lovetoshopCA

It is 50 here in LA at 6:30 am. Thankfully past the cold snap which will be driving up everyone's produce prices for the next 6 months or so.

You know, they don't all do their markdowns at the same time, which is why we are all finding different things. It is possible that your local stores have already finished theirs. It is also true that in some areas there aren't as many stores available for the population, so items sell out at regular or lesser sale prices. Hope that makes sense. Here in LA, we have so few of these types of stores that sometimes things are gone before they hit 50%. That is the case in most of our stores for all the baby bedding items on sale right now. FYI, I learned something interesting about how Wal-Mart marks down today. I posted that under the Walmart thread if anyone is interested.

they are in CA. They are $24.98

If you don't want to drag a heavy item to the scanner, and they have the loose type of price tags (not the long strips), you can pull the price tag and take that to the scanner instead of lugging the big item.

I was able to get some of those collapsible Rubbermaid bowls with lids for $1.74 today, down from $6.99. Also some nice slacks hangers 3 for less than a dollar. Not a huge haul, but I was happy. Also saw about 7 of the aquarium swings at 2 different Targets in my are of LA. The Torrid bikes are still only 50% in my area, but I am guessing they'll go lower this week yet. They are bright yellow here, instead of green. Also, they are identifiable, if you haven't seen them, by the little number thingy in front of the handle bars - like for BMX.

If you go back, try to go mid morning (if that is an option) and walk around until you find the markdown team. That will be a team of workers (almost always women) who are working together. They will have shopping carts with small printers on them. The printers are about 5 inches cubed in size and black. They will have a roll of those red markdown stickers attached. Ask one of them to check the price. Tell them that it rings up Item Not Found, and they will know how to check it properly. They will almost certainly put one of those larger red and white striped tickets over the bar code with the right price. I should have said this sooner. If they say something about the sticker on it, tell them again that it rings up INF, and that you think it is the wrong sticker. These are the people you always want to take an item that you think has been missed in the markdown process (which does indeed happen). Customer service isn't actually allowed to do additional markdowns except in very rare circumstances. These gals are always able to tell if an item was missed or not. I try not to bother them too much, but they all know me by now, and are always willing to check. They usually take their "lunch" break around 10 am as they start around 6 am. And they finish work by 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Sometimes even earlier.

Oh, a tip to anyone who is looking for one of those toddler sized ready beds - they are awesome to take on vacation - the kind with the sleeping bag that goes over the mattress. If you find the Spiderman ones or the Dora the Explorer ones in your store (they are with the sporting goods), and they ring up item not found on the scanner, then you can get them for $6.96!! Just take them to customer service or get someone who knows how to use their little gun scanners (PDT) and have them look it up using the Not On File function. If they are not able to get a price when they try it, ask them to find someone who knows how to do the Not On File Function with it. The guy who manages one of the SG departments at a local store explained this to me. He says a lot of employees don't know how to use them correctly - but we don't want to tick them off so they won't help us. :-) Anyway, I have found them at all 5 of my local Target stores, and they are all $6.96. But only Dora & Spiderman.

Has anyone seen any of the Playhut pop up play tents or any of the other play tents marked down to 75% yet? I am watching them, and they are at 50% right now. In most of my local stores, they sold out the Playhut school, barn & the salon a few months ago, but now 2 of the stores are clearing out theirs. I am also watching the Zippity Zoo tent & tunnel as well as the elephant tent.

The key to getting what you want is to figure out the schedule they do their mark downs on. At our stores, they almost always do Baby stuff on Tuesdays and Toys on Wednesday or Thursday. Sporting Goods is on Thursday. Electronics, Books & Music is on Mondays. Once you have some idea of their schedule, you can try to go on those days. With the exception of the holiday season, they usually spend 2-3 weeks at 30%, 2 weeks at 50% and then go to 75%. That is just a rule of thumb, and they certainly deviate from it, but it is accurate enough. The other thing to note is that they are usually finished with markdowns by 3 or 4 in the afternoon. If what you want is especially hot, it will go quickly, though, so you have to get lucky sometimes. It took me a while to figure out the pattern, but I am able to go everyday as one of the Targets is a block from my son's school. I can't wait until summer! The next big toy markdown is July/August. That is when they clear out the items that just came out to get ready for Christmas. It is one of the BEST times to get Legos! I have boys...Great baby deals are always in January, though. They do markdowns all year, but certain items are especially good at specific times of year. Children's bedding usually goes in February or March and/or September/October. And, some stores will simply stop carrying an item and will clear it out, while others keep it at full price.

Hi. I'm new to this forum, but a pro when it comes to the way Target does their clearance. I can almost promise you the baby clearance is moved either to another aisle of the baby section or the children's department nearest. I have 5 Targets within 8 miles of my house (gotta love living in LA), and all have moved the baby clearance. 2 to another baby aisle (on the shelves) and 3 to the boy's department right next to it. Check the end caps and any extra shelving they might have. By the way, I saw a Cosco Playyard for $9.98 at one of the stores. The Altura stroller mentioned earlier is full price at all our stores. Interestingly, they will often clear an item out at one or two of the stores (usually the smaller stores) but keep them at full price at others. It seems to depend on shelf space.