A lovely Guide to Getting the Best Deal
I started blogging because I love getting a good deal. I love sharing bargains and helping other people live a financially responsible life filled with beautiful things. So, with the holidays around the corner, COVID 19 continuing to ruin EVERYTHING, and everyone shopping for ways to improve their home I thought now would be a great time to share some of my biggest secrets. These aren’t revolutionary tips. If I’m honest, they take some backbone and it will depend a lot on how much you want the item. Is it worth the trouble? I guess you’ll find out! For me, it’s always worth the trouble. I’ve saved a ton of money and I hope you guys are able to do the same.
There are two main ways to negotiate prices in the store:
The Item is In the Wrong Spot Hack:
This doll wasn’t supposed to be on sale! It was the last one and was placed as a clearance item. I lucked out and got it for the sale price.
I find this trick the most useful at target. My target stock people (bless their hearts) seem to constantly be putting items in the wrong place. I mean that genuinely. They’re not good. If you’re like me, its extremely frustrating to take your kids shopping for a toy, find an item that’s within their budget, and then suddenly realize everything is stocked in the wrong spot. Instead of getting frustrated use this to your advantage! My target is pretty good about matching the price the item was wrongly stocked under. The first thing I do is take a photo on my phone of the item that’s in the wrong place— Then I have an associate come over and explain that the items are stocked incorrectly and that I would like to buy the item at the reduced cost. Typically, a supervisor will be radioed and ‘ok’ the purchase. This happened to me today actually. I purchased a doll for my daughter for 17.49 instead of 34.99 because it was in the wrong spot. I’ve had a family member purchase a Dyson vacuum for hundreds less because of a similar mistake. I keep my eyes open the entire time I’m shopping to snag the best deal! I also recommend going first thing in the morning when new items are being put on the shelves. Keep in mind, I’m not talking about one random item that a shopper has put in the wrong spot. I mean an entire display that’s by the wrong price tag. It happens very VERY often and I’ve never had them tell me no, but I have had to be somewhat firm about it at times. This will also work at Walmart and other large retailers.
Damaged Item Hack:
This hack is exclusively for home stores (Hobby Lobby, Homegoods, At Home, etc). Let’s take Hobby Lobby for example— a majority of the items in the store are already discounted. If you look around you’ll see that some of the items can get slightly damaged (a scuff here, dirt there, a chip of paint gone etc) Hobby Lobby will offer you a discounted rated on top of the sale to purchase these items! I actually look for items in the store that have a slight issue so I get a better deal. Once you find your item, head to the register and say “I’d like to purchase this item but I noticed it has a few flaws, are you able to discount it any lower?” At this point the cashier will get a managers approval and your typical 40 percent off turns into 60 percent! I do this darn near every time I’m in hobby lobby. A tiny scratch or paint chip doesn’t bother me, especially since we live in a “shabby chic” world right now.
ONLINE PURCHASES HACK:
This last one will apply to pretty much any slightly damaged item you get from an online retailer.
You’ve waited a week for a pair of shoes to come in the mail from Amazon… once they get to your house you realize the bottoms are a little bit dirty like they’ve possibly been tried on or returned… NEWSFLASH— your items should come to your house in brand new condition unless you’ve purchased a used item. In this case you have two options… You can return the item for a full refund, or you can call customer service and let them know about the issue and that you would like to keep the item but would like a discounted price since they didn’t arrive in perfect condition. Sometimes they might ask for you to email photos of the flaws which is no big deal, but most of the time they will apologize and you can negotiate the amount they need to refund to make it right. I’ve done this with multiple companies when I liked the item but wasn’t 100 percent pleased with the condition it was in.
So, that’s it. Seems simple? It is! It will take a little more time and effort, but you can do it! Keep your eyes open for great deals and let me know if you use any of my hacks! Questions? feel free to shoot me an email.