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What is a Target Salvage Store

When I first heard of the notion of a Target salvage store, I wondered if there were any near me. My research led me to Mardenโ€™s Surplus and Salvage in Maine. (We moved to Maine from Pennsylvania in mid-2023.)

In case you didnโ€™t know, a salvage store is where retailers send their excess inventory that didnโ€™t sell. You may know them as liquidation centers, bin stores, bargain outlets, salvage merchandise stores or some other moniker.

Anyway, when I visited Mardenโ€™s, I discovered it is way more than a Target salvage store. I found products from lots of name brandsโ€“many that surprised me.

Why did they surprise me? Because these were high-end brands that Iโ€™ve purchased at well-known stores that were not Target. And they were dirt cheap at Mardenโ€™s.

Photo by Leah Ingram

What are Target salvage stores

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Target salvage stores like Mardenโ€™s get their inventory from a variety of sources. I mean, including discontinued items or overstocks from Target, Mardenโ€™s stocks its stores from the following:

  • insurance salvages
  • closeouts
  • liquidations
  • natural disasters

I can tell you that on the day I visited, I was able to determine where some of the inventory came from beyond Target.

For example, I noticed these boxes of Kirkland dog chews. Well, if you know anything about Costco stores, then you know that Kirkland is the storeโ€™s private label brand. Therefore, I can say with confidence that Costco is one of the places sending its overstocks to Mardenโ€™s and I should add that this is a Costco salvage store, too.

Photo by Leah Ingram

Also, note the price on the box of 72 dental chews. They are $12.99 for the box.

I checked on the Costco website to see what these boxes sell for originally. There I found the exact same box of 72 chews selling for $36.99.

However, since Iโ€™d gone to Mardenโ€™s because I was told it was a Target salvage store, I wanted to let you know that I did find a few items that clearly came from Target. Because if youโ€™re a frequent Target shopper like I am, then you can recognize the Target price tags like I did on these Stranger Things and Marvel boxer and sock sets.

Photo by Leah Ingram

Iโ€™m guessing these were sold during the holiday season as gift sets and, well, they didnโ€™t sell well. You can see that they were originally $9.99, then marked down to $6.99 and finally $3.99 at Mardenโ€™s.

J.Crew, Madewell and more

Photos by Leah Ingram

As I mentioned it was easy to figure out that Mardenโ€™s is more than just a Target salvage store.

Here are some of the retailers and brands that I spotted while there:

  • Calvin Klein
  • Comfortiva shoes
  • J.Crew
  • Macyโ€™s
  • Madewell
  • Natori

I mention the Natori bras because thatโ€™s the brand I tend to buy at Nordstrom. Well, in the bra section I found two Natori bras that Iโ€™d spent north of $100 for at Nordstrom a few years ago.

How much were they at Mardenโ€™s? $14.99. Yes, I bought both.

Stitch Fix overstocks

I know that many online styling company have their own resale programs. That is, you can buy gently used products from them at a discount.

Iโ€™d always wondered what Stitch Fix did with its overstocks. Well, now I know. They sell them to salvage stores like Mardenโ€™s.

While going through the clothing racks, I saw brands Iโ€™d received in my past Fixes, such as Collective Concepts, Papermoon and Kut from the Kloth.

In addition, I found some clothes from the 41Hawthorn brand. Not familiar with that? Then you must not be a Stitch Fix customer.

Iโ€™ve been using online styling company Stitch Fix since 2015 and know that 41Hawthorn is a Stitch Fix-exclusive brand.

Photos by Leah Ingram

Pixi by Petra makeup

Another brand that Iโ€™ve purchased at Target is Pixi by Petra makeup. I first learned about Pixi when I received that brandโ€™s mascara in an Ipsy makeup box.

So, I was thrilled to see all of these Pixi makeup products at the Target salvage store. And can you see those prices?

Photo by Leah Ingram

For example, the eye pencil at the forefront was originally $12 at Target. Then, Mardenโ€™s Surplus and Salvage store marked them down to $7.19. And, on the day I visited, I could take another 50% off that priceโ€“so I would pay $3.60 plus tax.

Here is that Pixi by Petra Endless Silky Eye Pen available at Ulta, which is now inside many Target stores. You can also buy Pixi by Petra products directly from Target.

Other Target salvage store names

In addition to Mardenโ€™s in Maine, here are the names of some of the other stores across the country that work on a salvage and surplus model and could have Target overstocks in them. Note: many of these are regional stores so they may not have locations near you:

  • Bargain Hunt
  • Dirt Cheap
  • Ocean State Job Lot
  • Ollieโ€™s Bargain Outlet

In fact, while in Pennsylvania I visited an Ollieโ€™s location. The only evidence I could find that it was a Target salvage store was this: a bin of Cat and Jack childrenโ€™s tops.

cat and jack shirts target salvage store ollies pennsylvania
Photo credit: Leah Ingram.

If you didnโ€™t know, Cat and Jack is the Target brand of childrenโ€™s clothing. Also, it comes with a one-year warranty.

Sometimes, even places like Goodwill, The Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanityโ€™s ReStore locations end up with merchandise from Target and other national retailers.

Mardenโ€™s return policy

When I checked out at the register, I guessed that my purchase would be a final sale. Well, I was wrong, very wrong.

Mardenโ€™s offers what it calls a 30-day โ€œNo Fussโ€ money-back guarantee. This assumes that you still have your receipt, the tags are still attached and what you bought is still in its โ€œoriginal condition.โ€ For example, if you bought shoes, you didnโ€™t wear them.

Of course, just because Mardenโ€™s lets you make returns to its salvage store, that doesnโ€™t mean that all of them do. Therefore, make sure you understand the storeโ€™s return policy before buying anything.

Amazon liquidation store

It seems that Mardenโ€™s could qualify as an Amazon liquidation store, too. I say this because I found products marked down there that Iโ€™ve purchased on Amazon. This includes Otterbox Defender phone cases and the Amazon Dot smart speaker.

Here are my Amazon Alexa hacks.

Photo by Leah Ingram

Also, there were special signs around Mardenโ€™s with the headline โ€œInternet Salvage Stockโ€ like the one below. That says to me that this stock did come from an Internet retailer like Amazon.

Photo by Leah Ingram