All Things Target

For those of you that read my blog on a regular basis, you probably already know about the Target 70% off toy sale that happens in January and July.  So, for those of you that are new and don’t know about one of the best ways to score some cheap gifts to give all year long…read on!

Target will reset the toy department in January and July.  When they do this, they clear out a good portion of the toys to make way for new ones.  Good ones too!

The Basics

Target follows a markdown schedule, they will markdown each department on a certain day. The markdowns usually go 30%, 50% and then 70% (only holiday/seasonal items go 90% off). Twice a year each department will get “reset”.  This means that they will bring in a ton of new merchandise for the next season.  So, the toy department will get reset in January, to make way for the upcoming spring and summer toys.  The toys also get reset in July to get ready for the holiday seasons toys.  I have a post explaining the markdown system in detail, you can read it HERE.

They have one day where they mark the majority of the clearance toys down to 70% off, so they can clear them out quick. Since the markdown day for toys is a Thursday that is usually the day the markdown takes place (some stores markdown on Wednesdays).  The January markdown usually happens in the middle of the month and the one in July happens at the end of the month, this gives us a general idea of when the markdown will take place this year.

When are Toys Marked Down

The 70% off markdown usually happens on a Thursday (that is the day the toy department gets marked down). In January it usually happens in the middle of the month and in July it usually happens the last week of the month. We will see toys getting marked down to 30% off about 4-6 weeks before the big 70% off markdown.

How the Toys are Marked Down

The markdown for the toys and other departments are different than the holiday clearance that can be marked down via a computer. When the toys get marked down each individual item will need to be scanned with a pricing gun before the new price will take effect.  If you are interested in two identical items, only one of them will need to be scanned with the gun, once one of the items is entered, the discounted price is good on all identical items.

In years past, the scanning team starts at my stores around 9:00 am, and they are usually still scanning items when I get there.  If there is something you want that still have a higher price, scan it with the store price check scanners.  If it isn’t 70% off, then you can save it in your cart and then ask one of the employees with the pricing guns if they wouldn’t mind seeing if the item has been marked down. I have NEVER had an employee tell me no, they are generally very nice about it, however, I have noticed that as this sale gains more popularity it is harder for the employees to scan lots of extra items to see if the price has changed.  So please be patient with them!

If you are lucky most of the toys may already be marked down when you arrive at the store.   The time they get marked down will really vary by store.

Why shop the sale if you don’t need toys now?

I use this clearance sales in January and July to buy toys that I will need for gifts all year long. If you do some thinking, you can purchase lots of toys now that you can use to give as gifts all year long at a BIG discount.   Shopping all at once also saves time!  It’s so much easier to run to our gift closet for a gift than having to go the store every time a birthday party comes along.  I have 5 kids and tons of nieces and nephews, so there are a lot of parties in our family!

I shop for the following items:

1. I buy items for my kids birthdays and Christmas next year (there are some toys that you just can’t go wrong with, in our house, that is Lego’s, Playmobil, Games, and Arts & Crafts)
2. I buy items for nephews and nieces birthdays
3. I pick up gifts now for birthday’s my kids may get invited to
4. I help my sister and other friends and family by picking up toys for them to give to their kids (my sister works, and she can’t always make it to the sale, so I help her out by picking up items for her)
5. I buy items now for donations or Secret Santa at Christmas time.
6. You can even find games that would work well for adults and teens

Want to learn more?

I will be sharing lots of posts over the next few weeks to get you familiarized with this sale.   Make sure you like the All Things Target Facebook page because lots of readers will post directly to the page when they know that the toys have gone 70% off at their store and they will share lots of photos.   Also check out these posts:

• Getting ready for the 70% off toys clearance
• Tips for shopping the day of the 70% off toy sale