Minneapolis, Minnesota is home to the corporate headquarters of Target. Minneapolis has always been a Target town. We love our Targets. I wouldn’t want to calculate how much money I actually spend a year at Target. Minneapolis also has several Salvation Army stores. What do Target and the Salvation Army have in common? Why, the answer is the Minneapolis Salvation Army “As Is” store, located in the Salvation Army Store at 900 North 4th Street, Minneapolis. This unique feature to the store takes up the entire lower level of the store. The “As Is” store features items, primarily from Target stores, that are store samples or have slight flaws. Target donates all of these new items to the Salvation Army.
I would calculate 90% of the items sold in the store are samples and 10% may have flaws. The great majority of the products sold here are in great shape. Most of these items are items that designers for Target have constructed for Target and showed off to the Target buyers. Thus, they say “store sample”, or “sample, not to be sold”. Well, they are sold..at this store. And to your advantage.
The “As Is” Store consists of two main departments: Home Decor and Clothing. As you descend down the stairs, to the right will be home decor. This consists of a number of different items. They have many candle holders, decorative vases, picture frames, baskets, and artificial flower arrangements. They also have a small selection of framed art. This is a hit or miss. Some of it is overpriced, and some may have a scratch or two on the frame. There is also a kitchen aisle which changes frequently. Sometimes you can find a box of glasses, or you may find a metal pitcher. This section seems to change out frequently. There is sometimes small appliances for sale (small mixers, ice cream machines, etc), but I tend to shy away from buying these, as they are not returnable if they do not work. As you keep shopping you will head over to the bathroom area. Here you will find a number of different types of shower curtain rings, stainless steel towel bars, and toilet brush keepers. Do they keep 20 of each item in stock? Nope, it’s an “as is” Store..they get what they get. Sometimes they will have 20 of the same type of curtain ring; sometimes they’ll only have 1. You will quickly run into a long wall which changes out it’s selection frequently, but usually consists of either inexpensive plastic decorative trays for food or decor, or large outdoor pots or outdoor decor in the summer months. Also smattered in with the home decor items is jewelry and shoes. Most of the jewelry is in a glass case, but there is usually an attendant helping out. The shoes are located on two racks near the jewelry. The shoes is a very small section, and is limited to mostly women’s and children’s. Behind the home decor department is furniture. This section also changes out frequently. Sometimes the furniture is wobbly and may fall apart, but that might be the particular design of that piece. Some of the furniture is in terrific shape and I would easily consider buying it. The furniture usually never comes in complete sets though, so it’s best for one accent table, one accent chair, etc. Don’t expect to find a table and 4 matching chairs.
The Clothing Department is located next to the furniture and takes up the rest of the store (about 1/2 of it). There is children’s clothing, women’s clothing, and some men’s clothing. My male coworker has made the argument the women’s clothing is better, which I tend to agree with him on. This same argument could be made for Target stores in general though. The women’s clothing is sorted by type of article as well as color. Green blouses, red tees, Shorts, Jeans, Capri’s, dresses, tank tops, so forth and so on. There is a nice little section of pajamas and robes as well. They do not feature a lot of coats, though.
There is also a bin of purses, socks, and tote bags. Can you try the items on? Nope..unless you want to try it on right there in front of everyone…and last time I was there they didn’t have mirrors anymore. You need to know your size, or consider giving it away if it doesn’t fit you. I’ve been lucky that everything I have purchased has fit fairly well. You will see items that are 1/5 of the price that they are selling for right now in Target. You will see items a month before they hit the Target store. I think it’s pretty cool that I had a particular pair of wedge sandals 2 months before they hit Target, and I got them for 1/6 the price!
While the Men’s and children’s departments may be a little smaller, there are still quite a few finds and they are worth checking out. Being that I always go to the store on my lunch hour, 1 hour is not long enough for me to get through all the home decor and women’s clothing, much alone checking out some clothes for my fiancee or sister’s baby.
I am saving the best part of this article for last. The prices and my finds. What have I found at this glorious cheap Target store you ask? I have found 3 pairs of nice dress pants…$5 each. I have found a sleep t-shirt for $2. New “designed for 2007” sleep capri’s for $4. I checked the store..they are $10+. I scored a great soft chemise in black, with a little lace at the top for $4. Most t-shirts are $2-4. Most jeans and pants are $5. I got my sister’s baby some $2 blue jeans. At least two dresses for about $3 each. All of the clothing I have purchased is in perfect condition. It simply says “sample” in black sharpie somewhere instead of (or on top of ) the tag. So maybe this would be a problem if it was a white shirt, but I wasn’t buying white shirts.
I have really scored in the home decor department. I recently got a 45 piece set of stainless steel flatware (normally $50+ in the store) for $22.50. I love it. I had been looking for the exact type of flatware..a heavy solid flatware. I bought a matching capiz vase and bowl in lilac. I checked the stores and they had the exact same items for over double the price. I believe I paid about $6 each, and in the stores they sold for $20 each. The only difference is I noticed that the stores didn’t even sell lilac, they sold other colors. I guess the buyers didn’t like lilac this year, but I do. I got an adorable little decorative tray in brown for $4. I’ve gotten large decorative scented candles for a buck or two. The earrings? Excellent sets of earrings..usually $1-2. Great gift ideas! My wedge sandals I got well before they hit stores? Only $4. They sell for about $25-30 currently. I’ve gotten leather photo albums that usually cost $20 for about $5. My favorite purchase at this store, though, remains to be my soft fuzzy throw blanket. It is literally the best blanket ever. Maroon microfiber on one side, and fake sheepskin on the other, this blanket puts me into the best sleep ever. It was supposed to be a throw blanket for our living room but it migrated up to our bedroom after about one day. The price? $7. Best $7 I have ever spent. It’s like a sleeping pill in a blanket. I could have spent $100 on it..but I didn’t.
I go to the Salvation Army Store “As Is” store in Minneapolis at least once a week. You never know when you’ll find another perfect throw blanket. It’s like the best garage sale you’ve ever been to, and the items are even new.
