Every day, we learn something new. Occasionally, it can be a cost-saving trick that is kept hush-hush. For this woman, the low-key hack she learned from a fellow Dollar Tree shopper is popular among bargain hunters: penny shopping.
What Is The Art Of Penny Shopping?
Across the corners of the internet, you may stumble upon clips of discount shoppers scouring for penny items. In a nutshell, it’s about searching for hidden discontinued or off-season merchandise priced at one cent. However, the penny items are to alert employees to ‘pull and destroy’ them. Of course, workers are human and may miss a few, leaving them available for customers to claim. Typically, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, and Home Depot are common hotspots for penny shopping.
Striking A Dollar Tree Gold Mine
“I’m at the Dollar Tree right now,” TikTok creator Kristin (@keepingupwiththekk) whispers, standing in an aisle at Louisiana Dollar Tree. Then, she recalls how she learned about penny shopping.
“I was just [at] the crafting aisle and this fabulous lady stopped me. She was just here shopping.” That’s when the lady imparted the knowledge. “‘Hey, do you have the Dollar Tree app?’” she recalls the woman asking her, and continues. “‘Download the app because there are lots and lots of penny items that if you scan the item in the Dollar Tree app, and it says ‘item not found,’ that means it’s automatically a penny.’”
Afterward, the content creator pulls out a lavender loofah with magenta wings that the lady gave her. “‘They’re scanning for a penny,’” the content creator recounts the woman saying.
Immediately, Kristin puts it to the test. “So, I went over there and picked up three or four more,” she says. Again, Kristin tries it with wall decals hanging on a shelf.
“Also, just scanned these wall decals,” she says, holding up a sparkly iridescent mermaid decal, followed by a colorful floral one. “That right there, a penny.” Before wrapping up, she unveils the treasures in her cart. “These are some die-cut number packs that I found. I also found a sticker pack of 180 and the avocado masher.”
Viewers Sang Their Praises
Kristin’s video attracted 2 million views, where many appreciate her and the lady for not hiding the hack.
“Don’t you just love people who don’t gate keep,” one of the top comments with over 29k likes stated.
“I found pure gold on tiktok. [Thank you],” a second applauded.
“Love when people help people,” a third said.
However, current Dollar Tree employees weighed in by throwing an unexpected curveball.
“I work at a dollar tree, and we are not technically allowed to sell them!” one commenter shared.
“I work at dollar tree and those Penny items are pull items the workers have to pull them off the shelf,” another echoed.
Is This True?
For a long time, Dollar Tree’s policy prohibited workers from running or completing these transactions. Chowhound states that it risks termination for theft. Depending on the worker, they may or may not honor it. This is why penny shopping is discreet. However, it appears the company has reversed this policy.
“I’m a Dollar Tree Assistant Manager and YES as of last week we were sent emails that we now are allowed to sell penny items or donate them. We are told to pull as many as we can but if anything is left on the floor and is a penny and someone goes to buy it we can sell it,” an alleged Dollar Tree worker wrote under a Facebook post.
Whether this is a store or corporate change is unknown. Items may be denied if you embark on a Dollar Tree penny shopping scavenger hunt.
@keepingupwiththekk Did you know Dollar Tree has 1 PENNY ITEMS? ? So thankful for the lady who randomly stopped me in Dollar Tree today to share the good news! Have you scored penny items before? I wanna know!! #dollartree #pennyitems #dollartreefinds ♬ original sound – Kristin ????
The Mary Sue reached out to Kristin via TikTok comment and direct message as well as Dollar Tree via press email.
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