Surprising Secrets You Need to Know About Trader Joe's

Trader Joe’s isn’t your typical supermarket. Its shelves are stocked mostly with specialty items, so you’re more likely to come home with cookie butter and tricolor quinoa than you are milk and eggs.

But “specialty” doesn’t necessarily mean expensive. Here are three secrets you need to know about shopping at Trader Joe’s.

First, there are no sales and no coupons. Trader Joe’s claims it already offers the lowest prices it can. We comparison-shopped at Whole Foods and Walmart, and Trader Joe’s prices were indeed lower on things like frozen meals and fancy cheeses.

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Second, if you like to try before you buy, then you’ll love Trader Joe’s. Simply ask an employee to sample anything in the store. And if you don’t like it? Don’t buy it.

Third, you can return anything you don’t like – no questions asked. Bring back whatever you didn’t finish to the store for a full refund.

Learn more secrets about shopping at Trader Joe's.

Browne Taylor joined Kiplinger in 2011 and was a channel editor for Kiplinger.com covering living and family finance topics. She previously worked at the Washington Post as a Web producer in the Style section and prior to that covered the Jobs, Cars and Real Estate sections. She earned a BA in journalism from Howard University in Washington, D.C. She is Director of Member Services, at the National Association of Home Builders.