Adventures in Reselling #4 – Not Paying Sticker Price Works at Walmart Too

It has been quite a while since I did one of these Adventures in Reselling articles. I realize I need to fix that. Hence this article. Number four in my series of articles to help resellers and the public as well – we can all learn something new if we are open minded. This article will focus on getting a better price at stores like Walmart.

Yes, there is a way to get a better price

Stores like Walmart, Target, Best Buy, etc only have so much shelf space available for new product. Their job is to turn that stock over and make room for the stock that is not out yet.

That means there are often aisles in the store that are dedicated to discounts. Sometimes those discounts are impressive and “too good to pass up”, other times they are barely five percent off the regular price.

Find that aisle and find the discounts

I am fortunate. I have about 12 Walmart locations within 30 miles of my home. That is driving the roads, not as the crow flies.

In that same distance I have four Target stores and four Best Buy locations. For the time being there are two Toys R Us locations in that same area as well - though their discounts are, as of this writing, resting around 10 to 20 percent off – nothing spectacular as the prices are still 10 to 20 percent more than Walmart for the same toys.

In each of these stores, other than Toys R Us which the whole store is on discount, there are aisles available for discounts. Some stores don’t collect all their discounts in one location.

Stores that don’t have a discount aisle will have discounts in the department alongside the regular priced merchandise.

The ones that have a discount aisle often have more discounts in each department. That is why you must search these stores before giving up.

When in doubt, ask an employee

Don’t fret if you cannot find the discounts. Just ask an employee. Someone in that store knows where the discounts are at.

Don’t be rude, be polite. Be respectful.

Me, I focus on toys and foods. I occasionally sell video games as well but around here, getting games cheap enough to resell is a tough call. When I do find them, I usually make the most profit on average.

That brings me to the next part here.

Make friends at the stores

I am not saying lie to people and use them. I am saying be a respectful and honest person. I have met so many people at the various stores around me.

Some are managers while others are stockers. All have been awesome in helping me find more deals.

Most have my phone number and have contacted me with deals that were going to the discount area.

I have only run into one employee at a Walmart that was mad at me for being a reseller.

Which leads us to…

Don’t be shy about being a reseller, be honest if asked

I am an open person about what I do. If asked by an employee if I am a reseller, I tell them yes. Because I am.

This, so far, has been the start of them helping me find stuff. After all, their jobs are easier if they are moving product rather than having to straighten it up on the shelves.

Their bosses are happy when product is moving.

Buying discount items for reselling is not as easy as it sounds. That is why it is imperative to make friends at these stores.

Friends can help you. They also can give you a heads up on stuff coming down the line. I was able to get ahead of the game a bit on the Rampage toys because a friend at one store alerted me to the street date they would be stocking them for the first time.

I knew already that some were more sought after than others based on other resellers that got them early somehow and had them listed.

I did not make a lot of money off this deal, but I made more than if I had not been tipped off.

How to get a lower price than sticker at stores like Walmart

It is simple. So simple that I am surprised more people have not done this already.

Maybe they have, they are just not telling anyone. Does that make this like those old Fox specials - Breaking the Magician's Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed?

Maybe that is why I have been banned from more than a couple reselling groups that have owners that sell their “secrets and tips” to the members?

Anyhow, the secret to getting a lower price is just to ask.

You must ask the right person

The person stocking the shelves is not going to be able to make this decision. They can direct you to who can though.
Earlier this year, I bought a lot of stuff. Almost 300 pieces in one stop. This was two baskets of my favorite kind of toys.

Small, easy to ship (almost all will fit in a #0 padded envelope), won’t take much room to store, are decently sought after, and have good profit margins.

I got everything for $96 that night.

How is that a big deal?

Because I offered the manager $100 flat for the two carts of toys. She said she could not do that, that seemed quite low for what was in the carts.

She agreed to cut the price in half if I bought it all. $0.50 per piece became $0.25 just like that.

I picked up two three $5 totes ($15) and then about 290 toys for $96 total.

Had the manager accepted my $100 offer I would have had to pay $115 total.

Not only did I save $25 over my initial offering, she ended up having to pay a CSM and a cashier for over an hour as they rang up each piece in the carts.

After the register locked up several times I asked if we could do bulk scanning. Bunch the like items together and do quantity while scanning only one, rather than scanning 50+ Disney Crossy Road blind boxes or 80+ Flip A Zoo toys.

We ended up with two and a half totes full to the brim with toys.

Since then we have cleared about $700 in profits from that purchase and we are not even a quarter of the way through selling the items.

All because I asked for a lower price.

You don’t know if you don’t ask

That is a motto I try to live life by. I do it in my day job. I have gotten two raises since deciding on this mantra. I have saved hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars at stores like Walmart and Kroger. I have gotten a few extras here and there at fast food places for free.

All simply because I asked.

My PlayStation 3 bundle came with some extras the guy was selling because I asked. He already knocked off $20 before I asked. I saw, after we agreed to meet, that he had some fitness thingies for PlayStation 3 for sale also. I asked about them, not asking to get them for free, I asked how much he would take for them.

He had them listed for $20 for the set of four.

He told me since I was buying the PS3 he would just throw them in with the bundle.

So, to recap. I saved $20 off the bat just asking if he had the bundle still available (it was originally posted about three months ago), then I saved another $20 by asking if he would take a lower price on some accessories he was selling separately.

Call it timing, call it good luck. I call it saving money.
I got a PS3 (160 gig model), two controllers, four fitness accessories, and 15 games for $120.

I have 7 of the games, plus three I had already, up on eBay for $55 and have two watchers on them and one person already asking about condition of a couple of the titles.

If those sell, I will have gotten a PS3, the fitness things, two controllers, and eight games I wanted to play for about $75.

Not bad for simply asking about it in the first place.

I would have gotten none of it had I not asked.

That is what it boils down to. Had I not asked, I would not have any of it. No PS3 and games at an amazing price, no tons of profit from items I got for nearly nothing, no tons of stuff to still list.

I am on my way to financial freedom because I asked.

Adventures in Ebay Reselling #1 - Just Because the App Says They Have It, They Don't

Adventures in Ebay Reselling #2- The Adventure is Often Worth More than What You Resell

Adventures in eBay Reselling #3 – Where to Find Stock When Your Favorite Store is Sold Out