You hear about the saving, the hoarding and the cutting back, the people who are eyeing every single cent. But there are those who are eyeing this season’s over-the-knee boot or handbag, because in the midst of it all, some are still shopping. They’re just doing it in a different way: stealthily.

“People are saying, ‘It’s that time of year; I want to buy something, but I feel a little weird,’ ” Eve Goldberg, an owner of a diamond dealer in Manhattan, told The Times. “Often they tell me, ‘I don’t want to be out there making an announcement with a big bag that says Harry Winston.’ ”

Ms. Goldberg’s company opened a salon that caters to clients who want to shop discreetly, and it is one of many. There are exclusive soirees in apartments, invitation-only shopping events in hotel suites and private showrooms.

While the very rich may be cutting back on the public display of wealth, they have no problem spending more on their private spaces. Kitchens by the high-end British designer Clive Christian have been popular. Jacqueline Weeman, business manager for the New York showroom that opened over the summer, said it generated $5 million in sales in its first few months, The Times reported.

“You can be as ostentatious as you want in the home,” Ms. Weeman told The Times.

And home is the best place for the stealth shopper, because many are turning to the Web.

Tatiana Sorokko, who bought a Ralph Rucci ensemble from Ricky’s Exceptional Treasures, a luxury resale store on eBay, told The Times: “In this economy, the people I know are making adjustments. Their transactions tend to be between themselves and the seller.”

Luxury retailers do not want to advertise big price reductions, so they are doing it through private sales , whispered discounts and discreet negotiations. But what better tactic than combining urgency with a seemingly fleeting good deal? The luxury retailer Neiman Marcus has “midday dash” sales for e-mail subscribers. These two-hour, onlineonly sales promise 50 percent off luxury goods, and customers learn about the sale only hours before it begins.

Exclusivity combined with secrecy may be the latest retail strategy; it’s a whole other genre beyond the snobbish salesperson. The German brand VonRosen asks customers to apply for membership by describing why they would like to shop there. David Von Rosen, founder of the label, told The Times that he received 10,000 requests since starting the site a year ago, and has let only 1,500 people have access.

Other private-sale sites - many invitation only and many only pretending to be - like Gilt, Rue La La and Ideeli are thriving. The sites sell deeply discounted designer clothing and accessories. Some sites post specific times when sales start and can sell out within hours.

It’s a rush, online and in the brain, and any guilt of shopping is eclipsed by having found an amazing bargain. And when there’s always a bargain to be found, there’s always some shopping to do.

“It’s heroin,” Paco Underhill, author of “Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping,” told The Times. “The more you do it and the more ways you do it, the harder it is to stop.”

ANITA PATIL

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