How to find cheap scrap lumber -- the $9999.75 discount!

Tonight while my wife and I were at Lowe's looking for a grate for our 2 year old grill we decided to hit up the lumber section to try and find a small piece of wood to sturdy a hanging flower basket on our balcony. Our perfect piece of wood would have been a foot long piece of 4x4 but alas they don't sell sections that small at Lowe's and we have no need for the rest of a normal serving of 4x4 or 2x4 or really anything by anything they sold.

Thankfully on our way to find an associate we saw some 4-5 foot pieces of 2x4 sitting in or near a trash barrel in rather rough shape. Since I didn't figure I could simply walk out of the store with a piece of wood stowed in my pants I asked the nearest associate how much the scrap would cost. He deferred me to the "tall guy" two aisles over who let us know we could have the wood for just a quarter!

Much to my surprise the cashier knew what to do and with the help of a manager's badge was able to ring us up a piece of miscellaneous lumber. The deal is especially worthwhile when you figure in list price for miscellaneous lumber at Lowe's is $10,000 and I scored some for 25 cents! Yeah, they adjust the price to fit the need but a $9,999.75 discount is too good not to share. If you are doing a project your life depends on this won't help you but if you just need some window props or random wood the scrap bin may be just the place to go for your next project.