Weird Target CS experience

[Melaine]

also a PSA to keep your receipts....I guess? S/O of other thread.

So remember the princess dolls that were $8.98? I found three Snow Whites and one Cinderella. I had hoped to find another Cinderella but no dice. DH and talked about it and when the girls' birthday rolled around we decided to return them. Rather than give them another gift they would like we decided we should return for the money and space to give them something they would love. I was going to keep a couple for gifts but they were honestly just too big in our tiny house.

So I took them back to Target. I know for SURE beyond the shadow of a doubt, 100% positive that I used my Target card to buy these. FOR SURE. 1) because I always do, it gives us 5% back! 2) I never, ever, ever have any cash. Ever.

I did not have my receipt because I never do and they can look it up, right? Wrong! They did not come up on my Target card, or on any of the other credit cards (which I know I did not use). I have had this happen before. It irks me that the CS reps do not seem to believe that it happens, but it does. Anyway, he was perfectly nice and I told him, "I paid $8.98 for these".

He could not pull it up and they were ringing in at $29.99. So the only option he gave me was to return them at $29.99....I mean really? So I returned two and got about $65 in store credit and then this really excited lady behind me gave me $20 in cash for the other two. That's right. I paid $36 for four dolls and walked away with about $85. That makes perfect sense Target.

The moral of the story is, save your receipts. Or don't??

[egoldber]

I know that sometimes when I have bought things on clearance at Target the item is not recognized by the scanner or it doesn't scan at the marked price. In those cases, the clerk generally does some kind of over ride and rings the item up as a generic item at the right price. I wonder if one of those things happened when you bought the dolls?

[Melaine]

I know that sometimes when I have bought things on clearance at Target the item is not recognized by the scanner or it doesn't scan at the marked price. In those cases, the clerk generally does some kind of over ride and rings the item up as a generic item at the right price. I wonder if one of those things happened when you bought the dolls?

I definitely think it has something to do with old inventory. But the weird thing, these were still scanning in like they were current. I have had them not ring up at all, like they were out of the system, but this was strange to me. It does kind of bug me that I have to go back to saving receipts because really, let's be honest, most of the stuff I buy is on clearance.

[kaharris83]

I've noticed in the toy section especially, they clearance an item out and then a few months later they carry the exact same item again(at full price). It is very weird they didt show up on your card though. Is it possible they were purchased over 90 days ago? Even then I assumed it would ring up as the price you paid when they scan your card and tell them it was over 90 days ago. I do a ton of Target clearance shopping too, but have a receipt organizer in my car as I find myself doing a lot of returning as clearance gets marked down. Great that you made the lady behind you in line's day!!

[Melaine]

I've noticed in the toy section especially, they clearance an item out and then a few months later they carry the exact same item again(at full price). It is very weird they didt show up on your card though. Is it possible they were purchased over 90 days ago? Even then I assumed it would ring up as the price you paid when they scan your card and tell them it was over 90 days ago. I do a ton of Target clearance shopping too, but have a receipt organizer in my car as I find myself doing a lot of returning as clearance gets marked down. Great that you made the lady behind you in line's day!!

Yes, she was thrilled and I was happy to pass along the deal! I think it was about 60 days old...but like you said, you would think it would still come up.

[Seitvonzu]

was that deal really 60 days ago? wow. can't possibly be 90. i've had trouble with them looking up clearance returns too (even with a receipt!)...so i'm not surprised. at least it turned out in your favor this time?

[LD92599]

I've noticed if you used any type of gift card towards it, even w/ the balance on another card...it doesn't show up in the system.

I had that happen - i use the same card for all Target purchases, one item didn't come up. I found the receipt and realized I'd used a gift card for maybe $5 towards the entire transaction.

[queenmama]

You're lucky!

I've worked in retail and I'm sure you know, without a receipt, most places give you the current price of the item, even if it's 90% off and you paid full price originally.

Weird that they couldn't pull it up on any of your cards!

[Melaine]

I've noticed if you used any type of gift card towards it, even w/ the balance on another card...it doesn't show up in the system.

I had that happen - i use the same card for all Target purchases, one item didn't come up. I found the receipt and realized I'd used a gift card for maybe $5 towards the entire transaction.

Weird! That is a possibility bc I've gotten a few of those $5 cards from purchases!!

[katerinasmom]

The weirdest thing about your whole story to me is that they gave you credit at all. At my Target, if you don't have the receipt and they can't pull it up on their computer, they absolutely will not take it back.

[wellyes]

Maybe the guy just thought you were cute?:p

[Melaine]

Maybe the guy just thought you were cute?:p

:rotflmao:I'll just tell myself that!

[codex57]

You're lucky!

I've worked in retail and I'm sure you know, without a receipt, most places give you the current price of the item, even if it's 90% off and you paid full price originally.

Weird that they couldn't pull it up on any of your cards!

Yes, but the reverse can be true too. For example, DS got some gifts for his brithday. No gift receipt. Went to Toys R Us. All the stuff rang up at what looked like full price. So, we got credit for full price. If those things had been bought on sale, we would have gotten a deal.

I guess it's more likely to happen with toys than clothes though. They keep the same certain toy out for forever. Some things are just classics I guess. So, even if they're discounted at one point, they can go back up to regular price.

With clothes and stuff with seasonal styling changes, if it's discounted, it's just gonna get cheaper and cheaper.

[kellij]

I do returns exactly like you do, op, all the time, on my Target card by look up. i have had it happen that they couldn't find a baby gate I wanted to return one time. It was probably a clearance item too. I went home, dug around and found my receipt and then didn't have a problem. But it's crazy. They say, "that's why we always say you need to keep your receipt, the card look up is just a curtesy."

[candaceb]

I read the Target thread on Slickdeals regularly and spend enough time there that they recognize me... My suspicion is that there was something screwy about the way those dolls were in the system to begin with, and that is why they were ringing up on clearance. They should not have been on clearance and weren't marked. So, eventually they caught on to the fact that they were wrong in the system, and fixed it - which is why the dolls are now back at $29.99 where they should have been all along. Without knowing the screwy DPCI that should be on your receipt, they can't pull up your screwy record, if that makes any sense.

[sariana]

I recently decided my kids were old enough to see The Sound of Music DVD I bought three years ago at Costco. IT DIDN'T WORK. And it was part of a set, with a book and CD. There was no way they were going to find anything in the system because there was no bar code to scan (outer packaging was long gone).

Fortunately, we never throw away anything. Furthermore, we put everything into Quicken. So I looked up the purchase date and dug out the receipt.

I'm sad about the book, though. I had to return the whole set, so the book had to go back. Not so sad about the CD because it's on my iPod.

Moral of the story: Don't wait 3 years to open a DVD. Moral #2: Always save receipts!