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The Secrets to Penny Shopping at Dollar General

by 84 Comments

 

 

Dollar General penny shopping is a big thing! And those who do it are completely hooked but you have to know what you are doing and what to look for inside the store. You also have to be prepared to spend time looking and researching. If you are prepared then you can score some amazing deals for just one penny!!

First Things First

These items do not have a tag saying, “Penny deal here!” You have to learn how to decode the tags and know the system. And everything is YMMV, or your mileage may vary. What is pennied in one store may not be in another. So be happy if you do score a hot deal and polite if you do not.

Know the Code

When you look at the barcode on a product there will be a code underneath. It will include a combination of the following codes:

  • SP – Spring
  • SU – Summer
  • FA – Fall
  • WI – Winter
  • 15 – 2015
  • 16 – 2016
  • 17 – 2017

So if you see a shirt, for example, that says WI17 on that means winter 2017. So if it says WI17 and it is December of 2017 the item is not likely to be seriously discounted. If it says spring or summer for 2017, or a prior year, then it should have some type of a discount. This is the first place you look to see if you have a possibility of getting a penny item.

Understanding the Symbols

The next things to look at are the symbols.

  • Purple Dot
  • Brown Dot
  • Red Dot
  • Pink Dot
  • Pink Star
  • Blue Dot
  • Brown Diamond
  • + others

The right symbol combined with the right code increases your chance of a penny find! And there are certain items, like Disney, that have their own codes. You can follow the sales at Dollar General and get a pretty good idea of what symbols are on sale.

Discounts start at anywhere from 10% – 25%. They then move on to 40%, 50%, 70%, 90%. Of course, this can vary per store. After they hit 90%, usually within 2 weeks, they will “penny out”. Tuesday mornings are when this often occurs so obviously this is when you want to be in the store. Again, it is very much the luck of the draw.

Understanding Penny Items

You need to realize that items that are penny deals are not supposed to be in the store. They are supposed to be removed from the floor but it doesn’t always happen. That is when the game is afoot! Dollar General’s policy on penny items is clear – they are supposed to sell it to you if you find one but some stores will refuse. You have to be prepared for this. And you can almost guarantee if you find one and they let you buy it the cashier will not let you go back for more. So if you think something is a penny put all you want in your basket!

Hot Tips for Penny Shopping

  • Don’t ask employees about penny items. This is a HUGE no no!
  • Be polite. Don’t argue or demand that something should be a penny just because you saw someone else got it for that.
  • Load your cart with all you want if you think it is a penny because the employees are supposed to go pull it off the shelf the minute they realize they are there.
  • Remember – not every store gets the same discount at the same time. If what you want isn’t pennied out yet check back.
  • Don’t get it price checked. If it rings up for more than just ask them to remove and explain you thought it was on sale for less. Don’t mention penny sales!
  • Be NEAT! Stores get trashed by people looking for penny stores and it makes DG less inclined to be nice about it.
  • Know what you are looking for when you go in. Have screenshots, a list etc. The internet almost never works in DG so don’t count on that. Look around and follow our Dollar General group the. do our best to keep up with the penny sales.

Dollar General Penny Store Policy

Knowing this can make things much easier. Here is what the policy is for DG for dealing with items to be pennied out.

Monday-Identify and Remove PRP items from the Sales Floor:

  • In preparation for completing the PRP Event, the specific product should be pulled from the sales floor and by close of business. Stage in the Receiving Room.
  • The product will still ring at the register at the current clearance price until the following day.
  • All areas of the sales floor must be checked to ensure that ALL PRP items are pulled.Tuesday-Product will Ring at the Register at ( 0.01 ) one cent
  • The product will ring at a penny.
  • If any additional PRP items are identified by the store team, immediately pull from the sales floor.
  • If any penny item is identified by a customer, ALWAYS sell the product to the costumer at 1cent. If we fail to pull all of the penny product from the floor, it is never appropriate to deny the sale or argue with the customer.
  • After taking care of the customer, locate any additional penny items and remove from the sales floor.

Wednesday-Begin the PRP
The PRP is live and should be processed by the deadline using the instructions provided in START.

So the best way to get in on the deals is to be able to read the tags, know what symbols are on clearance for the season (i.e. = gray dot – men’s boots) and then watch the clearance progression.  Joining a group (such as ours)  that focuses on penny deals can be a huge help. There are also subscription sites that will list what is happening each week in the penny world. Happy hunting!

 

Be sure and check our deal breakdowns in the HTSFF Forums 

We also get early ad scans for Dollar General ad many other stores you can see them all HERE

Join our Dollar General Freebies and Deals Facebook Group

Comments

  2. They used to hate me ( thought i was the secret shopper)Until I called corporate one day while standing in the line at the register. I wanted those items and need corporate to tell them to sell them; 20 towels (those $5 ones) a penny apiece.
    Everyone was so nice to me afterwards.

  4. Hey kathy. There is a DG in my town that is remodeling. They will be closed for 2 weeks. Any way to find out if there are any deals other than posted in the store?

  6. PRP is the procedure they use to process discontinued seasonal items in preparation to be sent back to the warehouse.

  8. I went to the penny finder app this morning

    I’ve been on for about 6 months and my screen is black
    Would anyone know why this is happening

  9. I have looked everywhere. How do you know which color and which circle square or triangle will penny out.

  10. I would still like to know more about the colored dots % off every time I see something I want with a colored dot on it and I ask how much of a % is off I get the answer it’s not dot day I shop at the West Melbourne and Palm Bay Florida stories so what days are colored dots days here in Florida

  13. How do you know what follows a certain dot, star or whatever the symbol is. I’ve been penny shopping for a while but never know what follows. Thank you

  17. There’s a Dollar General around the corner from me. I just started stopping in there shopping because I work a few stores down. Yes it can be very dishovelked at times and the employees some are not so nice.

  18. I think I must be doing this wrong . Yesterday I scanned (with the Penny Finder app) and it showed several items were on the penny list . I thought because they came up with SKU number and verified by members . However when I got to register , they scanned 10.00 . How can you tell before getting to register please ?

  23. I’m new to this and I found eight garbage cans for a penny they scanned on my phone but wouldn’t scan at the register so I couldn’t get them. Is there a reason why they wouldn’t scan?

  25. How long do pennies stay a penny. Just Tues? Or if I happen to find one from 2 weeks ago would it still be a penny

  27. I am definitely still confused. Most of you penny experts tell us to look out for sales and things but you guys are not really explaining how to walk in a store and find which items are a penny without a list or hints from other sources. I’ve watched so many YouTube videos but I still don’t understand. Are the penny items yellow dot, in a certain area of the store, etc… ???

  28. Most of the dollar general stores around here have a clearance section that never seem to move or get discounted any further. Are people finding that certain areas have less of these deals than others?

  29. So what happens if you think the deal is a penny and you fill a cart full and then it’s not a penny what do you do next?

  31. I just witnessed the penny item sale in my store. This lady bought 183 items of clothes, shoes etc and only cost her $1.83. The key to it is to go to the smaller stores with only 1 manager or assistant. They usually don’t have the time to pull them. This lady hit all 5 dollar generals in my town. It was the yellow circle dot on the tags I was seeing.

  32. I’m new and learning, so if someone else knows differently, please correct me.

    Here is what I think I’ve learned lol, answering some of the questions…

    Someone mentioned a penny app that doesn’t seem to be working correctly for them. Just download the free, official Dollar General app and it should work for everyone. You have to put in your exact store location at the time you’re shopping.

    Someone asked about how we know what the penny items are. If you go on youtube, search penny items and Dollar General, you’ll find videos from people who get the list from an employee and they share it. Some of them have their own websites with more info, tips. But anything seasonal will penny at some point, holiday stuff, and notice when things are getting lower and lower discounts. 70% and 90% can be the lowest right before it becomes a penny, I’m not sure about the 70%. And don’t depend on only that, always be sure to scan with the DG app before getting to the register. Sometimes there are exempt items or for some other reason they don’t get marked to a penny.

    I know yellow and white dots (probably the other symbols too, but not sure) are for spring/summer. Don’t know about other colors.

    Yes, people often resell items on ebay, Amazon, and even locally at a garage/yard sale. I just got a couple of kid’s clocks for a penny, marked $12 each, and have posted on nextdoor and facebook marketplace.

    Dollar General is different from Family Dollar and The Dollar Store, as well as Dollar Tree, they are all different.

    Someone scanned with the penny app, items were verified by others members but the items didn’t ring up a penny for her….for best results, use the official, free Dollar General app, put in your exact store location and scan items. Occasionally items are different depending on your store or it’s possible the registers weren’t shut down properly the night before to activate the price change. You might try going back the next day and scanning again, to see if the price changes (assuming the registers were shut down correctly).

    I’ve seen people post from Michigan that they have gotten penny items.

    Penny items stay a penny for a pretty long time. People can find penny items from months ago, or even years, depending on employee diligence, if another shopper found it, etc. Always scan with the DG app to find out.

    Penny items are nationwide, it is the company policy. BUT, whether or not you find any will depend on employee diligence pulling them off the floor and other penny shoppers getting there before you.

    Some youtube channels which share info about penny shopping – Christa Coupons, Suburban Beard, one cute couponer, My Flippin Life

    I checked clearance items at one store, none that I scanned were a penny. But ymmv, decide how much energy and time you want to spend hunting there.

  33. I’ve never got anything for a penny. I searched for an hour one day then got to the register & the cashier was like ” we don’t do that here”

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