Thanks to Bargain Jargon, she has wonderful thrifty tips on Target deals. Thanks for doing this guest post!
I love Target!!! The stores are clean, the employees are friendly and helpful, they have great merchandise, and they have awesome clearance deals.
Once you know how and when Target marks things down, you can easily find stuff for 75% off. GOOD STUFF! You can find Target’s clearance items by the little red sticker. They have a system for marking down their clearance. In general the markdowns go 30%, 50%, & then 75% off. There are exceptions to this rule, sometimes items start at 15% off. Plus, holiday items follow a different markdown schedule, they will get marked down to 90% off. SWEET!
Most of the clearance items are found at the end of the aisles, usually the end of the aisle facing a wall. Every time I head to target I check out the clearance. I always look for items that I can buy for later, birthday gifts, clothing, shampoo, etc.
Here is Target’s weekly markdown schedule:
Mon. — Electronics, Kids Clothing and Stationary (Cards, Gift Wrap, etc.)
Tues. — Domestics, Women’s Clothing, Pets and Market (food items)
Wed. — Men’s Clothing, Toys, Health and Beauty, Lawn & Garden items
Thur. — House Wares, Lingerie, Shoes, Sporting Goods, Movies, Music, Books, Decor & Luggage
Fri. — Auto, Cosmetics, Hardware, & Jewelry
Generally, they mark things down to the next level every 2 weeks. So, if you see something in sporting goods that you are interested in that was just marked down 50%, if you come back on Thursday 2 weeks from that day you should find it at 75% off. Sometimes you will come back and they will all be gone. Bummer! If it is something I really need, I will buy it at 50% off. If it is something I am buying for the future, I wait to see if I can get it at 75% off.
Also, twice a year Target resets each department, so they will clearance a ton of stuff from that department, to make way for the new seasons merchandise. For instance, the toy department gets reset in January (to make room for Spring/Summer toys), and in July/Aug. (to put out the holiday season toys). So, on one certain day you will be able to find 2 aisles worth of toys at 75% off. I stock up! My favorites are the Lego’s & Playmobilsets, you can’t go wrong with those, especially at 75% off. I look like a crazy lady throwing things in my cart.
Two more pieces of advice:
1. If there is something you are interested in, SCAN IT! You will find that sometime the sticker does not reflect the price, the price may actually be lower. I love when that happens!
2. SAVE YOUR RECEIPTS!!!!!!! Target has a strict return policy, and if you want to return something you will need your receipt. They do have receipt look up, so if you give them the debit/credit card you paid with they can look it up for you.