Shopping Tips and Secrets

It is possible that you may be frequenting one of the supercenters for your groceries. These stores occupy a much larger land area compared to the regular grocery store. The super stores tend to sell almost a general list of goods such as apparel, electronics, toys, food, produce and much more.

In some of these stores there are other independent businesses within the super center like a bank, photo studio, or even a beauty shop. In addition to the company's main departments other branch department like automotive where car maintenance takes place as you shop. A classic one-stop shop indeed.

To make sure that you do not over spend or lose you money in anyway, consider these experiences to help you make an informed choice:

Coupons/ Cost Cutters

1. Check out the advertisement flyers at the store front or read the ones you get in the mail.

2. Cut out coupons, coupons also are easily found in magazines, the store flyers, back of receipts, within the aisles, on other products and more.

3. The store coupon machines are within the aisles extends out from the shelves usually next to a particular product take some if you buy that product.

4. Buy generic, or store brands, the secret is that most of the generic or store brand are usually manufactured by the same brand name company. For example, some toothpastes, for instance, both the brand and generic(cheaper) brands are manufactured by the same maker.

5. Some sources suggest that signing up for company's newsletters allow you the opportunity for more saving programs.

6. Joining a fan page on Face book and other social media may also be a good way to enjoy some savings, free stuff and more.

Apparel

1. Shopping for apparels consider the clearance rack, the items are mark down.

2. Clearance racks clothes are usually the season before items that are mark down very low to be sold out completely. You can buy for the next year‘s season.

3. Keep receipts and tags for return at least thirty days – ninety days. Wal-Mart for instance gives three returns without a receipt per household per year note, a valid drivers license is required.

Canned/Bottled Items

1. Check dates on items such as can foods, and bottle drinks before buying. The problem usually is severe in areas with fewer shoppers and if the item is hardly a hot seller.

Produce 1. Check your fruits and veggies for freshness before buying especially if you are not using them right away. 2. It is important to run produce under running water or rinse them before eating.

Deli/Prepared Foods

1. Foods at the deli are not always fresh. Some of them have been in the case for a few days. What they do is they change the bowls and put in the same stuff.

2. If all possible lightly rinse with water or cook your cold meats from the deli before you eat them. They are not always handled with care.

3. If you are hungry and you can, try to stick to hot items at the deli. The fried chicken is usually fresh, because in some states they are allowed to sell them after few hours of cooking. In Illinois, it has been that after about four hours of cooking fried chicken they should be thrown out.

4. Health inspections are not usually random, managers and owners of the deli departments and even your regular restaurants are usually notified. So they prepare for inspection in most cases.

General Grocery Store Secrets

1. Ask questions; ask for help.

2. Buy milk by the date, the furthest date is what you want.

3. Keep a list of items to shop for so you are not easily overwhelmed by useless and unnecessary stuff.

Check Out Stand

1. Get an idea of your bill before you go to the checkout counter.

2. Keep a small pocket size calculator along with your shopping list and budget.

3. This is most painful one, sometimes items are scanned twice by accident, in major stores in some cases, if the subtotal appears on your receipt more than twice be cautious of erroneous balance. Though it can be due to some valid reasons but once you get out of the store no one will buy your story.

4. Check your receipt before you live the store.

5. Be careful going to the express checkout lanes with double the quantity of items displayed for that lane.

6. If you have a lot of items say a cart full, do not check them all out on one receipt. Split them up, basically load about half the items on the conveyer belt and divide it with the divider (stick). And load the rest. The registers in the large stores can screw up or they can freeze, usually the manager will come and unlock the machine with a key.

7. Ask questions; ask for help with your grocery to your car.

8. Use your own bags if you like.

9. Refer store clerks by their names on their badges.

10. Initiate friendliness and respect toward store clerks that can go a long way for your everyday shopping experience and better care.

Though you may have encountered some of these tips for yourself before, it helps to know somebody out there also notice them as well. Some of the check out issues may be attributed to systems error others just human error but they can be costly. The best way to shop in these supercenters is to be prepared and be vigilant, knowing that you are on a mission.