Hidden Clearance in Canada: How to Find Unadvertised Markdowns

A flyer sale is a marketing decision: the retailer picks the items, sets the dates, and wants you in the store for them. Clearance is the opposite. It's stock the retailer needs gone (discontinued lines, last season's colours, a returned box, an overstocked endcap) and there's no upside to advertising it. The markdown happens quietly at the shelf, often store by store, and the price on the tag can be lower than what the flyer or the website ever shows.

That's why two people can walk the same chain on the same day and only one finds the deal. It isn't luck so much as knowing where each retailer puts its markdowns and how to check without walking every aisle.

• Canadian Tirekeeps clearance in each item's normal spot with a red or yellow tag, and prices differ between stores. Track Canadian Tire clearance.
• Walmart marks down on the shelf edge with a new sticker, and prices are set by province. See the Walmart markdown schedule.
• Home Depot scatters markdowns wherever the item lives, with manager discretion on the price. Read the Home Depot clearance guide.
• Best Buy runs a national markdown catalogue, plus open-box stock priced separately. Read the Best Buy open box and clearance guide.
• IKEA splits it in two: the in-store As-is corner and the online Last Chance feed. As-is vs. Last Chance.
• Sport Chek puts its deepest cuts in the Final Sale tier, which also removes return rights. What Final Sale means.
• Staplesshelves ink and toner markdowns with the regular stock, so they're easy to miss. Read the Staples clearance guide.
• Costcoruns an online Last Chance section that's separate from the markdowns on the warehouse floor. How Last Chance works.

• Let a scan do the walking. ShelfAware checks clearance pricing across stores for 13 Canadian retailers and surfaces markdowns of 40% or more, with the price range between locations and which one has it cheapest.
• Check price history before you drive.A markdown is only a deal against what the item actually sold for before. An inflated "regular" price can make an ordinary price look like a find.
• Call the store for low stock counts. When a scan shows one or two left, ghost inventory is common. A quick call saves the trip.

Start with today's clearance finds or search a product to see its price history first.