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If you almost didn’t open this article because you don’t shop at Big Lots, prepare to be converted.
Big Lots has upped their game when it comes to home decor and furniture, which means the days of random overstock (read: low quality and ugly) items are over.
Here’s how to save money every time you shop at Big Lots:
1. Join BIG Rewards and get $5 every time you make three purchases (no minimum amount!).
It’s worth it. For every three purchases you make, you’ll get $5 in Big Lots store credit. The catch is that you can only earn credits toward the $5 reward with one purchase per day, per store, but there are a couple ways around this.
- You can do one online and one in-store purchase per day and it will count as two eligible purchases.
- You can visit another store and make your second purchase in the same day.
You can earn one $5 reward per week, and if you shop more frequently than that, you’ll still earn $5 rewards — they’ll just carry over into future weeks. Like if you make nine purchases in one week, you’ll get one $5 reward per week for the next three weeks.
TIP: Within a few days of signing up, you’ll also receive a $5 off $15 coupon!
2. Stack your $5 rewards together in one purchase — and your purchase counts toward another reward.
You can stack $5 rewards together, and any purchase you make with your rewards counts as an eligible purchase toward a new reward! (Assuming you’re not buying items that don’t qualify like gift cards.)
3. Earn a $10 reward for every $200 you spend on furniture.
Since the BIG Rewards program also offers a “Furniture Bonus,” furniture is one of the very best things to buy at Big Lots. Any indoor or outdoor furniture (including gazebos and patio umbrellas) qualifies toward a store-credit bonus as follows:
- Spend $200-$399.99 and earn a $10 bonus
- Spend $400-$599.99 and earn a $20 bonus
- Spend $600-$799.99 and earn a $30 bonus
- Spend $800-$999.99 and earn a $40 bonus
- Spend $1,000+ and earn a $50 bonus
You can earn one furniture bonus per week on a single qualifying purchase. Furniture purchases that qualify for a bonus also qualify as one of your three purchases to earn a $5 bonus.
4. Don’t bother with toilet paper, paper towels or K-Cups because you can’t use manufacturer coupons.
Big Lots won’t allow you to use your manufacturer coupons, so don’t buy anything that you could use a coupon to buy elsewhere.
5. Twice a year in April and October, Big Lots does a 20% off sale.
During this time, you can get 20% off your entire purchase. They call it a VIP sale, and make sure you’re signed up for BIG Rewards so you can get access to the sale.
6. Enter your birthday, but realize 15% off “Birthday Surprise” coupons are only sent at the beginning of the month.
I’m not gonna tell you what to do here, but I will tell you that Big Lots only sends out birthday coupons once a month, during the very first week.
So if your birthday is June 2nd, and you go to sign up for the BIG Rewards program on June 20th, you won’t get a birthday reward for an entire year. If your son has a July birthday, you might opt to enter that instead.
Ultimately though, there’s no proof of birth date required, and there are no Big Lots police to verify you entered an actual birthdate.
I’ll look the other way so you can go ahead and do what you want with that information . . .
RELATED: A Comprehensive Guide to Birthday Rewards and Discounts
7. Ask for the online price if it’s lower than what’s in store and vice versa.
This will work anytime except for discounts that are “Online Exclusives,” which the store will not give you an online price for.
8. Get a competitor’s lower price as long as the competitor has a physical store.
This means Big Lots will price match just about any retailer except Amazon, Wayfair, Overstock and the likes. You also cannot get a Costco or Sam’s Club price.
Otherwise, items that are exact in nature are eligible for a price match.
9. Request a price adjustment up to 30 days after you make a purchase.
Just bring your receipt to the store, and an associate can give you the difference if an item you bought goes on sale within 30 days of your purchase.
10. Shop in store (unless you’re buying furniture) to avoid paying for shipping.
You have to spend $99 to get free online shipping from Big Lots, so unless you’re making big purchases, plan to shop in the store and ask for a price match if online prices are less.
Big Lots offers flat-rate shipping if you’re buying a lot of furniture. Pay $149 to fill up a truck.
11. But if you do shop online, shop through RetailMeNot and save 12.5%.
RetailMeNot offers $5 back on $40 purchases, which shakes out to about 12.5% savings. You can also get savings on Ibotta and Ebates, but they come in much lower at only 2%.
12. Get up to 6.9% off when you use a discounted gift card from Raise.
Buying a discount gift card from Raise is an easy way to save a little on every Big Lots purchase you make. You can combine this with any discount or reward coupon because it acts like a regular gift card. Pair this with the RetailMeNot discount, and you’re saving around 20% on every purchase!
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