I’m a former TJ Maxx employee and these are my secrets to getting the best deals on clearance items & branded products
HUNTING down a good bargain at TJ Maxx can be a thrill, and one ex-employee shared store secrets that can lead you to the best deals.
Former TJ Maxx employee Taylor posts lifestyle tips and tricks on her YouTube channel, SimplyTaylorB.
She mined her experiences as a TJ Maxx employee to share shopping hacks with her followers.
After working at TJ Maxx for a year and a half, Taylor had spent time in every department in the store, from unloading products to marking down prices.
For a long time, Taylor said, she heard rumors that the “best day” of the week to shop at TJ Maxx was Wednesday because markdowns typically happened the evening before or in the morning before the store opened.
“I don’t really know if that’s true,” Taylor said.
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Taylor remembered that during her tenure at TJ Maxx, markdowns did happen once a week, but it wasn’t necessarily the same day each time.
“When I was working, markdowns happened when we were able to do it,” she explained. Depending on the workload each week, employees may not do new markdowns until Thursday.
However, there are two times of the year when TJ Maxx tries to get rid of as much inventory as possible by marking down final sale items again and again.
The first “round” of sales happens in January, when stores are trying to get rid of inventory after the holidays.
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Just six months later, in July, shoppers can find the same post-Christmas discounts, but in the middle of summer.
Taylor also said that buyers should be aware of the ticket color on clearance items.
A red clearance sticker indicates the item will see its price marked down again. A yellow ticket, however, is supposed to be the “final markdown ticket.”
During heavy sale periods in January and July, Taylor said that even those yellow-ticketed items would get marked down, with some items becoming cheaper every hour.
Additionally, TJ Maxx shoppers should take advantage of the brand’s sister stores Home Goods and Marshall’s to look for items.
Even though the stores don’t have the same items or departments, and don’t log their inventory in a searchable way, the employees are able to go out to the sales floor and track the item down if it’s in stock.
“You can call the store and ask about that product,” Taylor advised.
She once called a Marshall’s store in her area to find out if they carried shoes she’d seen at a TJ Maxx which were unavailable in her size, and was able to secure them.
“They’ll probably be able to find it for you,” she said.
She also reminded viewers to take a close look at the beauty section of the store, where incredible finds are possible, but rare.
When receiving makeup and personal care products, Taylor said the shipments would sometimes have only one luxury palette or one unit of high-end skincare.
Those items are quickly snatched up by shoppers, so it’s best to shop often in order to snag them.
Finally, for designer items, look for the purple tag – and don’t be afraid to visit more than one store.
“The TJ Maxx that I went to in the city in Boston had more higher-end brands and more runway brands,” Taylor said.
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“At the store that I worked at, they got maybe 5 or 6 ‘runway items’ each shipment.”
By scouring other stores during the heavy markdown sale period, Taylor said she was able to buy a $700 dress for only $7.
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