A TikToker claimed to have developed a way for customers to get half-off of plants at Lowe’s using nothing but a red marker.
The video garnered over 9,000 likes before it was deleted. The TikToker, @kdin_kdin, said in the video that at the popular home improvement retailer, employees will often put a red mark through the UPC codes of its plants to indicate they’re being sold at a steeply discounted rate.
Some TikTokers, however, warn that this method will not work, while others urged him to take the video off in order to keep the hack from becoming too popular and, presumably, shut down by Lowe’s.
“I’m gonna show you how to get half-priced plants at Lowe’s using a red marker,” the TikToker said, holding what appears to be a red dry-erase board marker in his hand. He dangled it between his fingers in front of the camera.
The video then transitioned to him walking through a Lowe’s store and then to a plant sold in the retail location. He wrote in a text overlay of the video: “All of the half priced plants have a red line through the barcode” and showed several examples of that in the clip—there are numerous plants that have a red mark placed right through the UPC sticker used at checkout to identify the product.
The TikToker then landed on a potted plant that retailed for $15.98 and didn’t have a red line through its barcode. He then made a marking through the UPC and divulged in another overlay: “Got this fig for $7.”
He poses with the plant outside of the Lowe’s location, showing off the red line on its price tag.
This isn’t the first “plant heist hack” that’s gone viral on social media. Another TikToker, (@raaee____) said she doesn’t pay for any of her foliage but instead rips off pieces of plants from other restaurants to bring home and then graft onto other plants or regrow herself.
One user on the platform who saw @kdin_kdin’s video urged him to take it down so that Lowe’s wouldn’t catch wind of him sharing this information and up the costs of its plants in retaliation. “Okay I’ve seen it, now erase it before Lowe’s sees and raises prices,” they wrote.
Another said that they inadvertently found a plant price hack of their own. “I put a plant in a cheap pot. Cashier only scanned the pot. Honestly didn’t mean to do it but I wasn’t going to say anything,” they wrote.
Someone else shared that they were part of the cut/regrow plant stealing scheme themselves. “Life hack, bring scissors, cut off some stems of plants, don’t buy ANYTHING, then propagate. That’s what I do,” they shared.
There was another TikTok user who said that they were a Lowe’s employee and urged folks not to follow @kdin_kdin’s advice because they can tell the difference between discounted and non-discounted plants. “As someone who works at Lowe’s with the plants, trust me, we know the difference!!! Don’t do this. It’s so wrong,” they claimed.
And someone else provided their own tried-and-true price hack. “Buy the cheapest ones and slap the barcode sticker on the most expensive ones,” they urged.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @kdin_kdin via TikTok comment.
