Preparations: Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Miami - Florida
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<p>We're one of many families moving their D or S to Miami from afar. I remember being told at U. Miami meetings that there were programs allowing students to shop locally at Target and then pick up items at the Miami Target. So I searched CC and the internet for instructions. </p>

<p>Unfortunately, the word target is overloaded on CC ;-) so it is difficult to find information there about this program; and the articles I found here usually assume everyone knows how the program works.</p>

<p>Here is what we've discovered about these programs at Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond (wanting to share this; and it is possible that someone knows a better way of doing these things):</p>

<p>Target
We called the national 1-800 number for Target and were told that there are two ways to do things: one, you can try to time it by placing an order online at target.com (usually a week in advance) and have it delivered to the Miami Target for pick-up, where it will be held for four days; two, you can go to your local Target and scan items; these will be made into a list that will be held for you at the Miami Target (no timing required).</p>

<p>Unfortunately, this second method does NOT exist. Neither the manager of our local target nor the manager of the Miami Dadeland Target was aware of a mechanism like this. Instead, there is a program to create a shopping list that one can use with method one to time the order and have</a> things delivered (to be held for four days). One can download</a> an app to an Android smartphone to use to scan items to a Target List.</p>

<p>Bed, Bath and Beyond
I think that the 1-800 Target guy we spoke with must have been thinking about BBB, because they do indeed have scanners in their stores (associated with gift registries). The way their Pack</a> and Hold program works is this:</p>

<ol>
<li>You go to your local BBB and head back to the gift registry desk</li>
<li>Tell them you want to order items locally (through scanning) to be held remotely (at the BBB near University of Miami).</li>
<li>They will hand you a four page information packet customized to UM that includes a shopping list (noting a handful of items that BBB sells but that are not allowed in UM dorms), room layouts for the UM dorms and directions to the remote BBB and instructions on how to pick up your package(s).</li>
<li>You will need to fill out an application that states, among other things, your contact information and the earliest date you might pick up your packages. There is (according to the woman we spoke with) NO limit on how long they will hold your package for you; and you do not BUY it until you pick it up there. There will just be a large box (they have these out in the boonies on their parking lot, away from the store itself) with the items you've scanned and requested held. </li>
<li>You are allowed to remove any items from your box at time of pick-up without any penalties--there is no obligation to buy anything that is in your box(es).</li>
<li>Unlike the Target List, everything you scan (minus any items you remove from the list before you leave the store) will be boxed and held for you at the remote BBB location. Target lets you edit your list online but there is not a similar mechanism with BBB. You can rinse and repeat with new scanned lists at BBB--they will simply group your packed/held boxes for you for pick-up.</li>
</ol>

<p>Alternately, you can shop</a> online and choose a ship date when you are ready to check out. This seems more convenient than manually timing it at Target.</p>

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<p>BBB- When you go to BBB in Miami (Dadeland Mall is down the block) you shop (they have beauty supplies, shampoo, advil, etc…and pick up anything you have forgotten or noticed you need when you move into your dorm. You are given your bags of items you preordered and can go through them, discarding anything you don’t need). then you check out. Remember to bring lots of BBB coupons, even those that have expired. The mall has other shops so you can do there for anything else. Ordering on Amazon, etc. works well once your child has moved in .</p>

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<p>@crazed, thanks for the tip on BBB coupons (though thus far we haven’t found any except for a program where you can text STORE to a number and receive a “mobile” coupon good for 20% off of one item).</p>

<p>Just wanted to add some observations:

[ul]
[<em>] I had come into this experience thinking that BBB was pricier than Target, but the prices have turned out to be pretty comparable.
[</em>] The BBB pack and hold program only applies to items that are available in the stores, not online-only items.
[<em>] The BBB sending store has an option to transfer items that are in their store but not in the receiving store.
[</em>] The BBB staff at our sending store have been very friendly and helpful.
[<em>] We were happy to discover that our sending store and the Dadeland BBB both had “Health and Beauty” sections with things like toothpaste, shampoo, etc.
[</em>] Because Target only holds received items for four days, one has to try to time the purchase; I found that BBB’s hold-until-you-pick-up policy is giving me great peace of mind. It’s also nice that there are no obligations to purchase everything in your Pack and Hold order.
[<em>] You can bring in SKU #'s of items found in the online BBB to the sending store and their helpful people will enter them into your pack and hold order–this can save time over trying to find the item in the store to scan.
[</em>] Walmart will hold items sent to its store for 14 days, which makes it much easier to time than Target. You can also ship items from Walmart to FedEx stores, though the FedEx store only holds items for four days.
[/ul] </p>

<p>Hoping for good weather on moving-in-day (though it looks like we should prepare for temperatures near 90 degrees and a good chance of thunderstorms)! I suppose we should bring several large garbage bags to put over items in the moving-in cart…</p>