The Evolution of Bargain Hunting

It's not just the holidays: Crowds of shoppers bagging the ever-elusive steal

Chris Wild

20th Century

Bargain hunters waiting to enter a London shop during January sales. Credit: Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

Lines crowd for the Ponting's department store sale in London. Credit: Argent Archer/SSPL/Getty Images

People shopping for bargains crowd the street. Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

A winter sale begins In England. Credit: Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images

A crowd of bargain hunters shopping for hats during the January sales at Whiteley's department store in Bayswater, London. Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

A crowd of bargain hunters shopping for hats in the January sales at Whiteley's department store, Bayswater, London. Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

A mauling mass of female shoppers ravage the dress counters of Filene's Basement in New York during a semi-annual Dollar Day sale which racked sales of up to $45,000. Credit: Carl Mydans/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Crowds at a salvage sale in an east London department store use coupons to buy goods. Credit: Reg Speller/Fox Photos/Getty Images

A group of men and women stand on a city sidewalk, looking in the window of an appliance store during a sale. Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Bargain hunters in a London store shop during the January sales. Credit: Haywood Magee/Picture Post/Getty Images

Bargain hunters shop at Ohrbach's store in New York. Credit: Yale Joel/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Frenzied shoppers crowd around a busy cashier during the bargain rush sale at Hearn's department store in New York. Credit: Lisa Larsen/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

The sale at the C&A store in Marble Arch, London. Credit: George W. Hales/Fox Photos/Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II (right) selling an item during a sale at Abergeldie Castle in Scotland to raise funds for the rebuilding of the vestry at Crathie church. Credit: Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

A frenzied crowd of women grab at dresses during a Christmastime bargain sale. Credit: Ralph Morse/Life Magazine/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Bargain hunters attack a display of china at Selfridges department store in London. Credit: Evening Standard/Getty Images

Shoppers crowded behind the glass doors of C&A's on Oxford Street, London, waiting for the start of the January Sale. Credit: Evening Standard/Getty Images

Bargain hunters out in force on a Sunday as several downtown Toronto stores begin their traditional Boxing Day sales a day early. A police official said it is illegal for stores to be open on a Sunday, but nothing would be done. Credit: Toronto Star / Getty Images

Shoppers line up for a sale at C&A's department store in London. Credit: Evening Standard/Getty Images

A crowd pushes and shoves to reach the bargains in the china department at a Harrod's sale in London. Credit: Central Press/Getty Images

A crowd dives for a bargain table at Honest Ed's, snapping up items as employees empty them out of boxes. Some customers were buying presents for next year. Credit: Toronto Star/Getty ImagesN