We’ve previously shared with you Costco’s price tag code, but they’re not the only store that encodes not-so-secret sale information in the last two digits of an item’s price. Other stores do it too, including Target, Home Depot, Gap/Old Navy, and Sears. Want to crack the code and know when things are on their very lowest markdown? Here are the secrets. Update: this post’s info is out of date. Some newer info is here. [More]
sales
Dick’s Promotes Great Sale That Only Applies To 12 Random Items (Update: Not So Fast)
By 9.26.13 — Updated: 9.27.13
There’s a very prominently featured sale on the website of Dick’s Sporting Goods for the next few days. It’s a pretty good deal: $20 off with a $100 purchase! Only reader Dave couldn’t figure out which items on the site were eligible for this promotion. He sought help from a customer service chat rep and learned the sad truth: only twelve items are part of this promotion. [More]
Couple Beaten And Robbed While Selling Phone Over Craigslist
By 9.5.13
Even though selling your old smartphone to a local person through classified ads will probably net you the most money, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take safety measures. Here’s one example why: an Illinois couple were beaten and robbed of their phone plus $275 after they arranged a meetup over Craigslist. Two teens have been charged with the crime and are in jail. [More]
Kohl’s Celebrates Royal Baby With Coupon Code For Peasants For Some Reason
By 7.23.13
Retailers don’t need much of a pretext to send out online coupons: current events, real or made-up holidays, the weather: it’s all a good enough reason to send out an e-mail and then sit back and wait for the sales to roll in. That’s the apparent logic behind a Kohl’s sale dedicated to the newest, tiniest heir to the throne of the United Kingdom. [More]
Study: Men Swayed By Flashy Colors See Deals Where There Are None To Be Had
By 7.16.13
Let’s be totally clear here: I have no idea if men are all suckers for flashy colors or whether women or more likely to read the fine print on a deal, no matter the color. But that’s exactly what a new study says — men get all “ooh” and “aah” when a deal is marketed in bright color, whereas women apparently take the time to suss out whether or not they’re actually getting a good price. [More]
My Target Advertises Great iPhone Deal, Doesn’t Stock iPhones
By 7.10.13
Rob heard about a great deal at Target: the retailer was running a sale and an iPhone trade-in deal for one weekend only. He made a trip over only to find that the deal was on, but there were no AT&T phones to be had. [More]
Live In An Apartment? Have No Yard? You Can Still Have A Yard Sale
By 6.24.13
Now that it’s summer, that means it’s time to sell your unwanted crap while sitting in front of your home. But how do you have a yard sale without a yard or a garage sale without a garage? Don’t worry. There are ways to sell your crap if you live in an apartment. [More]
Staples Now Selling Dollhouse-Sized Office Furniture
By 6.17.13 — Updated: 6.19.13
Staples runs occasional sales where everything that you can cram in a bag gets discounted. “Hmmm,” writes reader Jack, “how many chairs or other furniture items do you think will fit in this Staples bag?” That depends on whether Staples has begun to outfit dollhouses and architectural models with office furniture. [More]
Dick’s Sporting Goods Clearing Out All Livestrong Items For Some Reason
By 6.12.13
What’s that, you say? People just aren’t flocking to athletic equipment endorsed by Lance Armstrong since he admitted that his professional cycling career was full of doping and lies? That makes sense. That’s bad news if you’re Dick’s Sporting Goods, and half of the pricey fitness equipment you sell is Livestrong-branded. It is, however, great news for consumers. [More]
How Much Did I Save If I Don’t Buy Anything?
By 5.23.13
Whenever I throw away a coupon or decide not to take advantage of a sale, I tell myself that I’m saving more money by not buying the item in the first place. That is not exactly the approach that OfficeMax took when adding up the items in Tod’s cart. [More]
Court Says Stores Can Be Sued Over Questionable “Discounts”
By 5.22.13
We’ve written before — most recently about JCPenney — about retailers who mark up the original price of an item in order to make the “sale” price look better than it is. Some may say this is harmless marketing, as the retailer is going to charge that price regardless. Others say it’s a deliberately deceptive act intended to lure consumers into thinking they are getting a deal. [More]
What In The World Is Going On With The Prices At JCPenney?
By 4.30.13
First JCPenney got rid of sales in favor of lower prices, then it fired its president, re-introduced some sales, then ditched the no-more-sales thing entirely, then started allegedly inflating retail prices to make sale prices look more attractive, then fired the CEO… Now some say that JCP is raising prices by upwards of 67% on some items, perhaps hoping that customers will use coupons to get deals (that aren’t really deals). [More]
Just Because Sports Authority Says It’s Having A “Sale,” That Doesn’t Make It True
By 3.25.13
Stephanie saw that there was a sale on Asics sneakers at Sports Authority, and she just happened to be interested in buying some. When she reached the store, she noticed that many of the shoes had “Sale” tags on them, but if you moved those tags aside, this didn’t actually represent a “sale.” [More]
Am I Asking Too Much, Or Does Logitech Not Care About Harmony Remote Line Anymore?
By 2.8.13
It wasn’t that long ago that readers routinely wrote to us with joyful accounts of how Logitech replaced their pricey Harmony remote controls for free when something went wrong. Winning Harmony customers’ loyalty and gratitude isn’t a priority anymore, though. Along with their disappointing third-quarter results, Logitech announced late last month that they will be selling off their remote control and video security systems, and ending their lines of console accessories and speaker docks. Mike heard those tales of wondrous service from the past, and expected something similar when his replacement remote broke and needed replacing. [More]
Michaels Employee Clarifies Confusing Clearance Sign
By 2.1.13
Earlier this week, we showed you a picture of a clearance sign from a Michaels store that didn’t make a whole lot of sense. The yellow and black sign happily declared “CLEARANCE, 70% off,” but the fine print clarified that the clearance didn’t apply to clearance items. We get it if a “70% lowest ticketed price” clearance doesn’t apply to items on sale, but not to items that are on clearance in the first place. As it turns out, this sign seemed wacky because it is.
Tipster N. is a Michaels employee who stepped forward to defend truth, logic, and the craft mega-chain’s pricing policies. It turns out that reader Kim probably should have received 70% off the item, just because that’s how Michaels rolls.
Automate Searching For Deals And Sales, Power-Shop In Your Sleep
By 1.31.13
Bargain-hunting can be really fun. You can spend hours clipping coupons, searching online, and pawing through clearance racks to find the best deals. If you don’t enjoy that or don’t have time, though, there’s another way. You can decide what you want and what you’re willing to pay, and use automated tools that notify you when the item reaches that magic price. [More]
Staples Offers 99 Cent Stamp With Free Shipping, Wants $10 Shipping After Orders Go Through
By 1.30.13
Oops. Staples offered a great deal on self-inking address stamps that seemed too good to be true: 99 cents for a stamp, with free shipping. By the time the transactions went through, the deal actually was too good to be true, making deal-hunters sad and upset with Staples. [More]
Michaels Clearance Price Doesn’t Apply To Clearance Items…Wait, What?
By 1.30.13
What happens when you divide by zero on a cash register? You can’t. Kim found something about as confusing while shopping at Michaels recently: a clearance sale that doesn’t apply to clearance items, including the item that she wanted to buy. [More]
