So what's the deal with Target? - Page 4

[SugarAndSun]

Originally Posted by Black Orchid

you can make that point without making generalizations about class.

Actually I see where you think I was being offensive. Sorry. What I meant to write was that according to surveys where people are asked how they judge people and decide where they fall in our class system, teeth are at the top of the list. I didn't mean that they are real indicators or class. Sorry.

[AngelBee]

Star and Tribune (Minneapolis paper) recently did a price comparson of organics and Target Super stores were cheapest.

This was including Cub, Wholefoods, and other grocery stores.

[wonderwahine]

I have no idea, I walk into target and walk out with just my list unless i pass something on clearance thats a great deal like grocheries or toiletries. Occasionally I will buy clearance kids clothes, but I dont look if I dont have the money.

my downfall is walmart.

[wonderwahine]

Originally Posted by shayinme

Lack of dental care speaks to larger social issues, like the fact that so many low wage jobs offer either no benefits or they offer them but they are not affordable to many of the workers. More and more middle class folks also do not have access to dental care via jobs but generally are in a better position to scrape up the resources to see a dentist. Its not fair to judge folks by their teeth.

As for Target, yeah on the surface it looks better than Wal-Mart but IMO they really are not that far apart both strive to seperate you from your money buying things you often don't need. It just looks better.

Shay

some of us people with bad teeth just hate dentists and refuse to go, free or not.

and I have terrible teeth, geneticly, and i had free dental care until I turned 18. As soon as I no longer HAD to go see the dental nurse because i wasnt covered, i rejoiced, I absolutly hate dentists. And I hate my teeth, if I had the choice and money, i would get them all ripped out and have false teeth. I never want implants, or braces. Even if the state did give me medical coverage again, or we got dental insurance, I wouldnt go unless I had an emergency.

[doubledutch]

hi, my name is marisa, and i'm a targetaholic.

actually, i'm in recovery now. i've always loved target, but my big problem started right after my first baby was born. i felt really cooped up in the house, and we went to target pretty much every day. with help from friends, i've weaned myself down to once a week, then e-o-week, and now this is my first month going just one time! it's so freeing. the weekend rolls around and i don't have to make a trip to target!

plus my february shopping trip (gosh, over two weeks ago?!) only cost $70, mostly because i've got two in 'sposies. i was so busy making sure i bought everything i needed for the month, i didn't have time to shop for crap. i still love target, though.

[JamSamMom]

Originally Posted by doubledutch

hi, my name is marisa, and i'm a targetaholic.

actually, i'm in recovery now. i've always loved target, but my big problem started right after my first baby was born. i felt really cooped up in the house, and we went to target pretty much every day. with help from friends, i've weaned myself down to once a week, then e-o-week, and now this is my first month going just one time! it's so freeing. the weekend rolls around and i don't have to make a trip to target!

plus my february shopping trip (gosh, over two weeks ago?!) only cost $70, mostly because i've got two in 'sposies. i was so busy making sure i bought everything i needed for the month, i didn't have time to shop for crap. i still love target, though.

ME TOO!! I have also saved alot of money by not going to target in the last month!!!

[Sonnenwende]

I don't get all the hype about Target. Not that fantastic. I prefer Meijer, but I know that is just a regional option available in my area.

[wonderwahine]

Originally Posted by Sonnenwende

I don't get all the hype about Target. Not that fantastic. I prefer Meijer, but I know that is just a regional option available in my area.

yeah, meijer is our main shopping place as well.

[sabrinat]

Originally Posted by RolliePollie

I do have to say though... that for the most part I've noticed that Targets tend to look much cleaner than Wal Mart. They just feel cleaner and brighter, also. I remember living in one locale where WM and Target were right across the street from each other, and the people in there seemed like night and day.

See I love Target as a concept, but i like one stop shopping. Our Super T is always always poorly stocked in the groceries and it's so much more expensive. I tend to only go there if I have something specific I'm looking for.

[abharrington]

i don't like target. i HATE the return policy and oh the registries. don't even get me started. we dont' have a super target, so i cant' comment on groceries but i think they have overpriced, cheap stuff. if i am going to buy something, i'd rather buy something of excellent quality. i get sucked in by the apearance of things at target (clothes and housewares) but am always disappointed with the quality and usually regret the purchase. i have been shoppin there more lately, since we decided to no longer shop at walmart, but i dont' love it. i wish we had more options.

i am also not a fan of the marketing to me all this stuff i "need" so i will spend money. wrong on many, many levels.

[jeca]

I LOVE target, I really love target. It breaks my budget though every time I go in. There kids clothes are great especially on sale and last me a while. Plus I always seem to rack up when things are on clearance I have just gotten so many great deals there it's hard to resist. Also there stores are clean and the employees have always been great. I don't shop super target though as it's all the way on the north end of town.

[Krystal323]

Originally Posted by MommytoTwo

oh Target .... have you noticed tha ttheir home stuff are knock offs of Pottery Barn (or, as DH calls it "Poverty Barn")?? And the kids clothes are so cute! And the organizational stuff... oh I could go on.

I may be missing your meaning, but I have never set foot in a Pottery Barn because they are Ridiculously Expensive. I can barely afford Target. Really.

Originally Posted by lanamommyphd07

It's clean, and the people working there typically have all their teeth.

Originally Posted by boysrus

What an incredibly classist comment.
On soooo many levels!!

Originally Posted by miss_sonja

Do they provide health insurance to their employees? That could make a difference.

YEAH to all that and more. snark, snark. :

Originally Posted by PajamaMama

But at what cost to society? Where does all that cheap stuff come from and where does it end up?

I am really shocked by all the pro-target here on a NFL board.

Sigh. I'm so sorry that I am too broke to shop at all-organic fair-trade curbside markets in the hip downtown area of my progressive city. Oh wait.... :

Originally Posted by Ruthla

Am I the only one on this thread who's actually able to walk into a Target store and get stuff on her list and not blow the budget?

Yes.

sometimes it frustrates me when I realize that not only am I in the minority on these boards because of our income level, but that many of the lovely, understanding, with-it folks here just Don't Understand poverty Sorry.

FWIW I love Target, I love that I can find eclectic-style home decor there that I can actually dream of affording someday soon. I will totally buy Target stuff when I move and can afford more than just baby t-shirts on their clearance rack

[umarider]

Originally Posted by Krystal323

sometimes it frustrates me when I realize that not only am I in the minority on these boards because of our income level, but that many of the lovely, understanding, with-it folks here just Don't Understand poverty Sorry.

FWIW I love Target, I love that I can find eclectic-style home decor there that I can actually dream of affording someday soon. I will totally buy Target stuff when I move and can afford more than just baby t-shirts on their clearance rack

I don't think you are in a minority on the Frugality & Finance boards. There are lots of people who are dealing with poverty or have dealt w/ it. Others have been close enough to have a good idea. And we are all here because we are looking for a better way of doing things... a way to balance what we have, what we want, and what we can change. Hang in there.

[4evermom]

I like Target. The light is important. Kohls drives me nuts because of the poor lighting and crowded racks. I'm usually fine with getting what I need and not much, if any, more. But ds always wants something, usually just a pack of Pokemon cards or something so I try not to go unless I'm prepared to spend an extra $10. My technique is to finely hone my natural pickiness, lol. I'm pretty good with finding things wrong with something (the color isn't quite right, etc). I am glad I don't have a dd because I'm always eying the cute girls clothes!

[justmama]

Originally Posted by Krystal323

sometimes it frustrates me when I realize that not only am I in the minority on these boards because of our income level, but that many of the lovely, understanding, with-it folks here just Don't Understand poverty Sorry.

I understand you and I understand poverty. I LOVE to walk around Target and I too dream of that lovely eclectic style to furnish my dream house. For now I'll settle for pictures of my kids in dollar store frames and hand sewn pillows and handknit blankets on my couch. And the worst part, I have been shopping at evil-mart because my work gave me a baby gift of a $250 gift card!

[tracyhos]

I Target!!

For me it's:
1- Convenient -- (our is a SuperTarget), so I don't have to do a grocery run and a Target run to get my errands done. If they sold Stamps, they would truely have everything.

2-Quality -- the clothing, home stuff, for me-- produce, meat... pretty much everything, is far and away better quality than Wal-Mart.

3- Service -- I am always asked a least once a trip to Target, if I need help finding anything....at the other Marts, there are usually no employees around, or if you can find one, they are clueless.

4- Starbucks --Starbucks inside Target!! I like to treat myself to a Chai Latte occasionally

[wonderwahine]

Originally Posted by Krystal323

sometimes it frustrates me when I realize that not only am I in the minority on these boards because of our income level, but that many of the lovely, understanding, with-it folks here just Don't Understand poverty Sorry.

FWIW I love Target, I love that I can find eclectic-style home decor there that I can actually dream of affording someday soon. I will totally buy Target stuff when I move and can afford more than just baby t-shirts on their clearance rack

I dont think you are in the minority. I avoid target because they are even to expensive for me most the time.... its walmart and the dollar store at my house, unless theres some really good deals, eg diapers.

I was in heaven when lane bryant had that $15 off a $15 or more purchase, I could finnaly afford to get myself some new quality clothes! I ended up with over $100 worth of clothes for $27 total. I couldn't have even got the clothes I did at walmart or target for that price, and thrift stores are always hit and miss for plus size women.

[PajamaMama]

Originally Posted by Krystal323

Sigh. I'm so sorry that I am too broke to shop at all-organic fair-trade curbside markets in the hip downtown area of my progressive city. Oh wait.... :

What a lot of assumptions you made about me!

That's ok, if you ignore problems like adding tons of cheap plastic crap to our environment and using near slave labor to make said crap, those problems will just go away. Instead of sticking your head in the sand you can stick it in a pile of cheap plastic crap and wait for everything to fix itself.

Adding my own :

[bigeyes]

Originally Posted by carolm22117

In my own very,very humble opinion, Target is not all that much better than any other store, it's just been able to maintain a much prettier image.

Exactly.

It floors me that so many people think it's better to shop there than walmart when it's the same MIC crap. Same profiteering. Same lousy pay and low status jobs.

As long as you are buying stuff MIC you are not doing anything different than shopping at walmart. Whether you buy it at the $1 store, Walmart, Target, Safeway, or some department store, it doesn't matter if it came from the same source. Instead of focusing on the store, we need to focus on the sweet deals our government makes with big business and other countries who profit from slave labor.


Telling ourselves we're socially conscious for shopping at Target is just plain silly.

[doubledutch]

Originally Posted by bigeyes

Telling ourselves we're socially conscious for shopping at Target is just plain silly.

i missed where anyone said anything like that.

i buy essential items at target. the only other place i reguarly shop is our local whole foods co-op (not a part of the whole foods chain) and the kinds of things i buy at target are either not available there or are not reasonable for me to buy there. do you never need tylenol, tin foil or a toothbrush?

now, in no way do i believe i'm doing anyone a favor by shopping at target over another big box store. nobody but myself, that is, because i simply prefer target. i do buy MIC crap there - you know, a nasal aspirator, a humidifier, a bed rail - and plastic to boot.

in many cases, there is a "greener" alternative to what i buy there (hmm, i'm sure i could find some domestically-sewn organic cotton undies online). it's a matter of priorities. my family's resources (both time and money) only go so far. while we're moving in the right direction, we're very far from perfect, and we still buy our undies at target.