Perimeter Perusing at Target (Target Clearance Deals) - 2013

[Brad]

http://www.gottadeal.com/images/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

[Brad]

http://www.gottadeal.com/images/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

[keej]

Anyone check this morning?

Yes, 50 on Xmas in mi, 70 on yellow dot

[lovetoshopCA]

Our Target (Phoenix) was only 30% off! Very disappointing!

Did you scan? They don't generally vary the holiday clearance that much from store to store. If you only saw signs, they actually say 30% and up, so you might have just been seeing what they had available. Generally, only the mainline, bagged candies are 30%, the rest is 50% if you scan it.

 

Forgot to mention, there were no Legos on sale at all. Whatever was 30% off from last week, is all gone; never seen this happen before. Did not see a single Ninjago, almost no Star Wars sets left.

I told my kids I would get some legos on clearance, I am in big trouble...!

Here too. Ours sold out. That does not mean there will not be more, as whatever is still at the distribution center will still make its way to the stores and get marked down, but a lot of stores sell out of the most popular Lego with or without clearance pricing at Christmas. Plus there are often returns.

 

Gosh, so what's up with Target Toy Clearance? It looks to me like they are not doing it in January! Just got back from my Super Target and most of the clearance toys were at 30% and 50% already. AND they were really picked over. TONS of empty clearance pegs in the aisles and on the clearance endcaps. I'm not used to seeing the toys clearanced "in line" with the other toys (non-clearance) but that is how they were doing it. There was not a toy clearance aisle, everything was marked way down and on the regular aisles. Anyone else seeing this?? Again, I don't see there will be a lot left for January. I picked up a few toys that were already out of the system and couldn't even get a price.

Here they marked all the 30% stuff as usual before Christmas, fitted what they could onto endcaps and moved the rest to the backroom. I actually watched them do it at one store. Yesterday they were consolidating and moving stuff out of the back room to the floor. Stuff that was 30% before Christmas went 50% yesterday. That is all right along the normal way of doing it. Plus they will have more coming in from the distribution center and there are often unopened pallets in the backroom that they just didn't have time to get to before Christmas.

[kathytheshopper]

Great finds at the dollar spot! They had put things out that hadn't been there the last two days I've been there. I got some wooden butterfly shapes with the lacing strings in a wooden box for .90, a bunch of Rudolph coloring books, cookie mirrors, crayon rings, Hello Kitty gift bags, fun packs to go, puzzle pencils, shaped erasers, etc... Filled up the cart about 3/4 with stuff for Operation Christmas Child.

The linen type tablecloths that are by the Smith and Hawken (sp) and candle area were all 70% off. That kind of surprised me. Reg. Christmas was the same-50% off.

[lishy75]

Don't forget to check those Christmas trees that were throughout clothing. Women's clearance clothing is in high gear at my store. It went from 6 big racks to maybe 14.

[keej]

Still 50 this am in MI

[alexusrydr]

50% on xmas, 70% on dollar spot. Yes, I did scan.

[kathytheshopper]

Called at 8:00 to check, still 50% off. The Target operator said FYI the mall is not open yet. There's been an "incident". Since I knew my sister was planning to be there at 8:00 I had to run over (5 minutes) to take a look. Every entrance is blocked off, even with the state patrol. The local mini mart told me it was a robbery at Scheels. However, the guy at McD's told me it was more than that-car crashed into the door and there were gunshots. I sure hope and pray everyone's ok. At least the mall didn't have many people there yet. I guess there could have been some mall walkers... Scary.

[Stowasser]

doesn't 75% usually happen on New Years Eve or Day?

[Sandi852]

Can anyone tell me how much wrap, bags, tags, tissue etc they have seen left. I need to feed my gift tag addiction.

[Stowasser]

Can anyone tell me how much wrap, bags, tags, tissue etc they have seen left. I need to feed my gift tag addiction.

I think that would probably depend on your store and area, here (smaller area) usually don't have any trouble finding all these items in quantity but I did notice that Target really cut back this year on ordering

[tinkrbel]

I'm dropping by tomorrow at opening, they usually fall on a Sunday I've noticed of late.

[cutexianchick]

Was there late yesterday afternoon... all chirstmas was 50% including food (but NOT the christmas goldfish... humm?). Yellow dot was 70% off. I got there and there was a ton of people in christmas... signs said 50% but with the amount of scramblers I thought for sure it had gone to 70%... NOPE. Not sure how much ours will have left, but I have 3 others within 12 miles.

[jenvargas]

Still 50 here : (

[brandibug]

Was still 50% last night in Fort Worth too.

[dollarstretcher]

Went to see what was left today to see if it was worth it to check if 70% off tomorrow. The whole store was completely restocking. There were boxes everywhere and so many employees unloading and restocking the shelves. I hope that doesn't mean Target plans on salvaging items at the same time

[supermom4]

Darn it! I have been sick in bed since Christmas Day - and just started feeling human again today. Just reading everyone's posts makes me wonder if anything will be left tomorrow.

 

Anyone in South East PA have a report? My Target has been known to salvage early - but on the plus side, they usually don't post signs for dollar spot clearance. I'm hoping to find a few things left tomorrow.

[boredbread]

Thanks to those that posted early yesterday

 

Someone asked about napkins... I never find them on clearance even when I'm the first one in the store on markdown day. But the winters napkins... Snowflakes and the like never got clearanced here last year. They were still full price in the spring.

 

Anyone found any scissors in Christmas clearance by chance?

 

Forgot to mention in my last post that they had started marking down some baby last week too to 30%. Baby stuff is almost always gone at 50% here.

 

Also forgot to add I found Christmassy dunkin donuts coffee included in the 50% plus I had coupons . Think it was in green bags. Yet the autumn favors still weren't marked down.

[keej]

Thanks to those that posted early yesterday

 

Someone asked about napkins... I never find them on clearance even when I'm the first one in the store on markdown day. But the winters napkins... Snowflakes and the like never got clearanced here last year. They were still full price in the spring.

 

Anyone found any scissors in Christmas clearance by chance?

 

Forgot to mention in my last post that they had started marking down some baby last week too to 30%. Baby stuff is almost always gone at 50% here.

 

Also forgot to add I found Christmassy dunkin donuts coffee included in the 50% plus I had coupons . Think it was in green bags. Yet the autumn favors still weren't marked down.

70 xmas

[trob67]

Lindt 70% chocolate bars on sale at 50% as long as it has the christmas/holiday decoration on the package. Kleenex 99cents a box on the regulare kleenex aisle again with christmas decorations on it.

[kathytheshopper]

70% off here except for bagged candy. They are still bringing stuff out-mostly bags, bows, etc... Not sure why it wasn't put out sooner. They had room but maybe they didn't have the staff to do it. Still have trees and lights here.

[txsupermom]

70% North DFW on everything that was 50% and everything that was 30% is now 50%.

 

Hit the mother load on tissues. No way was going to risk waiting for 90%. I can commiserate with the members that miss out on the paper products . . . they elude me too. But, today I am the "Tissue Queen". This must be what it feels like to the win the lottery!!

[Pickle926]

70% here in Orange County, CA

[barbos]

has any one seen Legos at 50%?

[indallas]

Lewisville (on Hebron/3040), Texas - 70% off Xmas and 50% off candy. There were tons of wrapping paper and bows and ribbon - waiting till it goes 90% on that stuff.

 

Got a lot of $l.00 gift bags for .30.

 

They have a lot of Hickory Farms sausage and cheese but it's on an end cap in the grocery section. Marked 50% off but I scanned and it's more than 50% off. $5.99 cheese and sausage scanned at $1.79 each.

 

Best find today was a Febreze candle marked .90 - used a $1.00 coupon so they gave me .10 to buy it.

 

No Xmas paper goods (napkins, tissues, paper towels) or containers - boo!

[boredbread]

70% here too. Tried to post from the store but couldn't log in on my phone.

 

Very random what was left and it was fairly consolidated whereas 2 days ago everything Christmas was all over the store. No wrapping paper but found enough odds and ends to make the trip worth while. I even found a 4 pack of christmas tissues!!! I NEVER find tissues/paper towels/foil/ziplocs so that made my day

 

Legos only 30% here and very few at that.

[Sandi852]

You guys are killing me! Can't get there until later this afternoon. Need wrapping paper, tissue etc. Hoping its not all gone by the time I get there.

[blessed247]

70% North DFW on everything that was 50% and everything that was 30% is now 50%.

 

Hit the mother load on tissues. No way was going to risk waiting for 90%. I can commiserate with the members that miss out on the paper products . . . they elude me too. But, today I am the "Tissue Queen". This must be what it feels like to the win the lottery!!

Where are you finding the tissues? With the Christmas stuff or in the tissue aisle?

[Donnask8pro]

Southern Jersey 70% off Xmas and 50% off candy