The Target employee discount is one of the best perks they give their workforce. As a matter of fact, you probably found this article because you’re considering applying for a job at Target, or maybe you’re a new hire seeking more info.

But like any discount that retailer’s hand-out, there are certain caveats and hacks that you should know to maximize your savings. With that in mind, let’s break down the employee discount at Target and answer all your burning questions.

Target Offers a 10% Employee Discount

Target hands out a 10% employee discount that they call their “Team Member” discount.

This discount is good for both in-store purchases as well as stuff you buy at Target.com.

Also, via the Target Wellness discount, workers get an extra 20% off fresh (and frozen) fruits and vegetables in addition to the 10% Team Member discount.

According to a comment from Rob, you can stack both discounts with the Target REDCard and get another 5% off.

See Also: Does Target Accept EBT? Let’s Make Some Sense Of It

The Forms of Payment Can You Use

Now this is kind of weird, you cannot use a standard debit or credit card when getting your employee discount.

In order to get the discount, you must use either cash, check, a Target gift card, SNAP or EBT, or a Target REDCard (Debit or Credit).

PRO TIP: STACK YOUR DISCOUNT

Open a Target REDcard credit, debit, or reloadable card and it’ll get you a flat 5% off your purchase. Next, add your REDcard AND your 10% employee discount to your account’s Wallet within the Target app. Then when checking out, use the app and have them scan the Single Barcode to apply both discounts. They’ll take the off the 10% discount first, then the 5% discount on top of that. So for example, if you’re making a $100 purchase, your discount will be $14.50, for a total price of $85.50. By stacking both discounts at Target you’ll end up with a 14.5% discount.

Some Items Are Excluded From the Discount

There are quite a few items that aren’t eligible.

Here are the big ones…

– Alcohol – Don’t go buying booze with your employee discount.

– Gift Wrapping – Gotta wrap your own gifts at home.

– Hunting/Fishing License – Have to pay full price to hunt or fish in your neck of the woods.

– Target+ Items – Not sure what these are but you can’t get 10% off when you buy them.

– Gift Cards – This one makes sense as it would be easy to make money off gift cards.

See Also: 7 Target Clearance Tips That’ll Save You BIG

Steps to Using Your Employee Discount

When shopping in-store, just go to any open checkout lane and present your Target team member card which has all the pertinent info on it.

To get your online discount, you’ll have to create a Target.com account and enter your Team Member number in the About Me section of your account.

PRO TIP: TARGET DEBIT CARD LAG

Keep in mind that the Target RedCard Debit card has notoriously long lag on it. So, for example, if you make a purchase on a Friday using your employee discount and your Target debit card, it might not show up in your bank account for close to a week. I had two separate Target employees tell me that this temporality messed up their finances and caused them to overdraft their bank account.

Discount DOES Work With SNAP Benefits

As briefly mentioned earlier, you absolutely can use your EBT card at Target and get your employee discount on top of that.

This is especially beneficial when buy fruits and veggies as you’ll get 20% off of those, which will really stretch your SNAP benefits every month.

Besides You, Only Your Spouse Can Use the 10% Discount

Only the employee and their spouse are eligible for the employee discount.

Don’t go shopping with your mom or boyfriend, use your discount, AND let them pay.

This is a bug no-no and can get you reprimanded or fired.

Of course you can always buy something for someone with your discount and simply have them reimburse you, but DO NOT overdo this as Target managers are notorious for keeping a watchful eye on employee discount abuse.

You Could Get Fired If You Flip Stuff for a Profit

If you get caught, you PROBABLY will get fired.

This includes selling stuff you bought with your employee discount on eBay, Facebook marketplace, or Craigslist.

It makes sense that they don’t want employees profiting from their discount.

PRO TIP: DON’T GET FIRED

Avoid raising red flags and potentially getting fired by Target. For example, if you buy multiples of the same item, or excessively use your discount, it’s probably going to raise a red flag and get investigated by your manager.

There Is No Annual Maximum Discount

I asked a couple of my Target contacts and none of them were aware of a max “dollar amount” discount.

So you should be able to buy that $1000 70″ 4K Curved TV and get $100 off instantly.

Use the 10% Employee Discount on Black Friday

Black Friday. Cyber Monday. Arbor Day. It doesn’t matter, you still get your 10% off.

See Also: 5 Target Shopping Hacks Guaranteed to Save You Money

4 Other Great Target Employee Benefits:

1. Score 20% Off Wellness Items

All Target workers in the U.S. get 20% off all fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, Simply Balanced products, and C9 activewear.

The best part? The 20% off is stacked on top of the 10% employee discount.

2. Get 10% Off at In-Store Starbucks

If you’re lucky enough to work at a Target with a Starbucks inside, you’ll score an extra 10% off all drinks and food.

3. Target Tuition Assistance

Over 340,000 full and part-time Target employees are eligible for “free undergraduate and associates degrees, certificates, bootcamp programs, textbooks and course fees”.

Here are the details.

This just might be the best Target employee benefit of them all.

See Also: Know the Target Dress Code Before Your Interview

4. Target Matches Employee 401(k) Contributions

Each pay period, Target will match your 401(k) contribution dollar for dollar.

They’ll contribute up to 5% of your pay which is pretty dang cool. 

Ask the Reader: Do you work at Target? If so, how often do you take advantage of the employee discount and what’s the most money you’ve saved?

By Kyle James

Thinking of applying for a job at Best Buy? One thing that might sway your decision one way or another is the Best Buy employee discount. Here’s everything you need to know about their discount, including items that are excluded and some insider tips that will maximize your savings.

What is the Best Buy Employee Discount?

The standard employee discount at Best Buy is Cost + 5%.

So if an item’s retail price is $50, and Best Buy paid $30 for it, as an employee you’d get it for only $31.50.

It should also be noted that you won’t qualify for their employee discount until you’ve worked at Best Buy for at least 30 days.

UPDATE: From the comments section, I am getting several people saying it’s actually cost + 5%, not 10%, so I have officially changed the information above.

Thanks to everyone who commented letting me know.

See Also: 65+ Employee Discounts to Help You With Your Job Search

Can Employees Flip Products for a Profit?

No.

While it’s not illegal for employees to buy stuff with their discount and flip it for a profit, several employees in the comments have said that it’ll get you FIRED immediately if discovered.

So not a good idea unless you’re about to quit your job anyways I suppose.

Do Some Products Not Qualify?

Unfortunately, yes.

You WON’T be able to get a discount on Geek Squad services, Apple products, most computers and tablets, movies, and smartphones.

Can I Score the Employee Discount on Online Purchases?

Yes.

To make it happen you need to have a Best Buy account and register it in the Best Buy employee portal.

I was told to make sure you ONLY do this on a computer in the store that you work-at, otherwise you’ll get rejected by the system.

Once your email is registered, you’ll get a pop-up to confirm your identity and employee number then you’ll be good-to-go.

Then just shop the Best Buy website like usual and you’ll score your discount on eligible items.

BIG thanks to employee Cesar for clearing this one up in the comments.

See Also: 7 Mind-Blowing Ways to Save Money at Best Buy

What Items are a “Must-Buy” for Employees?

Because the discount is cost + 5%, the secret for scoring a great deal is knowing which items at Best Buy have the largest profit margin, which means they have a “low cost” to Best Buy.

Buy those and you can REALLY save some money, easily up to 50% off the retail price.

These items are not laptops and name-brand HDTV’s, but rather things like headphones, cables, cases, and other accessories.

Especially look for deals on Best Buy’s branded items as they have big margins.

These include Insignia and Dynex HDTVs, Rocketfish cables, Geek Squad flash drives, and Modal cases.

If you’re not happy with any purchase you will be bound to the terms of the regular Best Buy return policy.

Do Geek Squad Employees Score the Same Discount?

Yes, they’ll score the same discount as regular BB employees.

See Also: Apple Employee Discount: Score a New iPhone Every 2 Years

Is There a Maximum Discount Percentage?

Best Buy recently topped their employee discount at 50% off the retail price.

But there is NO maximum number of purchases that you can make with your discount.

But keep in mind that “managers will talk to you if anything looks suspicious on your purchase”. (via BB employee Thomas)

Do Employees Get a Discount on Computer Components?

Yes.

This question came from Caleb in the comments, and I thought it was a great question as I couldn’t find an answer anywhere, so I decided to walk into my local Best Buy and find out.

The first employee I talked to had no idea, but I was able to grab an assistant manager on the sales floor and he dropped the knowledge.

As Caleb noted, your employee discount won’t work on pre-builts but it WILL work on components according to the manager I talked to.

But he also said that the margin on these products is fairly small so the discount won’t be big.

Anything Else You Should Know?

Why yes, there are several things worth knowing…

– Brands Can Limit Discounts – Brands that sell at Best Buy have the authority to limit the discount employees receive.

– Questionable Best Buy “Cost” – I’ve been told that you have to take the word for what Best Buy says is their “cost” on an item.

Some employees have questioned their “cost” as inflated.

– Some Products Have a Smaller Discount – Be aware that some stuff has an employee discount, but it might be higher than cost + 5%, meaning you’d have to pay a little more for it.

It will often be cost + 8% or 10%.

– Look for Free Stuff – Perhaps the coolest thing about working at Best Buy is the free stuff stores hand out to workers from time to time.

Could be stuff that doesn’t sell, or new items that the brand is trying to promote.

Ask the Reader: Do you work at Best Buy or have you in the past? If so, what’s the largest Best Buy employee discount you’ve received?

By Kyle James

Photo credit to Mike Mozart.

Let’s be honest, the J.Crew return policy is not very lenient. In fact, many shoppers might call it down-right stingy in terms of return days allowed and return shipping fees. But fortunately I’ve come up with a few clever hacks to make returns at J.Crew a little easier. Here’s everything you need to know about their policy to make returns a breeze.

How Many Return Days at J.Crew?

30 days.

Their policy was 60 days, but now you only have 30 days from the date of purchase to return an item to J.Crew.

After 30 days you’re out of luck.

Can I Return Worn Items?

According to the J.Crew website, items must NOT be worn or washed if you want to return them.

I hit up their live chat to see if there was wiggle room in this policy and sadly there seems to be NONE.

You can try-on items at home, but if you take off the tags and wear them to work, it will be hard to return them UNLESS there is something wrong with them.

This leads us to Pro Tip number one…

PRO TIP: ASK FOR AN INSPECTION

If there is indeed something wrong with them, most shoppers don’t know that you can send it back for “inspection”. If they’re deemed defective, J.Crew will issue you a gift card for the selling price. Visit your local store to start this process.

See Also: Banana Republic Return Policy: Here’s How It Works

What If I Lost My J.Crew Receipt?

While your return will go much smoother with your receipt in hand, but you’re NOT completely out-of-luck if you lose it.

Which leads us to Pro Tip number two…

PRO TIP: J.CREW CAN LOOK UP YOUR ORDER

If you have the store location, date of purchase, and the last 4 numbers of the credit card used, they can look-up your order. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, they CAN’T do this in-store, but they can via JCrew live chat or you can call them at (800) 562-0258 and they’ll get you your receipt. Takeaway: Make your life easier and hold on to those J.Crew receipts like they are solid gold.

Some Items Can’t Be Returned

Quite a few items cannot be returned to J.Crew. Here they are…

Monogrammed Items: Applies mainly to shirts, socks and linens. If you get your initials put on something, you’re stuck with it.

Personalized Products: If you get something personalized you can’t return it.

Lingerie: Better make sure you buy the right size the first time.

Vintage Stuff: Not sure what “vintage” items J.Crew actually sells.

Final Sale Items: While final sale items are usually a great deal be aware that you CANNOT return them.  Sell your Final Sale items on eBay and you’ll undoubtedly make a nice little profit on them.

Fine Jewelry: You can’t return jewelry to a brick and mortar J.Crew location.

You gotta call (800) 261-7422 to make arrangements for a return.

See Also: Kohl’s Return Policy: Tips To Make It Work For You

J.Crew Will Track Your Returns

If you return an item that was paid for with cash or check, they’ll ask you for a government issued ID.

This leads me to believe that they’re tracking your purchases to make sure you don’t abuse their policy.

Can I Return Items Bought at a J Crew Factory Store?

Yes, you can return them.

But…you can only return “Factory Store” items to an actual J.Crew Factory Store.

Also, they’ve cut the number of return days in half to 30 days.

What About Returning Online Purchases?

You have a couple options when returning online orders.

You can either take the item(s) back to your local J.Crew store for a return or exchange OR you can mail them back using their Prepaid service.

Be aware that you’ll be hit with a $7.50 return shipping fee if you opt for the 2nd option.

The good news is that you only pay this flat fee once, no matter how many items you might be returning.

The $7.50 fee will be deducted from your total return.

PRO TIP: RETURN MULTIPLE ITEMS IF POSSIBLE

If you’re stuck paying the $7.50 fee, be sure to get the most bang for your buck when returning multiple items. J.Crew lets you return multiple items, from multiple orders, in the same package. To make it happen, BE SURE to initiate a return for each order and include ALL return packing slips in the same package. 

Ask the Reader: What’s been your experience with the JCrew return policy? It seems pretty strict but maybe you have some other hacks that make it less so. Let us all know in the comments below, thanks.

By Kyle James

Photo credit to Mike Mozart.