In the past week or so, there’s one sentence I’ve already gotten tired of reading:
“Toys R Us is only up to 30% off — most stuff only 10%.”
Okay, either my area has been having way too many liquidation sales, or they’ve just haven’t been going to many. Because my first response is, “DUH!”
So, whether you’re hoping to get some Pokemon merchandise or are looking for new shelves for your ever-expanding anime collection, here are some tips and tricks for bargain hunting in a store’s dying days.
#1: The stores will be busy.
In some cases, crowds will feel bigger than Black Friday. People will come from quite a distance to scope out what is available, and there are always some who load up like there’s no tomorrow. It will only get busier as the final days approach. The actual stores themselves will also be packed thanks to all the merchandise from the back being dragged out. The main aisles at my Toys R Us are filled with playsets and large displays, and they were still unpacking. Which leads us to #2…
#2: Expect a lot of merchandise you’ve never seen before.
As soon as my local Macy’s announced they were closing, they suddenly started selling furs and rugs. Why? As this article explains:
“Some retailers in distress turn their merchandise over to professional liquidators, who run the going-out-of-business sales for them. These liquidators sometimes ship in outside goods that they are trying to unload and add them to the retailer’s merchandise.”
So, yeah, you may find items from other chains during the sale, and perhaps quite a lot of them. When my nearest Kmart went out of business back in November, they had quite a range of Disney footwear suddenly appear. One style had tags that were clearly from Kohl’s. So if you see unusual-looking price tags, note that they may be from somewhere else completely, especially if there is a lot of them.
These liquidation companies also may try to shuffle things around between stores as things sell out or stall. Plus, about 200 stores have closed or are near closing already, so expect leftovers from these locations to make their way to other Toys R Us stores. Either way, you can expect new items during the sale, but…
#3: Expect some merchandise to disappear.
There’s no way the video game consoles are going to be sold for a fraction of their retail value. They’ll stay for a little while, as even the manufacturers themselves have offered discounts on their hardware. But the liquidators do a lot of data analysis, and once the sales would drop select items below a predetermined price point, they’ll be packed up and sent away, to be sold somewhere else or perhaps returned to the manufacturers.
Even disregarding this fact, expect some items to be scooped up by adrenaline-fueled customers or scalpers.
Yes, for some items, they’ll be here one day, gone the next, often when you least expect it.
#4: Discounts will start low and stay low for a while.
As I alluded to earlier, liquidation sales don’t start off at store sale prices and drop down. In fact, for quite a while, prices will probably be higher than in an average (pre-bankruptcy) Toys R Us. I must admit, I don’t think I’ve ever seen 5% off a department like Toys R Us is doing with construction and Lego toys, but the people who thought they were going to get 50% off merchandise on Day 1 were crazy. Sure, Toys R Us will probably eventually have 70% off everything (or more!), but that’s only after several weeks — and may be only when the final countdown (<2 weeks) starts. At a Kmart I recently visited, it had only eight days to go, but some departments were only 40% off still.
Mark-down days will probably be only once a week or so for a good month, and then discounts will start coming more rapidly. Not every department will drop at the same speed. Lego kits, for instance, are very resistant to discounts and will struggle to get to 30% or more. Clothes, however, are currently at 20% and will probably reach 50% or more in short order.
Fixtures, on the other hand, will heavily be left up to the individual stores. They will go lower, but how fast will depend on how well they’re selling.
If you don’t have the time or the energy to check into your nearest store every day, just search for threads on various forums. This is a major shutdown, and people will be keeping a close eye for changes. News will spread like wildfire.
#5: Scoop out the store.
While merchandise and discounts will fluctuate, you will still want to get an idea of what the store has. You should have an idea of what items you are stalking, as items will be shuffled around the store. This also applies to fixtures. Get an idea of what pieces will fit at your place so that you don’t spend a lot of time when it’s busy trying to measure fixtures or look up reviews on a product.
Also, if you check in with the store every now and then, the employees may clue you in on their closing date or other tidbits. But remember to be polite; a lot of these people will soon be out of a job.
Also, while you may be tempted to go right when the store is opening when you have a chance, sometimes the price drops happen later in the day, as there usually isn’t a night crew to update the prices and signage.
#6: Don’t get caught up in the hype.
You will see some shoppers pushing around a cart filled with merchandise. The “going out of business” signs loom overhead. The shelves around are empty. They’re all made to pressure you. Still, don’t get so into the sale that you forget to see whether you’re actually getting a good deal. Want to get one of the latest Pokémon games? Ultra Sun is $36 at Toys R Us after the current 10% discount, but you can hop on Amazon and pay $30. That means games have to reach at least 25% just to tie, and 30% to beat Amazon’s price on this release.
Anime blind bags are often hard to find on sale, but perhaps instead of a Naruto or Attack on Titan set for $4+, how about One-Punch Man keychains for under $2 at Best Buy? I almost bought a coat at Sears a couple of years ago at a store that was closing in either a couple of days or that day. I checked online, and at Sears.com, it was only about $1 more than the store. About a week after it closed, the price dropped online, and I ended up basically getting two coats for the price I was going to pay.
Also consider the fact that there are no returns or exchanges anymore at Toys R Us. So if you open up your package and find out it’s broken, you are out of luck unless you can contact the manufacturer or file with your credit card. That few dollars in savings may not mean much if you buy a Mario shirt and find out that it’s too small for your intended gift receiver.
If you lose out, you lose out. It’s disappointing, but if someone was silly enough to overpay or barely save, it’s their loss, not yours.