Money Saving Tip: Shop the Discount Racks/Bins

We were at JC Penney this past weekend and while my wife was shopping, the kids and I wondered the store looking for something interesting to look at. We eventually spotted a retail goldmine -- also known as the discount rack -- and proceeded to check it out.

As usual, 90% of what was there was useless. (Better than some places, though. The prior week we'd been to Sears where all the "toys" were 75% off -- and they still weren't moving.) The 90% at Penney's would have been the "bad stuff" at a low-end garage sale. But then my son found something. It was one of those video game sets that you plug directly into your TV (versus having a separate game card that you plug into a video machine that then hooks into the TV) and offers you a good number of games (64 in this case) that are usually far below the quality of the graphics, sound, etc. of today's video games (think early Donkey Kong, and you're in the ballpark).

The game set had been originally priced at $30.00 (which was reasonable -- I'd seen them in the $25 range at Walmart during Christmas) and was marked down to $6.67. Wow! If the thing lasted a day, it would be about 1/3 of what I'd drop on one trip to our local fun center. So we decided to get one.

Then, as I turned to leave, I spotted a discount bin (basically a shopping cart). It was full of those Lance-Armstrong-like rubber wrist bands. They were sold in packs and featured the logos of the Green Bay Packers (one green, one gold in a pack) and the Detroit Lions (one blue, one silver in a pack). They were originally priced at $2.99 pet set (of two), but were on sale for 7 cents each! (Now this is the going rate for Lions stuff, even in Michigan, but the Packers? My, how far they have fallen.)

I have a friend who LOVES the Packers, so I got him three sets. I figured he probably had some Packer friends who would want a couple and since he is a pretty good friend, I figured he was worth the 21 cents. The kids wanted Lions bracelets (for some unknown reason) and I felt generous so they each got a set. That 14 cents saved me $1.50 in sodas or candy later in the day. ;-)

Well, I was loving life -- then we went to check out, and it got even better. The clerk informed us that she hadn't priced all the video games yet, and they were supposed to be priced at $1.67!!!!!! Oh yeah, baby, score one for the home team!!! $1.67!!! $1.67? That's less than three video games (about 10 minutes of entertainment) at our local arcade! Needless to say, I felt like we had a REALLY great buy. All was right in the world. ;-)

So next time you're looking to kill time while your wife shops (or your husband if you're a woman), go look over the discount racks/bins. You may just find a treasure there for pennies on the dollar!

Comments

[Iain]

I've also noticed that Target places all the discounted merchandise at the end of the aisles facing the exterior walls of the store. If you walk around the inside perimeter of the store you get all the good deals.

[Bronco]

...and Rite Aid & Longs are great places for discount booze. They usually have major discounts on select items.

[kristi]

Gotta love the bargains! I brought a super cute belt for my son up to the register at Children's Place and it rang up for 17 cents! Yea, bonus! Just today I bought a winter coat for him for next year at Walmart for $6 and it even has a zip-out fleece inner coat. Another bonus! And one of the best...my local video store sells older kids' videos for 50 cents each. We don't have any TV channels at all, so my son really thinks it's special to bring home a new Bob the Builder or Blue's Clues video.