Everything You Need to Know About Home Depot Penny Items

Unlock the Secrets of Home Depot's Hidden Penny Deals: Everything You Need to Know to Save Big!



Penny deals are real, but Home Depot doesn’t officially endorse them. Employees aren’t supposed to sell items for a penny either. However, as a savvy shopper armed with this key information, you can still find these hidden gems on clearance shelves and discreetly take them home.

What Are Home Depot Penny Items?

Home Depot penny items are clearance items that should have been removed from the shelves but weren't. When clearance items don’t sell at their highest discount, employees are supposed to take them off the shelves and out of the system. Occasionally, some items are missed. What happens is when you find and scan these items at the self-checkout, you’ll see a $0.01 price — hence, a penny item!

Many Home Depot clearance items can end up costing a penny. Wall sconces, Ryobi tools, flashlights, and step ladders are just a few examples of recent finds. Anything is fair game. Finding them though, takes a bit of strategy and effort.

In most Home Depot stores, you’ll find clearance items on the end-caps of aisles around the middle of the store. A display of yellow stickers will certainly draw your eye to these displays. So, let's start with learning about those bright yellow stickers!

Decoding Clearance Tags

Understanding those bright yellow Home Depot clearance tags can help you find penny items and know where they are in progression of their clearance level. Although it may not seem obvious at first glance, these yellow tags contain some very valuable information.

Home Depot Clearance Tag Prices

Some clearance tags indicate the item's discount level:

• Prices ending in ".06" — 25% off
• Prices ending in ".04" — 50% off
• Prices ending in ".03" — 75% off
• Prices ending in ".02" — 90% off

Home Depot Clearance Tag Dates

The date on the clearance tag shows when the item first went on clearance. This may help you predict when an item might drop to a penny. For instance, items often drop to a penny 14 weeks after their clearance date. Remember though, this isn't always the case as clearance schedules vary by store. Sometimes it takes six to eight months for an item to reach a penny, depending on your location and how quickly items sell.

How to Find Home Depot Penny Items at Your Store

Look for price tags ending in ".02", ".03", or ".04".

Items with these price endings are most likely to be (or become) penny items. As a general rule, the closer the end price is to “.00,” the better.

Check the price of penny items at self-checkout.

The only sure way to know if an item costs a penny is to scan the barcode. Unfortunately, the scanner in the Home Depot app won't work for this. You'll need to use the self-checkout or in-store price scanners. (Note, that not all states require stores to have price scanners.)

Scan the barcode on the item, not the clearance tag.

Always scan the UPC barcode on the item's box or packaging and NOT the yellow clearance tag. Scanning the clearance tag on a true penny item can freeze the system and alert employees, who might take the item or ring it up at its last clearance price.

Check for new penny items regularly.

The more often you check, the better the odds that you will be able to find penny items. Scanning the item is the only sure way to know if it’s a penny. Some stores are better at clearing out items than others, so check those end-caps frequently to improve your chances.

Stores will vary.

Different clearance schedules, more diligent employees, different products, or even just timing — if you have multiple Home Depot stores in your area, you might find the same penny items at multiple stores, but don't necessarily count on it.

Are you a regular Home Depot shopper? Learn how to price match at Home Depot and keep up on the latest happening on their rebate program!  Also check out Home Depot Kid’s Workshop.

- Jessica