The Secret Target Hack Shoppers Use To Score Great Kitchen Deals

Have you ever had your eye on an item at Target waiting for the price to drop, only to find it's disappeared completely before you could snag it? In many cases it's not sold out — rather, seasonal items, guest returns, and older editions (especially kitchen appliances) don't just sit on the clearance shelf waiting for buyers. Instead, these items often go to something called a salvage store.

In a Reddit post, a commenter that identifies as a Target team lead, explains this further: "'Salvage' is the state clearance items arrive at when selling them no longer would bring a profit to Target, and therefore we instead sell/donate them to charities or other chain discount stores, or throw them away/recycle them." Another commenter — also claiming to be a team lead at the store — adds, "Once an item goes salvage it is processed through pricing and reverse logistics and sent to a company where it is resold by the pound to places like the dollar store and the like."

So, while that clearance deal you were waiting on may no longer be at your local Target store, it may instead be at a salvage store instead — and there's likely one in your state. Knowing that allows you the opportunity to score mega discounts on kitchen musts like a new Keurig, air fryer, or Green Pan by knowing how to find them.

In many states, there is often a physical salvage store or outlet store that you can visit and search your way to a great deal. Blogger Aubrey Swan compiled a list of Target salvage retailers in 32 different states via her website. Many of the stores Swan lists, like the Big Deal Outlet in Idaho Falls, ID, offer discounted items from multiple liquidation sites, allowing you to score some serious deals on new items. If you're lucky, you may even be able to receive additional discounts via sales or coupons, too.

Another option for snagging deals is to cut out the middle man and bid on goods by the pallet via an online auction — which is great if you are needing multiple items. A great site is Liquidation.com – one pallet recently seen, for example, had bids totaling $240 at the time of publication. It contained a Hamilton Beach electric kettle, multiple filtering water bottles, blackout curtains, king sheet sets, and a PowerXL juicer, among other items.

If you're not keen on online auctions, and there doesn't seem to be an outlet/salvage store listed in your area, try asking a salesperson at your local Target to see where all the goods may have gone. This secret hack is too good to pass up, helping shoppers gets deals for themselves, birthdays, holidays, and more all at once.