6 Tips for Savvy Shopping at Home Depot and Lowe’s

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Woman at home improvement store
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If you’re an avid watcher of HGTV programs and a DIY type, a trip to the local home improvement store is likely in your future. And that probably means a visit to one of the two titans of this industry, Home Depot and Lowe’s.

Following are six things savvy shoppers can do to cut costs at both home improvement chains.

1. Get discounted gift cards before shopping

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Gift card marketplaces such as Cardpool.com and Raise.com sell discounted gift cards for both Lowe’s and Home Depot.

For example, when this article was written, Lowe’s gift cards could be purchased for up to 5.5 percent off their face value on Cardpool and up to 2.5 percent off at Raise. So, buying one of those cards at Cardpool and using it at Lowe’s would effectively save you more than 5 percent extra on your purchase.

To learn more about how gift card marketplaces work, check out “How Unwanted Gift Cards Save Me Hundreds of Dollars a Year.”

2. Sign up for savings

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If you love to plant, or you just love houseplants, the Home Depot Garden Club can add a little “green” to your efforts. It sends members emails with “special promotions, offers, how-to project information, expert advice and more.”

Additionally, Home Depot and Lowe’s each have a general email newsletter that you can sign up for if you want to receive discounts and tips. Home Depot will give you $5 off just for signing up for its newsletter. Visit each store’s home page to sign up.

3. Shop through a cash-back portal

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Cash-back portals can save you additional money with every purchase you make online. Examples of cash-back portals include:

Getting 1 percent or 3 percent cash back, for example, may not seem like much, but it adds up, particularly if you shop at these stores regularly. In addition, some cash-back portals sometimes offer promotions that will considerably raise the rebate.

Read more about how to use cash-back portals in “3 Websites That Pay You for Shopping.”

Another way to put more cash back into your pocket is to shop with a cash-back credit card. Money Talks News can help you find the right card for you. Just stop by our Solutions Center and search for the best cash-back credit card.

4. Use the military discount

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If you are a current or retired member of the U.S. armed services with a valid government-issued military ID card — or a spouse or dependent child of someone with such a card — you may be eligible for a 10 percent military discount from Lowe’s.

The discount applies to many — but not all — purchases, so check the link above for more details.

5. Take advantage of price-match policies

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Sometimes it pays to do a little research. If you find that another retailer has a lower price on an item stocked by Home Depot, bring in the competitor’s ad and Home Depot will match the price, plus shipping. There are exclusions, so check out the Home Depot website for more details.

Lowes also matches prices of local and online competitors. Again, exclusions apply.

6. Be on the lookout for damaged packaging

A man shops for painting supplies at a hardware store
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Product packaging sometimes gets a bit damaged during transit or stocking, and you may be able to use these imperfections to your advantage.

Many stores want to rid their shelves of items with torn or otherwise damaged boxes. So, if you see a box that looks a bit the worse for wear, ask the store manager if they are willing to discount the item.

After all, the worst they can say is no.

Know of more ways to save at Home Depot and Lowe’s? Comment below or on our Facebook page.

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