The Secret Code Sam's Club Uses To Mark Discounted Items

Fans of wholesale savings are probably familiar with Sam's Club, the Walmart-owned bulk store chain where you can buy great things in great numbers for great savings – in exchange for a membership fee, of course. Sam's Club was founded in 1983 by Sam Walton, patriarch of what would become the richest family in the world. While the company's website says that it started out as a way for Walton to help entrepreneurs get what they need to start out their small businesses, the chain has morphed into a much larger beast since its early days. 

With its "get the membership, get the savings" attitude, Sam's Club seems like a chain that wears its heart on its sleeve and steers away from hidden tricks. Of course, that's not exactly the case. Major store chains tend to have their share of behind-the-scenes secrets that help them run the business as smoothly and efficiently as possible. Sam's Club has all sorts of secrets, including a cool, hidden code it uses to mark discounted items. To make things easier for workers and those in the know, Sam's Club hides its bargain codes right where you can see them: in the price tags ... and we just so happen to know the codes. 

As an employee from the chain has told CBS DFW, Sam's Club has some specific, neat codes for their goods that help you spot the real bargains in the sea of prices. The first and foremost thing you should be on the lookout for is prices that aren't rounded up or down, but feature a strange one-cent in the end – think $2.71 instead of $2.70. That's not a stealthy way to take your spare change away – on the contrary, it's the sign of an excellent deal. "Anything with a one-cent in the building means it's been discontinued," the employee said. "If you see a one-cent on the end, that means we're selling it far below the price we paid for it."

But wait, there's more! A bunch of Sam's Club price tags feature strange letters next to the item numbers, and those also hide some possibly helpful tips for your next super-sized shopping trip. The letter "A" means that the item's "active," and "N" means that the item's never going to stop being stocked – think water, soda, and similar "forever" commodities. However, the really interesting one is the letter "C," which stands for "discontinued." So, if you ever see your favorite Sam's delicacy suddenly labeled with a C, it's probably a good idea to grab a few dozen. You know, just in case.