I worked at TK Maxx – the day you should NEVER shop there if you want the best deals & what to look out for to nab them
A FORMER TK Maxx TK Maxx worker has lifted the lid on what we’ve all be wanting to know for years – how to find all the best deals and prices in store.
Staffer Emily Spridgens, 26, from Loughborough, now an NHS respiratory physiologist, spent nine years working at two different TK Maxx shops from the age of 16.
“Working at TK Maxx was amazing,” she says. “I started work at 16 as a Christmas temp and worked part time through university.”
Here, she lifts the lid on how to bag the best and biggest bargains at TK Maxx and how to tell when a big clearance is on its way.
Keep an eye out for ‘scamping’ machines
“Everyday except Sunday the stores received deliveries of products at 6am.
“Between 10 and 11 am we started labelling and putting the new stock on the shelves.”
Emily explains: “If you see staff with scamping machines, then you know the new stock is about to be laid out.
“A scamping machine is a handheld device with a printer that looks a bit like a fat mobile phone.”
She says TK Maxx staff use the machine to print out the product’s label.
Yellow labels are the ‘Holy Grail’
“Red labels mean a product has been marked down.
“A yellow label is a customer’s ‘Holy Grail’ – it’s the biggest bargain because it’s a final clearance price and that could be as low as 20p.”
“Each label has the week number the product first came into store.”
Emily reveals that’s a key thing to remember “Six weeks after an item first arrives in a store it then gets discounted by almost a third or 30 per cent.
“The discounting of older items begins when the stock delivered that day is out on the shelves.
“If you’re not interested in new stock and are hoping an item you have had your eye on will be discounted, this is the best time to be in store.”
“After staff have completed their daily stock update you know they will start scamping or discounting older items.
“Follow them and see which items are being discounted to nab a bargain.”
Keep a note of dates
Emily explained that once an item has been in store for eight weeks it will be discounted again – this time by another 15 to 20 per cent.
She added: “That discounting continues every two weeks.
“If you want a dress or household item but don’t want to pay full price, diary when you first saw the item in store and set a reminder for eight weeks and then every two weeks.
“This is how people get designer dresses, shoes and coats for such cheap prices.”
Emily revealed she once shopped in a different TK Maxx store and found a white denim and floral sundress by Prada priced at £12 reduced from £700.
She explained: “It had gone through so many discount cycles and no one wanted it.
“I did and it takes pride of place in my wardrobe.”
Monitor ‘Week numbers’
TK Maxx staff can easily tell if an item is due for a discount because the label has the original week number when it first came into the shop but Emily revealed that sometimes items slip through the discounting process.
She said: “Often an item will be returned and popped back on the shelf without being discounted again.
“I tell people to look at the week number on the label, if we are in week 50 and the product you are buying has week five on the label, take the item to an associate and ask them if it has the correct price.
“You may discover the item will have missed multiple discount runs and you will get a real bargain.”
Why you should persevere with TK Maxx
Fashion Editor Clemmie Fieldsend reveals why TK Maxx is such a hidden gem
IT’S no secret that when faced with the rails and racks of TK Maxx bargains you can feel extremely overwhelmed.
But you should never let that put you off.
Think about it, come December we all sharpen our elbows to route through the sales.
Well, I think TK Maxx is just the same except there is less of a scum.
I would advise going in the morning if you can.
The shop floor will be tidy and less busy so your overall shopping experience will be more calm.
Don’t bother heading into store on a Sunday, that’s the one day they don’t get a delivery so stock will be at its lowest.
I wondered into a branch for a browse and ended up finding a Celine dress with hundreds of pounds off the RRP.
Their ‘Gold Label’ department is my go to area, its a curated edit of all the high end brands such as Celine, Stella McCartney and Gucci.
If you can’t face looking at anything else then I would advise you to go there first to ease yourself into it.
Then enjoy the rest of the time digging out a bargain.
20p is the lowest price
Emily says that TK Maxx products continue in the discounting cycle until they reach 20p.
She says: “That’s the lowest price.
“Most of these items are sold in the store’s final clearance sales.”
She explained that there are three final clearances a year and that there are clear signs customers can look out for.
“Shoppers can tell a final clearance sale is coming up because staff will be making space in large areas of the store.
“The next final clearance sale this year should be in October or November – there will be leftover Halloween products, summer clothes and summer garden accessories.
“In January you can get Christmas gifts, decorations and festive items.”
But they’re not the only big clear outs, Emily says: “In April another final clearance is held, and you can get winter clothes, Easter decorations and school clothes at discounted prices.
The key is to become a member
TK Maxx has its own loyalty system and Emily says it’s important to join the club, she says:
“Make sure you get a TK Maxx card.”
She explains: “Instead of vouchers you get keys.
“Once you get five keys on a card you can choose a free gift online.
“This can be anything from bath salts to an umbrella or a chance to go in the gift draw and you don’t have to pay the postage on the item to be delivered.”