How to Read Clearance Tags: What the Price Endings and Sticker Codes Actually Mean
I found a $400 tool set for $97 last spring because I stopped to read the tag. The price ended in .97, there was a little asterisk on the shelf sign, and the markdown number in the corner had just hit 70. That was not luck — the tag was telling anyone who knew the code that this item was at the bottom.
Stores run clearance on internal schedules, and the tag carries the schedule: the ending digits say whether it is a markdown at all, a small number in the corner often says how deep the cut is, and the sticker color tells you where in the cycle you are. None of this is published policy — it is shopper lore, verified again and again — and it changes. But the broad patterns hold. Here is how to read them.
The last two digits do the talking
Almost every big store prices regular merchandise ending in .99. When the ending changes, something happened. A price ending in .97 at the warehouse clubs means a manager-marked-down clearance — a store-level decision to move local inventory, usually seasonal items or things that are not selling. An asterisk on the shelf sign at the same clubs means discontinued: it will not be restocked, so buy it now or forget it.
At the big-box discounters, clearance prices end in .98, .88, or .04 — with .04 usually the final markdown, the last stop before the item leaves the shelf. At the home-improvement chains the rhythm runs in reverse: a price ending in .06 is the first markdown, and .03 is the final one. The general rule I trust: an ending that is not a 9 is usually a markdown talking.
Caveats, because lore is not law. One department-store chain uses .97 for its own reduced-clearance stock — a real markdown, but not a floor. And a price ending in .00 or .88 at the warehouse clubs often marks a special buy: a manager’s deal, a return, a floor model. That can be a genuine bargain or a dented box. Read the digits as a signal, then look at the item.
The little number in the corner
The most useful number on a clearance tag is the tiny one in the top corner of the sticker — 15, 30, 50, 70. That is the markdown percentage off the original price, and it tells you where you are in the store’s markdown schedule. Clearance usually steps down 15, then 30, then 50, then 70, roughly every week or two.
That schedule is your buy-or-wait calculator. At 30, the item is mid-cycle — if it is not a popular size or a hot category, waiting for the next markdown is a reasonable bet. At 70, you are almost certainly at the floor; the next stop is out of the store. Different departments markdown on different days of the week, so the employee restocking the aisle often knows the day before it happens. I have learned more from one friendly stock clerk than from a year of tag reading.
One catch: the percentage is measured against the store’s original price, not the street price. A tag reading 70 percent off can still be a worse price than a competitor’s everyday shelf price. The tag tells you the cycle. Your phone tells you the price. Use both.
The sticker color is the clearance calendar
Color tells you which lap of the cycle you are on. At the home-improvement chains, yellow tags mean clearance — first markdown — while red or orange stickers mean final markdown, the last price before the item is gone. At the big-box discounters, the red clearance sticker itself is the signal: red sticker, odd ending, corner number.
The .06 to .03 rhythm at the home-improvement chains is the one I use most. A price ending in .06 is the first cut — the item will sit there for roughly six weeks before the next drop, so unless it is the last one, waiting is free. A price ending in .03 is the final markdown, usually good for about three weeks before the item is pulled. I buy at .03 without hesitating; at .06 I take a photo and check back.
Floor models live at the end of this cycle. When the corner number hits its ceiling and the sticker is red, the display model is often the last unit, and it can carry its own deeper cut — but condition is the whole price. I check floor models the way I check a used car: run every button, look for the missing accessories, and ask whether the return terms still apply.
Where the tag lies
The tag tells the truth about the schedule and lies about the starting line. The “was” price is the store’s own number, and no rule says it was ever the real selling price for long. I judge every clearance tag against the current street price on my phone — a 50 percent markdown off an inflated was-price can lose to a competitor’s everyday price.
Watch for the re-ticketed clearance: same price, new red sticker. Some items get a clearance sticker with a price still ending in .99 — which is to say, no markdown at all, just new signage. The codes are your lie detector here: odd ending plus corner number means a real markdown; red sticker alone means nothing.
And check the return policy before the floor model goes in your cart. Many stores sell final-markdown and open-box items as final sale, and clearance exclusions are the fine print nobody reads until they need it. The return terms are part of the price — a $97 tool set you cannot return is a $97 gamble, not a $97 deal.
Finally, codes change. The .97, .98, and .06 conventions are shopper-verified patterns, not published policies, and stores retire or tweak them without telling anyone. A viral video from three years ago is not a policy document. If a code matters to a big purchase, ask an employee — they have the current markdown calendar on their scanner.
My 60-second tag ritual
In the aisle, I run this in order: check the ending digits — is this a markdown at all? Check the corner number — where in the schedule am I? Check the sticker color — first lap or last? Then the phone: is the markdown price actually the cheapest price anywhere? Then condition and returns. Sixty seconds, no app, no account.
My buy lines: at 50 to 70 percent off with a final-markdown ending, I buy on the spot if I have any use for it. At 15 to 30 percent, I buy only what I came for and photograph the tag to check back in two weeks. At full price with a red sticker — the re-ticket — I walk away on principle.
The real payoff is not any single find. Once you read tags, every clearance endcap becomes a little market you can price: you can see which items are mid-cycle and coming back cheaper, and which are at the floor and about to vanish. That is the closest thing to an informational edge in a store — and it is printed right on the tag.
Frequently asked questions
What does a price ending in .97 mean?
At the warehouse clubs it usually marks a store-manager clearance markdown — local inventory the store decided to move, often seasonal or slow-selling items. It signals a markdown, not the final one: the item can drop further or disappear. Treat it as “clearance,” not “bottom.”
How do I know if a clearance price will drop further?
Look for the markdown-percentage number on the sticker. A low number with an early-cycle ending (.06, .98) means mid-cycle; a high number with a final ending (.04, .03) means the floor. Markdowns usually step down every week or two, so a tag sitting at 30 percent is a wait, not a buy.
Are clearance items returnable?
Often not. Final-markdown, open-box, and floor-model items are commonly sold as final sale, and clearance exclusions hide in return policies. Check the tag and the store’s policy before you buy — especially over $50. A clearance deal you cannot return is a gamble, not a bargain.