Some national retailers, including Dollar General, Home Depot, and Michaels "penny" out items that they are no longer carrying and will remove those from the shelves. In some cases, all of the items are not pulled from the shelves, and shoppers may be able to purchase them for only a penny!
Here is how penny deals work at The Home Depot:
Penny items are most likely to found in the clearance sections. These are located in the garden center and at the end caps of aisles. Penny items can be found mixed in with regular items as well. You may actually find items marked for 1 cent like this:
More likely, though, you will have to do a treasure hunt through the store for items without a price tag on the shelf or items that have a yellow clearance sticker on them.
Home Depot typically "pennies" items out after 8 to 12 months on the shelf.
If price ends in .06, the item will be 50% off original price.
If price ends in .03, the item will be 75% off original price.
The .06 and .03 indicate how many weeks until the item becomes a penny (6 weeks and 3 weeks). This is based upon the Born on Date (BOD) found on the yellow Home Depot price tag.
It takes a minimum of 250 days (8 months and 1 week) after the BOD for the item to go to a penny, so any clearance items with a BOD of 10/30/12 or before should be a penny.
Home Depot self checkouts have a price check option on them, allowing you to double check the price if you are unsure. Be sure to scan the original barcode and not the yellow tag.
Note that not all stores are on the same schedule for penny items, but they tend to be close.
Here are some deals to be on the lookout for:
SKU Description Current Price / Original Price
898583 - Hampton Bay Halogen Track light kit - $.01 / $61.97
458194 - Weber Fish Turner - $0.01 / $19.99
265488 - Pfister Brookwood Kitchen Faucet - $0.01 / $119
178771 - Bosch 2.5-Amp Oscillating MultiTool Kit - $0.01 / $159
428427 - Kohler flipside 4 spray handshower - $0.01 / $76
432659 - 24" 4500 CFM Direct Whole House Fan - $0.01 / $245
628015 - Bosch JS365 Jigsaw - $0.01 / $129
470155 - Bosch Bulldog Extreme Rotary Hammer 11255VSR - $0.01 / $199
625331 - Black & Decker Electromate 400 Power Supply - $0.01 / $99
478602 - Dremel Stylus 1100-N/25 - $0.01 / $69
132130 - Toro 24 V Lithium Cordless String trimmer $0.01 / $149
510796 - Hitachi 3-1/2 in. Cordless Gas Powered Plastic Strip Nailer - $0.01 / $299
648690 - Black & Decker 36v trimmer - $0.01 / $149
342082 - BLACK & DECKER 36-Volt Lithium-ion Battery - $0.01 / $89
252332 - BRUTUS 2-Speed Power Mixer - $0.01 / $109.00
178771 - Bosch 2.5-Amp Oscillating MultiTool Kit - $0.01 / $159
218422 - 4-Port Ethernet Gateway Router - $0.01 / $69
294694 - Pegasus Modern Single Hole 1-Handle Low-Arc Faucet - $0.01 / $89
458149 - Lithonia Lighting 4-Light Fluorescent Troffer was - $0.01 / $52
467698 - Ridgid 12-Piece Heavy-Duty Cleaning Kit - $0.01 / $49
898583 - Hampton Bay 3 light track light, antique bronze - $0.01 / $59
556909 - Glacier Bay Toomba 4" 2 handle bath faucet in brushed nickel - $0.01 / ?
676114 - Philips T12 30 pack 40 watts fluorescent light - $0.01 / ?
688918 - Philips T12 30 pack 34 watts fluorescent light - $0.01 / ?
Neat! We went to the store to get a new hose for our fancy shower head that came with the house. If we ordered it online or through many bathroom showroom places, it would have been over $50!! We went to Lowes and they had a return on the shelf and the guy made up a price and told us that we could have it for $1. Instead of getting the plastic tubing that was still around $20, I got the nice metal covered one and it cost me $1!! Got love learning the system at these stores. I am going to have to go check out mine soon!
ReplyDeleteLol just know when you do this the associate over price changes will get in trouble for not pulling this item. If your ok with that then by all means go for it... or.. see if you can strike a deal where everyone is happy and nobody gets termed. :)
ReplyDeleteNobody gets termed, as you put it. Believe me, I've been shopping the penny items for years at HD. Yes they are supposed to pull them, and normally they do, most of the times these are items that were hidden among stacks of other items and a worker doesn't know it was pulled because they just started there and they stick it back on the shelf.
ReplyDeletehow do u know when a item is pennied out though and do u know if it is the same in nc?
ReplyDeleteYou have to look at the yellow price tag and count back from the date as I described above. Now it is January, so if the tag shows a Born on Date of July 2013 or older should be pennied out. The item may be marked 1 cent or you can take it to the scanner and do a price check to confirm.
Deletei just came and it was dated 4/13 and rang up the yellow price of 15 why is that
ReplyDeleteThe item has to be 8 months and 1 week old to be "pennied" out. Your found an item that was just under 8 months (4/13 to 1/11). It should be marked down in another week or two.
Delete4/13 to 1/11 is 9 months, isn't it?
Deleteok i was going on the date u gave earlier that its now jan. so the date was july. so it should be earlier then july. your saying correct
ReplyDeleteTo find an penny item in Jan 2014, you need a Born On Date prior to June 2013.
ReplyDeleteSo Jan 2014, anything with Born On Date June 2013 or prior should be a penny?
ReplyDeleteYes, that is correct, but I would do a price check to be certain.
DeleteI plan to do my first attempt at HD penny shopping tomorrow. I have printed a copy of your info (BOD etc), along with the example list of items. Would you happen to have an updated list of possible items to look for? The reason for MY excitement is that my daughter has just purchased her first home, a REAL fixer upper foreclosure & she has four children. We know it is both a blessing and a challenge but we are up for it! Just need to find fixtures and supplies as cheaply as possible. Hope we have some luck! Thanks for sharing your information on this site!
ReplyDeleteHi Suzette -
DeleteI'm sorry, I don't have an updated list, though I do know of someone who found Christmas lights for a penny this week. Good luck!
I went to home depot to try out this out. Found a few things that were labeled 4/5/2013, but none price checked to a penny (price ended in .03). Maybe I'll try another Home depot another day.
ReplyDeleteI went yesterday and found an item that the date was 8/2013. she was haveing a hard time ringing it up and i'm not sure what she did at the end but the price was 82 and when she finished she said it was 47. shouldn't it have been a penny?
ReplyDeleteYes, according to my math, it should have been. Was it $47.00 or 47 cents?
Deleteshe said it was $47.. is there any kind of policy that will help me with the penny deals?
DeleteI found some other things also, but since they were about to close we just put them back.
DeleteMy huband went back yesterday and they no longer had the item on the shelf. I'm guessing it was actually a penny and then now they have removed it. We did find some other things that were a penny. A black and decker battery power hedge trimmer, and martha stewart curtains.
ReplyDeleteThat's great! I have never actually found a penny deal myself.
DeleteI live in Florida can someone add me to the site ? And is there a list that I can go by ? Thanks in advance.
ReplyDeletewhere will you find the date at on the product most generally
ReplyDeleteI believe it is right on the price tag along with the UPC code.
DeleteTheresa ,
ReplyDeleteWait this is your blog buy you haven't actually ever gotten a penny item either ?
Right - the purpose of this blog is help others save money. I just learned about these penny deals when I posted last Oct, and I have probably only been to the Home Depot once or twice since then, but I know others live closer and have a better chance of finding these items.
DeleteSo if an item is priced $56.03, then the item becomes a penny after 8 months, 3 weeks? Or 4 weeks?
ReplyDelete3 weeks
ReplyDeleteCan you messge me at SOMERLOVE@verizon.net........if the shelf price says AD 8-13 9-24........can you email me (your opinion) when it will go to a penny... THANK YOU
DeleteWent today and found item dated from July 2013, scanned both yellow sticker & original bar code, rang up sale price no penny, totally confused on why this didn't work if we are going by dates...
ReplyDeleteFail, today is aug. of 2014 and even dstes as far back as dec. of 2013 and still just ringing up clearance yellow price.
ReplyDeleteIt pennies out after "from 8 months to 12 months"... if it's the 8 month and a week, then it might penny out. It may drag on for the full 12 months before it goes to a penny, though. By example of now, early Sept 2014, I might find some items that started clearance in Dec 14 or so, or they may still be on "clearance" and at a sales price. Anything that has a "born on" date from early Sept 2013 or before "should" most definitely be a penny. Between those dates, it is a gamble. After, it should be definite, but, then again, life isn't about sureties, and there may be exceptions to the rules even after the full year. BTW, I just picked up a few items today, 2 cases of ladder hooks to hang cords, paint buckets, whatever to your ladder while working.... it depends on where you are, but our store won't sell penny items since it does technically look bad when corporate office sees, so they just let give them to me. You may find a lot of disappointments on the journey, but if destination is penny-priced goodies, I thinks it's worth it ;)
DeleteThank you for the clarification!
DeleteIs Lowes the same as home depot
ReplyDeleteI don't believe so, but Dollar General and Michaels penny items out.
DeletePLEASE DO NOT USE THE REGULAR CHECKOUT REGISTERS, USE SELF CHECKOUT!! AND DO NOT SCAN THE YELLOW STICKER TO SCAN USE THE ACTUAL BARCODE. ON THE ITEM!!!
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