As an outlet store, TJ Maxx is the go-to place for good quality, branded products for a fraction of their original price. But did you know you can make even further savings?
That’s exactly what influencer Virginia Lane (@virginiahlane) sets out to do, as she shares her best TJ Maxx “hacks” for her 86,200 TikTok followers. In the past, she’s shared “hacks” like always shopping on Mondays because that’s TJ Maxx’s new markdowns day, and scanning items with Google Lens to compare prices with other retailers.
But her latest “hack” has proven to be especially popular, amassing 1.7 million TikTok views as of Friday.
“Let me show you a TJ Maxx hack that you’re going to want to remember!” she told viewers, as she made her way into her local TJ Maxx.
“When looking at a clearance tag, pay attention to the last two numbers on the SKU. This is the week it was last clearanced,” she explained, pointing to the digit “22” on a cosmetic item. According to Virgina, this means that the item was marked down to its current price on the 22nd week of the year. But now that it’s the 27th week, Virginia said there’s a chance the item is cheaper since TJ Maxx clears out items “every 3 weeks.”
@virginiahlane TJ Maxx hacks your gonna wanna remember #tjmaxx #tjmaxxfinds #tjmaxxhaul #lifehacks #moneysavinghack #fyp #foryourpage #viral ♬ original sound – Virginia H Lane
Virginia then showed the viewer the hack in action, as she records herself telling the cashier she realizes this tag says that it hasn’t gotten clearanced out for five weeks. She then asked if there was a lower price she could get. As it turns out, there was a lower price, meaning she got the clearance item for even cheaper than she thought.
Although many commenters were grateful for the hack, several wondered whether this “hack” would make TJ Maxx employees’ jobs harder.
“The T.J. Maxx employees must love you,” one joked. Another expressed concern that their TJ Maxx was “too busy” for this kind of hack to work. “I don’t want to hold up the line while the cashier has to check things that I might not even buy,” they added.
Similarly, a third commenter said that “If there’s a line you have to ask yourself if it’s worth $7.”
Either way, if customers do decide it’s worth it, at least they know what to do.
Still, it appears the hack may not always work, as one commenter pointed out.
“It didn’t work for me and the cashiers thought I was crazy lol,” with another writing, “Just did this. Item marked wk 41. We’re in week 47. They did not give a lower price cuz they have their own calendar schedule they go by.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Virginia via Instagram direct message.