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Target will be “reseting” their departments in January (and again in July). When they do this, they clear out alot of the items to make way for the new, one of the largest markdowns happens in the toy section. The 75% off toy markdown happened last year on January 12th and 13th and July 28th and 29th. This will give us some idea of when it will happen this year. If you aren’t familiar with the BIG Target toy clearance, I have put this post together to explain all the details for you. To get an idea of the deals you can find, you can check out the items that I picked up at the clearance last July HERE.
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.
The Specifics of the Toy Department Markdown
Generally, they will start condensing all the clearance toys to one or two aisles. I have noticed that they have already started doing this at a few of the Target’s near me. Last year the markdown took place on January 12th and 13th. The markdown will probably take place on a Thursday, or even possibly a Wednesday or Friday.
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, they discounted price is good on all identical items.
In the past, the scanning team starts at my stores around 9:00 am, 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 75% 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. We may just need to be patient until all the price changing has finished.
Why Shop Now?
If you have never shopped this clearance sale before, you are probably thinking “Why in the world would I want anymore toys?” After all, your kids just got tons of toys for Christmas and they are taking over the house. I use this clearance sale in January (and the one in 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 “toys stockpile” for a gift than having to go the store every time a birthday party comes along. I have 5 kids and over 50 nieces and nephews, so there are a lot of parties in our family!
I shop for the following items:
- I buy items for my kids birthdays and even 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)
- I buy items for nephews and nieces birthdays
- I pick up gifts now for birthday’s my kids may get invited too (Since my daughter is 10, I will pick up items that would work for that age range)
- 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)
- I buy items now, so I can donate at Christmas time (Sometimes when you plan for generosity, it’s much easier to give! It’s not so much of a strain on the pocketbook)
- You can even find games for adults and teens
Keeping Informed
I do my best to keep you informed of when the markdown has taken place. If you don’t want to miss the sale I would check in during the morning hours when it gets closer to the sale taking place. I check the message boards around 7:00 am (PST) and post what I have learned. You can subscribe to my blog and have the email updates emailed to you. The quickest way to find out the details is to “Like” Thrifty and Thriving on Facebook. I will post on Facebook as soon as I know the sale has started. I can also post updates on Facebook while I am at the store.
Up next: Making your Game Plan
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Brandy says
Thanks Christy- I mentioned to my facebook friends that they need to read this post- many are new parents and just haven’t learned this stuff yet.
Susan says
I love to see that you buy so many Playmobil sets. They’re the best! I love Playmobil so much from my younger days and get so excited when I see sets. Getting Playmobil on sale is one of the greatest deals ever!!!
maygan says
I love this sale, the only thing I’d add is we shop for adults too when the do the Target toy markdown. A lot of times, board games are included- we use some of the small ones in holiday baskets for our friends and the bigger board games as gifts for the people we know who love playing new games.
Brandy says
Good point Maygan- my dh does stocking for the staff in his office and last year I picked up enough handheld electronic games for him to use in stockings.
Christy says
@Maygan – I totally agree with that fact that you can pick up games for adults and teens too! I also like to pick up games and every once and awhile we will bring out a new game for a fun family night.
A couple years ago, they had the Killer Bunnies card game sets 75% off and I picked up about 5 of them. They were the biggest hit for teens and adults. Hope they have something great like that for this year too.
Karrie says
Thanks Christy! Great post!
Bailey Dunmire says
I love it! Thanks for sharing! I got a huge cart full of toys in July…helped with Bday parties through the year and christmas. I donated many of the toys to our local charity called Birthday Blessings.
Tammy says
Ok, so what is everything thinking here? This year the 14th and 15th is a Friday and Saturday. So, do you think the sale will hit early and go the 12th or wait until the following week and hit the 20th? My target is still at 30% for toys. I dont see them going from 30% to 75% in a matter of a week. Thoughts…..
Christy says
Tammy – Here are my thoughts, if it goes the same week it will be Jan. 12, 13 or 14th. It could is very possible that they could get marked down the week after (Jan 19 – 21). The week they mark them down seems to change every year.
They may mark a few toys down to 50% off this week, but I don’t think they will all go 75% off, it seems a little too soon to me (I could be wrong though). They do seem to have them condensed a lot sooner than they normally do.
They have been known to mark items from 30% off straight to 75% off, and skip the 50% markdown all together. I think there main goal is to get the toys cleared out, so they can use that space for all the new merchandise they plan on bringing in. Once they mark them down, they clear out quick!
Tammy says
Im stressing since we leave for vacation this saturday and dont return until the 16th. So, I am trying to have a game plan and figure out what to expect when I get back. If it hits the 12, 13 or 14th I will miss out and be sooooo sad! I am crossing my fingers it goes the following week! I am thinking in my area (Pittsburgh, PA) we always seem to go later then the rest of the country so I might have a fighting chance!
Shannon Flora says
Are these markdowns only for instores or will they be marked down online as well?
Thanks for letting us all know whats going on!
Shannpf1977 at yahoo dot com
keisha says
yeah i wonder the same are the markdowns in store only.. ughh i hope not!!
Brandy says
Also wanted to mention to shop with a friend–ie, each of you goes to a differnt store and knows ahead of time what the other is looking for because it is really hard to shop while holding a cell phone to see if someone wants a certain toy or not
Becky says
I got several of the toys and games at the July/August 75% off sale this year. I put them in the closet and forgot about them. My daughter teaches Kindergarten and had a needy family so I pulled out the toys and wrapped them up for Christmas gifts for these kids ( ages, 5, 7 & 10). It was a huge blessing to be able to give to others in need. I will be watching for this sale again in January!!!
Gramma Rocks says
I was in Target this morning and I can tell you, they’re getting ready. Associates were organizing, pulling from stock, moving toys, and consulting each other, and I knew something was going on : )
Katie says
This will be my fifth time shopping the sale and around here (Portland, OR), the associates absolutely say NO that they will not scan any items in your cart. So, unless you want to wait around for a REALLY long time while they scan all the items on the shelf, it’s almost better to come around 10a.m.-11a.m. when they are usually done scanning.
Marsha says
I can tell you as a former Target employee, they “usually” mark down on Wednesdays. I bought enough toys one year to keep my kids running to parties and such for two years!!
As a shopper, my best advice about the marking down day is this, if you see something you like, grab it! It probably won’t sit around long and you might miss it!! If you ask nicely, they will gladly scan your items to see if they have been marked down. Then you can decide if you are willing to pay the amount for each toy. Sometimes I had things that were over $20 go down to $2. So now, I just grab and then weed through my picks prior to checking out! Good luck and pass on this vital info to everyone. I too stock up for donations to wonderful charities. Why not be able to give more since I have the gift of time, it’s a win, win!!
laura says
Can’t wait!!!! This past few years christmas and my sons birthday (two weeks after christmas) have been so much easier when i shop a year in advance! I can usually buy 70% of the stuff he wants/likes via target’s toy cleance, the rest if on amazon.com. Just goes to show; patience and a good hiding spot for toys can go a long way and save a lot of money! thanks for all the great updates! <3
amber says
Thanks Christy it was these tips that help in me July!
Traci Curtis says
Are all of the Targets on the same or similiar schedule with these sales?
Christy says
Shannon & Keisha – The majority of the toy markdowns only happen in-store. They may have some markdowns online, but it is no where near the amount that gets marked down in-store.
Christy says
Traci – Yes, most of the Target’s have a very similar schedule when it comes to the clearance markdowns. You may find that stores will vary as to which day they get marked down, some may be Wed. while others may be on Thursday.
Generally speaking, the clearance prices can vary from store to store. One store may have something marked down to 30% off, while it is 50% off at another store. They all follow the same schedule though 30 – 50 – 75% off.
When it comes to the toy clearance, it seems like most stores all go 75% off within 2-3 days of each other. There are occasionally a handful of stores that may go early or late, but overall it happens around the same time.
Brandy says
Still 75% off x-mas in Orlando–on the toy front, did pick up the last Our Gen. Fabric Doll House (playhouse for faux american girl sized dolls) at 75% so 12.xx. Saw tons of things marked 30% that I want to pick up but nothing I “must” have so that’s good for my wallet–do wan the RApunzel table set that stacks into a tower-my store has them for 3x.xx something and they have @ 8 on a very high shelf above the playdoh so as long as nobody touches them I think my chances are good.
Jenny G says
I liked you on facebook and I love this website
tanya w says
Heard about you from Frugal NW living.
Kristy H says
I can’t wait! The toys I picked up last year at Targets clearance got me thru a TON of birthdays, birthday party game prizes, some Xmas gifts for the kids this year, and I donated some to the Holiday Giving program at kids school!
I don’t have much left so now I’m ready to stock up again! Last year I spent around $75, and I was very happy with the number of toys I got. I’m counting down the days!!
Kari says
Three of our local Target’s (Buffalo, NY) are still 30 and 50% off…a select few items are 75% off…but the clerk at each store told me our local 75% comes live next Thursday the 13th!!
Kendra says
Here in vegas many of the toys went to fifty percent off today… A few went to 75 and im happy with what I was able to pick up. I got two little Tikes Cozy Coupe pink Cars. They were 49.99 makered down to 12.48 each. I got a variety of other things as well. I payed attention to the red stickers and the 30, 50 or 75 written at the top right corner of the sticker. I noticed most people didnt pay as much attention to that which is why they didn’t see the great deal…. Many pay attention to the big signs that now say 50%. Be sure to look at the red stickers. I would include a couple photos here but don’t know how.
I cant wait for the big day, I have so many more items on my want list… Happy Shopping….
Christy says
Kendra – Oh my goodness, you SCORED with those Little Tikes Cozy Coupes!! Great job! I totally agree with what you say about paying attention to the red sticker and NOT the signs.
Jamie says
My local store here in MI is at 30-50% with a few things at 75% I was told by one of the employees working on resetting the toy dept that he didn’t think that store was going to wait until Thursday to do the next markdown on the toys that they may do it Sun-Mon because they have so many markdowns going on in the store that they still need to get to. Any thoughts on this? I know traditionally the stores have to wait until they get the ok from corporate to do the markdown and it’s normally on a thursday, not sure about a Sun/Mon but I don’t want to miss it there are a few things (the Strawberry Shortcake pool & house) I’d like to get for my daughter for her birthday.
Robert says
Despite trying to be helpful you’re instead creating a very easy way for the folks at Target to see what people know about their clearance schedule and how they should modify it accordingly.
Before you argue otherwise, just think about it.
Jessica says
Thanks for sharing! I hope my store has some soon!
Robert, many of us wait for steals like this to stock up. If they NEVER mark down the inventory, then we don’t stock up! It is as simple as that. If they change what they do, then most of us change what we do! Target is wanting the publicity so they can clear those shelves and get ready for new inventory!
Eric says
75% off hit NH yesterday.
shelley says
My very first time shopping for the marked down toys was a couple of years ago I found a POLLY POCKET MALL that was $50 marked down to ONLY $12 IT was a great find 🙂
Courtney says
I’m about 1/2 hr from Portland, OR, and I have to drive about 15-20 minutes to get to a Target. So I don’t like to drive out there unless i know for sure that there are deals going on. So, my question is do ALL stores have the 75% off sale at the same time/date or is it different by region? Just want to know if I need to contact my local store or if I can wait for the notification from your site & then get in the car and go?! 😉
Marcy says
This was my first 70% off shopping experience at Target. Arriving at 8:05 was awesome since there was only one other Mother and the employee’s had just begun to mark the prices down. The two of us had a nice selection to pick from until shopper #3 showed up with three carts. She filled each cart all the way to the toy leaving us going full speed ahead if we wanted anything at all. As other Mothers call along there just wasn’t anything left for them. What I purchased was enough items for birthday gifts for my three grandchildren. There were great deals in clothing for children today. No one was happy with the one woman who hogged it all, either she is going to E-Bay it or Flea Market it, for me, I got some nice things but I couldn’t do what she did, to me it’s just plain wrong. Nashville, TN
Tiffany says
Hello:) I am starting to get excited as my store started 30% off already I think it may go earlier this July what do you think?
susan says
i saw last night where my store in mobile, al has some 30% off and some 50%. is their a way to find out what date they marked them down so i will know when the 70% date will be? thanks for all your help!
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