What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[Smokerbill]

Broken Feed Bag Discounts!

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Every time I visit our local Fleet store, I check out the chicken feed section to see if they have any broken/damaged bags. Yesterday I was in town, so I ran past the chicken feed bags and saw one 50-pound bag of layer pellets that was opened on one corner. Once those bags are broken open, the store cannot sell them as new. Well, maybe they could, but who wants to pay full price for a feed bag that is all taped up? Not me.

I saw 3 young people there doing loadouts for customers, so I asked them if they still give that 25% discount for broken "Oops" bags. One guy responded that it all depends on the condition of the bag and how much may have spilled out. He looks at the bag and says he can give me a 20% discount on that bag. So, I took it. I knew the bag was not 20% spilled out - if any at all.

Anyways, I got the feed bag home and weighed it at just over 50 pounds. I got a good deal only because I asked. Saved almost $3.00 on that full bag of feed.

You know, price on something like a broken feed bag is a negotiable item. Sometimes you might get a better deal than other times, and it may just depend on the person you talk to that day.

A few months ago, I found an open feed bag and was only offered a 10% discount. I thanked him but told him that I would either wait for a better sale price on their feed - or get my feed somewhere else - and then I just walked away. My mistake at that time was that I asked the employee if they were discounting that "Oops" bag for sale. I let him make the first offer. Which was a low 10% off.

Yesterday, I asked the employee if they were still giving a 25% discount on their broken feed bags and he offered me 20% off. I think because I put that initial idea of 25% off discount, I got a better deal.

Of course, you might be able to use that negotiating strategy on other products as well. Give them a low offer and see if they accept. Maybe you can get a good deal. Maybe not. In any case, I was prepared to walk away because I still had other feed at home and was not in a place where I had to buy feed at whatever price.

Last time I picked up a bag of feed from the local store I asked about broken bag discounts and was told they don't discount those bags. They're sold for the same price as undamaged bags.

At least I took the time to ask. LOL

 

[fuzzi]

Last time I picked up a bag of feed from the local store I asked about broken bag discounts and was told they don't discount those bags. They're sold for the same price and undamaged bags.

At least I took the time to ask. LOL

What makes them think anyone would pay full price for damaged goods?

 

[Smokerbill]

What makes them think anyone would pay full price for damaged goods?

I asked the kid that loaded the bag into my truck. He may be mistaken. I'll ask the old man today when I go pick up another bag of pellets. Might get a different answer.

I say old man, but I might be an older man than him.

 

[Sally PB]

I almost asked at TSC about the same thing. The bag was leaking feed, even though it was taped to seal the leak. Didn't have time to wait to ask about it.

I did do that with their ceramic fake eggs. They come two to a package, and in two packages, one of the eggs was broken. So I asked if I could buy the two of then half off, since otherwise they probably wouldn't sell. Yup, deal.

I glued the broken ones back together.

 

[Sally PB]

I was in the grocery store, looking for one of those large enamel on steel canners. The only one there had a slightly damaged lid. I asked for a discount, got 15% off, and it was already on sale.

The damage is that the lid has a small area where the lip rolls under a bit. I use it as a "catch" to put the lid back on when it's a rolling boil. Catch that little bit, and the lid lines up perfectly.

 

[Smokerbill]

I almost asked at TSC about the same thing. The bag was leaking feed, even though it was taped to seal the leak. Didn't have time to wait to ask about it.

I did do that with their ceramic fake eggs. They come two to a package, and in two packages, one of the eggs was broken. So I asked if I could buy the two of then half off, since otherwise they probably wouldn't sell. Yup, deal.

I glued the broken ones back together.

Exact same thing for me at my TSC. One broken ceramic egg, got the package 50% off. But I bought another 2 pack at full price so ended up with 3 fake eggs.

 

[Smokerbill]

I asked about a broken bag discount again today at the hardware store and was told they hardly every have any damaged feed bags. No biggie. I switched to a cheaper layer feed, 2 bucks less a bag, 1% less protein content (16%). I'll give them scrambled eggs a little more often. Or maybe I'll find some juicy, tenderized roadkill...

 

[gtaus]

What makes them think anyone would pay full price for damaged goods?

I'll ask the old man today when I go pick up another bag of pellets. Might get a different answer.

I almost asked at TSC about the same thing. The bag was leaking feed, even though it was taped to seal the leak. Didn't have time to wait to ask about it.

I asked about a broken bag discount again today

You might as well ask about a discount. Worse thing they can say is "no." Anything other than that might mean more money left in your pocket. It's worth a try, IMHO.

 

[gtaus]

I switched to a cheaper layer feed, 2 bucks less a bag,

I am getting a chick order in next Tuesday. Today, I went into town to buy a bag of chick starter feed. The Fleet store had one brand of starter feed on sale for $2.00 off per bag - regular price $17.99 so sale price of $15.99.

Almost threw it into my cart, but I looked at the other brand and it was $15.99 regular price. Thought it was a wash either way. Both bags would cost me $15.99. But then I looked more closely and found that the $17.99 bag of feed was only 40 pounds - whereas the $15.99 brand was a 50-pound bag!

So, I ended up buying the non-sale chick starter feed for $15.99 knowing that I was buying 25% more feed for the same price as the more expensive brand even on sale. I have no idea if one brand is better than the other, so my only concern was buying the most feed per dollar.

Interesting how they try to mislead you on the ads into thinking both bags of feed are the same size. They sure package them in the same size feed bags on the pallets. I don't think you could see any difference in the quantity unless you purposefully checked the weight on each bag.

 

[Sally PB]

After what I've read on various threads about goods not being what they purport to be, I'm going to be reading packages thoroughly.