Learn to "crack the price tag code" at popular retailers like Home Depot, Kohls, Target, Sears, Best Buy, Office Depot, and more.
(Updated 11/22/16) Have you ever been staring at that awesome blender at Sam&%238217;s Club, dreaming of blending your fruit smoothie with ease, and notice the odd price tag of $125.01 and wonder how the heck they came up with that price? If you are normal, probably not. But after you read this article you&%238217;ll be checking every price tag you see because if you know what to look for, you can quickly determine if the price might go even lower or if it&%238217;s as low as it&%238217;s going to go.
How? Well, many stores use an internal pricing system which shows you if an item has been marked down, if it will be marked down again, or if it&%238217;s a final markdown. You just gotta be able to crack the price tag code. Thanks to former employees and code crackers like me, you too can join the ranks of price tag checkers. Here are the details from some of your most popular retailers (in alphabetical order):
American Eagle Outfitters
If you love the look and styles of the clothing at American Eagle Outfitters you&%238217;ll want to know the codes to make sure you&%238217;re getting the best deal. Here is what you need to know:
Price ending in .95 &%238211; This is full price. Make sure at the very least you have an American Eagle coupon to save some money.
Prices ending in .99 or .00 &%238211; This is a clearance price and the best price you&%238217;ll find on the item. Also, if the item has a separately attached price sticker to the actual price tag it is a clearance item. Ending price on attached price sticker can vary by store.
Bonus: Check out our site for an online American Eagle coupon to save even more.
BJ&%238217;s Wholesale Club
For my readers who live in the eastern United States, BJ&%238217;s Wholesale Club also has an internal pricing system that can help you score the best deal possible.
Prices ending in a 9 &%238211; You&%238217;re paying full price for the item.
Prices ending in .90 and .00 &%238211; Manager&%238217;s special discount. These are typically items the store wants to clear out. They are usually discounted 10% per week for a maximum savings of 60% off.
Product Codes at BJ&%238217;s &%238211; These are the numbers on the price tag right next to the item number. Here are the 4 product codes you should be aware of:
Product Code 1 &%238211; It is a regularly priced item that will be restocked.
Product Code 2 &%238211; Product is discontinued and once it&%238217;s gone, it&%238217;s gone. Sometimes it is discounted, depends on how long it has been sitting on the shelf.
Product Code 7 &%238211; A one time buy like seasonal Christmas decorations. Here today, gone tomorrow. So if the price is right you should snatch it up.
Product Code 9 &%238211; Products that are destined to be sent back to the manufacturer for a variety of reasons. They won&%238217;t be restocked and likely will be gone within a week.
[Click to Print a Wallet Sized PDF Cheat-Sheet of the Price Codes]
Dick&%238217;s Sporting Goods
The pricing system at Dick&%238217;s is fairly straight forward and can be used to easily avoid paying full price. Here&%238217;s the 411:
Prices ending in .00 or .99 &%238211; Indicates full-price. Avoid if you can.
Prices ending in .93 or .97 &%238211; These are clearance items and indicates that an item has been marked-down from the original price.
Bonus: Check out our Dick&%238217;s Sporting Goods coupons to maximize your savings.
Gap & Old Navy
For those of you who are not aware, Gap owns Old Navy and they share the same pricing model. Here is the skinny:
Home Depot
I have new information from a store manger who wanted to stay anonymous. She gave me the info on the internal pricing system at JCPenney. Here is the scoop:
Kohl&%238217;s
I was lucky enough to have a Kohl&%238217;s employee email me recently to give me the scoop. While Kohl&%238217;s does not have a consistent ending price for sale or clearance items you are able to look at the electronic shelf tag to determine what kind of deal you&%238217;re getting. Here is what you need to know:
Lands&%238217; End
The quality of the clothing at Lands&%238217; End makes it a favorite for many families. If you know the code at Lands&%238217; End you can always ensure you&%238217;re getting the best deal possible.
Office Depot
Office Depot keeps their pricing strategy a little closer to their vest. Although I did just get some great info from a current Office Depot store manager. Here is what we now know:
Prices ending in a 1, like .01. 31 &%238211; first clearance markdown price.
Prices ending in a 2, like .02. 42 &%238211; second clearance markdown price.
Prices ending in a 3, like .03. 63 &%238211; third clearance markdown price.
Prices ending in a 4, like .04. 74 &%238211; FINAL clearance markdown price.
All other ending numbers &%238211; you&%238217;re paying full price.
Bonus: Check out our online and in-store Office Depot coupons to help you save even more money.
The next time you enter Petsmart you&%238217;ll want to pay attention to the cents as well to make sure you&%238217;re getting a good deal. Here are the keys to remember:
Prices ending in 9. For example. 09. 49, or .99 &%238211; you&%238217;re paying full price on your pet food and supplies.
Prices ending in 7. For example. 07. 27. 97 &%238211; these are your &%238220;Reduced to Clear&%238221; prices and your best bet. Often times these products are clearly marked as &%238220;Clearance&%238221; but not always so make sure to pay close attention so a clearance deal doesn&%238217;t pass you by.
Bonus: Save even more when buying stuff for your pets by taking advantage of one of our Petsmart coupons .
Pier 1 Imports
Another retailer where I had success cracking the code was at Pier 1 Imports. Thanks to a helpful employee I was able to decipher the price code structure and what you need to know to get the best deal possible. Here is how it breaks down at Pier 1:
Prices ending in .95. 00 &%238211; these two ending prices mean you&%238217;re paying full retail price. Often times they label items and leave off the .00 and just price it at $8. See above picture as an example.
Prices ending in .98. 48 &%238211; here is where you&%238217;ll find your savings. Both of these two ending prices signify clearance items. I was not able to determine if one of these provides better savings than the others.
[Click to Print a Wallet Sized PDF Cheat-Sheet of the Price Codes]
Sam&%238217;s Club
Thanks to loyal reader Chris for dropping the 411 on the pricing system at Sam&%238217;s Club. Here is what you need to know:
Prices ending in a 1 (as in $8.71 or $125.01) &%238211; Item is a sale price and on clearance.
Check letter on the Shelf Tag &%238211; Typically, there is a letter next to the item number in the upper right hand corner of the shelf tag. Here is what they mean: A = Active Item (Something that they normally carry) N = Never-Out (Item should always be in-stock) C = Canceled (Store will no longer carry the item. If it’s not already clearance priced, it will be soon if not sold out)
Display Models &%238211; Ask a manager for a discount on a display model marked with a C on the shelf tag. If it is the last one in the store you can almost always get a 20% discount on the item.
Prices ending in .99 &%238211; you&%238217;ll be paying full retail price, hope you have a Sears coupon at the very least.
Prices ending in .97 &%238211; this is the price of a discontinued item on clearance. The price could go down even further.
Prices ending in .88 &%238211; this is the final markdown price and your best possible deal at Sears.
Bonus: Also, use one of our online or printable coupons for Sears to maximize your savings.
Target (aka Tar-zhay)
Target. the favorite store for those who think they&%238217;re above Walmart, is a good place to put your code cracking skills to the test. Thanks to Snopes for helping set the record straight with Target price tags. Here is what you need to know in order to get the best deal:
Prices ending in .99 &%238211; that is full price baby!
Prices ending in 8, as in .98. 88, etc. &%238211; this is a marked down price of an item on clearance.
Prices ending in 4, as in .24. 04, etc. &%238211; this also is a marked down price of an item on clearance. At one point this was considered the final markdown price but that is not accurate anymore.
Check out the tiny print! &%238211; check out the above image of the Target price tag. See the tiny number in the circle I drew? That is the markdown percentage of the item from the original price. In this example it says 50, as in 50% off the original price. Target marks down items by the following increments, 15%, 30%, 50%, 70% and 90% off. Clothing and Shoes are marked down at 30%, 50% and then 70% (and then go salvage). Seasonal Items goes 30, 50, 70, and only the non-”big name” items go to 90. Everything else goes 15, 30, 50, 70 and then salvage. (Thanks Jen for the updated tip!) Typically an item will stay at the current markdown percentage for 10-14 days before getting marked down further.
Bonus: We are also given new Target coupons on a weekly basis. Use one of them to save even more money.
Bonus! &%238211; Printable &%238216;Crack the Price Tag Code&%238217; Cheat Sheet for your Wallet or Purse
