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Perimeter Perusing at Target (Target Clearance Deals) 2018


UmmYeahOk

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Toys were found to be a mixed bag. Various Stores and Various make downs. Items found 70 at one were still 50 at others.

Don't suspect this week to be the big markdown but perhaps.

Didn't see the shear numbers of toys needing to go either...buyers have gotten better in the past few years it would seem.

 

Still, we'll see what the markdown day brings.

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Problem is an admin was always the one who locked each year, unstickied, started a new, then stickied that one. Due to the traffic, it made sense and made everything clean and easy. But this forum is so dead now that there’s not really a point. The year I signed up, the thread had 345 pages. The year you signed up, 17. This current thread has gone through 3 Christmases, and only has accumulated 4 pages. If anything, it would be better to just have the admin change the title, since that’s how we’ve been doing things now. Edited by UmmYeahOk
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You have to admit - this really isn't a thing anymore.  Target rarely marks things down so low anymore - they just donate them to charity and take the tax deduction.  I used to shop at Target like once a week - but I think I've been in Target only a handful of times in the past year. 

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90% off holidays. That’s what I seek. And they do it every year. This has not changed. They just don’t last long, either because it’s sold so fast, or because, like you mentioned, they salvage it (donate it). Typically large organizations like churches will buy up stuff for Easter and things, and then use them next year. No matter how cheap things are, I’m never going to load up several shopping carts of plastic eggs, but they will.

 

They also started doing the 30/50, 50/75, 75/90 thing. You used to could load up on seasonal grocery items. I would buy cookies for the break room. Don’t know if that makes products last longer on the shelves, or makes people on here less likely to visit, or the real reason they have started salvaging items so quickly, as they need the room. In the past, you have a good week since the first day of 90, but now, find something where it shouldn’t’ve been 2 days later, you go to scan it, and not found. Want it bad enough, you have to go to guest services, where depending on who you get, is problematic because you have to explain 90% off the price written on the box. I’m some cases, they'll refuse to even sell it to you, even if they still have a home on a shelf.

 

They also don’t follow the markdown formula like they used to, which is why updates on this thread are so important. Halloween and Christmas 2016 went 90 several days before they used to, and I’m not calling Target to ask because they either lie or don’t know. I still remember the time I walked in the door by guest services and caught a team member pushing a cart full of Christmas “go backs” from guest services to seasonal. I saw complete china sets and other such great finds that you can only get from seasonal returns. I asked him if Xmas went 90 yet, and he said no, 75. So I took my time making my way to seasonal. NINETY!!! Signs everywhere, and it was the evening, so they’ve been up. That cart was picked clean. Nothing left but a few bows and Xmas cards. This is also why you have to keep a close full eye on your shopping cart. If someone sees a cart full of 90%, other customers may think they’re meant to go back, not claimed by another shopper. At least, I hope that’s what they’re thinking.

 

Returns were always my secret that I never mentioned in here till today. If they don’t have room, they’ll pull the cart out and place it near guest services for a team member to pick up. Either the closest register, or right by the guest services counter. Morning has all the goodies employees found stuck somewhere in their department, many broken, as they won’t sort, so be careful. Afternoon you’ll find everything returned that morning. In 2004, I found 3 full sized golden pre lit grapevine deer that someone returned. There was nothing wrong with them, so back on the floor they went. 90 OFF! I only had to pay a few dollars. This was huge, as I made very little back then. We’re talking $7/hr. So I wouldn’t have any outdoor lighting. And I mean that because for whatever reason red and green colored flood lights, were sold out everywhere, for months. Yet come January, people were returning them everywhere. I didn’t know you could “rent” these things.

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Yeah, calling is just never an option for legit accurate results. You gotta lay your eyes on the seasonal section. Even scan an item or two.

The varied seemingly store dependent timeline of when to mark down can make it tricky to gauge when to go.

But when you time it right, hit 90 the day it happens. Or find a store that 75'd ALL toys the night before clearance Thursday...it is (was anyway) a lot of fun.

Now, I suspect markdown thurs will require finding/asking someone with scanner to price check.

Some employees are nice about it, others not so much.

The mantra of this game is:

Ymmv

Good luck.

 

Perimeter perusing since the Gator Pam days

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Store that is usually slow in toy markdowns is following suit. Items consolidated to one aisle. Most marked 30

Few items at 50.

Found Batman Lego set at 50.

Hopeful thurs is 70 day

 

Perimeter perusing since the Gator Pam days

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aww...

Seriously!

 

I learned so much about perimeter perusing...I thought I knew plenty.

Nope.

I still have premium napkins and aluminum foil from learning about holiday clearance items and how they get marked down in system but not necessarily on the floors.

 

Dunno why...but Gator Pam as a valued resource always stuck with me.

 

Miss those verbose, chock full of good info forums

 

Perimeter perusing since the Gator Pam days

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I lurked, lurked hard back in the day. There was always great chatter and speculation about toy markdown day. This week, next week. Wed or Thurs. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

I suspect we'll find stores marking down during the day.

Well managed stores might the night before. But those are fewer and fewer

 

Perimeter perusing since the Gator Pam days

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You have to admit - this really isn't a thing anymore.  Target rarely marks things down so low anymore - they just donate them to charity and take the tax deduction.  I used to shop at Target like once a week - but I think I've been in Target only a handful of times in the past year. 

our clearance has been bad, occasionally I will find a good deal but I was like you, was in there at least once a week, I don't go very often, didn't do much during the holidays at all

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Found some deals. But it was scattershot. Various stores were varied in what they had marked down and by how much. Found things at 70.

Seems the big 'mark everything down to 70 off' day is no longer a thing.

It looks a slow gradual burn that is store dependent these days.

 

Perimeter perusing since the Gator Pam days

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(New thread! I tried to copy the old thread to start a new one but I couldn't figure it out... but here you go.)

 

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

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I used to be a very active member on GD about 6 years ago....my screen name was Tokanm, it wouldn't let me reclaim it .

Anyways Target posts were always the most active, so many amazing clearance deals. It's sad Target clearance is just not what it used to be. My Target is currently under MAJOR renovation and I heard it's going to do a focus on beauty items. Hope not. BTW it's nice to still see some familiar names

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