Deals for the Budget Minded

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I'm new to this website and I really enjoy it.  I've recently taken up welding and I'm on a tight budget.  Being retired, I have the time to shop around.  Here's what I discovered.... Some Lowes stores are reducing thier stock of welding equipment.  They classify the items as "non stock" and blow them out at great prices.  Examples:  I bought 5 10lbs cartons of 1/8" Lincoln Fleetweld 35 (6011) for $3.50 ea; 5 5lb cartons of 3/32 Lincoln 7018AC for $2.40 ea; a Lincoln 200A electrode holder and a "Task Force" brand 300A holder for $3.00 each; plastic rod holders for $5.00 ea; and a Lincoln/Harris torch kit w/cutting & welding torches, gauges, hoses, tips and flashback protectors, goggles, etc. for $60.00 (list was $188).  I actually could have had the torch kit for $37.68 if I had gone there a day earlier.The trick is you have to ask!! I've hit-up the manager (not the floor guys) each time and in almost every case he has cut the "non-stock" welding items drastically.  How do you know if an item is non-stock?  Take it to the service counter and ask the clerk to check the computer.  If it is a non-stock offer a low-ball price for it.  You have to be persistent.  Also, some stores have an area set aside for items they are going to blow-out at a future date.  If you see a bunch of rods or other gear set aside (my local Lowes places the items high-up on a rack shelf near the tool crib) that's probably the clearance stock.  Ask the floor guys and if they do, you've hit the jackpot.  FYI, I've done the same at OSH (Orchard Supply Hardware, aka Sears) with the same result.  Hope this helps you guys on a budget.
Reply:great idea... for me its 6 month for the bang sale...Unit in my fab shop dept:my good hand and team that trust me...A lone welder make art... a village full of welder make Miracles...
Reply:Sounds like you hit the jackpot. I would have left the 7018AC there though. That is the only Lincoln rod that I don't like. To me it is one notch above Atom Arc.
Reply:I'll even take atom arc over the 7018ac. I was in Home Depot today looking for some weatherstripping and noticed they are way down on what they were carrying. Gonna go hit Lowes tomorrow, wouldn't mind another Harris rig for cheap just for the regulators.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:The way the Harris torch deal went down was I was at one Lowes and saw the price tag on the shelf for the unit marked down from $188 to $37.68 but the shelf spot was empty.  I contacted the floor guy and he said they were out of them and would not be stocking them any more (hence "non-stock").  I went to several other Lowes and only one had the the item marked at $37.68 but they too were out.  I found a store that had the unit in stock but it was marked down to $166.  The tool manager told me they too were clearing them out but they had to go through a mark-down process.  I went to the store manager and explained the situation.  He called several other stores to confirm what I had told him and finally offered it to me for $60.00.  Needless to say, I took the deal.  It may sound like a lot of work but actually it was quite easy and I overall I've saved a few hundred dollars getting my welding gear lined up.