How Can I Get Cheaper Prices at Home Depot?
Home Depot is known for offering great bargains on a vast array of home and home improvement items. But what if you want to know how can I get cheaper prices at Home Depot and save even more money on everything you buy?
Get Cheaper Prices
After all, it's even more fun when you're saving money on the stuff that's already priced affordably. When you know some tricks to get even cheaper prices, you can buy even more stuff at Home Depot and have even more fun with home improvement.
There are ways to get lower prices at Home Depot, in addition to the already-low sticker prices the company is charging. And once you know all these tricks to get your stuff even cheaper, you can do even more DIY projects to make your home a whole lot better.
It takes a little extra work, a little extra time, and a good eye for detail, but if you learn the secret language of Home Depot and know how to get good bargains on items, you will end up saving money. When you save more, you end up getting a lot more stuff.
Before You Go Shop
Before you go to Home Depot, get prepared. If you put together a shopping battle plan and take some extra steps before you ever step into the store, you can find several ways to save money on the stuff you buy.
Shop Around
You probably have some idea of what you need to buy before you ever go to the Home Depot. Before you go buy it at the Home Depot, see how much it costs at competitors like Lowe’s, Target, and other brick-and-mortar retailers that sell some of the same stuff you were going to buy at Home Depot.
You want to do this because Home Depot offers a price matching program through its Low Price Guarantee feature, which is heavily marketed in the store and through the company’s website. This means that Home Depot will match competitor prices on any item, except for specially discounted items and special order products.
Home Depot also won’t price-match on items you find at Amazon. Direct brick-and-mortar competitors are the only retailers eligible for Home Depot’s price-matching policy.
If you do a little pre-shopping before you go to Home Depot and get an idea of what other companies are charging for the stuff you intend to buy at Home Depot, you can hold the company to its price match policy and get a better deal if you find some other store selling the same product for a cheaper price.
Sales and other discounts apply as well, so do a little extra shopping to see just how low you can get that item from someone else. Show it to the good folks at Home Depot, and they will discount the item they have so you can buy it for the lower price.
Now, you’re shopping with gas.
Join Things
Sign up to receive Home Depot newsletters and join the mailing list to get a couple of $5 off coupons right away. After you sign up for these special online lists, ongoing coupons and information about stuff available at Home Depot will be sent to you.
These coupons and special info about sales and products available at Home Depot will give you a little bit of an edge when it comes to bargain shopping, so it’s definitely worth joining newsletters and mailing lists and all of Home Depot’s other online offerings.
While You're At the Store
Shop smarter while you're actually at the Home Depot with a few tricks that can help you save some big bucks. If you have a sharp eye and you’re ready to do a little extra legwork, you will be amazed at the cheap stuff you can buy here and the various ways you can use discounts to save money when you’re shopping for all your DIY needs.
The Clearance Aisle
Home Depot, like plenty of retailers, uses its own special in-store codes and a special system when it comes to clearance items. Because stores need to make room for new products on the shelves, they put items on clearance in order to move them out of the store faster.
At Home Depot, clearance items have a yellow price tag. According to savvy shoppers, the store uses a special pricing system to indicate how long an item has been on clearance.
If you know how to read this code, you can take advantage of these discounts and get a seriously good bargain on the stuff you want to buy.
If the price tag ends with .06, there are six weeks left before the item is marked down to an even lower price. If the tag ends with .03, the item will only be on the shelves for three weeks before it's gone entirely and the price will not be marked down again.
Buy clearance items with tags that end in .03 and you will get getting the best possible bargain. That’s almost like getting free money.
The Green Tags
You can also find items marked with a green tag when you're shopping at Home Depot. But what does the green tag mean?
Well, these are items that have been returned and can’t be put back on the shelves because they were made according to precise specifications.
Items that have been made incorrectly or that were ordered wrong or that were rejected by the buyers for whatever reason are marked with a green tag and sold at a 25 percent discount, which is a sweet bargain.
These items may be damaged, so pay attention to what you're buying, but either way, this is a good deal.
Look for Cheaper Stuff
There are several places throughout the store where you can find discounted items that are pretty easy to overlook. If you don’t realize these items are here, you stand a good chance of passing them up.
Don’t pass them up. Find out where these discounted items are, and you can always see what kinds of good bargains are available.
While you're shopping at the Home Depot, make it a point to check out the end caps of the aisles. You'll find lots of discounted items here of all kinds because these end caps can be a bit of a catchall for various reduced items that are being sold at a reduced rate for any number of different reasons.
You can also grab a can or two of "oops" paint when you want to save some bucks. This is paint that has been mixed but then rejected by the customers who asked for the mix.
That’s where the “oops” comes in.
Usually, there isn't a lot of this oops paint available, but it's worth checking to see if there's something you like here because you may want to paint a piece of furniture, create an accent wall, or find some other way to use this highly affordable mistake.
The cans are typically smaller, so don’t expect to repaint a room with oops paint, but the bargains are good so it’s worth it to check to see what’s available.
After all, there are all kinds of ways to use paint in your DIY projects.
And while you're at it, swing by the wood scraps bin. Leftover bits of wood are thrown here while employees are cutting wood for customers, and all the scraps here are sold for very cheap prices.
If you can use any of these pieces for anything, buy them. Wood is usually one of the more expensive purchases you’ll make for any DIY project, so snag the discounted stuff when you can.
Remember also that Home Depot will cut two pieces of wood for you for free, so take advantage of this service whenever you can every time you buy wood or scraps.
Speaking of getting something affordable, remember that you can always buy the floor model. If you see something amazing that you like at Home Depot and it's out on display, ask how much cheaper you can buy the floor model.
There isn't anything wrong with the floor model. In fact, it is usually kept in fairly pristine condition because it's meant to be shown off to customers.
But because the model has been out on the floor and exposed, the store is obligated to sell it for less than the same item that's been boxed up. This means that you get a great deal.
Ask
When you want a discount, ask for one.
Sometimes, employees can give in-store discounts to customers, which means you can get a little extra taken off your total at the register. And besides, it never hurts to ask.
You won’t always get a discount just by asking but if you don’t, you’ve lost nothing. If you do get a discount, sweet!
When You're Shopping Online
Like many other big retailers, Home Depot has a huge online storefront where you can purchase items online without ever going to the store. But even if you're not going to the store, you can still get cheaper prices on the items you want to buy.
Coupon Codes
Sites like RetailMeNot offer coupon codes with all kinds of retailers, including Home Depot. Check coupon sites like these to find codes that will give you discounted prices and special deals that you can't get in the stores.
Home Depot Sales
Always check the Home Depot Savings Center. This is an online catalog of items that are all on sale.
The page is updated with new items all the time and all the items are available at highly affordable prices. It’s definitely worth it to check here often to see what Home Depot is selling cheaply.
Other Tips to Get Cheaper Prices
If you need paint but you can wait a bit, wait for a holiday weekend. Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and even Presidents Day are all sales days for Home Depot where paint gallons are sold at discounted prices.
You can get deep discounts on 5-gallon buckets during these weekends. So if you've got a big paint job coming up, wait until you can get the paint at a super cheap price.
Home Depot also offers discounts on items with damaged packaging. You can save up to 10 percent by purchasing one of these items.
You will still get the discount for the packaging being damaged, even when the item inside it is in pristine condition.
Some credit card companies offer reward and cashback offers when you shop at Home Depot. Check into credit cards that give you money for buying stuff at Home Depot, and you can earn money by shopping.
How Can You Get Cheaper Prices At Home Depot?
There are all sorts of ways you can get items even more affordably at Home Depot, both by using in-store tricks and by finding ways to get discounts online. Use these tricks to save even more on what you buy and you can get your home improvement items and tools at even lower prices.
Home Depot Bargains FAQ
Does Home Depot offer a military discount?
Home Depot has a standing military discount for all active-duty military personnel and reservists. Veterans get a discount on Veterans Day and Memorial Day.
In order to receive the discount, which is 10 percent, the shopper must show their military ID.
Does Home Depot offer a student discount?
Though Home Depot offers lots of different discounts and there are many ways to save with the company, Home Depot does not offer a student discount.
Do Home Depot employees get a discount?
Employees of Home Depot do not get a discount for shopping with Home Depot, so getting a job at Home Depot in order to get cheaper items won't work. You'll just have to use all the other ways to get reduced prices instead!
Further Reading
6 Money-Saving Hacks for Wood and Laminate Flooring
12 Home Renovations for the Thrifty Homeowner
How to Budget for DIY Projects
How to Save Money on Appliances
