I have been throwing around a lot of advice lately about how to become a pro bargain hunter and make your money go as far as possible each month. Shopping hacks, frugal hacks, cracking the code, and the like. So I thought it was time to build a handy little resource article where I bring it all together for you with a cool little twist. Without further ado, I present the 9 deadliest sins that anyone who loves a bargain and hates paying full price has to avoid at all costs…

1. Assume the Price is Non-Negotiable

If you’re not negotiating the price, or at least considering it, you’re doing deadly sin #1 for bargain hunters.

This is especially true on larger purchases at stores like Home Depot, Lowe’s, Best Buy, and Cost Plus World Market.

The key to becoming a kick ass price negotiator is to start with the easy stuff. Look for items with a cosmetic problem like a small scratch or dent and hit up a store associate for a 15% or 20% off discount.

I use to work at The Home Depot and we were given the authority, with the approval of an assistant manager, to reduce the price for scratch and dents.

In the course of my employment, I must have asked a manager for 50 price reductions and I can only remember one time not being able to lower the price for the customer. Just do it, it works.

Also, another excellent way to bring your negotiating skills up to to snuff is to ask for a quantity discount.

Things like a discount for buying both a washer and dryer from Lowe’s or buying a new 55″ TV and Bluray player from Best Buy.

Just grab an associate and say, “I really want to walk out of here with both of these today, can you drop the price 10% if I buy both right now?” Chance of success…HIGH!

See Also: Talk Your Way to a Deal: How to Negotiate at These Major Retailers

2. Give Up Easily When Looking for a Coupon Code

So you’ve looked far and wide for a coupon code to finish off your online shopping and struck out at every turn.

A quasi bargain hunter would simply give up and accept full retail price.

Deadly sin #2 just took place right before your very eyes.

Here are 3 ways to find a coupon code and avoid this sin when all hope seems lost:

1. Ask Live Chat

I have talked about this before on my blog. Why? Because it flat out works.

If you can’t find a coupon code anywhere, and the online retailer you’re shopping at offers a ‘Live Chat’ feature, start a chat session and politely ask them for a free shipping code or a percent off coupon.

Retailers are keenly aware that shoppers that open a live chat session are close to purchasing and many are willing to offer an incentive to get you to finish the transaction.

2. Abandon Virtual Cart

This strategy is starting to pick up momentum and it involves logging into your store account, adding items to your virtual cart, them logging out.

Many retailers are then emailing out a coupon code to entice you back to the site to finish your purchase. It’s a bit passive aggressive, but for larger orders it’s definitely worth a shot.

3. Buy a Coupon Code

If you’re making a big purchase from stores like American Eagle, Best Buy, or Home Depot, and can’t find a coupon anywhere, considering buying an online coupon from a seller on eBay.com.

Most coupon codes are totally transferable and some that I’ve seen on eBay recently include a 25% off coupon code at American Eagle for a little over $1 and a 20% off coupon code at Macy’s.com for right around 2 bucks.

3. Ignore Social Media

If you’re not on social media outlets like Facebook or Twitter, and love a good bargain, you’re clearing committing deadly sin #3.

The majority of retailers these days use social media to share exclusive coupons and deals to help you never pay full price.

A great current example is the Lands’ End Facebook page which recently extended their “Friends & Family” 25% off coupon code for an extra day.

Who did they inform first of the extension? Yep, you guessed it, their Facebook followers.

If you weren’t following them you never would have known about the last chance extension to save 25% off your purchase.

See Also: 5 Genius Ways to Use Social Media to Save Money

4. Be An Introvert In-Store

If you walk into a big box store (or any store for that matter) and make a purchase, especially a large purchase, without opening your pie hole you’re committing deadly sin #4.

Instead, start chatting up employees about the specifics of the product.

Not only will you make a much more informed buying decision, but employees can tell you about things like when/if items go on sale, rebates available, and upcoming promotions.

As a former Home Depot employee, working in the paint department, we often had weekend sales where you could get $5 off every gallon of paint.

If it was a Thursday and some dude was buying 25 gallons of paint for his home I’d tell him to come back Saturday morning and save $125.

But if the dude was tight-lipped about what project he was working on, or I simply didn’t notice him, I’d have no way to drop him the money saving 411. Bottom-line: Don’t be an introvert.

5. Only Pay Attention to the Dollars Column of a Price Tag

If you’re not learning to decode the price tag at many major retailers you’re clearly in violation of deadly sin #5.

Punishment? Paying full price even when the item might be marked down the very next day.

That is the exact case at your local’s Kohl’s if the digital price tag has a small “NM” in the top right-hand corner.

The “NM” stands for New Markdown and according to a Kohl’s employee that contacted me, it means the item will be marked down that night or the following morning. Wait to buy and snag a bargain.

6. Pay for Shipping

If you pay for shipping you’re committing deadly sin #6 and may very well be struck by lightning later today.

Free shipping coupons are pretty darn handy these days when shopping online and the truth of the matter is they are fairly prevalent.

Here are a few tips to find a free shipping coupon:

Google It! – The tried and true method of hitting up Google and typing in “Store Name Free Shipping Coupon” will typically yield the best results.

ShopRunner Free Trial – They offer a 30-day free trial which’ll get you free shipping on hundreds of brands.

This is a great trial to start right before the Christmas shopping season to maximize your savings.

Then cancel it before your trial ends and consider yourself a money saving genius.

Amazon Prime Free Trial – Another excellent free trial is the Amazon Prime version which gives you free 2-day shipping for 30 days at Amazon with no obligation.

7. Don’t Use a Cashback or Grocery Rebate App

If you haven’t checked out the plethora of cashback websites and grocery rebate apps available today you’re committing deadly sin #7.

There is absolutely no reason to not be getting money back on ALL your purchases, here are a few of my favorites.

Ibotta – Download the Ibotta app and start earning money back on all the grocery purchases you’d be making anyways.

All you have to do is scan your receipt with the app and start earning on everyday essentials like milk, eggs, bananas, and cheese.

TopCashBack – Earn cashback on all your online purchases with TopCashBack.

Just start your shopping on their site, browser extension, or app and they’ll take care of the rest. Full Review.

Fetch – Fetch is so darn easy it’s nutty.

All you have to do is scan all your receipt with their app and earn money on your purchases. It really is that easy.

Be sure to use code RATHER when you sign-up and they’ll give you 2,000 free reward points.

Once you have some reward points built up in your account, you can redeem them for gift cards to a bunch of popular stores and restaurants. (Full Review)

See Also: The 12 Best Cashback Sites Worth Your Time (and Hacks to Maximize Your Savings)

8. Shop Hungry…or with Gas

If you’re shopping when hungry, or with gas so bad it’ll make your eyes water, you might want to reconsider as you’re in clear violation of deadly sin #8.

Everything falls apart in-store when your stomach or bowels are growling.

You never ask for help for obvious reasons, rarely negotiate the price, never do price comparisons on your phone, and the idea of looking for a coupon becomes laughable.

In short, you consider the selling price of an item what you HAVE to pay in order to get out of the store.

If either one of these maladies afflicts ya, just get out, drop everything and just get out.

Come back when you’re in a better position to make sure you are not getting ripped off.

Also, by all means never grocery shop when hungry or you’ll end up with more crappy food than you can shake a stale baguette at.

See Also: 24 Highly Clever Tricks to Save Money at the Grocery Store

9. Leave Your Smartphone in the Car

If you own a smartphone and you’re not using it as an ally in your bargain shopping you are guilty of deadly sin #9 and the punishment is a lifetime of paying full retail price.

But seriously, to be considered a true bargain hunter you have to be armed with the following FREE apps:

ShoppSavvy – Hands down the best app for quickly scanning the bar code of an item when in-store.

ShopSavvy will give you all the places in your town that sell the product (with the price) along with the best price to be found online.

Once you have all the information at your fingertips you can try and negotiate the price at the store you’re at, or if the savings is significant enough, drive down the street to save some money.

Amazon – (iOS, Android) – The Amazon app is very handy to have as it allows you to scan a product’s bar code and see instantly what Amazon sells it for.

It gives you an excellent barometer when deciphering over the price.

If you decide that Amazon is a better deal you can make the purchase directly through the app.

The product reviews are also quite handy when trying to figure out what brand or model to purchase.

Ask the Reader: Have you ever been guilty of committing any of these “bargain hunting” deadly sins? If so, what was the outcome: Lightning strike, plague of frogs, or a higher than expected credit card bill?

By Kyle James

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this article pay me a small fee if you click through and sign-up. But ALL opinions are MY OWN and I only recommend services that I use personally and have the upmost respect for.

As most regulars around here already know, I love to crack retail codes in an attempt to maximize your savings. This is especially true when it comes to cracking price tag codes at your favorite stores like Costco, Target, and The Home Depot. So when I discovered that much of the fruit and vegetables at your local grocery stores are marked with stickers that contain codes I knew I had to do a frugal hack about it. Here is what you need to know about produce stickers to check if you’re buying organic, genetically modified, or something “normal”.

Crack the Produce Sticker Codes:

If you know what the numbers on the PLU (Price Look-Up) Produce Sticker mean you can quickly determine if the item you’re considering purchasing is organic, genetically modified, or a conventional piece of produce.

Here is how it breaks down:

• 4 Digit Code. If the fruit or veggie has ANY 4 digit code on it (like the picture above) it is considered a regular, or Conventional Item.
• 5 Digit Code Starting with a 9. This code means that the produce is Organic.
• 5 Digit Code Starting with a 8. This code means that the produce is considered Genetically Engineered – Modified (GMO).

Wondering what “genetically modified” means? Keep reading…

Key Takeaways:

Genetically Engineered – Modified.

Back in the early 1990’s the idea of genetically engineered foods became popular as a way to create affordable food and hence the 8 code was created.

But the idea never gained popularity and actually backfired as most Americans avoided buying produce starting with an 8 on the sticker.

As of this writing the only produce you can find in the grocery store with an eight on the sticker is the Hawaiian papaya.

Amazingly, as of this writing, companies that produce genetically engineered foods are NOT required to label it as such.

Organic Products.

The only way to protect yourself from unknowingly buying genetically modified foods is to purchase produce with a 5 digit code starting with a 9 AND labeled as “Certified Organic” or “100% Organic”.

Buy at Your Own Risk.

It is also worth noting that the use of PLU sticker codes are optional and not a requirement for growers.

If there is no sticker on the produce at your grocery store you should assume that it is not organic and could very well be genetically engineered.

Ask the Reader: Were you aware that these produce sticker codes even existed? If so, do you use them regularly to determine what kind of fruit and veggies you are buying?

By Kyle James

A couple months ago I exposed 4 Secret Retail Tricks and how to avoid them altogether. But what about shopping online? When I’m sitting on my cozy couch buying something online, how can online retailers get me to pay more or buy something I don’t necessarily need? Or worse yet, are they tracking me via technology like something out of 1984.

Well, I’m here to tell you they’re doing both, and much more. In some ways, it’s the price we pay for using technology. Yes, it makes our lives easier, but also makes it easier for retailers to track where we go and what we do. Here are the sneaky ways stores get us to open our wallets wide and what we can do about it.

1. Special Coupon Treatment

Were you aware that many online retailers pay companies to analyze how shoppers use their website and then target them with coupons accordingly?

For example, if you visit the American Eagle Outfitters website, login to your account, click on a men’s polo shirt, play around with the shirt colors, read a review, then use the zoom feature to take a closer look at the shirt you’re much more likely to be considered a “highly interested buyer” and receive a coupon via email to come back and make your purchase then if you just perused several shirts quickly then left the site.

The takeaway for you? Other than the kinda scary thought that everything you do online is being tracked, it is good to know that a coupon which shows up in your inbox might be because you didn’t buy.

It can be used as a cool little trick to score a coupon, a bit passive aggressive perhaps, but definitely worth a shot on larger purchases.

See Also: 12 Insider Tips on Store Markdown Days…Know When to Shop

2. Retargeting Strategy

A couple days ago I was shopping online at Amazon looking for a castration tool for our new baby goats here on the farm.

Later that night I was online doing some reading on a couple news websites and low and behold, there on the sidebar, was an ad for the castration tool I almost bought and a couple other related products. Don’t ask because you don’t want to know.

This is becoming a very popular strategy that many online retailers are implementing and it’s called retargeting.

Taking your attention back to the product you almost bought or trying to get you to buy something related.

Pretty smart and it sometimes works if you don’t have your guard up. It can easily trigger the “Oh, I could totally use that!” part of your brain.

Look for this trend to continue to grow as retailers see the HUGE benefit of delivery highly relevant ads to your eyeballs.

See Also: I Cracked the Price Tag Code at a Bunch of Major Retailers

3. Big Brother is Watching & Tracking

Many websites now use your physical location in the country to target specific products to you.

For example, if you’re shopping online in San Diego at a clothing retailer you might see swimsuits on sale. Shopping online at the same website in Minneapolis, look for outerwear items all over the homepage.

While this seems like smart marketing, it could easily get “Big Brotherish” and quite creepy.

Trends like getting a coupon via email when you’re in the vicinity of a particular store or even retailers tracking where you walk in the actual store so they can target products towards you.

According to this New York Times article, Nordstrom actually admitted to doing this last year, shoppers quickly cried “Foul”, they admitted it was a mistake and stopped doing it…for now.

Many stores can now track you by the mere fact you have a smartphone in your pocket or purse.

You don’t even have to download their app or be a registered shopper.

If your smartphone searches for nearby wireless hot-spots, and the retailer has a wireless network in-store, they gotcha and they can track where in the store you go and how much time you spend there.

They can even track if you’re a return customer because smartphones send unique ID codes when they search for WiFi hotspots.

Crazy? Yes. But this is clearly the future of shopping as brick & mortar retailers continue to combat online shopping and try to bring the Amazon experience into their stores.

Ask the Reader: How do you feel about being tracked online and in-store? Are you cool with it if it means you’ll get better coupons on products you actually need or does the whole thing creep you out?

By Kyle James