KC-Traderbear

I wondered if they wouldn't be a day behind on markdowns since they were stickering all that "global bazaar" stuff on Monday, which they usually don't do for that grouping. That may have contributed to them being a day behind.

There's been times I've actually told them that I found it cheaper. That is not against the law. That is smart/lucky shopping! The only time I feel funny about returning- even with a receipt -is bringing back Christmas or holiday items waaaaayyy past the holiday (even if it is within the 90 day period.) I just feel funny about taking back Christmas ornaments in March! Many times I buy for my family and sometimes they don't see it for a month or two after I buy it cause they live 2 states away from me. I hate having to return it if they decide they don't want it. And I refuse to return something I've bought at 90% off. I don't care what it is. (or food, I refuse to return food too.) But that's just me

No, that only applies to holiday clearance, not regular clearance. AND some states/stores even allow holiday merch to be returned for what you paid regardless of what the current price is. When you return something with a receipt, there is a little piece of paper that shoots out with the return receipt. Sometimes they attach that small piece of paper to the item to indicate that the item needs a new clearance sticker. Most times that little 'scrap' of paper indicates that the item has gone down in price, however, I have bought things and returned to a different Target where the item's price is actually higher than what I paid. That new price is shown on that little piece of paper that shoots out of the register when you do your return. I believe it says "reticket" at the top or something. It shows the price THAT particular Target is selling it for and we all know each Target clearances things differently. Regardless of what that piece of paper says, you get what you paid on your receipt...unless it's holiday merchandise. Then each store is different... I guess from state to state or something. That little reticket slip is just to help the CS people make sure that the item gets a new ticket on it. (Many times though they just wad it up and toss the reticket slip."

Every year for the past 7 years, this sale (in January) has gone from 30% straight to 75% on practically everything that has been consolidated on the endcaps or in the aisles as "clearance." That's as long as I've been shopping their toy sale, so I can't say what has happened before then, but yes, I would say unless Target is choosing this year to do something drastically different, you can count on everything going straight to 75% this week. Some things are already marked 50% (as people have been mentioning). However, I think most stuff has only been ticketed to 30% off.

Didn't work for me either

I am pretty certain that this week is just to get the toy department reset... condensing clearance and possibly marking a few things. I believe that the sale will happen next week. That said, this is definitely a different year for retailers, and I wouldn't be surprised one bit if Target did make a change to how they handle this particular toy clearance. I mean seriously if I were Target I would never make the toy prices jump from 30% to 75% without going to 1/2 price at all. There are a lot of those toys that would sell at 1/2 price. To me, they are giving up a lot by rushing this clearance. I also don't know that I've seen markdown teams go into an area one week after another. I saw markdown teams working at the Target I was in this morning. Seems odd that they would then go in and do it again next week. Not that they won't, but mostly the markdowns happen once every 2-3 weeks, not one week after another. But, I realize that after Christmas toys is sort of an exception, so I'm banking on next week unless Target has a complete change in what they decide to do based on their sales (or lack of).

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OH MY. That pic is giant! Sorry, I don't know what I did! Oh well, you'll get a good view of what to look for anyway.

Same type of activity going on at the ST on Chipman Road today in KC. Aisles packed with toys being moved around. Some going to 1/2 (S'mores Pony - $99, Smart Cycle - $49.xx, etc.) But most still at 30%. I did find a Christmas goodie... Two of these were just hanging out in amoungst the books. I thought I remembered someone talking about them on here, so I scanned them and yup, $2.xx each. Nice for my daughter's (Olivia) birthday in February. http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51hecHy%2BV4L._SL500_AA240_.jpg Also did find only one of these and thought 1/2 price was good enough... It's a Target exclusive and was $12.xx down from $25...includes 12 petshops, which I thought was pretty good for that price. They are unique ones too. http://app4.sellersourcebook.com/users/13539/001_1229990493.jpg

Great. I'd love to hear. I am going to be out at Chipman Road in the morning, but I'm certain they won't be marking at the ST out there. Right now, I'm kinda into the Dick's clearance sale and chasing around town to hit those stores, so that's my first stop! Pretty much all I wear is workout clothing, cause when I'm not at Target, I'm at the gym! I'll definitely let you know if they are doing anything in toys out there, but I highly doubt it. Stanly usually goes earlier than a lot of other Targets on most of their markdowns. It's one of the least shopped Targets in the city... or at least it used to be a couple of years ago. There is a list for the city. The other Target that is always on the ball first thing in the morning is Oak Park, so if there are markdowns scheduled, they always get at their markdowns early. Of course one of the dudes that 'runs the gun' can be sort of a pill. This summer during the toy sell off, he would literally leave the aisle, go to the end, cross his arms and stare at all of us who were shopping. (There was only 3 of us at the time.) He just refused to scan anything until we would pass through. It was hysterical. I swear he would have shot us all if his pricing gun had been a real gun! Good luck tomorrow!

If there was going to be a store in KC that would go tomorrow, Stanly would be the one (IMO)!

Mostly because 'they' (whoever calculates the stores inventory and pulls the trigger on what gets marked down) don't tell the employees anything. Price teams get word about what they are marking down the day it happens, and then they go out and do the markdowns. That's why most employees who tell you that they KNOW when markdowns are happening are just guessing.

Most definitely. The Christmas toy sell off is very likely to skip 50% and go straight to 75%.

You definitely have hope... There are some Targets around me who have been known for most markdown team activity in early afternoon. And, yes, more than likely they will work a markdown area until it is finished. Here is what I have done in the past to ensure that the store has indeed gone to 75%. I eyeball a couple of things and make a mental note of what the FULL price of that item is. I jot down the dpci (off the orange sticker). Then when I call customer service, I just tell them that I am calling to check the price of "something". (I personally don't tell them it's a toy or they try to transfer me back to toys and then you sit and wait forever and 1/2 the time the person can't find what you are asking about because it's in the clearance minefield somewhere.) I simply say that I have the dpci and would they (at CS) mind just quickly typing it in to tell me what Target's price on that item is.) They are usually happy to do that. Once you have that price, you will easily know if they have gone down. And it helps you get an honest answer as well.

Not really. Every toy needs to be stickered. It is handled just like any other clearance area in the store. Their toy sale used to be a pretty quiet experience believe it or not and many checkers were happy to take the gun to something you want if there aren't a lot of people around. However, it's my experience just in the past couple of years that many stores will actually shut down the aisle by blocking it off with shopping carts. Only the markdown team is allowed in their until they have completed what they are doing. One thing to remember is that if you have your eye on something and there is multiples of that item laying around, once their scanning gun hits that item, it changes the price on all of them. So, if there are 5 Monopoly games spread around, all they have to do is scan 1 and the price will be reflected on the others. (Has to be the exact same thing, most of the time though.) So, if they shut down the aisle, you can check the endcaps. If there is something that you want, grab it cause there may be another one in the aisle they are marking and you can have it for the marked down price. HOWEVER, if there ISN'T another one, you will have to get yours scanned. For me personally, I have more luck going at around 9 or 10 a.m. That is most often when the markdown teams get their stuff together and get going. It's been rare, although it has happened, that they are marking stuff right at 8 a.m. Usually they do morning huddles, etc. and just need time to get their stuff together. Plus, in the past couple years, I've found the pricers less willing to take time to sticker stuff for me. They tend to get a bit crabby about it now and will tell you that they just have to go in order. (Which is true or they would never have a moments piece. If there aren't a lot of shoppers though, you may have some luck with that.) HTH!

Just one hint about the math.... 75% off is ALWAYS 1/2 of 1/2. It's so easy to just quickly take 1/2 of the original price and then take it down another 1/2. To take 90% off, it's just easiest to look at the original price and move the decimal point 1 to the left. So, if something is originally priced $10.99 and it's 90% off, it would cost you $1.09. It is so much faster to just calculate that way rather than drag everything to the scanner. Of course, anyone should really know that 90% off is almost free and is ALWAYS a cheap deal! :) I only say this cause I have come across some cashiers who go to price adjust something for me even to just 50% off and they look at me and say, "okay so how much would 50% off of $22 be?" I just kind of look at them like, "REALLY?" I'm no math genius either, but after so many years of shopping Target's clearance, it is easier and quicker to just be able to calculate things in my head. The scanners are nice to verify if in fact something is on sale or you have no idea what the price is anyway! Sorry -- off topic.... just thought I would throw those easy, easy ways to calculate while you are shopping!

That is just so wrong. Just like the poor manager that confronted adewrell... he could have asked her to come with him to a more private spot and spoke to her there. That kind confrontation along with accusations (true or not) just make other shoppers uncomfortable. And FIGHTING over stock? OMG, some stores just have bad management that don't realize how poorly that (employees arguing with customers or each other while they are in uniform) reflects on their store. Others (like one of our cities most shopped ST) look like they are run by graduates of Harvard. I mean these guys are so professional looking and always in the aisles with the workers explaining and instructing. They are always on their toes. I've never seen them slugging around the store like they are half asleep. (Target, if you are watching, it is the OP Super T on Blue Valley Pkwy!) They aren't my first choice to shop cause they are always out of everything and it is a very overshopped store, but their management, looks like what every Target store should hope to have. Anyway, back on topic. I've seen a lot of activity in the toy aisles, but it is mostly moving and consolidating. I also find it hard to believe that they will do any major markdowns this week, except maybe ticketing certain things that haven't been marked to 30 or 50 yet... which some stores around here have yet to do with all the Christmas craziness. Although, I know they rarely send a markdown team in one week after another... so who knows??!!

Can I ask where you went in Kansas??? KC metro area?? I heard that the ST on 119th/Blue Valley pkwy was at 90%. I haven't made it out today.

That's the best set up! I kind of liked it when the Targets around me weren't on the same holiday markdown schedule. That way you can hit more stores. When stuff goes to 90%, I've found that you kinda need to be there in the first 30 minutes or you end up SOL.

... another random cute book deal.... this rang up for $4.04. I wonder if the holiday books have all been shipped back to the publisher and if a store gets a return, maybe they just mark it down rather than deal with sending it back by itself??? http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61-gjOtQxPL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg ... OT, my husband and I were getting light bulbs at Home Depot last night (I know, what a way to spend a Saturday night, eh?) Anyway, they have some cute inflatables and we got a cute snowman couple with a little penguin flanked by 2 Christmas trees. It was regularly $199 and it rang up as $37.xx. People either love 'em or hate 'em... we have 3 small kids so we put those silly things up in our yard every year. I look forward to the day when I can decorate the outside of the house with my white lights and NO yard ornaments, but for now, the kids get a big kick outta crazy inflatables and multi colored lights. This one is especially cute (and cheap!). I couldn't find a picture, but if you have a Home Depot near you, it might be worth checking out. They also had a carousal one too, but I didn't check the price on that. None of the boxes were price marked correctly, but they rang up really cheap. I think the box shows them priced at $74.99. Sorry a bit off topic, but HTH!

Me too on tomorrow. I was wondering the same thing about the toys... There are a lot of toys left around here.

Kind of a fluke, but I found this book in a cart of "put backs"... I didn't think books went clearance, but I scanned it and it was only $4.48-- regular $17.99. We have this book for our daughters and it is so darling. It is beautifully done and explains everything about Santa, the North Pole, the Elves, the reindeer.... everything related to the myth of Santa. It talks about how the sleigh flies, where the elves live. Anyway, that is an awesome price for this book. We got ours at Costco last year and snuck it into the mailbox to make it look like Santa sent it. The girls love it. It's a keepsake. I'd love to find one for each of them to give to their kids someday. It comes with little envelopes inside with special messages and notes to open. I thought it was worth the $15 I paid for it at Costco, but for $5!! WOW. Like I said, I don't know if it was just a fluke at this particular store, but I am for sure keeping my eyes open just in case. http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5109367W64L._SL500_AA240_.jpg

No, most definitely everything with a penguin or snowflake on it is NOT included in the holiday clearance. If you find a clueless cashier, you might be able to convince them, but honestly the cheaper the christmas stuff gets, the harder it is to say, "even though this is ringing up at $10, it's really supposed to be $1" You might get by with it if the item shows up as "not found", but rarely will they move something down that much in price without a manger intervening or checking first. I'm not saying it wouldn't ever happen, but it would take a lot of "forces" being in your favor for that to happen.

I got some of those meeba thingys for my almost 8 year old (per her begging), and she has been sitting and playing non stop til she gets the thing out... so maybe your daughter will show interest when she is a little older?? Hard to say, but my second grader really likes them. Of course I guess once they are open, that's the end of it, right? Suffice to say that I'm glad I got them on Amazon when they had the BOGO and free shipping. They only put me out $7.50 per meeba. Seems too bad that ya can't put something else in there to hide and have the child play the game to get it open all over again. That might have made the game a bit more worth the money.

Here's the skinny on the KC stores that I visited: Stanly, Oak Park, Mission and OP Super were all 75% off. Mission had the most left. Actually it doesn't look like Target sold any holiday stuff at all at any of the stores. ..Soooooo much left. I'm missing so many of the holiday toys that used to get marked in with the holiday stuff (think Barbie!) All of those toys were in the toy aisle clearly marked with red stickers and some even next to Halloween Barbies, which were still only 30% off! Pah-leeze!!! Geesh Target. They had so many of those Barbies in a Christmas stocking. They will probably still be selling them at Easter. Anyway, I thought I would mention that I found some goodies in "regular aisles".. 4 pack small bottles of Coke. I don't care for regular coke so I passed on those, but there were 4 of them for 84 cents each in the soda aisle... not a bad deal. At Super Target, there were lots of Nestle cookie dough packs for 62 cents located in the refrigerated case. They worked nicely with all my Nestle cookie dough coupons, so I got 10 packs for a total of 20 cents for all of them. Other than that, I didn't find as much Christmas stuff hidden in plain sight so to speak. Stores around me must be getting better about finding it and putting it where it belongs before it gets marked down too cheap!