🛒 How to Find Walmart Penny Items – The Ultimate Guide (2025 Edition)

Love scoring huge savings? This guide will show you how to find Walmart penny items — products that scan for just $0.01. Hidden in plain sight, these secret deals are your ticket to serious savings if you know where to look!

💡 What Are Walmart Penny Items?

Penny items are products in Walmart’s system marked down to $0.01 – usually because they’re discontinued, recalled, expired, or marked for deletion. While these are supposed to be removed from shelves, sometimes they remain available to scan (and buy).

📲 Step 1: Use the Walmart App to Your Advantage

Download the official Walmart app. This is your most powerful tool for finding penny items. Use it to scan barcodes in-store and check real-time prices based on the store location you select.

• Scan clearance items
• Check for hidden markdowns
• Ensure your store location is set correctly

🛒 Step 2: Know Where to Hunt

Focus your scanning in these high-potential areas:

• Clearance Sections – especially items pushed to the back or bottom shelves
• End Caps – side displays often hold forgotten items
• Holiday & Seasonal Aisles – check 1-2 weeks after holidays
• Baby, Electronics, Beauty, and Toy Sections – these rotate stock often

🌐 Step 3: Follow Penny Item Communities

Join online groups that post up-to-date Walmart penny item finds. Here’s where to look:

• Reddit – r/WalmartClearance
• Facebook groups – search “Walmart Penny Items”
• Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube – creators post penny hauls & UPCs

People often share UPC codes, screenshots, store info, and more. Save UPCs and scan them at your local store.

🏷️ Step 4: Decode Walmart Clearance Tags

Not all penny items look discounted. Learn to spot tags that might lead to a penny:

• Yellow Tags – markdowns (watch for odd prices like $0.03 or $1.01)
• Red/White Tags – manager’s specials or store-specific clearance
• Old Packaging – discontinued versions often penny out

But the best rule? Don’t assume anything. Just scan everything.

🔍 Step 5: Scan Even the Odd Stuff

Some of the most unexpected items scan for a penny:

• Holiday candy weeks after the holiday
• Older models of popular brands
• Unmarked clearance shoved in random aisles

Don’t trust the shelf price — trust the scanner.

✅ Step 6: What to Do When You Find a Penny Item

If the Walmart app shows an item is $0.01, you can try buying it — but it’s not guaranteed. Walmart employees are trained to remove these items from the floor. Here’s how to handle it:

• Be polite and casual — don’t draw attention
• Use self-checkout if available
• If questioned, accept it if they refuse to sell it

Many shoppers report success without issues, especially at self-checkout.

⏰ Step 7: Time Your Trips Smartly

Best times to hunt for penny items:

• Early morning – before employees clear shelves
• Midweek (Tuesday/Wednesday) – common markdown days
• After store resets or holiday events

🚫 What NOT to Do

• ❌ Don’t ask employees about penny items
• ❌ Don’t argue if they refuse a sale
• ❌ Don’t post viral videos calling attention to your finds in-store

Stay respectful — you’re hunting within a grey area of Walmart policy.

📝 Walmart Penny Shopping Checklist

• ✔️ Walmart app installed & signed in
• ✔️ Store location set correctly
• ✔️ Power bank for your phone
• ✔️ Scanning list of UPCs
• ✔️ Patience and low expectations

🎯 Final Thoughts: Is It Worth It?

Penny shopping at Walmart isn’t always easy — but it’s fun and rewarding for those who stick with it. You might leave empty-handed sometimes, but when you score a $40 item for $0.01… it’s worth every second.