Wednesday, July 4, 2012

It's Silly to Pay Full Price at... Kohl's.

Day 2 of the "It's Silly" series!

I don't do a bunch of shopping at Kohl's, but I always think of it when I need something specific. Particularly clothes for myself or the kids, or gifts. I have mixed feelings about shopping there.  Kohl's is one of those stores where items are never actually sold at the tagged price.  Everything is always "on sale" and the "sales" rotate throughout the store. If you hit the right department on the right week, you can save 40-50% off the ticketed price of an item, but if you hit it on the wrong week you may only save 20% off that item.  Their base prices on items like housewares and toys are also inflated, sometimes to the point that even their sale prices aren't as low as you would pay for the same item at Target or another retailer. However, I still find that I can get some great deals at Kohl's, for two reasons:

Clearance:  I cannot go into Kohl's without finding racks and racks of clearance items in almost every department, which makes it a prime target for clothes shopping for myself and the kids.  I never spend a lot on my own clothing. My everyday clothes get what I call "mommed up" really fast. I don't wear my nicer clothes often enough to justify a large expense for them. The kids just grow too fast.  I find deals like maternity pants on clearance for $4.60, t-shirts for me on clearance for $2.80, and items for the kids for $4 or less.  I have found decorative items on clearance for 70-80% off as well.

Coupons: Kohl's has one of the loosest coupon policies I know of.  I often get $10 off a $10 purchase cards in the mail. These are good on anything in the store, including clearance prices, and you do not have to buy anything more than the $10 covers.  I am also on their e-mail list and get 15% off coupons (and occasionally 20% off) in my e-mail.  Again, these are good on everything in the store.  Where many stores have policies where you can only use one coupon at a time, Kohl's lets you use these discounts in conjunction with one another. If you go during a time where they are doing their Kohl's Cash promotion, you can use your coupons to get your discounts, and then for every $50 you spend you earn a $10 Kohl's Cash coupon to use on your next visit.  When you go to redeem the Kohl's Cash, you can use multiple KC coupons on one purchase - and, if you have a percentage off coupon, you can use it too.


So I guess this entry should really be you should never pay "just" sale price at Kohl's. If you do your research and know what a reasonable price is for the toys and housewares, you can find great deals. Shopping the weekly ad and looking for extra discounts can net you some serious savings on clothes. Even when I don't need anything, I find ways to take advantage of Kohl's $10 off of $10 coupons.  That's a $10 toy we could put in the box for Toys for Tots at Christmas, for example.  Last year I was able to donate four extra toys by doing this!


Do you have a Kohl's near you? What do you shop for there?