- These are 10 shopping secrets TJ Maxx does not want you to know. Welcome back to the channel. I'm the YouTube Deal Guy, Matt Granite. From what days you should
shop to save the most money to how to spot pricing errors, how to read the price
tags and what not to buy, I'm gonna bring you
inside my local TJ Maxx for a wild ride of savings. This video is not sponsored. If you like the content, please feel free to give
this video a thumbs up and share it with any
fellow TJ Maxx shopper. Shopping secret number one, TJ Maxx knockoffs are a real thing. And this is a subject
of a bit of controversy, but TJ Maxx manufactures its own clothing and they licensed designer brand names which they attached to the clothing. So for example, if you saw
a Kenneth Cole Reaction item or a Nicole Miller top, and you think the price
is too good to be true because it's $23 and 80%
less than everywhere else, make sure you go beyond the brand name you see on the price tag, and actually look at the label that is sewn inside the clothing. If the label on the inside doesn't have the designer brand name, but instead states TJX Europe or Watford, it is one of the internal
designer brands tied to TJ Maxx, but this doesn't happen all the time. And while I have had some
subscribers of this channel contact me prior to uploading
this video with that insight, just make sure you check
the labels carefully. Shopping secret number two before I focus on the positives. Those compare prices that you see listed on TJ Maxx price tags are often completely bogus. Now, I don't wanna pick on TJ Maxx because I do love the store
and I love the pricing, but the list price is just
as what you would find at Target or Five Below, often portrays an inflated
list price to convince you or make you feel that you
are saving substantially more money than you actually are. A compare price however, is a little bit different
from a list price because the item has never
actually ever retailed for that price. Let's take a look at the
Greenies Dental Treats as an example. On the 12 ounce 12-treat bag, TJ Maxx lists a compare price of $20 and a selling price of $12.99. While the $12.99 price
is a very good offering, if we were to compare this
to Amazon, for example, the list price is definitely $17.99 and not the $20 compare price. More importantly, if
you were gonna do this as a subscribe and save item on Amazon, you'd score the additional
35% in extra savings, making Amazon substantially less expensive than what's being offered by TJ Maxx. But of course, this is
a subscribe and save, so if you were just simply to
grab this from a store shelf, TJ Maxx would win with
regards to everyday pricing. For shopping secret number three that TJ Maxx does not want you to know. I'm gonna handle the clearance section. And then in a few moments, I'm gonna explain a mistake
that so many shoppers make when they enter into a
TJ Maxx store to shop. With regards to the
clearance section though, you will do far better
online than you will in store due to a high amount of traffic through the clearance sections which are often strikingly small given the floor plan of a typical TJ Maxx. It's often difficult to
find the correct sizes. You'll sometimes see
stockpiles of unfolded clothing and in my local store, it actually wasn't particularly bad on the day that I am uploading this video, but the online clothing
clearance section for TJ Maxx is revamped. You can adjust your search parameters to search by color and
narrow it down by size, and you'll spend significantly
less time online. And by the way, to
dodge the shipping fees, sign up for their email list. First time users will often receive a completely free shipping code. So you do not need to
set foot out of your home Shopping secret number four. Forget PetSmart or many of
those other national pet chains. TJ Maxx is actually one
of the best places to buy many products for your pets, including pet beds. Now, what I'm showing
you is just a regular day at my local store. It's not National Pet Day. There is an incredible
selection of dog beds and so many other products
and accessories for your pets. TJ Maxx is also one of
the few major retailers that actually invites your dog inside provided they are in a
shopping cart or on a leash. And they have an exceptional
selection of pet toys. Many of the price is comparable to what you would find at Dollar Tree, but have a substantially better quality. So pet owners, TJ Maxx is definitely your place to go if you are not yet shopping there. Before I show you guys
an easy way to haggle for a lower price at TJ Maxx and also how to read the price tags, shopping secret number
five is tied to a mistake so many shoppers make when
they enter into the store. Whenever I'm in the store, I often see people with
their Amazon app open, and it would appear just as I did ironically on the pet treats, that most people price
compare against Amazon to know whether or not they're actually getting
a good deal at TJ Maxx. Since TJ Maxx is truly
outstanding in terms of clothing, I wanna remind anyone right now that the direct competitor to
TJ Maxx is actually Macy's. And the clearance sections
of both Saxx and Nordstrom will replicate many of the
items that TJ Maxx offers. So if you are going to cross check prices or just do your typical Google search, keep an eye out on Macy's Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack, and Saxx. Shopping secret number six that TJ max might not
want you to know is that you can actually haggle or
bargain for a lower price in a very specific section of the store. If you guys have not yet found
it inside your local store, look for the irregular goods section or items that are marked
throughout the store with irregular good price tags. These items typically have a
slight cosmetic imperfection but let me show you what I found, and we'll talk about how the
prices are not only negotiable, but sometimes you can't even tell there's anything wrong with it. So the first item is a Cuisinart pot. The lid was bent. This is definitely a clear imperfection. It is listed at a lower price and you could definitely bargain
this down if you needed to. This two-tiered shelf that
you guys see right here has a price of 39 bucks reduced from $69. I've got good eyes despite
my mid-thirties age, and I am looking and I
cannot see anything wrong. Perhaps I could go a little
bit lower on the price, but I'm telling you those savings of $30, definitely is something that
I would take advantage of. And for this bag right here, there's an irregular goods
price on this for $18 in contrast to the $30 compare price. And this might be something
you could haggle on, and then of course replace the button more easily on your own. Before I explain to you
the best times to shop, shopping secret number seven is tied to the gift cards which are not only interchangeable between the parent company's
other stores, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Sierra, and HomeSense, but I highly recommend that looking online through websites like Ray's
Gift Card Granny or CardCash which I've just called up here, where you could often save
anywhere between three and sometimes 20% on a gift card, which you can then use at
all of the partner stores tied to TJ Maxx. If you happen to have a
Sam's Club membership, and by the way, for those of you watching, I offer store secrets and
what to buy at Sam's Club, Costco, all of your
other favorite retailers. So, feel free to subscribe and
turn your notifications on. And while you're shopping
at a store like Sam's Club, you'll often see gift card
combos significantly reduced, grab them off the rack for
what could be a 30% reduction and then shop at TJ Maxx. It's like free money. And now, for shopping
secrets eight and nine, before I get into the truth
about their price tags, I'm gonna discuss for
shopping secret number eight, the best times of the year to shop, and then we'll move on
to what days of the week you can score the best deal. TJ Maxx doesn't do a whole
lot tied to Black Friday, but they do have significant reductions certain times over the course of the year, not tied to that occasion. A hotspot for savings is
tied to any purchase you make between mid-October and Christmas Eve. A bonus to that is they
don't have the typical 30-day return window, so you will get that extended return time which is great for holidays. This is great for a holiday decor, dressing up for special occasions, and making sure you really like an item with an extended time to return it. Anything purchased between
October and the end of the year can generally be returned until the end of the following January. That's over three months
for this return window if you do your shopping in October. The normal refund policy applies to any purchase made on
December 26th or after. And you will typically find
some of the best clearance sales around July, August, and January for those of you that don't mind shopping off-season merchandise. Shopping secret number nine. We all love shopping on
the weekends, generally, if that's what your work schedule permits. But this is actually one
of the worst times to shop at TJ Maxx. TJ Maxx marks its products
down Monday through Friday. And while some stores that I have surveyed apparently restock on Tuesday, your store's restocking
schedule may differ regionally. But, at the beginning of the week is generally when the
new inventory arrives, that's when the prices are reduced, and by the weekend, most of those products are picked over, the sales are not as rampant, and you're essentially dealing
with someone's leftovers. So earlier in the week, the better. Monday through Friday,
your key time to shop. in a moment, I'm gonna explain
how to spot pricing errors and one purchase you should
be very wary of making. But for shopping secret number 10, know how to read a price tag at TJ Maxx, and you will have guaranteed success for all of your future shopping sprees. Let's begin with the white tag. This is typically a tag
that has no sticker, and this is the regular price. Unless you are really
in love with the item and you need it specifically
at that day and that moment, you are paying regular price and that's something we're
just not allowed to do in my household unless it's an absolute emergency. If you see a red tag on top of a white tag or those red stickers on
top of any other price tag, that is the clearance price. That is not necessarily the lowest price which I will explain in a moment. If you see a blue tag, this means this is tied to an item with a coordinating piece. This blue shopping tag is
mainly a signifier to you that you should have everything
in your shopping basket when you go to pay. I mainly saw these tags
on kids and women's clothing and apparel accessory items. If you see a yellow price tag at TJ Maxx, which I actually didn't see that many of when I went to record this video, grab that item and make a run. I was gonna say for the exit, but that would be shoplifting. Make a run for the cashier so you can actually pay
and complete your purchase. Congratulations, you have just scored one
of the lowest prices. And finally, if you do
see a purple price tag, the purple price tags are generally tied to the runway collection of TJ Maxx stores which is high end designer
fashion from last season offered to you the following season at around 70% to 80% off. Many of the rural stores
do not have these, and unless you're in a
really hot metropolitan area like Chicago or New York, somewhere downtown with a lot of people, those runway sections are
a little bit more difficult to come by. I didn't come across any runway
sections in my community, so if you're watching right now and you do have one in yours, please feel free to leave me a comment. Let me know. And in particular, let me
know where you're located and how you got so lucky. And of course, I'm just interested in what
community or the state, possibly a city, I don't need a full address, that would be creepy, and my wife would be really weirded out. Now, for the bonus section of this video, let's begin with how to
spot a pricing error. And this unfortunately happens a little bit too
frequently in many stores. Double check for duplicate pricing errors. Sometimes you'll find a
nice Ralph Lauren polo shirt for $19.99, but you'll find the exact same piece in the store somewhere else for $5 less. TJ Maxx is not trying to
play any tricks on you, they often source their
products from different vendors. And it is possible one piece of clothing came from two different vendors, so it has two different
prices in the store. The only pricing error I came across during two different shopping sprees was just this one Nike shirt, which might actually be a mislabeling. One section had it for $14.99, and then I found the exact
same shirt for $5.99. Of course, that's something
that's easily cleared up at the cash, and I do find customer service
within the TJ Maxx store is generally very
understanding and helpful. Now, for the one product
you should typically not buy at TJ Maxx, unless you understand
that you are proceeding with some element of risk, bedding. And this is your second
to bonus shopping secret of what TJ Maxx might
not want you to know. And consider this more of a tip. You might find incredible,
inexpensive, quality bedding at TJ Maxx, but the big issue is it's
generally impossible to find matching pillow cases or duvet covers tied to that specific bedding set. So if you find something you like, you're often stuck with it and you won't necessarily find
any additional shams or items that you would typically be able to do a better job matching
with at Bed Bath & Beyond. More importantly, if you buy bedding and you're
absolutely in love with it and you go back a week later to try and buy the same bedding set, you might be completely out of luck. Generally, what I see at TJ
Maxx when it comes to bedding is that one bedding set that you see is something that you may never see again. So it's very hard to buy
multiples of products once you take them home and find out whether or not you like them. I will tell you one thing though, I really like you if you've made it this far into the video. And for all those other
people that gave up earlier, I still like them. I just think you're awesome. If you guys liked this content, please give this video a thumbs up. If you are subscribed with
your notifications turned on, I promise to explore more store secrets. Leave me a comment. The only reason I knew to make this video was based on your feedback from one of the other videos
that I uploaded last month. And finally, if you wanna join my insider
deal guy texting club, my phone number (440) 298-2181, drop me a line, become an extended member
of my frugal family. And until we meet again,
thanks for watching. Bye bye.
