Does Dollar Tree Really Sell Penny Items? Here's What To Know

There's discussion among Dollar Tree regulars that the retailer sells so-called "penny items," meaning they only cost one cent. "How?" and "Where?" are probably the first two things that come to mind — especially since Dollar Tree keeps hiking up their prices, and because snagging something for a penny would be the icing on the cake. As more people catch wind of these conversations on social media and Reddit threads, some say they've never come across penny items or even heard of them. On the flip side, others claim the opposite, that they've taken items to the cashier that rang up for just a penny.

While some said they were told they couldn't buy the items and watched the cashier pull them from their carts to store behind the counter, others walked out with their penny items in hand and their pockets only a few cents lighter. So, are Dollar Tree penny items a real thing? It does seem like, yes, Dollar Tree does mark down items to a penny, essentially making them a penny item. The catch is that once an item is marked down in the system, it's not intended for sale. 

From what people have shared online, it sounds like employees are notified which products have been "pennied out" and need to be pulled from shelves. But with many stores understaffed, employees may not have time to remove them. Items can also get overlooked and left on the shelves or misplaced somewhere in the store, only for a customer to stumble upon them. And that's where the confusion about these "mysterious" items seems to be stemming from.

If you want to score penny items at Dollar Tree, it's more about luck than following tips and tricks to save more money on household essentials. While you can follow couponers and frugal shopping influencers who track these markdowns, it seems to vary by location and which manager is on duty. One shopper explained on a Facebook couponing group, "Dollar Tree has always had penny items, but their policy is to refuse the sale. [In] most areas, cashiers can get in trouble if they sell them instead of removing the items." On that same note, she hinted that pennied-out items are often thrown away, but dumpster diving is fine as long as there's no trespassing sign and the gate isn't locked.

On Reddit, a user said they found one cent SweeTarts Jelly Beans a week after Easter, but the cashier refused the sale. It seems Dollar Tree reduces items to a penny when they're out of season, recalled, or no longer carried in the system. Still, not everyone has the same experience. One Redditor who claimed to work at Dollar Tree said they rang up penny items for a customer simply because their manager wasn't there that day.

Meanwhile, one person on Facebook struck gold at her local store, writing, "In my area, I was allowed to buy from DT today. They were overstocked [and] needed the space, so the manager allowed the sale." At the end of the day, it comes down to finding these underrated Dollar Tree items and hoping the cashier or manager allows the sale. The same goes for Dollar General, where The Krazy Coupon Lady shares which items get marked down to a penny.