There's nothing quite like the thrill of getting a great deal on an item you purchased or finding a sale item that you can apply coupons toward, which makes the item so cheap it's like you practically got it for free.
Since there are so many insider shopping secrets that a lot of you — myself included — might not be aware of, I turned to the BuzzFeed Community for some help. I asked current or former retail workers to share some money-saving hacks that customers might not know about. You might want to get your notebooks out because these tips are good.
1. "At DSW on the last Sunday of the month, we do clearance rotation, meaning if an item was 20% off, it’s then 30% off. Anything that was 50% off then becomes a permanent 60% off."
2. "I worked at Barnes and Noble for a good number of years, and I'm not going to lie, they make it HARD nowadays for people to save money if they're not members (because the whole point is pushing memberships). However, here are a couple of tips: Stop ignoring the bargain book annex section! It's an overflow of titles from publishers that are sold for CHEAP. If you're willing to wait a little bit after a book's release, you can find it in hardcover or paperback for $5 to $10 instead of $15 to $30. There's also a lot of other good stuff hidden in there."
"The 'buy online, pick up in-store option is also super useful, because you get the item for the online price, which saves you a couple of bucks (it does take a bit to process, so I'd recommend doing it WELL before you come to the store or being ready to wait if you do it while in-store). We also price match OUR online price, but we can't offer it to customers — y'all have to ask, and then we can say yes. However, the system will tell us which is the better price, online or in-store, so the online price match doesn't always go through."
—Anonymous
3. "I worked at Target for a year. If you shop there, get the Target app. A lot of stuff (mostly clothes and toys) is cheaper online. The app also has a barcode scan feature that automatically pulls up coupons for that item — if any are available — when you scan the item's barcode at checkout."
4. "We know all the good coupon codes, and sometimes the good ones haven’t expired or we can override them. Be a decent human, and 9/10 times we’ll give it to you just because."
5. "Family General has an online one-cent list, which is out-of-season things that should have been sold by now or thrown away. They ring up for .01. The sites warn not to ask employees to help finding these items since they shouldn't still be on the shelves."
—Anonymous
6. "Just be nice. I am way more willing to help a customer get a discount or find a replacement item if they’re kind. I’m not even talking ass-kissing level. Just don’t be a dick and treat me like a fellow human, and I’m way more likely to find a way to save you some money."
7. "When I worked at Walmart, people would go crazy for 'rollbacks,' which is like a temporary discount on goods. The way rollbacks work is that the store gradually increases the regular price of something over a period of time; then suddenly they’ll put it in rollback for around the same price it was originally. So if you see a rollback at this store, jump on it."
8. "Always check online pricing, and ask if and who the store is willing to price match. A lot of times, I’ll match some stores if you do the work of looking it up."
9. "The highest-priced items are placed eye-level, so if you want a cheaper product, look to the very bottom or at the very top of a shelf."
10. "Ask if stores have a student, teacher, or worker's discount. A lot of retail places offer around 10%–20% off for teachers and college students that can be stacked onto other specials. The store will give you the discount with proof (some form of ID). Some stores, and even some food places, may also give you a discount for working in the same mall."
11. "I used to work at Next (in the UK), and just before a sale, they would write the sale price in pencil on the back of the tags, ready for the evening of prep. So if you want to know if something is going to be on the sale (sometimes a week before it’s due to start), then check the pencil marks on the item."
12. "Shop clearance racks, which are normally in the back of the store. And shop out of season. You will eventually use those items when that season comes back again."
—Anonymous
13. "People go nuts for Black Friday sales, especially when it comes to TVs. The fact is, after Black Friday, many retailers reduce the price of those TVs even further, since most retailers bring them in specifically for a Black Friday sale, and they aren't part of the regular inventory. People can save an additional $100 or more AFTER the Black Friday sale is over."
14. "At Ross Dress for Less, they do section markdowns every five weeks. So, let's say they just did kids; in five weeks, they will do kids again. They do them in the mornings. Just ask a manager when they plan on doing markdowns for the section you are interested in."
—Anonymous
15. "I work for a craft store. You don't have to keep the app on your phone; you can download it right before you come in, but using the coupons on the app will save you up to 50%."
—tmur
16. "As someone that was a general manager of a popular gas station store in the Midwest (Speedway) — when buying gas, sign up and use the Speedy Rewards. It saves you 3 cents per gallon right off the top. To add to that, if you use your Speedy Reward and then purchase a fuel gift card, it'll save you even more money per gallon. You're going to use that money for gas anyway; you might as well save a few extra cents per gallon while doing it. I highly recommend checking this out in any of the gas stations near you, as most have a rewards program. Ask questions; the employees will help you figure things out."
—Anonymous
17. "Digital coupons really work. If the store has an app, check the coupons because they could be different from in-store coupons."
18. "Best Buy will price match other retail stores in the area and anything shipped and sold by Amazon. It's worth searching the model number of what you are buying to see if anywhere else has it cheaper."
19. "It was the policy at the store I worked at that under certain conditions the store's app had to be set to our particular store location, and it had to be the exact UPC. Make sure you have set the store you're shopping in on the app to get a price match."
—Anoynmous