A FORMER Tk-Maxx worker has revealed the best days and times to shop in stores to bag absolute bargains.

Dale O'Keeffe worked at the discount store for eight years, making him an expert on all things Tk-Maxx.

The 34-year-old from Birmingham started working at his local store when he was just 22 and says he "loved it".

Through his time working at the shop he picked up on several tipsthat shoppers will be keen to know.

Dale occasionally shares his tricks with his followers on TikTok and has wracked up thousands of views on his videos.

Now, he has shared some of the biggest secrets to shopping at Tk Maxx with The Sun to help shoppers get the best bargains.

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The best days to shop

According to Dale, there are actually specific days which shoppers can head to stores and get even more money off than usual.

These tend to be Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Dale said that most shops have around four-to-five deliveries of stock every week.

He said: "On a Tuesday, they'll do something called 'subs' – subs are further reductions on the stuff that's already on clearance.

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"So, they'll go through and reduce it even more than it is already."

Then on a Wednesday, the next round of clearance items are marked down and moved into the section.

"The hard core Tk Maxx shoppers will come in on a Tuesday to grab the cheapest items and then again on a Thursday to see what's been moved into clearance this week," he said.

Although, Dale also added that the delivery on Fridays do bring in even more stock so that shelves are heaving for weekend shopping.

So, it's definitely worth heading in on a Friday too because the stores will be "the fullest they're going to be".

When prices are slashed to as little as 30p

While Tk Maxx is known for not putting on sales, fans of the chain will know that their "clearance" offers basically amount to the same thing.

These discounts and offers run all week long, but there are two special times of year that will see prices cut to as little as 30p.

Dale said: "Twice a year the stores have what's called 'final clearance' which is in January and July.

"It's basically a massive clear out of all its clearance stock and you can get things down to like 30p at that point."

During these two periods, usually two weeks, items that are already reduced will get further discounted every week, then every day, and then every hour.

Dale said that he would see items that started out as £40 down to just 30p.

While there may not be many items left by the time it gets to this point, it's a great time to have a look around.

Shoppers can tell which items are having these cuts will have their red stickers changed to yellow ones.

So make sure to keep your eyes peeled for these stickers.

The hidden treasures everyone forgets about

Tk Maxx is known for its every day low prices, and most people tend to head to the shop for bargain clothes and accessories but according to Dale, there's much more on offer.

He said: "The home stuff is really underrated.

"The bits in the home furnishings sections, they're the hidden treasures.

"You can get some really unique pieces of furniture that no one else is going to have."

In some of the bigger stores, they have pretty large home departments so it's definitely worth heading over to pick up something different.

Dale also explained that because Home Sense is Tk Maxx's sister chain in the UK, that's also a great place to pick up pieces for your home for less too.

Another often over looked section is the toy department.

Dale, who has two kids of his own, says that he's often found some rare toy finds in stores that aren't sold elsewhere.

This is because Tk Maxx stocks a lot of toys from the American toys through "add-on" orders from Tj Maxx.

He said that you can find several "exclusive" toys that won't be found at other high street stores.

Where to find secret bargains in store

Not every bargain will be right there in front of you when you walk in.

Dale said that most of the time the biggest branded items can be hidden deeper within the racks in stores.

He said: "They don't tend to put the big brands, like Ralph Lauren, at the end, front-facing.

"Often you can't put them on the end because they can't really promote that it's being sold for so much cheaper than at other chains."

So, next time you're having a browse it's definitely worth having a dig through if you're after a designer item for less.

The shops to grab the big brand items for £100s less

At some of the larger Tk Maxx stores, such as the Bullring in Birmingham or the Trafford Center in Manchester, they take things one step further with their big brand discounts.

These stores have what Dale said is called "Gold Labels" which are essentially the biggest designer items, reduced by hundreds of pounds.

They sell items like prom dresses, suits and fancier items for around £100-£200, down from their retail price of over £1,000.

Dale said: "So, your bigger stores will have Gold Label stuff.

"If you're looking for a proper unique item, like for prom or something, that would be the place to go."

Why looking for 'codes' could be a bit pointless

One "secret" to shopping at Tk Maxx that is always talked about is looking for special codes on items.

These codes are said to highlight that the item will be reduced in the next round of reductions.

But, Dale says this can be a bit pointless and time consuming.

He said: "I see a lot of people talking about this.

"It is of course true, but it's a bit irrelevant because staff will have to go round and reduce the items any way.

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"It's a long endeavour to go through a load of codes, whatever the price is on the ticket is what the price will be on the till, so you might as well wait until you see the reduction sticker."

Meanwhile, shoppers have been rushing to buy Apple products at Tk Maxx for £100 less than their retail price.

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