Hey, who doesn’t love gift cards? Target sells a few as impulse items at the checkout, and Reader Cheryl noticed something curious. The gift cards had the same “as advertised” tag that sale flyer items at Target get, but they weren’t on sale. They were being sold at face value. As gift cards generally are. [More]
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Target's Price-Match Policy Not Suited To Paperless World
By 5.17.12
Brick-and-mortar stores that match competitors’ prices generally don’t match prices from online merchants. They also won’t match the websites of their competitors down the street, or price-match their own websites. All of that is reasonable and well within their rights. But what happens in a paperless world, where the only evidence a customer has of that sale price is a circular delivered electronically? Reader Span_Wolf receives an electronic copy of the Best Buy circular every week. Getting a paper copy would require a trip to Best Buy or purchasing a Sunday newspaper. But this isn’t sufficient proof of the lower price for Target. [More]
Why You Shouldn't Use PayPal On Target.com At All
By 5.11.12
In past reader stories posted to this site, we’ve learned that if you you use PayPal to buy an item from Target online, then later return it, you’re only going to get store credit back. That’s cool if you shop at Target a lot, but not so cool if you don’t. Now Bethany has discovered an exciting and infuriating variation on this concept. If you order something from Target using PayPal and it’s never delivered, sure, you’ll get a refund. In the form of an e-gift card to Target. [More]
Target, I'll Buy Three 4-Packs For Less Than The Price Of One 12-Pack
By 5.4.12
Target makes us giggle on a consistent basis. It’s always trying so hard to offer customers a deal, but somehow, its resident mathematicians keep on failing at putting together a real discount. Consumerist reader Dane spotted the most recent pricing error and sent us a tip using our mobile tipster app. [More]
Target Stops Selling Kindle Over Reported "Conflict Of Interest"
By 5.2.12
Even though Amazon’s Kindle e-reader has been a top seller for Target since the retailer began selling the device in 2010, the Minnesota-based chain is pulling the Kindle from stores and has already stopped selling it on Target.com. [More]
How Many Minutes Should Store Employees Get To Clean Up Baby Vomit?
By 5.1.12
If you’re walking down the aisle of a grocery store and a customer only a few feet in front of you accidentally drops a glass jar on the floor, you would have a hard time blaming the store if you got nicked by a piece of glass. But what if that shattered jar had been there for an hour? Thirty minutes? Ten minutes? This is the question that will soon face a jury in a slip-and-fall lawsuit against Target. [More]
Can Bricks-And-Mortar Retailers Beat Amazon At The Pricing Game?
By 4.11.12
In recent years, retailers across the country have taken issue with Amazon and other online stores that don’t collect sales tax in most states, saying it gives e-tailers an unfair advantage and offers consumers an easy way to skirt their sales tax obligations. But recent studies show just how far apart prices at bricks-and-mortar stores — and their websites — are from what consumers will pay on Amazon. [More]
Should I Be Warned About A Deaf Cashier?
By 4.5.12
During Jon’s last trip to Target, he noticed something unusual: a sign in his checkout lane advising customers, “Cashier Is Hearing Impaired.” He found the sign unnecessary and potentially embarrassing for the employee. What do you think? [More]
Target Using Its Signature Funny Math To Trumpet Questionable "Value"
By 4.2.12
We’ve seen a lot of odd examples of “great deals,” “saving” and “new low prices,” but when it comes down to it, Target really takes the cake with what they call math. Hey, at least they’re consistent, right? In this latest example, Target says a four-pack of Lean Cuisine pizzas is a “great value,” when really, it’s cheaper to buy four individual pizzas. [More]
Worst Company In America Round One: Target Vs. Best Buy
By 3.13.12
Go make some popcorn and gather the family by the glow of your data-receiving device of choice — It’s Worst Company In America time! And it looks like the first blood to be spilled in the WCIA 2012 Octagon of Shame will come from the veins of one of these two retail titans from Minnesota. [More]
Mislabeled Medication From Target Prescribes Five Times The Dose For Child
By 3.7.12
Just because a medication comes from the pharmacist, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t double check the label carefully, as one mother recently discovered. After she read over the dosage instructions on a medication from Target for her sick 18-month-old, she realized it was way too high. [More]
Target Would Rather You Return A Purchase And Buy It At A Lower Price Than Just Give You A Price Adjustment
By 3.5.12
Have you ever bought something at a store only to find out a week or two later that the store had reduced the price? Some retailers will be nice enough to give you a refund for that price difference if you show them the receipt. But if you want to take advantage of this policy at Target, you may need to return your original purchase and buy a completely new item. [More]
Target Sells You A Vacuum Full Of Crud, Won't Take It Back
By 2.23.12
Isabelle’s $300 Dyson vacuum from Target arrived on her doorstep without some of the parts, and filled with dirt from someone else’s house. Wanting to receive the item she actually had ordered, she dragged it to the nearest Target in a taxi and was told that she was obviously trying to pull one over on Target by returning this vacuum when she so clearly had used it and kept the handle. Clearly. [More]
Target Refuses To Send Me The Item I Ordered, Instead Suggests I Just Keep The Wrong One
By 2.17.12
Melissa is funny in that when she does her shopping online and picks something out, she expects that item to be delivered in a timely manner. Weird, right? That doesn’t mean that if she receives the wrong item, she’ll want to keep it instead of getting what she ordered, but Target doesn’t seem to understand that. [More]
Target Figures Out Teen Girl Is Pregnant Before Her Father Does, Sends Helpful Coupons
By 2.17.12
We didn’t really believe it when we were told in 7th grade that math could unlock the secrets of the universe, but after reading about the coupon-wielding power of a Target statistician, which resulted in a mighty surprise for one father of a teenage girl, we might be converts. Doesn’t make math any better though. [More]
Target Will Not Price-Match Other Targets
By 2.10.12
Two Target locations, only a short drive apart. One line of dinnerware on clearance. Jordan and his fianc√© registered for dishes that were on clearance at the time. As stock began to disappear from local stores, they decided to just go ahead and buy all of the pieces they could before they disappeared from stores altogether. Oddly, the place settings were cheaper at one store than the other. The ways of retail pricing are mysterious, but what Jordan learned is that buying the same item at the same chain a few miles away doesn’t mean that price-matching is going to happen. [More]
Shoppers Give Costco Highest Overall Marks Among Major Retailers
By 2.7.12
Our pals-in-arms at the Consumer Reports National Research Center recently asked more than 26,000 readers to rate their shopping experiences at the nation’s top retailers — both in-store and online — and in spite of being a members’ only warehouse store, Costco came out looking the best. [More]
Target's Unlimited Item Policy Allows Miami Duo To Gobble Up Most Of Jason Wu Line At One Location
By 2.6.12
When Target releases a designer clothing line for a limited amount of time, shoppers go absolutely nutty. To wit: last year’s Missoni fracas where shoppers seeking coveted items crashed Target’s site, and rain boots showing up for $31K on eBay. So when one couple in Miami swooped in and grabbed most of one Target store’s Jason Wu line, their fellow shoppers were inclined to go berserk. [More]
