th, you can get an additional 50% off sale items through Gap.com. Shipping starts around $5, and there’s no free return shipping but you can make in-store returns at any of their ubiquitous retail stores.

6) If you’re not picky about your sunglasses, you can buy an 8-pack of “Name Brand” Men’s or Women’s Sunglasses from 13 Deals for just $15 shipped. No free return shipping, but then at this price it’s a small risk.

7) Columbia Sportswear (at left) is currently taking 25% off select men’s, women’s and kids’ clothes and shoes plus an extra 15% off with code. Columbia rarely offers codes through their online store, so now’s a good time to jump on their sale if you’re eyeing this brand. Shipping is a flat $6 and you can make returns directly to their retail store locations or outlets.

8) eBay Fashion Outlet is a great place to find deals from mainstream brands and retailers like Under Armour, Jockey, Fila and Hanes.  For example, Champion Cotton Jersey Men’s T-Shirts are $8 shipped through the Hanes storefront.

9) You can currently get an extra 30% off sitewide with coupon code at Reebok. Reebok CrossFit gear, items with $.98 price endings and custom shoes are excluded, but shipping is free on all orders. Beware, though, returns are not free or convenient.

10) If you like American Eagle Outfitters and want to avoid the crowds, the online store is offering an additional 60% off clearance plus free shipping on all orders for a limited time. There are some great finds here, plus you can return purchases to any of their store locations.

If you still prefer to shop in person, check out Raise.com, which offers up to 30% off hundreds of retail store gift cards. Shipping is free  on gift cards, plus you can currently get $5 off purchases $70 or more.

If you don’t see a favorite store or brand on the list above, you can create deal alerts (registration required) so you won’t miss them the next time they appear on Ben’s Bargains. If one of these deals is expired, you can also click the deal alert icon (the bell) on individual posts to receive an instant email alert.

You’re also welcome to send us tips or suggestions. Good luck!

10 Back-to-School Online Clothes Shopping Deals

I’ve always been a bit of a nerd. I was the girl who wore Lion King and Star Wars t-shirts all the way through middle school — not in a cool, ironic kind of way, but in a “I really, really love The Lion King and I don’t care who knows it” kind of way. It turns out that I was just way ahead of the fashion curve. Of course, geeky character t-shirts are all the rage these days. It’s not only acceptable to be 34-years-old and sporting a shirt with Kermit the Frog on the front of it; it’s absolutely trendy.

Here are ten of the greatest geeky character t-shirts you can buy right now, in no particular order:

1. OOYL ($20; Busted Tees)

Yoda-speak for the teen catchphrase YOLO (stands for “you only live once,” don’t worry, I totally had to Google it too).

2. Epic Beards from The Hobbit ($20; Think Geek)

Mustaches are so hip right now (sort of like owls, and kale). This might just be the best use of facial hair in a shirt I’ve seen so far this year.

 3. Haters Gonna Hate ($20; Busted Tees)

Gotta love Statler and Waldorf (otherwise known as those cranky old men from the Muppet Show). Also, this.

4. The Street Gang ($23; Threadless)

This artist-designed Sesame Street T-shirt is so cool it doesn’t even need a clever saying to go along with it.

 5. Bugs and Taz ($34; Junk Food Clothing)

This one is just so ridiculously cheesy, I kind of love it. I am pretty sure I owned almost this exact same shirt in 1996 (and probably rocked it with some sweet stonewashed overalls and a Tommy Girl scrunchie).

6. Chewy ($20; Threadless)

What can I say? This Chewbacca stick of gum shirt is pretty much adorable.

7. 11th Doctor Costume T-Shirt ($23; Think Geek)

Beyond the good Doctor, you can find one of these for  just about any character you can think of. Celebrate Halloween every day of the year!

8. Ursulines ($24; Threadless)

One of the winners of Threadless’s Disney Villains design contest, this Little Mermaid shirt is both really cool and creepy at the same time.

9. Muppetasional Mosaic ($24; Threadless)

Unfortunately, this shirt is completely sold out right now (not surprising, it’s pretty sweet), but you can request a reprint. Look closely to find all your favorite Muppets meticulously and carefully drawn within Kermit’s face. Check out Threadless’s other Muppets shirts (they are all really great).

10. Bat Man and Robin ($24; Busted Tees)

Get it? It’s a bat-man and a robin. I thought it was pretty clever anyway!

10 Character T-Shirts Worth Wearing