It doesn’t matter if you’re shopping for shower gel, body lotion, or candles — Bath & Body Works deals are too plentiful to ever pay full price. Seriously, $24.95 for a 3-wick candle? I don’t think so. Because even when there’s a lull in their sales calendar, there are still Bath & Body Works hacks to be had. Like using one of those Bath & Body Works mail coupons to bring your total down.
Between coupons, promotions, and, of course, Bath & Body Works Rewards, you don’t have to wait for Body Care Day to roll around in December to stock up on cheap bath items. I’m going to show you how with some tips that are so easy you won’t even have to speak to a store manager. And that may be the best Bath & Body Works hack of all.
Text HACKS to 57299 for smart shopping tips and download The Krazy Coupon Lady app for deal-y goodness at your fingertips.
Now follow me through the gingham gateway . . .
1. Specific Bath & Body Works sales get you the best prices on certain products.
Of everything on the Bath & Body Works sales calendar, the three biggies are Black Friday (good sale), Candle Day (better sale), and Semi-Annual (best sale).
If you want to buy...
Candles
Bath & Body Works Candle Day 2024 is a must for 3-wicks, which are all marked at $9.95 while supplies last in stores and online. We expect it will begin on Friday, Dec. 6 and run through Saturday, Dec. 7.
Accessories (candle holders, refillable hand soap bottles, etc)
Bath & Body Works Black Friday is the time when you can score 50% off on items that don't normally go on a steep sale. For two days, on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, they run a B3G3 free promotion on the entire store. That means those pricey candle holders and soap dispensers are fair game.
Literally anything
The Bath & Body Works 2024 Semi-Annual Sale is where it's at. B&BW holds two of these a year — once in summer and again in winter. We predict they will begin on Saturday, June 8, and Monday, December 26. These run both in-store and online for three weeks. It's when you can pick up Wallflower Refills and Hand Soaps as low as $1.98. And select 3-wick candles will be as cheap as $6.37 — better than Candle Day!
2. Buy when you see these Bath & Body Works prices.
Based on the past 24 months of Bath & Body Works sale data, these are the prices you want to wait for before you buy. These aren’t the very lowest prices we’ve ever seen, but these prices are low enough. Expect to only see prices like these two to three times per year, with the exception of candles because Candle Day only happens once annually.
3-wick candles, we stock up at $9.95
Body lotions, we stock up at $4.95
Hand soaps, we stock up at $2.95
Wallflower refills, we stock up at $3.50
Pocketbac sanitizers, we stock up at $1
3. Stack multiple coupons at any Bath & Body Works store.
Bath & Body Works coupons you receive in a mailer stack with one another. Stacking means you can use all three coupons in a single transaction.
Mailed coupons won’t stack with in-store coupon codes, like those you may see on the Bath & Body Works homepage under 'Top Offers', or the ones you get as a My Bath & Body Works Rewards member. Just separate your transactions in order to use them all.
Note: You can only use one promo code when shopping at BathandBodyWorks.com. So, for example, you can't use a free shipping code and, say, a separate 20% off coupon code you may have. That's why it's best to shop B&BW with coupons in-store.
Use coupons before they expire — the 3-day grace period officially ended in Feb 2020.
Bath & Body Works stores used to have a three-day grace period that would allow you to use your coupons three days before or after the coupon’s valid date, but that ended in a directive from the corporate offices in early 2020. I still hear stories that some stores accept expired coupons, so it never hurts to ask, but assume the flexibility is gone.
4. Sign up to get Bath & Body Works coupons in the mail.
You keep hearing me talk about Bath & Body Works mailers, but how the heck do you get on the list? I outline the entire process in KCL's Bath & Body Works mailed coupon article. Because, yes, it can be a challenge. It seems that in 2020, there was a change to the mailer coupon process, and joining the list since then is notoriously difficult.
5. Use a coupon on top of Bath & Body Works sales.
You can basically always use a coupon on top of a sale at Bath and Body Works. There isn't an "regular-price items only" caveat that other stores often include.
If soaps are on sale 6/$18 or 6/$20 and you have a coupon for 25% off your entire purchase, you can get both the sale and the coupon discount. The only exception is if the soap sale isn’t really a sale at all, but a coupon. In other words, if the 6/$18 price is dependent on a coupon, then you cannot stack your 25% off coupon on top of it.
Ask at the register if they have any coupons.
I know I said you wouldn't have to talk to a store manager to use these hacks, but I didn't say anything about a store associate. Sometimes they'll have coupons left behind by other customers. And remember, Bath & Body Works coupons don’t have any blackout dates, so if you’ve got a valid coupon, you can use it, even on Candle Day, Body Care Day, the Semi-Annual Sale, or Black Friday.
6. Bath & Body Works sales usually feature one item for one day.
Some of the best Bath & Body Works sales focus on one product at a time and last for just a day. The strategy is to drop a price low enough to get you shopping in hopes you’ll buy other full-priced items while you’re there. Resist, sisters.
One store associate put it this way: “Every quarter, all major categories will cycle through a sale period at least twice.”
Here is a sampling of the offers you're likely to see:
Full-size body care, Buy 3 Get 3 Free, two days only
Hand soaps and bar soaps $2.95, two days only
PocketBac sanitizers $1, one day only (online only)
Three-wick candles $10 off, three days only
Hand cream $1.95, one day only
7. Use the My Bath & Body Works Rewards program for freebies and exclusive offers.
This rewards program is free to join and easy to navigate. Rewards members earn a free item (retail value up to $16.95) for every $100 spent, and you get 10 points for every $1 spent. Redeem your freebie in stores or online.
And members, make sure you link your in-store purchases to your account so you can earn points. The cash register should automatically link your purchase based on the name on your credit card. If it doesn’t, there’s a barcode in the wallet of your Bath & Body Works app (iOS / Android), or you can ask the cashier to look up your account with your phone number.
And if you start racking up those free Rewards, don’t worry. You can redeem up to eight Rewards per transaction (one freebie of up to $16.95 per Reward).
8. Select in-store pickup to avoid the Bath & Body Works $6.99 shipping fee.
You might hit the best Bath & Body Work sales in the world, but if you're shopping online you'll likely still be stuck with a $6.99 shipping fee. Although the retailer occasionally does have free shipping promos, they are fewer and far between that I would like.
Instead, choose free in-store pickup when shopping BathandBodyWorks.com or through their app. Not all stores participate in this program, but most do. To find out if your store offers it, select “store pickup” when shopping online. Then, enter your zip code to find a participating location near you.
9. Know that Bath & Body Works’ return policy offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
Burned a candle then decided you didn’t like it? Used a bubble bath and didn’t like how it made you smell? No matter the reason, the Bath & Body Works return policy allows you to return or exchange it. This is as long as long as the item is in “new, gently used, or defective condition (due to materials or craftsmanship).”
According to the official policy, you don’t even need a receipt to get store credit. That's because Bath & Body Works has a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee — they want you to be happy with your item.
If it’s a full refund you’re after, you’ll need to make the return within 90 days of purchase and have the original receipt. Any coupons or discounts will be subtracted from your return amount.
TIP: You can even exchange items included in the Black Friday limited-edition tote for different scents in the store! Or if you see a sale on only Japanese Cherry Blossom and you hate that fragrance, buy it all up anyway, knowing you can exchange it for another scent at any time.
10. Swap your broken Wallflower plug-ins for new ones.
I had my Wallflower plug-ins for about four years before they stopped diffusing the oil.
I brought my burned-out Wallflower plug back to the store and exchanged it for a new one from their basic line. So easy. No judgment. No guilt trip.
11. Bath & Body Works returns (even barely used items) end up in the dumpster.
Yeah, that’s KCL's co-founder Joanie Demer behind her Bath & Body Works store, sneaking a look in their dumpster. And no, she didn’t climb in. But lots of folks do. And she might have if the sidewalls weren’t so tall.
Dumpster diving at Bath & Body Works is a thing. If you don’t believe me, just type it into YouTube. Dumpster diving is illegal, but I personally think waste is the worse of the two crimes.
12. Leverage Bath & Body Works price adjustments to shop major sales early.
Bath & Body Works offers a 14-day price adjustment window. This means if you buy something at one price and return to the store with your receipt when the item is cheaper, you can ask for the sale price. The store will refund you the difference. (If you paid with coupons, you’ll not be able to reapply the coupon to the new sale price.)
Use this tip to shop the best Bath & Body Works sales early for the best selection.
Bath & Body Works won’t price match flash sales or promotions lasting 24 hours or less. But given Candle Day’s extension to three days, Black Friday’s early Monday start, and the Semi-Annual Sale’s long-standing multi-week timeline, you can basically shop all of the big Bath & Body Works sales early with this strategy.
Tip: Keep the official policy handy should you run into any questions in the store.
13. Understand that Bath & Body Works won’t price match with their online site.
In fact, sometimes when there’s a Bath & Body Works sale online, that sale price won’t be available in store at all. It’s always good to compare prices with the Bath & Body Works app as you shop in store. If you find a better price online, see if you can buy it and select in-store pickup.
14. Save up to 75% at Bath & Body Works outlet stores.
Now, unfortunately, this option is quickly dwindling. At one point there were around 90 Bath & Body Works outlet locations in the U.S. However B&BW is phasing these out, either turning the outlets into regular Bath & Body Works or White Barn stores...or doing away with the space altogether. So if you still have an outlet store near you shop it while you can because...
Outlet inventory is similar to Semi-Annual Sale prices.
Some items will sell for the same price as in store, but generally, outlet prices are consistently lower than prices at retail stores. The last time I was able to visit an outlet there were $10 candles (seasonal fragrances), $7 body care items, and $3 Wallflowers, as well as both a 50% off table and a 75% off table.
Plus, discontinued scents are sold regularly at outlets, but so are most mainline fragrances.
15. Wrap your own gifts for free in store.
If you're gifting Bath & Body Works items, grab a free cellophane bag and ribbon to wrap it up before you leave the store. Most stores also have tissue and shredded confetti paper, and some locations have plastic shrink-wrap. You could bring your own basket, shop for the basket’s contents (doesn’t have to be exclusively stuff from Bath & Body Works), and ask the associate to shrink-wrap it for you. Easy peasy.
Heck, you could even sit in the store and create your own gift sets right after you purchase lotion, candles, body wash, and hand soap for 75% off during the Semi-Annual Sale!
Note: The cellophane bag and ribbon are also available online, but they cost $1.
16. Learn where to find Bath & Body Works product expiration dates so you know when to replenish.
Unopened lotions, washes, candles, and such have a three-year shelf life. Beyond that point, I toss items that contain rice or milk. Of course, it’s up to your own discretion.
How do you know when your item’s three-year shelf life is over?
Here's how to find the Bath & Body Works manufacturing dates in code.
First, find the date. It’s usually printed directly on the bottle or crimped end of tubes. Sometimes you have to peel price tags away to see it. On candles, it may be printed directly on the label.
Once you find the printed number, you only need to look at the first four digits to find the manufacturing date. Look:
First digit: Year (9 = 2019)
Next three digits: Day (308 = 308th day of the year)
Take the manufacturing date and add three years to get the approximate expiration date.
17. Find retired Bath & Body Works fragrances online.
Missing Cucumber Melon or Warm Vanilla Sugar? You can still get them (and more) online!
Bath & Body Works use to have a little corner of their website dedicated to the oldies but goodies under a 'Retired Fragrances' tab in the 'Featured' section under Body Care. However now you have to do a little more legwork to see if they still carry products from a retired fragrance you love. Try this:
Hover over 'Body Care' towards the top of the Bath & Body Works homepage.
Next, hover over 'Fragrance' and click on 'All Fragrance' from the menu that pops out to the right.
In the 'Filter By:' box along the top of this page, click on 'Fragrance Name.'
Scroll down to see what they have available, some of which include retired fragrances that aren't otherwise advertised.
Note: Bath & Body Works frequently brings back retired scents during Semi-Annual Sales.
18. Buy discounted Bath & Body Works gift cards from Raise.com and save 4%.
You’ll save an average of 4% when you buy a discounted Bath & Body Works gift card through Raise.com.
Wait until after Christmas to look for a gift card, and you might save even more. That time of year is when many people offload the unwanted gift cards they got for the holidays. The timing is perfect because you can turn around and use your discounted gift card during the Semi-Annual Sale.
TIP: If you strike out on finding a high-value gift card on Raise.com, you can save 3% when you pay with Ibotta gift cards.
19. Get hired at Bath & Body Works for freebies, not employee discounts.
You must be at least 18 to get a job at Bath & Body Works, and the best times to apply are at the end of August and in early September, leading up to the big holiday sales. Full-time Bath & Body Works employees get a 40% discount, while part-timers get a 30% discount valid on regular-priced merchandise only. You’ve learned by now that a 30% to 40% discount is garbage, but the employee discount isn’t the best part about working at Bath & Body Works...
...It's the free stuff.
Every time a new line is released, each employee gets to choose one to three products to try for free. Employees also get free Bath & Body Works samples. There are small little cups called “drams” that employees can use to sample any product and take it home. Some stores allegedly will let shoppers sample products, too, but I tried four different Bath & Body Works stores and didn’t have any luck.
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