- These are 10 shopping secrets HomeGoods
does not want you to know.
Welcome back to the channel,
I'm the YouTube Deal Guy Matt Granite.
I'm ready to bring you inside my local HomeGoods
and spill the goods to save you money,
from inaccurate in-store advertising,
to the truth about the HomeGoods markdown schedule,
plus which section of the store actually has the best deals.
Plus one trick to almost always score you a lower price
than what you see on this special price tag.
I've got you covered.
If you guys like this content,
please feel free to give it a thumbs up,
and share it with any other fellow HomeGoods shopper.
The first thing that HomeGoods might not want you to know,
it's a great shopping secret,
you can put items on hold, kind of.
Let's say you are in the store,
and you are forced with that split second decision
on a piece of furniture,
they only have one item left,
and you do not know whether or not
this large item will fit in your home,
and you haven't had the opportunity to measure,
absolutely no problem.
As you pay for the item,
whether it's the store associate ringing you up,
or you wanna approach the customer service desk,
there is an internal store policy
that they will hold the item in their own inventory
in the back of the store for you with your name on it
for up to one week.
That will give you an opportunity to measure,
maybe consult with another member of your household.
You still have that free 30-day return policy,
but with this one week hold
where they retain the item in store for you,
you don't risk any unnecessary damage
to the item through transportation,
and the cumbersome task
of bringing a large item back to the store.
This hold service is particularly great in the event
that you realize the car that you have
is not able to accommodate the size
of a specific piece of furniture.
No issue, you can always borrow a friend's pickup truck,
or swap it out if you have another vehicle
in your household one week later when you return.
The second shopping secret
HomeGoods does not want you to know
is that you can almost completely ignore
the compare at prices
that you see in the store.
And I wills how you some specific examples in a moment,
but understand that they majority of the products
you're interacting with at a HomeGoods
are manufactured specifically for the store.
So there is no compare price.
The list price is just basically someone's opinion
of what a product could sell for
at a much fancier store.
Enjoy the item,
but do not get too caught up in the pricing.
Let's take a look at this granite mortar pestle set
that I did find at my local HomeGoods.
HomeGoods sells this for $16.99
and they list a compare price at $30.
Let's be honest here,
if I were to search for a nearly identical mortar
and pestle set made out of unpolished granite,
which is what they used to call me in high school,
this retails for $17.47 on Amazon,
and comparable sets of roughly the same size
range somewhere between $11 and $24,
almost never 30.
If you take a look at this monitor stand
and organizer set sold at HomeGoods
with a $24.99 price and a compare at price of $40,
you may also note the compare at price
is a little bogus.
While I can't find the exact same item
on Amazon or any other major retailer,
you will find the going rate for a set like this
which offers many of the same features is $13.99.
And if you wanna get get fancier,
something like this SimpleHousewares desk monitor set
which is very well rated, $20.97.
And I would argue this
SimpleHouseware desk monitor stand riser set that I found
with an additional adjustable organizer tray
at $20.97 is probably the nicest of the group,
specifically compared to $24.99 as a selling price,
and $30 as a list price.
In the number three spot
for a secret HomeGoods does not want you to know,
before I explain the restocking schedule
is reach all the way to the back of the self
to often find the best deals.
And the reason I am speculating this is a secret
HomeGoods does not want you to know
is you can really mess up their in-store organization
with this tactic that I've employed.
The store tends to stock its shelves a few items deep.
And as shoppers go through the items,
they are not always in the tallest to shortest order.
The bathroom accessories,
kitchenware and art sections are key for this.
So if you are looking for a piece of art,
obviously going to the very back
is something you might already naturally do.
But let's look at some of the mismatch items I have found,
which have scored me some great deals and products.
For example, at the back of a shelf in a random decor area,
there are these beautiful hanging lights
that I was able to find.
They've been sold out all summer
at many other HomeGoods stores,
but I was able to score these
by simply just reaching to the back of the shelf.
This glass food storage bamboo system,
another item that my store only listed
as having one in stock of
that no one else was necessarily able to find
unless they reach to the back of this respective shelf.
Awesome.
And other items like serve wear
and cake cutting sets,
all items you can find
if you just reach a little bit further,
sometimes to the back of a shelf.
In the number four spot
for a top 10 shopping secret HomeGoods
does not want you to know,
understand that your HomeGoods
has multiple restocking days per week.
And the reason HomeGoods does not necessarily
want to give you this information
is they wanna stagger their traffic evenly
over the course of the week.
They don't want everyone jam packed
only on the days that they stock per store.
Unlike many other retailers,
specifically Hobby Lobby,
that might only restock once or twice per week,
and not on Sundays,
HomeGoods has multiple restock days
over the course of a week,
including Sundays.
And they vary significantly by store
and by region.
A quick tactic that could help you beat the system,
specifically if you are a frequent shopper,
ask a manager when your store restocks.
I found that the customer service at HomeGoods, phenomenal.
Many of the managers very receptive
and able to identify their frequent customers.
Once you have that connection established,
just simply ask "What days of the week
"do you guys restock?"
And shopping the day after HomeGoods restocks
might actually be your best bet
to access that inventory
once it's all been placed on the store shelves.
In the number five spot,
a quick trick that could diminish
the amount of time you spend treasure hunting in HomeGoods.
Now a favorite thing for our family,
specifically my wife,
is she loves that sensation of a treasure hunt
and roaming the store to find items
that have been marked down, overlooked,
and heavily discounted.
But based on my regular research of HomeGoods,
and sometimes come in with a notepad and paper
and mapping things out,
which generally freaks out the store employees,
the most heavily reduced items with red tags
are generally located on the end cap displays
nearest the back walls of the store.
As I'm sure you guys know,
the red tags signify a mega discount,
and this is one of the best ways to ensure
that you get to these heavily reduced items first.
And speaking of red tags,
one quick bonus that HomeGoods
might not want you to know
is if you do see an item with a red tag,
please double check it for damage.
The red tagged items are often the most frequently handled,
and also the most frequently manhandled,
or person handled.
So double check each red tagged item for damage.
On just one shopping spree I was able to find this damaged
TV stand/console table sitting in the middle of the store.
And for items like this solid wood three tier shelf,
or even a pillow with a small tear
that has an as is tag on it,
this is very important for all of you to know,
you can ask for an additional discount
if the item is damaged on top of the markdown.
This even applies to those occasions
where you might come across a chair
with a few nicks on the leg,
or a bench with slightly worn fabric.
It's also important to know
that you can ask for an additional discount
on items where the color of the item
appears different in contrast to what's already beside it.
So if for example you see a dark green coffee mug
which has the exact same style
as a bunch of almost neon green coffee mugs around it,
it could be a manufacturing defect,
which would then in turn
possibly score you an additional discount.
In the number six spot
is a top shopping secret HomeGoods
does not want you to know,
understand the markdown schedule.
And you can derive that information
by reading the price tag like a store associate.
Markdowns at HomeGoods occur every three months.
So if you are trying to chart the life of a product,
to understand when it will go on sale,
read the label or the price tag.
It will show you the month
and the year the item was first put onto the store shelf,
and then you can calculate the three months from that point.
As an example, tied to this Simplify ironing board
cover and pad,
you'll see that the price at 9.99
is tied to an item
that went onto store shelves on July 21st.
If you look just above the compare at price of $14,
you'll see the B signifying when the item
was born onto the store shelf,
07, July 21 being the day,
and then from this point,
if you really do not need an ironing board right now,
you can wait three months,
and I can guarantee you you will see
an additional substantial discount
as long as that item is still in stock.
In the number seven spot,
if you are a frequent HomeGood shopper,
get a TJX Rewards Card,
and shop with it there.
If you already have a TJX Rewards Card,
you likely know that you can use it at HomeGoods.
But if you are not yet an owner of this card,
and you do frequently shop at HomeGoods,
consider using this as a way that you can use points
on your purchases,
which can then convert to spending cash.
And TJ Maxx being the sister store of HomeGoods
means there are different ways
for you to work your rewards and your perks
into every purchase you make,
even if the card is tied to a slightly different store.
In the number eight spot,
before I explain the truth about store inventory
tied to HomeGoods, which might surprise you,
this next piece of advice defies
what I would apply to pretty much any other retailer.
Always shop far in advance for seasonal items.
Now if you are a frequent shopper of other stores
you likely know the early bird never gets the bargain
when it comes to seasonal items.
HomeGoods on the other hand,
puts many of its top seasonal offerings
onto the store floor one season prior
to when you might actually really need those
Fourth of July outdoor throw pillows,
or some really awesome Halloween decorations.
Unlike Walmart, Target or Toys R Us,
where you would actually score your best
Halloween discounts the day after Halloween,
HomeGoods puts those items out early on sale,
way in advance.
The only thing you would experience
by buying those seasonal items after the specific holiday
is disappointment
and often the same price as before those items
are just completely removed from the store.
This also applies to Christmas decorations,
shop early rather than those situations
where you need to buy the best Christmas decorations
the day after Christmas from so many other stores.
In the number nine spot is a top secret HomeGoods
does not want you to know,
check the app
and the inventory for your local store,
which you can find by zip code,
well before you even get into your car
to visit a HomeGoods.
Now of course HomeGoods would like you to spend
as much time as humanly possible in their store,
looking through the different aisles
and different options,
and maybe buying something that you didn't intend
to buy in the first place,
that's all fine and dandy.
But the HomeGoods app
actually has one of the most up to date
stock inventories for your specific local store
that you can use to figure out which items you wanna buy,
and which items you actually need,
perhaps actually forcing you
to spend less money than you otherwise would
on a treasure hunt inside HomeGoods.
For example, on this Fanta drink cooler.
If you needed one,
you could find this in your local store.
And if you look at the timestamp
from the top left hand corner right here
where it says eight hours ago,
you can see at which point
this last item's inventory was updated.
If you were looking at something from over the weekend,
like my wife was,
this outdoor hanging egg chair
is now still in stock at my local retailer.
And one other quick trick
if you need to even further narrow down your search
is use the filter button
for your specific score feed,
you can find out which items
are still available in the store,
and track your inventory down by category,
which is one of my favorite ways
to shop well before I ever set foot
inside my local store.
In the number 10 spot I have more of a hack
before I get to a bonus secret
that HomeGoods definitely doesn't want you to know.
But if you are not yet aware,
look for the areas around the checkout for great deals.
Generally, deals near the checkout
are marked up at other retailers
and grocery stores
so you will mistakenly buy an item out of convenience.
At HomeGoods that's definitely not the store's strategy.
It's almost as though they wanna reward you
for all of the money you've already emotionally spent
before you go to pay and complete your purchase.
So, look for great last minute deals in this area,
at a time where many other shoppers
are already in a rush,
or have already committed to a bunch
of other purchases and the thought
of buying anything else is not conceivable.
You could potentially even wrack up even more savings
by paying specific attention
to this part of the store.
And now, for a bonus shopping secret
that HomeGoods definitely does not want you to know,
avoid shopping the weekends,
and any time around the weekday lunch period when you can.
People come on their breaks from lunch
and on weekends as though this is the only thing
they're gonna do the whole weekend,
and the stores are often impossibly crowded.
It is very difficult to access the best stock,
even see what you are doing
without getting body checked by the person beside you.
Now for myself personally I don't mind
the human to human contact,
but it's not necessarily the best shopping experience.
So if you can, plan around the crowds.
It will score you considerably better,
less passed over merchandise
that hasn't been handled by every other person in the store.
I wanna thank all of you
for getting to this point in the video.
If you are a HomeGoods store associate
and you're watching this video right now,
first of all, I really appreciate you,
and second of all,
if you have any other insider secrets
that you'd like to share in the comments section,
or correct me if you think I'm wrong on something,
please feel free to do so.
This video is not sponsored in any way,
and most of the research that I've gained
has just been through repeated store experiences,
speaking to customer service,
asking a couple of invasive questions to managers,
and going back time and time again
to survey how different HomeGoods operates
throughout my community.
So drop me a line,
let me know if you guys wanna join
my insider Deal Guy texting club,
the phone number is 440-298-2181.
And if you did like this content,
please feel free to give this video a thumbs up,
subscribe, turn your notifications on,
and I can promise I'll hook you up
with more store secrets
for your other favorite retailers very soon.
Bye bye.