Remember the days of strolling through the Target clearance aisles and finding stuff for 70% – 90% off? Yeah, those days are long gone.
If you’ve been wondering why you can’t find those same clearance aisles anymore — it’s because they’ve actually been moved elsewhere. Like, out of Target stores entirely! Rather than keeping the 70% – 90% markdowns on the shelves, Target now "salvages" these items and sends them off to a Target liquidation store instead.
But your local Target salvage store won’t have “Target” in their name, so you'll need to understand the basics of how to find a Target liquidation store near you. As long as you're up for a little hunting, you might find hidden Target clearance items that are marked down by as much as 90%.
I dug into all the salvage secrets — and visited a Target liquidation store near me — to teach you how this Target sale hack works. I also recommend studying our Target sale schedule so you know the best time to hunt for liquidation items!
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Ask a local Target associate where they offload their inventory — that's a Target salvage store!
The easiest (and most foolproof) way to find a Target salvage store near you is to just ask at your local Target store. A manager or team lead should be able to tell you where they send their excess inventory.
Your local Target salvage store might be a Goodwill or a liquidation store chain like Bargain Hunt and Ollie's Bargain Outlet, but it all depends on where you live (which brings me to my next tip).
Search online for popular Target salvage store chains near you — but they won't be called "Target Salvage Store."
To find Target salvage stores in your area, it isn’t as simple as searching in Google for stores named “Target Salvage Store.” The salvage stores are typically named something else, but they just carry Target salvaged items — and sometimes even Amazon returns or unsold Walmart goodies.
Most states in the U.S. have Target salvage stores. Some of the better-known salvage store chains that carry Target items include Dirt Cheap, Big Deal Outlet, Bargain Hunt, The Salvation Army, and Goodwill.
To get you started, search for one of these liquidation stores in your area:
Bargain Hunt (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and Tennessee)
Big Deal Outlet (Idaho and Utah)
Bulldog Liquidators (California and Indiana)
Buyer’s Market (Indiana and North Carolina)
Dirt Cheap (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas)
Falling Prices (Arizona, California, Indiana, Nevada, and Virginia)
Keevado (Georgia and Tennessee)
Marden’s (Maine)
Ollie’s (various states)
Be ready to scour the shelves for the best Target liquidation deals (they're usually scattered throughout the store).
It’s important to realize that Target salvage stores don’t ONLY sell items from Target, and the Target items won't be organized neatly in a single aisle.
Liquidation stores collect and resell items from a bunch of different brands. For example, one salvage store near me sells items from Target, Walmart, Big Lots, and even Sam's Club (I recognized a lot of those other store brands while I was shopping!).
Basically, if you have your heart set on finding Target items in a salvage store, be prepared for a bit of a hunt.
KCL TIP: Ask employees at your local salvage store which days they get deliveries, so you know exactly when to hunt for new items. At my local Ollie's Bargain Outlet, for example, the associate told me that their truck deliveries arrive on Wednesdays and Sundays, and they try to load the shelves up the very same day.
Look for Target-owned brands to save on holiday clearance, home items, clothing, and more.
The key to shopping for Target liquidation items is to keep your eyes peeled for Target-owned brands while you're shopping.
There are dozens of Target brands that you might see at a liquidation store. On a recent visit to my local Target liquidation store, I spotted items from Threshold, Cat & Jack, Pillowfort, and Wild Fable — all Target-owned brands. I also spotted brand-new hardcover books that still had Target price tags on them — and the liquidation price was 67% - 70% off!
Here’s the catch: When you buy Target brands at a salvage store, your purchases aren't technically covered by the Target return policy, which gives you up to 365 days to make returns. Instead, you'll be covered under the liquidation store's return policy, which is typically much shorter.
Aim for savings of anywhere from 40% - 90% at a Target salvage store.
The maximum savings you'll find is around 90% at a Target salvage store. But in my experience (and according to many Krazy Coupon Lady readers), finding savings that high is pretty rare. You're more likely to see savings around 40% - 70%.
When I visited a Target salvage store near me in Central Florida (Ollie's Bargain Outlet), the store was chock-full of Cat & Jack toddler leggings, Threshold sheets, and Wild Fable women's clothing for up to 70% off.
Here's a quick rundown of some of the best deals our team has found at Target salvage stores:
Threshold Counter-Height Barstool, $25 (compare to $100 at Target) — 75% off
Wild Fable Women's Dress, $10 (compare to $30 at Target) — 67% off
Pillowfort Pom Pom Canopy, $14.99 (compare to $40 at Target) — 63% off
Cat & Jack Striped Toddler Leggings, $2 (compare to $5 at Target) — 60% off
Animal Crossing Isabelle Lamp, $7.99 (compare to $19.99 at Target) — 60% off
Threshold 12.5" Table Lamp, $13 (compare to $25.99 at Target) — 50% off
Threshold Ultra Soft Flat Sheet (Full), $8 (compare to $15.99 at Target) — 50% off
KCL TIP: Sometimes, the original Target clearance price is actually lower than the price offered by a salvage store. So always check the original price listed on the tag to be sure you're getting a good deal.
Plan your trip to the salvage store around Target's clearance schedule.
When Target clearance hits 70% off in store, that’s your time to visit a Target salvage store. But Target clearance schedules will depend on each store's inventory, so your exact timing might vary on this one.
However, we've noticed a general pattern to Target’s markdown schedule, and this is how it goes:
First Markdown: Target clearance items usually start at 30% off the day after a major holiday (or near the end of a season).
Second Markdown: Any remaining clearance items will hit 50% off one to two weeks later.
Third Markdown: If supplies last, clearance items will hit 70% – 90% off at Target, which usually means they're at risk for getting shipped off to a salvage store.
Shop daily specials at salvage stores (or join their loyalty programs) to save more.
Depending on the Target liquidation chain in your area, you might be able to boost your savings by shopping on their extra savings days. For example, a salvage store near me has a $1 bin day on Wednesdays, so everything in the bin is just $1. If there happen to be Target items inside the bin — boom, instant savings boost.
And some Target salvage stores offer their own loyalty programs with sign-up discounts. For example, at Ollie's Bargain Outlets, I got a 15% off coupon emailed to me as soon as I signed up for their (free) store loyalty program.
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