Target's Toy Price Guarantee ($10 Gift Card)

godofpizza on 23/07/2015 - 13:07

I wanted to know if this was legal/fair/moral?

Basically Target is stating they have the best prices on toys, if you find it advertised cheaper. They will match it and give you 10$.

So funny enough I found bigW toy catalogue having a item advertised cheaper than them. I ask the store to honour their policy, and it seems that the store has re-priced(from what they have advertised in their catalogue) their toy to match the competition (thus avoiding the 10$ gift card hand out).

pretty sneak huh?

what their website states:

Toy Price Guarantee

We’re so confident that we’ve got the best toy prices, we guarantee it. If you happen to find our toys advertised cheaper anywhere else, we’ll not only match it, we’ll also give you a bonus $10 Target gift card! Just bring in a copy of the current printed advertising material that pictures or specifies an eligible item with the stated price and we’ll do the rest.

This offer is valid in-store only from July 22 – August 9, 2015. Not available online. Excludes clearance, international advertisements, promotions and online retailers.

General Discussion

Related Stores

Target Australia
Target Australia

Comments

  • QW3RTY on 23/07/2015 - 13:13
    +5

    Not sneaky in the slightest — Officeworks and Bunnings have done this for years.

    You take your BigW catalogue in store and locate the identical product. If the prices match, Target has complied with their Toy Price guarantee.

    If you took the BigW catalogue into Target and you noted that BigW were selling for $1 cheaper than Target's price, then you'd expect them to comply with their guarantee.

    • godofpizza on 23/07/2015 - 14:34
      -2

      Yes,
      Bigw was advertised cheaper than Targets printed catalogue. But when I went instore to try their gift card guarantee, they had updated their prices.

      • QW3RTY on 23/07/2015 - 14:35
        +2

        Standard practice then.
        They're lowering prices to appeal to you as a consumer. In fact, they're the opposite of sneaky/dodgy!

        • godofpizza on 23/07/2015 - 14:37
          -3

          but avoiding giving out the gift card, it sounded too good to be true. It was.

        • QW3RTY on 23/07/2015 - 14:43
          +6

          @godofpizza:
          I don't understand what your problem is with what they're doing.
          They're guaranteeing you that they won't be undercut by competitors.
          They noticed one of their competitors undercut them, so they adjusted their prices (nation wide, more than likely) so that you are getting the cheapest price on a product.

          The $10 gift card isn't a reward for pointing out prices in outdated catalogues. Prices change twice daily at some of these large department stores — it's been happening across the board with pretty much every retailer that has ever offered a price guarantee ever.

          If you go into an Officeworks and point out that a printer is sold elsewhere at $10 less, they'll match that price and then beat it by 5%. That has the same effect as giving somebody a gift card for the difference in price — like what Target are doing with this promotion. As a result, retailers will update their prices whenever changes come through ASAP to avoid losing any business to competitors.

          They're not tricking or deceiving anybody.

        • godofpizza on 23/07/2015 - 14:55
          -1

          @QW3RTY: I suppose it might be standard practice for Officeworks to update their pricing.

          I guess I was really surprised that target updated an advertised product's pricing during a catalogue run.

        • QW3RTY on 23/07/2015 - 14:58

          @godofpizza:
          I'm going to hide under my desk soon.

          When you offer a price guarantee, you want to ensure that you have the lowest price.
          Otherwise you're handing out 10,000 $10 giftcards to customers that come through during that week. Hence by running price checks and pricing updates they negate this.

          From a customer's perspective, they win too — because they can shop with confidence knowing that they're getting the cheapest price on that particular product.

          But now I'm confused further by your logic — do you believe that during a catalogue run that a retailer should not be allowed to change their prices? Also, why would you view it as acceptable for Officeworks to do it, and find it unbelievable that Target might do it. They're doing exactly the same thing.

        • godofpizza on 23/07/2015 - 15:04
          -1

          @QW3RTY:

          well to me it's kinda like the krusty burger deal in the Simpson's. no-one expected anyone to beat them.

          Target strategic put their Toy Catalogue Out long after all the big retailers have finished.
          They thought they had the market cornered and they could make any outrageous claim, knowing that no-one would be able to claim them.

          But I suppose target couldn't afford handing so many out gift cards.

          ok maybe I should hide under my desk now.

        • QW3RTY on 23/07/2015 - 15:09

          @godofpizza:
          Under my desk I go.

          I literally have no idea what that's supposed to mean.

          Target are trying to secure more customers/sales in their Toy Department. Their competitors are trying to do the same. If Target provide the cheapest price on a product, then they are an appealing destination to shop. They're not making outrageous claims that they can't back up, they're not trying to Krusty Burger the Australian public, and they're certainly not looking for excuses to hand out hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Australian public in the form of gift cards.

        • BigTed on 23/07/2015 - 16:21
          +1

          @QW3RTY:
          I kinda think godofpizza somehow thought that Target wouldn't (or couldn't) adjust their prices while a current catalogue special is on.
          Of course, they'd be stupid to do this. They, like many/most other price match places, adjust their prices once they are aware of competitors' deals.

      • mskeggs on 23/07/2015 - 21:50
        +2

        What about your reputation?
        And did you record the conversation?
        We have minimum standards for outrage around here.

        I expect the first person to point out the lower price got the card. You snooze, you lose.

  • Nutrino on 23/07/2015 - 13:30

    And the problem is?

  • spackbace on 23/07/2015 - 13:38
    +1

    pretty sneak huh?

    Not really, they made sure their price was cheaper to avoid a $10 loss. No different to Dan Murphy's actively checking competitors prices daily. The idea is you go to the store that says they're cheaper, without checking the competition. It's a smart move, but probably doesn't get them a lot of profit, but oh while I'm here buying these toys, I'll buy this full-priced item… bingo! Profit!

  • ozhunter on 23/07/2015 - 14:41

    Are you saying that they shouldn't be allowed to lower their prices?

    • QW3RTY on 23/07/2015 - 14:47

      I think so. And if they do, he should get $10 anyway.

      • spackbace on 23/07/2015 - 15:01
        +1

        And pizza

        • QW3RTY on 23/07/2015 - 15:03
          +1

          And get a free pizza voucher paid for by a different company but free to that same company that is not paid by him but not-not by him? I can imagine what that'd do to your reputation.

        • spackbace on 23/07/2015 - 15:05
          +1

          @QW3RTY:

          Yep, might just have to put his head under his bonut.

        • godofpizza on 23/07/2015 - 15:06

          @QW3RTY: ??

  • Hello Stranger on 24/07/2015 - 14:15

    You could always try looking at things that are not on special and comparing them with Big W's sale. Not sure if that works or how you can get a catalog for it.

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