Jump to content

Perimeter Perusing at Target (Target Clearance Deals) - 2014

Brad

By Brad
in Offline Hot Deals

 Share

Recommended Posts

txsupermom

txsupermom

Posted
Posted

Markdowns in every department, or so it seemed.  Patio 30-50% off, even the outdoor cushions, which usually get marked down later in the season (after the big 70% markdown).  Bedding marked down 50%. Lots of markdowns in food, most at 50% off.  Saw wine, pizza kits, canned northern beans, canned chili beans, simply balanced cereals and tons more at 50% off.  Also charmin and bounty packs marked down 30%-50% off.  If you've got coupons, this is a pretty good deal.  I had some register coupons and paired them with manufacturers coupons to make the deal even better.

 

Also found Duck Dynasty camo throws and comforters marked down 70%.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lovetoshopCA

lovetoshopCA

Posted
Posted

I was at a few stores today. Had to get back in there since I was going through withdrawal after a 10 day vacation. Most of the food was gone at our local stores. They'd already reset and there was nothing left. But I did find some wine and a few goodies at Baldwin Park. Patio is all over the place. I found lots of solar lights 50% and citrus/avocado fertilizer 50% off. Needed that for the citrus trees, so that is good. Saw lots of Patio 50% off, and if live around here, Baldwin Park had the most furniture at that %. They had umbrellas at 70%. Starting to see toy markdowns too. Even some at 50% already.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
1angelnhvn

1angelnhvn

Posted
Posted

Went to four stores yesterday and one had their patio 30, one at 50, and two at 70 with everything pretty much gone.  I was able to find some nice bedding for my girls 70 off plus an additional 20% off cartwheel.  Made for great deals!  All four were setting the back to school section where patio was.  Lots of movement all over the store and I found toys being marked down already as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Brad

Brad

Posted
  • Author
Posted

target.gif

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Target Perimeter Perusing!

As many of you know, Target B&M stores are known for their terrific clearance deals. This thread is for GottaDeal.com forum members to share their latest clearance finds. Also, please keep non-clearance discussion to a minimum - there are other threads for discussing weekly sale ads and store policy. This first post will contain some background information on the wonderful world of Target clearance, otherwise known around here as Perimeter Perusing!

You may have noticed that although the sticker price (the red-orange clearance sticker) show one price, many times the items will actually scan for a lesser amount. You can use this to your advantage because many shoppers without the benefit of being GottaDeal members do not realize this and pass the item by, thinking the sticker price is the actual price. Also, many times an item is not marked clearance in any way but still may be on clearance, so if you have an item that you would consider buying if it was on clearance, we suggest you take it to the nearest scanner and check the price that comes up. This is especially true of items which other members have reported being on clearance at their local store.

The standard clearance pattern at Target usually begins by items being marked down 15% or 30% at the beginning. This price can last somewhere between two weeks to a month, depending on how well the item sells at this price and what department the item is from. Then the item typically drops to 50%, again for anywhere from two weeks to a month in most cases. Generally, the lowest an item will be marked down is 75% off, with a few exceptions.

Items considered 'holiday' or 'seasonal' items have been known to go as low as 90%, and you will find a few occasional display items or things found in the stockroom after inventory discounted in the 80%-90% range. In many cases, the lowest price an item will go will usually end in $x.x4 or $x.x8, but this is not always the case for 100% of items, so take that into consideration.

A typical markdown schedule for the seasonal or holiday clearance is as follows:

Traditional Post-Holiday Target Clearance Schedule

50% off - marked down on the day after the holiday, usually lasts for three days
75% off - marked down on the fourth day after the holiday, usually lasts for three days
90% off - marked down on the seventh day after the holiday, usually lasts for 1-3 days

Other than Christmas, this is usually the schedule used for post-holiday clearance, including Valentine's Day, Easter, Summerville, and Halloween, for at least the last few years.

The holiday mark-down does seem to fluctuate from store to store on occasion, but to help demonstrate how the holiday clearance has gone in 2008 and 2009, here is the Decatur, AL clearance dates for Valentine's Day and Halloween, courtesy of Timswife81404:

Valentine's 08
Feb. 15th, 2008 = 50%
Feb. 18th, 2008 = 75%
Feb. 20th, 2008 = 90%
Valentine’s 09
Feb. 15th, 2009 = 50%
Feb. 17th, 2009 = 75% (red dot dollar spot too)
Feb. 21st, 2009 = 90%

Halloween 08
Nov. 1st, 2008 = 50%
Nov. 4th, 2008 = 75%
Nov. 8th, 2008 = 90%
Halloween 09
Nov. 1st, 2009 = 50%
Nov. 3rd, 2009 = 75%
Nov. 7th, 2009 = 90%

Target initiated a controversial new return policy in November 2002 that says any seasonal clearance items returned will be refunded at the current clearance price, even with a receipt showing a higher purchase price. They updated the policy in April 2003 to specify these items as Christmas trees and decorations and Halloween costumes and decorations. Other seasonal merchandise should still be refunded at the price stated on the reciept.

Christmas clearance is an animal all to itself. The dates appear to be as follows:
50% off - always December 26,lasts four to five days
75% off - within a day or two on either side of New Year's Eve/Day (12/31-01/01)
90% off - within a day or two of Epiphany (01/06)

The Decatur, AL markdown schedule for Christmas in 2007, 2008 and 2009 was as follows:

Christmas 07
Dec. 26th, 2007 = 50%
Dec. 31st, 2007 = 75%
Jan. 4th, 2007 = 90%
Christmas 08
Dec. 26th, 2008 = 50%
Dec. 30th, 2008 = 75%
Jan. 6th, 2009 = 90%
Jan. 2nd, 2009 = 75% Dollar Spot Christmas (black dot)
Christmas 09
Dec. 26th, 2009 = 50%
Dec. 31st, 2009 = 75% (black dollar spot too)
Jan. 5th, 2010 = 90%

Twice a year, Target has a major clearance on toys. Once in January and again in the summer.

Here are the dates for the January toy clearance in Decatur, AL:

Toys 08
Jan. 10th, 2008 = 75%
Toys 09
Jan. 15th, 2009 = 75% on MOST toys some still 30-50%
Jan. 29th, 2009 = 75% on remaining toys
Toys 10
Jan. 15th, 2010 = 75% (Friday)

Other departments have an annual major clearance. Dates will be posted here as they become known.

Baby 09
Jan. 19th, 2009 = 75% on MOST already clearanced
Jan. 26th, 2009 = 75% on remaining clearance

Target is one of the few stores where many (although not all) of the cashiers have the ability to bargain when an item doesn't scan with a price. There are times when an item will scan as 'clearance + tax' - be happy in these situations instead of groaning. Sometimes the cashier can do a price override to find the most recent lowest price, but sometimes if you say "I'll take it for (whatever 75% off the marked retail price would be)" they'll just key that in. It's always worth a shot.

The same thing applies for an item that scans 'NOF' (Not On File). This means the item is so old that it is completely out of the computer inventory system. Again, a good suggestion is to try offering the 75% off the retail price, but if necessary a price can usually be looked up at the Guest Services Desk. However, if an item has gone 'salvage,' this may backfire on you. In this instance Target marks the item back up to full retail value before pulling it from the shelves and donating it to a charity such as Goodwill or the Salvation Army for a tax write off. This is one of the reasons how Target can claim to donate so much to charity.

The markdown teams in each many stores have been known to keep to a standardized schedule, but there are stores that have different ones, so your experience many vary. For those who do follow the standard schedule, the departmental markdown days are:

Traditional Department Mark Down Schedule

Monday - Electronics, Kids' Clothing, Stationery, Cards, Gift wrap
Tuesday - Domestics, Women's Clothing, Pets, Market Pantry
Wednesday - Men's Clothing, Toys, Health and Beauty, Lawn & Garden
Thursday - Housewares, Lingerie, Shoes, Sporting Goods, Movies, Music, Books, Decor, Luggage
Friday - Automotive, Cosmetics, Hardware, Jewelry

Note that while this schedule says nothing about weekend markdowns, many Perimeter Perusers on the forum have seen items change in price between a Saturday morning shopping trip and one done on a Sunday afternoon. But nobody has found any rhyme or reason to what gets marked down on those days though - another part of the fun.

Target does not have a layaway plan, but die-hard Perimeter Perusers have tried various methods of getting around this. Most are constantly debated on the forum as far as being 'ethical' or not, so we'll leave it for you to decide for yourself. Just don't be surprised to find some differing opinions if you bring it up in this thread.

When an item goes 50% off and there are several left, some posters have said they find a hiding place to put the item. They then go back to see if the item is still there several weeks later, and if so, scan it to see if it has dropped in price. Some common hiding places shared are in the middle of a round clothes rack, where all of the clothes hide the item, about a third of the way off the floor of a stack of pillows or behind similar items, perhaps with newer packaging, on the proper shelf.

Sometimes, when items are getting scarce at 50% off, posters will buy them at that price and hold on to the receipt. If they find the item later at 75% or 90% off, they will buy the item again, remove any clearance stickers that show the lower price and return the item at another time with the older, higher priced receipt, as long as it is within the 90-day return period.

While not technically a clearance topic, in this thread, you may see reference to MM Juice or MM packs. These refer to 10 packs of Minute Maid juice boxes that can generally be bought for $.69. They are found in the juice aisle mixed in with the 15 packs. This usually includes only the Grape, Apple & Fruit Punch flavors -- never Orange Juice. They look exactly like the 15 packs which are generally stocked on the shelf, but instead of having 3 rows of 5 boxes, there are only 2 rows. They are often mixed in with the others, and even hidden in the back behind the 15 packs. You may go months or longer before you find your first set, but they really do exist. They are not an urban legend. And most of us can attest that you'll do a little dance in the aisle when you find them the first time.

Helpful Target Clearance-Related Links

Target Store Locator
Target Coupon Generator
Target Clearance Locator

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ama125

ama125

Posted
Posted

Haven't been scouting Target like I usually do but dropped in today and found two pairs of Boca Clips (blue sunglasses) and a Key West hammock pillow in cream all at 70% off. Looks like I missed a major clearance at my store as the shelves were bare! Will try to check another store tomorrow.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites
maddammim

maddammim

Posted
Posted

Found a Leapfrog Explorer GS yesterday for $24.99 at our Target!  They had a lot of games for it that were 50% off too.  We also got a ton of the Glad Ware Summer collection items for just $1.49 each.  In the party section they had Justice League and Angry Birds party items that were between 50 and 70% off as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lovetoshopCA

lovetoshopCA

Posted
Posted

Not sure why but my target has all the summer plates at 30% off and nothing else left of summer I saw it go at 70. But I find it strange that that plates didn't get lowered anymore.

They often mark stuff like that manually because they can sell more of it at the lower % off. It will probably sell out at 50% in a lot of places, and they are probably selling more at 30% on the manual markdown schedule since it stays at that price longer. The other stuff is only a few days at each % off, usually.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Elmck

Elmck

Posted
Posted

Toys went today at my store that usually goes on Wednesday. Not a lot this year, but found a few things.

Thanks for the heads up I am going in the morning. I did go today and checked but no movement here. Very little to choose from though

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Gator Pam

Gator Pam

Posted
Posted

*sigh*

 

Toys went today in Redmond, WA.  I didn't check until 4:00, as I had no idea the store here would go on Wednesday.

 

I was looking to get the two different Walking Dead board games for a friend's 21 year old son.  Totally wiped clean by the time I arrived.

 

*sigh*

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sarasuzymama

Sarasuzymama

Posted
Posted
Ward Parkway was about half way marked down yesterday afternoon. They were marking while I was there and they seemed to quit about half way through. I picked up a couple of Nano Block sets, a Furreal friends dragon, a Hexbug set, and a crafty set thing. My kids are too old for most of the toys now and it kills me to see all of the great deals and not need them anymore! Good luck to everyone today!
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...