Getting Started Series Part 7 – Target Shopping 101
The following post is from my cyber friend, Ginger of Attention Target Shoppers and Frugal in Alabama. Pay attention. I’ve learned A LOT from her.
Target Shopping 101
Shopping at Target is like a sporting event for me. You need to know how to play by Target’s rules and have the tools at your fingertips to be successful. I have taken many of my original blog posts and put together a running list of tools, links and need to know info to help make your shopping trip much easier on your budget. Here goes…
There are many ways to save at Target and it begins at the front door.
- Use an ad. If you don’t get the Sunday paper you can access it according to zip code at the Target web site.
- If you are lucky enough to have a Super Target, you can access the coupons for the grocery section from the site.
**Remember you can use one Target coupon and one manufacturers coupon per item and stack the savings.
- Next, you should become familiar with “Perimeter Shopping”. This means going around the outer most aisles and cruising all of the endcaps with clearance merchandise while peeking down the interior aisles for clearance tags.
There is nothing more satisfying than finding an item in the grocery or HBA section marked down and having a store and a manufacturer’s coupon for that item. You feel like you have SCORED!
Your homework is to set up some bookmarks, find out how to access and use the ad on the site if you don’t get a Sunday paper and get a notebook to take some notes. There is a lot more info to come.
Markdowns
Below are some of the basic tips to maximize your shopping trips to Target.
1. Stick to the outside walls of the store (perimeter) and always check the endcaps (ends of the aisle shelving). This is where all the markdown merchandise is usually relocated after the price is reduced. However, as you go around the outer aisles, peek down the aisles and look for clearance there too. This will save some time and steps.
2. Markdowns are typically done Monday thru Friday. It makes sense to hit Target on Tuesday since Monday’s are used to deal with the weekend returns and have time to work the markdowns for the week.
Monday – Electronics, Kids Clothing and Stationary (Cards, GiftWrap, etc.)
Tuesday – Domestics, Women’s Clothing, Pets and Market (food items)
Wednesday – Men’s Clothing, Toys, Lawn & Garden, Health and Beauty items
Thursday – House Wares, Lingerie, Sporting Goods, Shoes, Music / Movies, Books, Decor and Luggage
Friday – Auto, Cosmetics, Hardware, and Jewelry
3. Markdowns take place every 2 weeks. Target will continue to mark down unsold clearance merchandise every two weeks until sold. After that you can bet the clearance merchandise will end up at your local Goodwill Store.
4. If an item is damaged and you can repair it or don’t mind the blemish, then be sure to ask the cashier for a discount. Cashiers are authorized to give you a 10% discount.
5. Check near the dressing rooms for carts of opened or unused items from nearby departments, etc. Every store will have its own little spots for great deals of shopworn merchandise.
6. Know how to read markdown stickers. These are the little orange stickers like in the picture with this post. The original price at the top right corner plus a code: 15A, 30A, etc. This is markdown percentage.
Holiday Deals – Target always slashes prices on seasonal merchandise.
Clothing prices drop like a rock during their after-holiday clearance. Look for seasonal t-shirts and sweatshirts and get huge discounts.
Their holiday markdown schedule is usually as follows:
(Note: Christmas markdowns tend to be larger to start)
50% off the day after holiday for three days
75% off the fourth day after holiday for three days
90% off the seventh day after holiday for 1-2 days.
Cautionary notes about Target shopping:
If you find an item at 75% off, and you want it, don’t let it get away!
Target rarely marks non-holiday items down past 75%
If it the price ends in the number 4, it is probably your last chance to buy.
Clearance
You have a craving for a Target clearance. You don’t have the foggiest clue as to what you may find marked down. You WANT to know. Well, now you can from the comfort of your own home before you ever leave your computer. Visit these two sites:
http://tinyurl.com/2y8lauhttp://tinyurl.com/2oyfxw
Still want to know if the local store has what you want in stock? Okay, now you can.
Target Search Store Inventory by local zip code: http://tinyurl.com/2few6h
The 9 digit numbers next to the items are the DPCI numbers. The DPCI can help you check the price/availability in the store. You can check w/ the in-store price scanners. Some stores have scanners that allow you to type in the DPCI numbers. You can also check if an item is in-stock or what the price is by taking that DPCI number to the Guest Services. They can also check if other stores in your area have it in-stock.
**Note- If the DPCI number is not available on the clearance list sites, try locating the item on Target.com to get the DPCI number and then plug into the Search Store Inventory link.
All markdowns are ideally done at the same time in all stores. But anyone that has ever gotten the above info and gone into a store will eventually see that this isn’t a perfect world for clearance either. So, how about trying to make nice with an employee in one or two departments and see if you can get inside info on how your local store does markdowns and if they are strict or lax on the markdown schedule.
When Target pulls their clearance merchandise from the sales floor, it is donated to Goodwill Industries. They have done this for years. I’ll be honest, in some cases I know that the lowest Target price is less than what Goodwill sells it for. Not always, but sometimes it is. So it is important to know your prices and be aware this can happen.
Using Coupons Effectively @ Target
Step 1 – Know Target Coupon Policy – Print to take with you.
Dear Target Guest,
Thanks for asking again about using coupons at Target. Coupons are a great way to save even more when shopping at Target, andwe make it easy to use them at our stores. But because of the variety of coupons available to our guests, we do have some guidelines for how coupons can be redeemed at Target:
-We accept two kinds of coupons: Target-issued coupons and manufacturer-issued coupons.
-We’ll accept one Target coupon and one manufacturer coupon for the same item, unless either coupon prohibits it.
-We can’t give cash back if the face value of a coupon is greater than the purchase value of the item; in that case, we’ll adjust the value of the coupon to equal the price of the item.
-We can’t accept coupons from other retailers, or coupons for products not carried in our stores.-All valid coupons should be presented to the cashier at the time of sale.
In addition, Target empowers the store to limit the number of items a guest buys with coupons. We reserve the right to limit purchases to reasonable family-size quantities. Have questions or want more information about using coupons at Target? Check with a Guest Services Team Leader at your local store. You can also give us a call at (800) 440-0680, or visit us on Target.com. Either way, we’re here to help!
Thanks for shopping with us. We’ll see you again soon at Target.
Sincerely,
Larry
Target Guest Relations
www.target.com
Step 2 – Using Store and Manufacturer Coupons
After reading 100’s of posts on various message boards it seems you should be aware of these things:
1- Print a copy of the corporate coupon policy and take with you in case you are treated poorly. You will have exactly what corporate says is allowable as well as corporate’s phone number (add to cell phone!)
2- Any store manager has the right to refuse quantities. Don’t abuse the coupon savings by buying hoards of items and you should get what you want just fine.
3- It has been mentioned that you can “spoon feed” your coupons to the cashier if you’d like as the items go through the scanner. I see this as something you’d do if you have a really tough store to deal with.
4- I have also seen it mentioned that you should avoid unfriendly cashiers with a chip on their shoulder. Try to find a friendly one. If you like the cashier, you might try asking what days they work so you can visit their line again. You know as well as I do that some cashiers think the coupon savings comes directly out of their paycheck. Engage in chit chat early, get them smiling and talking. Any cashier will treat you better if you do. I know, some are just hags or man-hags. LOL
5- If your purchase comes out free, don’t set off any bells and whistles. Just purchase something you need to go with it. DO NOT END UP WITH A NEGATIVE BALANCE!!!!!!!!!
6- The goal is to get a reasonable amount of items on sale with a coupon, not have a negative balance, keep the cashier happy (while finding one that isn’t a coupon Nazi). Don’t get the manager involved because they are known to be jerks.
7- Target.com coupons at one time said “Super Target Coupons”. Now they simply say Target Web Coupons and if a non-super size store has the item, they should accept the coupon.
8- If hassled whether your coupons are printed or copied, lick your finger and smear it on a spot to show them it was printed.
9- if you are shopping in a store that is paranoid that all of your Target Coupons are fraudulent, just print them and do NOT cut them out. Just present the entire sheet of coupons with the Target Coupon page URL still intact on the bottom of the sheet. It is a bit more expensive to print in this manner but if you have problems, it may just solve the problem.
10- If you have complaints go to these and be heard.
Where to complain or compliment:
http://www.planetfeedback.com/
Target Corporate phone number : 1-800-440-0680
11- You’ll find Target coupons on Target.com, in magazines of all sorts, on company web sites that have large promotions going with Target, in mailers, the Sunday newspaper, on the coupon generators on Coupons.com or RedPlum.com, on product peel off coupons (peelies) or hanging on the neck of some products (hang tags). During the 4th quarter, they release toy coupons in a small toy catalog.
Also, you can now sign up to receive mobile coupons via your cell phone. Once you have your account set up, you can access those coupons on your cell phone by launching the Internet browser on your phone and typing in/bookmarking http://target.com/save
Target Coupons – Print them from Target.com
Target Coupon Policy – Rules for using any coupons at Target
Target Return Policy – In store purchase
Target Return Policy – Returning a Target.com purchase to the store
Target.com Price Matching Policy
Target Store Low Price Promise (in-store price matching/adjustment)
Many thanks to Michelle for asking me to guest post today. I love her blog and info she brings to us. I hope you will drop by one or both of my blogs to find some deal info to help you stretch your budget. I blog at both AttentionTargetShoppers.com and FrugalInAlabama.com
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