Consumer Experts Offer Tips For Cracking Secret Price Tag Codes
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- You might call this cracking the secret code of price tags.
Most major stores have internal numbers and color coding to keep track of and move their inventory.
And if you know what those codes are, then you can save yourself a lot of money.
Bargain hunting is a great American past time for some people. Many shoppers consider themselves amateurs at the game.
Others are professionals.
No matter what kind of shopper you are, knowing that most major retailers use a secret coding system can save you money.
And you can find it right on the price tag.
Consumer expert Michele Ashamalla says many major store chains have their own internal coding system.
Take Target for example. Industry experts found a price tag ending with 98 cents are bound for another markdown in the future.
But a price ending with a four at Target is a final markdown.
How about the Gap and Old Navy?
At those stores, a price ending with a seven is a final markdown.
At Sears, the same thing is true with a price ending with 88 cents. And if you see anything ending in 97 cents, that means the item's been discontinued.
The magic number at Home Depot is six. Anything ending in a six or any price tags in green mean final markdown.
Edgar Dworsky of ConsumerWorld.org says that kind of knowledge is power.
"You're learning the tricks of the trade, basically. If you know some of these codes and some of the color codes, then you can probably save yourself some money," Dworsky says.
But there is a bit of a gamble here.
Buy too soon and you might not get the lowest price. But wait too long, and you might miss out on the item altogether.
Our shopping experts have one more piece of advice.
Even though something may be discounted at one store, doesn't mean it will be discounted at the same store somewhere else.
So there's another variable to your gamble.
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