Tips to Scoring HOT Deals on Clearance (+ One Secret That You Might NOT Know)

I hear some of the same complaints about the clearance deals we post.. They’re not that price as my store..  They weren’t marked at my store.. What state is this for… 95% of the time these are the WRONG questions to ask! This is a HUGE misconception about clearance and it’s preventing you from saving HUGE! So I’ve put together some tips to help you save HUGE couponing clearance!

The majority of the National Stores (Rite Aid, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Target) ALL mark down the majority of their clearance items at the same time! But ALOT of stores don’t actually put signs up marking these items until WAY later! So if you’re just looking for the yellow/orange clearance sticker to tell you what’s on clearance.. HUGE MISTAKE and you’re probably missing out!

1. Follow Blogs like Everyone Loves Couponing and it’s Facebook Deal Groups – When people find clearance at their store, they normally will post a picture of it with the store, so you can go to your store with the right coupons incase you find them in stock at your store!
2. Don’t get discouraged if your store never marks the clearance items. – this is actually a GREAT thing, because most people will think just like you USED to think.. that the item is NOT marked down.. But you’ll know better, and will rarely run into empty stock!
3. ALWAYS make sure to SCAN the items! Some stores make this super easy.. CVS, Walmart and Target all have in store scanners that you can scan the item at and it will tell you if it’s clearanced!
4. Make sure you get the EXACT item that’s pictured as clearance online.. Down to the design of the bottle, the kind, the size. Sometimes items go on clearance just because of a packaging change, which means the Pantene Smooth 13oz bottle with the BLUE label will be clearanced out, but the Pantene Smooth 13oz Bottle with the SILVER label will NOT be!
5. NEVER call the store to see if something is clearanced at your store.. ALWAYS make the trip. 9 times out of 10, if you call to check if an item is clearanced, if it’s a good enough deal the cashier will most likely ALSO be interested in that deal.. Which means they’ll either tell you NO (Even if it IS clearanced and IN stock) or will tell you YES but it will mysteriously be Out of stock by the time you get there!
6. Save yourself the gas by going to the store with MULTIPLE clearance items you’re looking for (Unless you already had plans to go shopping)  This way, you have more of a chance of finding SOMETHING and not wasting your gas!
7. SCREEN SHOT EVERYTHING! I can’t tell you how many times I saw a clearance item in one of the groups, and I can’t get my phone to load the Facebook Group to see all the details! If you have a cell phone, USE IT! Go through the groups and websites and screen shot the actual pictures of the clearance items.. this creates a super easy VISUAL list of everything you’re looking for, what it looks like, and what the price should be!
8. Before you head to the store, look at the items in your list and check the Coupon Database to see if there’s a matching coupon, so if you DO find it in stock, you can save even more by stacking it with coupons!

So next time you see something posted online as clearance, and it’s NOT marked at your store..  SCAN SCAN SCAN!!