I know some of you may be discouraged about coupon shopping at Target... especially after reading about my General Mills cereal ordeal. However, I want to give you some hope that successful couponing at Target can be done and well, here's some proof!Samantha, a reader, sent me the picture above showing the deals she scored at Target! She ONLY spent $3.45 on everything pictured and that's including 7% sales tax (excluding the Men's underwear)!
I've realized one of the keys to Target shopping is finding that Jedi Cashier! A Jedi--is the most coupon friendly cashier! The cashier that cheers you on and is EXCITED about your savings, not upset! Don't we all just love those cashiers? Don't they just make are day?:)
Anyway, she did 4 separate transactions.
Here's the details of each transaction:
Transaction #1 :
Johnson Buddies Soap $0.97
All trial size detergent $1
Skittles $0.52
Cheerios single cup $1
Spongebob Colgate trial size $0.52
Purina Cat Chow $5.99
Chef Michael's dry dog food $4.49
2 Chef Michael's wet dog food $0.89
Coupons Used:
Johnson Buddies Soap -$0.97 Target
All -$1
General Mills -$1 Target
Colgate - $0.52 Target (adjusted)
Skittles - $0.52 Target (adjusted)
Purina Cat Chow -$2 Target
Purina Cat Chow -$3
Chef Michael's dry dog food -$3
Chef Michael's dry dog food -$1.50 Target
Chef Michael's wet dog food - $0.89 BOGO Target
Chef Michael's wet dog food - $0.89 BOGO
Total cost $0.92
Transaction #2:
Johnson Buddies Soap $0.97
All trial size detergent $1
Skittles $0.52
Cheerios single cup $1
Spongebob Colgate trial size .52
Purina Cat Chow $5.99
Chef Michael's dry dog food $4.49
2 Chef Michael's wet dog food $0.89
Glade scented oil tin $1.66 sale
Glade scented oil refills $2.50
Hanes underwear $8
Coupons used:
Johnson Buddies Soap -$0.97 Target
All -$1
General Mills -$1 Target
Colgate - $0.52 Target (adjusted)
Skittles - $0.52 Target (adjusted)
Purina Cat Chow -$2 Target
Purina Cat Chow -$3
Chef Michael's dry dog food -$3
Chef Michael's dry dog food -$1.50/Target
Chef Michael's wet dog food - $0.89 BOGO Target
Chef Michael's wet dog food - $0.89 BOGO
Glade tin -$1.50
Glade refill -$2.50
Free w/purchase of tin
Total spent $10.75-$8.56
(she's returning the underwear and getting some tax back)
Total spent after the return ONLY $2.19!
Transaction #3:
Skittles $0.52
Cheerios single cup $1
Spongebob Colgate trial size $0.52
Coupons used:
General Mills -$1 Target
Colgate - $0.52 Target (adjusted)
Skittles - $0.52 Target (adjusted)
Total cost $0.07!
Transaction # 4:
Johnson Buddies Soap $0.97
All trial size detergent $1
Skittles $0.52
Cheerios single cup $1
Spongebob Colgate trial size $0.52
2 Chef Michael's wet dog food $0.89
Coupons used:
Johnson Buddies Soap -$0.97 Target
All -$1
General Mills -$1 Target
Colgate- $0.52 Target (adjusted)
Skittles - $0.52 Target (adjusted)
Chef Michael's wet dog food - $0.89 BOGO Target
Chef Michael's wet dog food - $0.89 BOGO
Total cost $0.27!
**You can check out all the details on the Target deals she scored and the coupons used here, here and here!
For more Target Deals and Target Coupons visit the new Hip2Save.com
43 comments:
Awesome shopping. I used to be able to find Jedi cashiers, but not at Target anymore :(. She got REALLY lucky not to have to fight for what she got. I had to fight just to do 2 transactions!
I am interested in knowing something....when you or your readers make more than one transaction, do you do them in one pass through the line back to back. Or do you get back in line and over and over until you are finished?
Just curious. Especially with the Target runs.
Thanks,
Tasha
I am interested in knowing something....when you or your readers make more than one transaction, do you do them in one pass through the line back to back. Or do you get back in line and over and over until you are finished?
Just curious. Especially with the Target runs.
Thanks,
Tasha
I am interested in knowing something....when you or your readers make more than one transaction, do you do them in one pass through the line back to back. Or do you get back in line and over and over until you are finished?
Just curious. Especially with the Target runs.
Thanks,
Tasha
Not sure why that reply posted 3 times, I only hit the button once to publish. Sorry.
Tasha
I never have to fight with coupons at Target. WalMart is quite different! That picture looks almost the same as what I got the other day at Target! The cashier said your balance is 0! I said I'll take it!
WAY TO GO!!! Awesome trip!!
I haven't done Target in a while since my argument with management. Maybe I'll try again.
I never have to do more than one transaction, but only use no more than four target coupons for the four items. I got 4 cereals, 4 dog foods, 4 toothpaste, etc etc in one transaction!
WAY TO GO! Samatha. That is awesome. I never shop at Target because I don't know how it really works. A few weeks ago I went to Walmart and got $326.07 of stuff for $16.67. Great Job. Thanks for sharing. Love those coupons.
I had some success at Target this week too. I got most of those same items and some others and found that Jedi cashier. It was so great, I printed some more coupons and went back for more only to find the Nazi cashier. I just stayed calm and asked to talked to corporate from the customer service phone and they were able to straighten everything out for me. That's definately better than getting frustrated and leaving everything at the register and walking out with only your coupons (Which I've also done before)
Hopefully this will be helpful to some people - I called Target Corporate and they said the wording on their coupon one coupon/transaction actually just means one coupon/item so you can use more then one same Target coupon in one transaction. I went armed with that new info to the store today and they let me use multiples. Call Corporate while you're in the store if you need to to verify.
Why did she do separate transactions?
YAY! I'm gonna try some of these this weekend. I've done the dog food transaction twice before with great success. I haven't yet gone through the line with only items that I have coupons for, nor have I used multiple copies of the a Target coupon (i.e., 2 dog foods). So, I'm not sure what will happen when I do this!
Rhonda<--putting on her brave girl pants this weekend
Does anyone know what happens to the "change" on $1 off coupons that are for something less than one dollar? Like the Spongebob $1 off coupons for the 52 cent trial Spongebob toothpaste. When they adjust the price down, does Target keep the 48 cents they get (plus the 8 cents for the reimbursement)? And it's not just for this coupon, there are lots of coupons that they adjust the price down for and I suppose they keep the change. Now why don't we get to keep the change??
That would never happen at my Target. There are no nice cashiers and we have a Nazi customer Service manager nosing into every transaction involving coupons. I've given up on couponing there.
My trick for target is to get other stuff I need at the same time. Earlier this week I went because my daughter needed some new clothes. I ended up getting 2 pairs of pants @ $10, a shirt for $7 and 2 sweatshirts @ $3.99. I also got my DD's each a $3 toy. My total ended up being $33.xx. I got tons of the chef michaels dog food and a few other overage items. But because my total was still high they let it through no problems. My total was actually way less than the price of the clothes alone.
If I were to get a cashier that wouldnt take both coupons (manu and theirs) then I would not buy any of the other stuff.
I never do more then one transaction. I rarely have any issues. You can check out some of my Target deals below...
http://cblanchard76.blogspot.com/search/label/Target
A good customer service manager is key. I got a new cashier the other day and she called the csm over when all my coupons started beeping and she questioned whether I got the right items. The csm's response? We take all coupons. Sometimes they beep even though the customer gets the right items. She pushed them all through!
I went to Target last weekend and got about $123 worth of products for only $29 and change! I absolutely LOVE the deals they have, and at the Target I go to- the one in Nashua, NH- I never have any issues just doing one transaction with all my coupons. I called before my first trip there with coupons to make sure I was doing it right; they said I was, and I have never had any issues using them all. I always carry the store's coupon policy in my binder, just in case, but I've never had to whip it out!
My only problem? The Target is an hour and a half away near my Mom's house! ACK! They so need to put one in near me! :(
I found my Jedi cashier. He was the one with all of the jewelry and makeup. He said, "I can't figure this out, I'm just going to push all of your coupons through." I love him. I just wish I could find out his hours :-)
Does anyone know if there is a way to post a link to this section of the blog on my facebook page?
If I buy other things too I NEVER have a problem. If I just get sale coupon stuff I ALWAYS have issues.
I was at Target this week getting the Boost Kids Essentials and I found Dry Idea for $1.93 on clearance. The cashier called over a CSM and said they don't take coupons that are for more than the item. I didn't fight it this time, but it makes no sense. WAGS just price adjusts it and moves on.
Our Target store must be the Jedi training center. They've never given me trouble using coupons. In fact, they let you use a reasonable number of the same Target coupon in one transaction. I usually stick to 3 or 4, but they scan them right through without any trouble!
I normally don't have much problem at Target (I do look for a male cashier) but my Target online coupons never scan. Sometimes the cashiers insist on typing the long number on each one individually and it can take forever. Does anyone have a solution to get the Target coupons to scan? (All my other coupons I print scan just fine, so it's not my printer).
Thanks, Stephanie
I'm making my first trip using coupons(fingers crossed). I just have a few questions..
Where do I find the 3 dollar Purina, and Chef Micheals coupons?
And what does BOGO stand for?
Like I said, I'm a newbie, so I have no idea, haha.
Thanks SO much for everyone who works so hard for this information!! I'm so excited to start!!
I never do multiple transactions. I think part of the Nazism on the part of cashiers is due customer greed, so I firmly believe in keeping great deals on the down-low: no multiple transactions in one trip; a reasonable amount of coupons (more to keep things streamlined for myself, since it's easier to keep track of whether you've been overcharged or if a coupon was missed); typically no more than two duplicate coupons, especially with internet printables (why raise a red flag?); a reasonable amount of freebie items and specifically freebie trial-sized items (typically two, but maybe up to four with a large order); etc. Obviously, people who don't do this aren't breaking any couponing laws or anything, but I get concerned that when enough people do very obvious deals--especially with store coupons such as Target's or even CVS's ECB program--it ruins things for everyone. Target is already starting to put size restrictions on coupons, eliminating some of the fun freebies we could snag, and CVS changed the way that ECBs are deducted, resulting in high OOPs. The stores offer these incentives and discounts on the premise that customers will spend money on other things, but if we're primarily going in to scoop up the freebies, those incentives are bound to dry up. I think if we exercise restraint and avoid red flags like multiple transactions and scores of free items, stores would be more customer friendly and we wouldn't have to argue every coupon.
The reason I do multiple transactions....is because the closest Target is an hour away.So when I am there I do several transactions. I get out of line after each, take my stuff to the car and go back. I can't afford to go two times a week.
I went the other day and the cashier called the CSM over before she even looked at my coupons. As soon as I handed them to her she called him over.
Just a FYI to the cvs comment they get $ back just like a man. coupon just haveto spend it a csv worked there and Loss Prevention lead told me this.
This is Samantha -- the one who sent in the pic.
I was totally LUCKY at Target yesterday -- I dread checking out at either of our 2 local stores because most of the cashiers are either "Nazis" or just imcompetent so they don't want to deal with coupons. I have had CSMs even say "oh corporate CAN be wrong". The only time I have called corp. from the store it took 45 min. with frozen food and a 1 yr old so I've decided it's worth avoiding.
I did multiple trans. simply b/c of the wording on the Target Qs; some cashiers will put them in 1 trans for me but not usually. I don't do more than 4 trans. at a time and let people go ahead of me but I do put everything on the belt at the same time. I sort everything first to make things go as smoothly as possible.
Anon, BOGO means buy one, get one free. The Chef Michaels coupons were in the Sunday paper (forget which insert)and there is actually a $3.50 Purina coupon but I had already used mine. Do a search of "Purina" on this site for info.
Sorry this is so long, but I hope some of you are encouraged. I often have problems, so it was nice to have a "good" day there! I try not to wipe out shelves or be greedy, but I am certainly going to take advantage of the free deals.
Samantha, I'm glad you had a good day. I understand the excitement of a problem-free Target run. (I typically get overcharged on the Target GC or multiple purchase deals where it seems to require an advanced degree to unravel the mysteries of the Target computer system.) And I certainly know what it is like dealing with a toddler, a stack of coupons, and less-than-amiable cashiers, although I can't say I've had to deal with truly difficult cashiers. I rarely have to argue coupons and when I do, the cashiers often accept them. If they don't, I don't bother to continue to argue (another red flag in my book, not to mention bad PR for couponers in general)--I just nicely ask them to take the item/items off my order. As for multiple orders, I don't think one "has" to do multiple transactions because of the wording on the coupon or because one lives too far from the nearest store. People do it because they want more than the stated limit. That said, there's nothing wrong with "taking advantage" of freebies or deals ("taking advantage" being the key phrase), but even without multiple transactions, you'd still benefit. You'd just be getting one of each free item rather than four (still a good deal), and you'd certainly be calling less attention to yourself. Food for thought.
Thank you, Hip to Save! I have started couponing recently after finding your website and have been scoring some great deals! Today, between CVS and Target, I got $155 worth of stuff for only $32 (with tax).
I have been doing separate orders, but I am glad to see I don't need to do that. I will try it all in one transaction next time. Because the front cashiers tend to be Nazis, I go to the garden section to be rung up. There is usually no line, and the cashiers are super nice and ring through ALL my coupons, no questions asked. The gals today was even asking me about where I find all the coupons, and I told her about Hip to Save. She was impressed with all the savings and free items.
I went today and bought 7 airwick imotion,10 cups general mills cereal,2 packs of pens,kashi bars,makeup brush,3 bottles of johnson lotion,6 johnson buddies soaps,glade carpet powder,candle refills,neutrogena face bar and 9 glade candle tins. I did this all in one transaction and used lots of coupons for an out of pocket amount of $ 10.78 which 4.63 was tax. my cashier didnt even adjust any coupons she K1 them all. Before coupons my total was $97.89
Okay, so I have never left a negative comment about Target before, but here I go. I tried 2 Target's this week; one Tues and one on the way home today, and both refused my TQ for Skittles Crazy Cores and some other MQs. I called corporate both Tues and today. The lady today accused me (in a few less words) that I could be using fradulant TQs and stated that the only valid TQs are on the target website (www.target.com/archerfarms). Is this true??? If so, why do I only have problems with some of the coupons and not others?
not true I had a poblem when The cashier called over the manager I demanded to thalk to he just laughed at his cashier for questioning the couons and said the store would get the money for the coupons and not to make such big deal about it I will be going to that Target more often.
I just figured out the answer to my questions posted just previously. Target has coupons available on their website every week. They usually don't expire until a much later date, but often remove/refresh them with a new set of TQs. So, the link that is made available through this awesome website (made available through hot coupon world) is one that retains those TQs in a database until the expiration date. So, these are legit TQs. Corporate lady was wrong; I'm not a fradulant couponer!
Glad someone was able to use them this week ! check out my annoying target trip http://bargainfun.blogspot.com/2009/08/annoying-target-trip.html
they wouldn't take my all coupons either
I had a great Target trip this week. My favorite cashier was working and she always pushes through all of my coupons without any question (which is a good thing because I had about 50 coupons and several of them beeped). I have never had any difficulty using several of the same Target coupon on one transaction and generally speaking they always let me keep the overage on coupons. This week I got about $67 worth of stuff for $5, totally made my day!
yesterday I got 34 cans of Chef Michael's wet dog free and 4 bags of Chef Michael's dry food plus one box of Q-Tips for $4.85.
:D
I had a problem yesterday and today when I went to target. they were not going to let me get the head and shoulders trail size. for the dollar of coupon. but then they did, But they would not let me use the 1 off any gerber feeding item on the .99 bootles! They said it was not a fedding item! Whatever, I have saw on other people sites they have done it. and today they would not do the skittles coupon. the manager said they are for the bigger bages. we can not udjust down! Well it doesnt say any size on the coupon I told her. And she didn't seem to care. But the funny thing is the cashier did it in my first transaction. But then he called her over about a coupon and she said I couldnt use it. These were my first time trying the target coupons and manufactures. it makes me not want to go back, if that is going to keep happening!
I love target. I went today and almost mirrored what was pictured and spent $0.00. In one transaction. I had a great cashier. I even had one $3.00 dog food coupon returned to me because they would have owed me. Loving it!!!!
I am so excited about the skittles coupon!! I just got 8 packages of skittles for .80.. I used 1 coupon on 2 pacages of skittles.. best part.. my son's birthday is coming up and I am putting a bag of skittles in each goodie bag!! YAY
Had trouble at the Fairfield, CA Target . . . Intended to buy 2 - 40 cent Market Pantry Cheeses per each $1 off Target Market Pantry coupon. The manager would not allow me to apply 2 items to each coupon (even though it states "Buy 2 - Get $1 off"). She said that they would only give me 40 cents off for each coupon. So basically she wanted me to pay full price for one cheese and then get 40 cents off on the second cheese. I had 5 of these Market Pantry Cheese coupons to use. I told her that this did not correspond with Target coupon protocol and she just shrugged and said that she would not give me 2 items per coupon for free.
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