One Caveman’s Financial Journey

Photo credit: maury.mccown

After two years of living in our house, our bare off-white walls are starting to wear on us. With liquid funds in short supply, buying the many gallons of paint it would take to cover our walls would completely tap us out (and then some). But, as we discovered at Lowe’s a few weeks ago, a little luck and a lot of patience can net you some great paint deals.

While shopping for paint for my daughter’s new bedroom (she has to vacate the nursery for the baby-on-the-way), we stumbled upon a shelving unit full of cans of paint with red spray paint on their lids. As we filtered through the odd collection of cans of a wide array of finishes and colors, we realized we had found the fabled mistint storage.

“Mistints” are the colored cans of paint that people have either returned or ones discarded by the store due to mixing the wrong color. Rather than shoulder the expense of properly disposing of this paint, the store can choose to sell the paint to you for a significant discount.

Like all clearance merchandise, the store only cares about getting the paint out the door and out of their inventory, so they’ll unload it for pennies on the dollar. The store we visited had a special deal going for $3 per gallon on mistints - down from an average retail price of $23 per gallon! We didn’t find any paint to color our daughter’s room (pink is a fairly uncommon color, anyway), but we were fortunate to find two gallons of the same color and finish, which we will use to paint either our living room or my wife’s new office.

Shopping for mistints is a bit of a gamble, but keeping a few simple pointers in mind will greatly increase your chance of success:

• Know What You Want - We have a general color scheme picked out for some of the rooms in our house and we know what kind of finish (e.g. satin, eggshell, etc.) that room needs. By having a rough shopping list in mind when rummaging through the cans, you will know right away if one matches your needs. If you’re shopping blind, you’re more likely to buy on impulse and either regret the choice or let the paint go to waste.
• Visit Every Few Days - Mistints aren’t a purposefully stocked item - they’re the product of an accident and that makes them fairly rare. Since you’re not the only one searching the mistints for gems, you risk missing out on some great deals if you’re not actively shopping for them. Fortunately, our town’s many hardware and paints stores are close, so we can usually shop each of them twice a week in rotation.
• Get To Know the Paint Guy - After seeing you for a few weeks, the people who mix the paint will start to recognize you. These people are your best chance to get the paint you want. By letting them know what color and finish you’re looking for, they may set aside a specific mistint for you if they come upon one. (I’ve even heard of a few cases where a worker purposefully made mistint for a friend, so you might get lucky.)
• Be Picky, But Be Flexible - You have a plan, or at least you should, and you should stick to it. If you know what you are needing, you should stick to it. But if you find something close that you can work with, don’t pass up the deal just because it doesn’t match perfectly. An interesting assortment of color will really liven up your house!
• Don’t Be Afraid to Make a Counter Offer - One store we visit offers mistints at half off of retail while another offers them for $5 per gallon or less. Since you can’t count on the “cheap” store to make the same mistint as the more expensive store, you should try to negotiate a better deal. Since it’s a clearance item and the store wants it gone, don’t be afraid to be a little crazy and make a low-ball offer. If mistints haven’t been selling well, they’re likely to accept without too much trouble.

Paint is pretty expensive, but decorating your home doesn’t have to bust your budget. Try your luck at shopping for mistints and get some crazy, cheap color for your home!

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