My Target toy deals...

Alright, so it's a good thing my 6-year-old (will be 7 on the 12th!) doesn't read my blog yet, as I'm about to show you some great deals I got on toys for his bday, as well as for all of my kids for Christmas!

These toys should have cost me $327.90. Want to know how much I paid? $143.96! I saved 183.94 or 56%!!! That's over HALF OFF! I did this by simply following a few basic strategies...I 1) waited until the products went on sale 2)price matched some of the items to get an even lower price 3)combined store coupons with manufacturer coupons on the same items for an even deeper discount!!

It really was easy and I was able do all of my shopping at one store, so I didn't even have to drive all around town to get all of these great deals!

Here is how it breaks down...I have listed the items I bought, their retail price, their sale price, any price matching I did, and finally all store and manufacturer coupons I used.

LeapFrog Tag Reading System (32MB) - Retail $49.99
Sale price: $39.99
I used $10 Target Q and a $10 MFC
Paid: $19.99!!

LeapFrog Tag Jr. Reading System - Retail $34.99
Sale price: $28.99
Used $10 Target Q and $10 MFC
Paid: $8.99!

Trio King's Castle - Retail $74.99
Sale price: $59.99
Used $10 Target Q and $5 MFC
Paid: $44.99!

My Puppy Pal Violet - Retail $19.99
Sale price: $14.99
Used $5 Target Q
Paid: $9.99

LeapFrog Alphabet Pal - Retail $19.99
Used $10 Target Q
Paid: $9.99

Connect 4x4 - Retail $24.99
Sale Price: $14.99
Used $5 MFC
Paid: $9.99

Guesstures - Retail $26.99
Price matched with Toys R' Us ad to get sale price of $19.99
Used $5 MFC
Paid: $14.99

Giraffalaff Limbo - Retail $27.99
Price matched Toys R' Us ad to get sale price of $14.99!
Used $4 MFC
Paid: $10.99!

Pictureka Flipper - Retail 23.99
Price matched Toys R' Us to get sale price of $19.99
Used $5 Target Q and $5 MFC
Paid: $9.99!

Clue: Secrets & Spies - Retail $23.99
Price matched Toys R' Us to get sale price of $19.99
Used $5 Target Q and $5 MFC
Paid: $9.99!

So, a few notes to be aware of...the first time I tried to use the LeapFrog Tag coupons, the register didn't want to allow it. The cashier said that I couldn't use them, so I left the items and figured I would try another day. The next time I went to Target I tried again and I had success. The computer was still not wanting to allow it, but the cashier double checked that I had the correct items and that the coupon was not expired and then pushed it through manually. YMMV on this one. Definitely do some cashier profiling before choosing a lane! Lol.

Secondly, if you've never used Target's price matching, you're in for a treat! I had never done it before, either, and was nervous that it was going to be a huge hassle and more trouble than it was worth, but was pleasantly surprised by how quick and easy it was. First of all, you go through check out to purchase your regular items and just tell your cashier you have items you wish to price match (leave these in your cart, as you will not need them for the regular check out part). After paying, go to the customer service desk with your price match items and let them know you would like to do some price matching. You must have the ACTUAL ad from the newspaper from the store you are wishing to price match from (a copy or internet printed ad will NOT suffice and they will not accept it). It must be the current week's ad. The cashier will look to make sure it's during the valid dates of the ad and will look over the ad to make sure that you do not need to use coupons or member discounts to get the price shown in the ad. One other thing she told me was that it MUST state the actual price. For example, $19.99. It cannot say 2 for $20, or 20% off, or buy one get one free, or buy one get one 50% off, etc. It must state the actual price. Once they confirm that it's valid, they will proceed to change the prices in the computer. After that, you can hand over your manufacturer and store coupons.

When I first heard about doing this, I was curious as to whether they would do a price match and then additionally take the Target coupon, as that seemed to me like it would be almost unfair to Target. I would think you would have to choose to do one or the other. Either use your Target coupon to get it down to the same price as their competitor, or do price matching to get it at the same price as the competitor. I wouldn't think you could do both, but I asked the lady and she said that they do in fact still accept the Target coupon after price matching. She said that it may change in the future, but for now, that is the policy as she has not been told differently. Again, YMMV depending on which store you go to. I read on some of the comments on other blogs that they were, in fact, told that they had to choose one or the other. I went to the Nampa store, so if you go there it should be policy that they WILL take the Target coupons even after the price match.
Lastly, I did go to Walmart yesterday to do some grocery shopping and while I was there I decided to take a peek at the items I had bought to see what their retail prices were there.

These were the prices:
Connect 4x4 - $15
Pictureka Flipper - $20
Guesstures - $20
Giraffalaff - $20
Clue: Secrets & Spies - $20
LeapFrog Tag - $39.99
LeapFrog Tag Jr. - $29
My Puppy Pal -$15
Alphabet Pal - $15
Trio King's Castle - $59.99

So, as you can see, a lot of the items were about the same price as Target, so had I just used the manufacturer coupons, they would have come out to be the same price. Walmart also does price matching AND accepts competitor coupons. However, the way Walmart works is they WILL accept competitor coupons, such as a Target store coupon, but they enter it in as a "price match." You still have to have a current ad that shows Target's price on the item (otherwise you would have to wait while someone actually CALLS Target to get the price on the item) and then they will adjust their item to be the same price as Target's item minus the Target coupon amount. You would really be getting the same price you could be at Target. I, however, like Target better and would rather give them my dollars when possible, especially when I'm using Target coupons. The only time I would use Target coupons at Walmart is when Target is out of the item I want. You also get a $.05 discount for every reusable bag you use, which you can't get at Walmart! (Hey, every nickle counts!)

Anyway, there you go. I am very happy about the deals I scored and now have a bunch of great toys put away for Christmas and birthdays! These prices end tomorrow, so if you're planning on taking advantage of these toy deals make sure you get out and do it soon! Click HERE to see the match-ups of all of these items and to print your coupons!