TARGET targets the 1%. (a small rant)

The TARGET Holiday Toy Sale catalog came in yesterday's mail.
OK, 'tis (almost) the season...etc., etc.
Fa la la.
:eyes:

"Save over $350 with coupons inside" it says.
The first thing I see on the first page is something called the LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer (ages 4 and up).
It's some kind of kiddie computer thingy.
$99...no coupon.
What recession?
What unemployment?

There's also a Rock Star Mickey for $43.89, but wait...there's a $5 coupon.
woohoo

$299.99 will get your beloved offspring a 4GB Xbox 360 Game System and Kinect Bundle (free shipping)

There's even a page where your darling can write their wish list.
Kind of like a bridal registry for kids.

Out of the hundreds of doo-dads and gew-gaws in the 52 page slick catalog I saw maybe half a dozen items under $10.

I'd guess the average cost-per-toy at north of $30-$35.
1% kiddies will have a super Christmas and still complain of nothing to play with or do by New Year's Day, if not before.

Bah Humbug!

Target is going for the 99%.

As bad as the economy is, I'd say at least 50% (probably a bit more) of "the 99%" are doing well enough to feel they can afford things like this.

Went to Target and my prescription was 189.00 1 Month Costco 18.00 same exact drug.

because that's an awfully big difference in price.

with a $150 trade-in for the 1% that can afford them. Meanwhile the rest of us have to make do with soup cans and string.

It's an OUTRAGE.

http://sites.target.com/site/en/spot/page.jsp?title=iPhone4&intc=null_dvmy110001000008000790_null

Not to mention soup cans.

When I was a kid I wrote out a wish list every year.

Let's say you want to buy a present for a ten year old boy*. You could buy any number of action figures, board games, toy cars, etc under $15, some video games are likely on sale or clearance in that price range as well. Bump it up to $30, and you can get any movie and most video games, the rest of the board games, most of the nerf stuff, some lego, etc. By $60 you've covered the most expensive video games, jerseys for their favorite sports teams, the most expensive nerf gun in the store, all but the most ridiculous lego sets. $150 or so covers bikes. Game systems run $150-$300. There are, for any given age range of kids, only a handful of toys in the upper end of this price range. Why the range? Because some people are looking to buy a $10 toy for their neighbor's kid or their distant cousin, some are looking to get something really nice for their own kid or grandkid. Sometimes the same person needs to buy both.

I'm probably going to spend $300 (the price of that game system) or so on my kid, and I'm pretty damned far from the 1%. I just make smaller purchases all year when I see good deals on things my kid wants. For example sometime this summer I bought a $60 nerf gun for $22 on clearance, and stuck that in the back of the closet.

*I'm going to use this example because I happen to have one down the hall, so I have some idea of the kind of stuff they like and what it costs

and this is hardly 1% territory...

last christmas. I was so mad to see when they came out with the new thing. Grr!! But it basically combines the Leapster with the leap pad. The thing that gets me about that is that you can buy a ds for a little more and it has a charger already (leapster is extra) and a warranty. My kids have had the explorer because it is educational. IT is a lot of money though.

This year we are going simple. They have a kitchen next week at aldi for $30. for the toddler. Perfect. That and a baby stroller and she'll be set. We were thinking of bikes for the older two. Bikes and helmets.Might go trolling the craigslist for the bikes.

BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, ...

:eyes: